Hi my name is Cristain Foster and I will be walking you through this amazing piece of art called the Kente cloth. The cloth originated from West Africa, produced by the Ashanti People of Ghana.

History of Kente

The Kente cloth is very popular world wide . The method used to create the cloth is called strip weaving and has been around West Africa since the 11th century.

The Kente cloth is a royal and sacred cloth worn only by kings and nobility. It has changed with time and now you can see the different bright colors and unique patterns in hand bags, scarfs and even shirts for men.

Today the Ashanti royals still wear the sacred cloth usually draped across the shoulders.

Kente Outfits

Today the Kente cloth can be purchased by local people. The locals wear these items to events such as weddings and special occasions.

Originally the cloth was a symbol of wealth and was an expensive fabric to purchase. Now its is a source of pride for the Ashanti people.

Kente cloth has also been used to make blankets, and other house hold items.

Some of the materials used for weaving are :

Cotton (grown in north of Ghana)

Silk (very expensive)

Rayon (synthetic thread)

Hand Spinning

The threads are hand spun because it is cheaper to make then buying a ready made one.

Kente cloth is purely hand woven, no machines are used.

A wooden hand-loom is used to create the interwoven strips that make the Kente cloth. it requires experience to use these tools, weavers use both hands and feet to operate the loom.

It can take up to 4-5 hours to just make one strip of the cloth.

Symbolic Meaning

The Kente cloth has designs and is very colorful. They are made with a symbolic meaning that represents culture ad historical events.

Designs meaning:

Fatima Nkrumah - avoid racism and discrimination

Zig -Zag - Life is not a smooth journey

My heart's desire- I love you

Other designs created are:

Good health, wealth and strength.

Meanings behind the colors:

Yellow- royalty

Green - Fetility

Red- Blood of ancestors

Blue - peace, harmony, love

Pink - love, happiness

Orange - wealth, joy

Gold - royalty , wealth

Silver - joy purity

Black -heritage, strength

White - purity

Grey - healing

So next time you put on a shirt with a pattern or wear a bright colored scarf think about the meaning it represents to the Ashanti people of Ghana .