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 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 African?

Kente comes from the word kenten, which means "basket" in the Asante dialect of the Akan language, referencing its basket-like pattern. In Ghana, the Akan ethnic group also refers to kente as nwentoma, meaning "woven cloth".

What does kente mean in history?

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.

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.

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

Why do graduates wear kente cloth?

Why do graduates don the kente cloth to commemorate graduation? The kente stole is a symbol of achievement and overcoming hardship. It pays homage to the ancestors' sacrifices, reunites African Americans with Africa, and asserts their hope and confidence in the future.

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.

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.

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 to Ghana?

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 is Ashanti religion?

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.

Where is the Golden Stool now?

Today the Golden Stool is housed in the Asante royal palace in Kumasi, Ghana.

What is Donning of the kente?

The Donning of the Kente Ceremony celebrates the achievement of black undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral candidates. This ceremony provides students with a positive and rewarding experience that recognizes hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

What is kente sash?

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.

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.

When was kente cloth invented?

Kente cloth had its beginnings in weaving traditions dating back to the 11th century. In the late 1500s, as the Asante empire became powerful and wealthy, traders brought colorful silk fabrics from Italy, India, and North Africa to the region.

When was kente cloth first created?

True kente cloth as we know it may have been developed sometime in the 17th century. According to tradition, the art form was actually developed in the Ghanaian town of Bonwire by two brothers, Kurugu and Ameyaw.

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 a first generation stole?

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

What does the serape stole mean?

A sarape sash is a type of graduation stole that features beautiful Mexican-inspired colorful patterns. When it comes to purchasing a sarape sash for your graduation ceremony, the best place to purchase it is right here at sarapesashes.com.

What does Aschante mean?

Save to list. Girl. African. Derived from the Kiswahili word asante, meaning "thank you".

How did we get the name Ghana?

The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval West African Ghana Empire. The empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. The Empire appears to have broken up following the 1076 conquest by the Almoravid General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar.

Which part of Africa is Ghana in?

Ghana is a West African country on the Gulf of Guinea. Its neighbours are Côte d'Ivoire, to the west, Burkina Faso, which lies north, and Togo, to the east. Ghana is mainly flat, but there are hills in the northern part of the country.