What does kente mean in history?

Kente (Akan: kente or nwetoma; Ewe: kete; Dagbani: Chinchini) refers to a Ghanaian textile, made of handwoven cloth, strips of silk and cotton. Historically the fabric was worn in a toga-like fashion by royalty among ethnic groups such as the Ashanti and Ewe.

What does the kente cloth symbolize?

It is associated with the earth's generosity. This color is strongly represented in the kente, because the king, who wears it during public gatherings, embodies all these virtues: gold, royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity.

What does kente mean in Africa?

Fabric from Mother Africa. Kente cloth is handwoven fabric first created by the Akan people of Ghana, a country in West Africa. The word kente actually means ''handwoven. '' The basket-like pattern is made from strips of silk and cotton woven together. The strips are pressed together using a loom.

Why is kente cloth very special?

Every pattern, color, and shape has a specific meaning, and arrayed together onto the cloth, combines to represent a singular narrative. This gives each Kente design its own unique, symbolic value. Kente cloth may symbolize the wearer's status or mark a festive occasion.

What part of Africa did kente originate from?

The origin of kente cloth

Kente cloth comes from the Asante, or Ashanti, peoples of Ghana and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo.

Kente Cloth, everything You Need to know about the history of Kente

Can anyone wear a kente stole?

While any high school or college student qualifies to wear a Kente stole at their graduation, the display should hold a deep, personal significance for the wearer. Stoles were first used by the Catholic clergy in the 12th century, worn to distinguish rank or promotion within their hierarchy.

Why did the Ashanti trade slaves?

In exchange for guns and other European goods, the Ashanti sold gold and slaves, usually either captured in war or accepted as tribute from conquered peoples.

Is kente cloth sacred?

Kente is an Akan royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance and is the cloth of kings and nobility, before finding its way into bags, and scarves sold around the globe nowadays. In Akan culture, the different colors and intricate patterns used in the weaving do have traditional meanings.

What two main West African tribes are known for kente?

Modern-day Ghana has over 100 ethnic groups that inhabit the country. Two of the largest of those cultures are the Ewe people and the Asante tribe of the Akan people. Woven among these two tribes is a legend that tells the tale of two young men and how they learned how to weave similar to a spider.

Who brought kente?

The origins of the Kente cloth go back 400 years to West Africa, in what is now modern day Ghana. While its invention is often attributed to the people of the Ashanti Tribe, the Kente cloth may have instead been invented by the people in the Ewe Tribe, who later shared the tradition with the Ashanti.

What does kente mean in social studies?

/ ˈkɛn teɪ / PHONETIC RESPELLING. ? High School Level. noun. a colorful fabric of Ghanaian origin: often worn as a symbol of African American pride: Thousands of vivid shirts made a sea of kente along the parade route.

Whats a kente stole?

What is a Kente stole? Adapted from African tradition in Ghana, this woven cloth (which was once only worn by royalty) is a scarf-like garment worn over the shoulders. Similar to standard graduation stoles, they typically represents some type of accomplishment, graduation or other rites of passage.

Where did the kente cloth originated?

According to NDiaye, the colorful patterned fabrics known as kente can be traced back to the Asante people of the Akan kingdom in what is now Ghana. The word "kente" actually translates to "handwoven cloth" in the Twi language of the Akan people.

What do the African colors mean?

The Pan-African flag's colors each had symbolic meaning. Red stood for blood — both the blood shed by Africans who died in their fight for liberation, and the shared blood of the African people. Black represented, well, black people. And green was a symbol of growth and the natural fertility of Africa.

Do ewes wear kente?

Kente cloth, the traditional or national cloth of Ghana, is worn by most southern Ghanaian ethnic groups including the Akan, the Ga, and the Ewe.

What is a kente pattern?

Technique. The icon of African cultural heritage around the world, Akan kente is identified by its dazzling, multicolored patterns of bright colors, geometric shapes, and bold designs. Kente characterized by weft designs woven into every available block of plain weave is called adweneasa.

What are the differences between Asante and Ewe kente?

Kente is woven in four-inch (9.5 cm) narrow strips that are sewn together. A characteristic Asante kente has geometric shapes woven in bright colors along the entire length of the strip, while Ewe kente often displays a tweed effect by plying together different colored threads in many of the warps.

What does purple mean kente cloth?

Gold or Yellow represents wealth and royalty. Green means growth, harvest, and renewal. White symbolizes purity, cleansing rites, and festive occasions. Purple or Maroon represents Mother Earth, healing, and protection from evil.

Who were the first to weave the kente?

But the roots of kente cloth may go back as far as 1000 B.C.E. to textile production of the Akan people of the Ivory Coast and the Ewe people of southeastern Ghana. Initially, kente cloth was associated with the Asantehene — the ruler — who was the only one permitted to wear it.

How do you wear a kente scarf?

To wear kente properly, it must be worn so that the woven patterned strips are straight horizontally and vertically. In addition, the bottom edge of the cloth should be even all the way around. Men's cloth typically consists of 20 to 27 strips; women's, 12 to 15 strips.

Where were slaves taken from in Africa?

Of those Africans who arrived in the United States, nearly half came from two regions: Senegambia, the area comprising the Senegal and Gambia Rivers and the land between them, or today's Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali; and west-central Africa, including what is now Angola, Congo, the Democratic Republic of ...

What type of religion do the Ashanti people follow?

The Ashanti religion is a mixture of spiritual and supernatural powers. They believe that plants, animals, and trees have souls. They also believe in fairies, witches, and forest monsters. There are a variety of religious beliefs involving ancestors, higher gods (abosom) and Nyame, the Supreme Being of Ashanti.

What does Ashanti mean in African?

African. Derived from the Kiswahili word asante, meaning "thank you". Ashanti is a region in central Ghana. The traditional inhabitants of the region are known as Ashanti people.

Can anyone wear graduation cords?

In many cases, clubs, student governments, school bands, sports teams, and social organizations allow all their members to wear cords at graduation. In contrast, academic honor cords are generally only worn by students who have won an award or achieved a specific grade point average.

What are the things that go around your neck for graduation?

Graduation stoles, also known as academic stoles or honor stoles, are sashes that denote academic achievement, extracurricular success, or membership to a specific organization. Graduation honor stoles are adorned with the colors and insignia of the organization that awarded them.