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Table Of Contents:

What is Kente Cloth? pg.4

What is the meaning behind Kente Cloth? pg. 6

Color Symbolsim pg. 8

Geometric Pattern pg. 10

Nollywood pg. 12

Nigerian Film Industry pg. 14

African Hip Hop pg. 16

African Music pg. 18

WHAT IS KENTE CLOTH?

Kente, known as nwentoma in Akan, is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips made and native to the Akan ethnic group of Ghana. Kente is made in Akan lands such as the Ashanti Kingdom, including the towns of Bonwire, Adanwomase, Sakora Wonoo, and Ntonso in the Kwabre areas of the Ashanti Region. Kente cloth is made from thin strips about four cm thick woven together on narrow looms - typically by men. The strips are interlaced to form a fabric which is usually worn wrapped around the shoulders and waist like a toga - the garment is also known as kente. .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 the meaning behind Kente Cloth?

Women wear two shorter lengths to form a skirt and bodice. Originally made from white cotton with some indigo patterning, kente cloth evolved when silk arrived with Portuguese traders in the seventeenth century.

Color symbolism

GOLD: royalty,wealth,spiritual purity

YELLOW: royalty, wealth,holy, precious,

WHITE: purity, healing, festive occasions

BLUE: peace, harmony, love

GREEN: harvest, growth, spiritual renewal

RED: blood, strong political & spiritual feelings

MAROON: mother earth, healing

PURPLE: earth,healing, femininity

BLACK: maturation, spirits of ancestors