The Golden Kente

A fun book about African art and music

Olivia lived a happy life. She lived in a nice town in South Africa. As a kid, she grew up listening to music in her parent's bakery, while eating sweet, doughy koeksister. She also loved art, and spent most of her time drawing and painting. But, she would also spent time researching about Nollywood and African pop music. She would also write all her facts into her notebook. Yep, Olivia liked her life, but then something magical happened.

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Koeksister- A sweet and sticky "donut" that originated from South Africa

Olivia walked home with her 2 fiends, Grace and Nola. They were excited to start their culture project about the kente and music. The girls started to talk about some famous African bands and the latest Nollywood films.

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Olivia's Notes:

Ladysmith Black Mamba- A famous South African male choir.

Kente- A traditional cloth that was worn on special occasions.

Nollywood- A film industry that produces many films daily.

Additional facts about the kente...

• It came from the Ashanti people of Ghana
• It's Africa's most known textile (cloth or paper)
• Kente comes from the word keten or cloth
• Kentes are usually colorful and multicolored
• It used to be worn only by kings and royalty
• It is the same as wearing a gown or tuxedo
• The patterns are always worn horizontally
• Bonwire is the most famous kente center.



Hey Mom, can we look in the attic for our project?

Of course, just be safe up there!

With Olivia's Mom's approval, the girls started for their search of some African items they can use for their project. They ran excitedly up the stairs, picturing their A+.

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Things we need to search for...

• A traditional Kente
• Some recordings of African bands
• Pictures
• Other important artifacts

Our project is going to be epic!

As time went on, they found more visual aids. They had a lot of fun collecting items and joking around. So they were a little bummed when they had to go home. But as Olvia turned her head around, she saw something in the corner of her eye, shining brightly in rays of gold...

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Things that we found

• A cool drum called a djembe
• A small kente bag
• Some photos of
• Old records of African hip-hop
• An old picture of Dad