What is the story behind kente cloth?

Kente cloth comes from a textile practice that originated in Ghana centuries ago. The fabric has come to symbolize cultural affiliations from West Africa across the diaspora, but legend has it that a spider spinning a complex web inspired the earliest kente techniques and designs.

What is the meaning behind kente cloth?

Kente is a meaningful sartorial device, as every aspect of its aesthetic design is intended as communication. The colors of the cloth each hold symbolism: gold = status/serenity, yellow = fertility, green = renewal, blue = pure spirit/harmony, red = passion, black = union with ancestors/spiritual awareness.

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.

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.

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

What is the meaning of 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.

What makes kente so special?

To the person wearing or displaying the cloth, Kente carries an even deeper significance. 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.

What two main West African tribes are known for kente?

Kente cloth (Asante and Ewe peoples) (article) | Khan Academy.

Who brought kente to the world?

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.

Who is the founder of kente?

Kentemust is a brand that is inspired by Ghana and highlights its colors and its fabric, kente. Its creator Cédric Evans, of Ghanaian origin, revisits this traditional fabric originally worn by the Ashanti kings.

When was kente created?

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.

Why do black graduates wear kente cloth?

Sponsored by the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association and the Black Alumni Chapter, the ceremony utilizes the West African kente cloth as a symbol of African American heritage, bestowed upon the graduate to commemorate the significance of graduation.

Who can wear a kente stole at graduation?

Considering that a stole can represent any major, all four-year college graduates technically qualify to wear a graduation stole at their ceremony. Members of Greek society are also identified by the unique stoles of their fraternities and sororities.

What does the kente cloth represent at graduation?

Thus today, we use the cloth to honor those seniors who have distinguished themselves by completing the rite of passage. The Kente Graduation Stoles represent the pride of perseverance, the honor of the accomplishment, and the importance of remembering your roots.

What does a white stole mean at high school graduation?

According to the tradition of the 'stole of gratitude,' some students choose to wear stoles at graduation to represent the help that was given to them by others. These students give the stole to a special mentor or aide after the ceremonies are over, sometimes with a little note written on the underside of the stole.

What does a white tassel mean at high school graduation?

White. This formal and clean shade often honors graduates in the Humanities and Arts. The Music Honor Society, French National Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Mu, and Sigma Theta Tau also wear white cords. White symbolizes purity, spirituality, and possibility.

Can I wear my own stole at graduation?

Although usually not required, graduates enjoy displaying their custom graduation stoles for their academic or extracurricular accomplishments. For high school graduations, commencement speakers, valedictorians, and salutatorians will wear stoles that indicate their academic standing among their peers.

What is a first generation stole?

First Generation Stole celebrates those who are the first in their family to graduate.

What is the stole of gratitude?

The Stole of Gratitude is a lasting symbol of appreciation, and a fitting way for graduates to pay special tribute to those people who have shaped their lives. The new graduate presents the Stole and places it around the neck of the recipient as a gesture of appreciation.

What is so significant about the colors and patterns are woven to make kente cloths?

According to Kente cloth tradition, the black weave represents Africa, the red represents the blood of the nation's forefathers, the yellow represents gold and the green represents the fertile land. Of course there are other colours used too, but these are the traditional ones.

What does purple mean in 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.

What GPA do you need to get a cord?

Generally, a student with a cumulative GPA of around 3.5 is considered to graduate with honors or Cum laude. A variably higher GPA is required to graduate Magna cum laude, and depending on the school, a near 4.0 GPA or above is required for Summa cum laude graduates.

What different color stoles mean?

3) Different colors mean different things

White: Humanities, Arts, English, etc. Beige: Business. Green: Medicine, Pharmacy and Physical Education. Orange: Engineering. Brown: Fine Arts and Architecture.

What is a master's hood?

The master's hood is a modern interpretation of the hooded robes worn by medieval monks who taught in the early universities. The monks would use their hoods to keep warm in the winters and also to collect alms.

Who is the first generation in a family?

To start, you and your siblings and cousins make one generation, and your parents and their siblings from the next. Your grandparents and their siblings form the third generation, and so on. The top-level of any family tree is the first generation, next down is their children, making up the second generation.