Kente
cloth as we know it today has its roots in the long tradition
of weaving in Africa dating back to 3200 B. C. The origin of
Kente is supported by pictorial and archeological evidence.
Some examples of woven fabrics have been found in the caves
of the Bandiagara cliffs in Mali. These cloths have technical
and aesthetic features similar to many of the narrow-strip cloths
in many parts of West Africa.
The creation of Kente also is explained through legend.
The Kente cloth originates from Bonwire a well knitted town,
fourteen kilometers from Kumase in the Asante Kingdom of Ghana.
It was created by two ancestors, Otaa Kraban and Kuragu Ameyaw
who were born and raised at Bonwire. They both belonged to the
chief's family Oyoko clan, natively known as Oyokoman. They
played together, and did many other important things together.
One occasion, in Hamattan season
when they went to farm, they saw a huge spider (ananse) weaving
its web on the cropland. They did like the spider's accomplishment
so they watched it silently for a considerable length of time.
The next day, they both went to the same location and observed
the spider again weaving the web. They observed it for couple
of days until they knew how the spider made the web. They
thought of making cloth in the same way so they started to
weave the first cloth in the underbrush without telling anybody
in the town until they had finished weaving the entire cloth.
The two men named the first
Kente cloth Oyokoman, their royal clan. It was artistic fabric
designed with affluent colors and compassionate texture. Soon
afterward, they showed the newly woven kente cloth to Nana
Bobie Ansa, the chief of Bonwire at that time. The chief was
thrilled with the work so he urged the two friends to come
and weave for him. They were so obliged to hear the chief's
request so they created a metaphorical and most prestigious
cloth exclusively for their chief. The latter told the then
Asantehene, Nana Osei Tutu what his two royal family members
had done and he gave the cloth to him.
In
the past, Kente cloths were worn only by very important personalities
such as Bonwirehene and Asantehene. These days, it is a very
popular symbol in Ghanaian parliament and court decorations.
Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah used the kente
very extensively to represent Ghana.
The term Kente is derived from the word kenten which means
a basket. The first kente weavers used raffia fibers to weave
cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred
to as kenten ntoma; meaning basket cloth. The original Asante
name of the cloth was nsaduaso or nwontoma, meaning "a
cloth hand-woven on a loom" and is still used today by
Asante weavers and elders. However, the term Kente is the
most popularly used today, in and outside Ghana. Many variations
of narrow-strip cloths, similar to Kente are woven by various
ethnic groups in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. The Asante
are one of the Akan peoples who live in parts of Ghana and
Cote d'lvoire.
An average width of a strip of Kente cloth is 4 inches. Several
strips are carefully arranged and hand-sewn together (some
weavers use sewing machines in recent times) to obtain a desired
size. Various colors of yarns may be combined in particular
ways to reflect the symbolic significance of the cloth. Colors
are chosen for both their visual effect and their symbolic
meanings.
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