When was kente cloth invented

In fact, the history of the Ashanti people, who lived on the West Coast of Africa, is strongly tied to the history of the slave trade. Maroon men and child in Suriname.

Man on right draped in what appears to be Pangi cloth, As was true of many pre-modern societies in Africa, Asia and Europe, the Ashanti practiced slavery. When Europeans, specifically the Portuguese, came into contact with the Ashanti during the sixteenth century, both Europeans and the Ashanti traded gold, ivory, and slaves.

Ashanti slaves were transported to the New World in large numbers. Today, for example, the Maroon people of Suriname weave a cotton cloth called Pangi that is comparable in style and design to the Kente cloth of their Ashanti ancestors. As is true with Kente cloth, Pangi has multi-colored vertical and horizontal stripes.

The strong similarities between Pangi and Kente cloth undoubtedly reflect the fact that the Maroons in Suriname were escaped slaves who lived in their villages. Living apart from Europeans, the Arawaks and the other peoples of Suriname may have allowed these slaves to retain many Ashanti traditions.

Although similar to many other kinds of West African weaving in its basic design, Kente cloth is unique in its intricacy and perfection, as well as the wide variety of colors used in the patterns.

Patterns are not only categorized by their association with a specific Ashanti proverb, they also have multiple meanings. A finished cloth usually has the same name as the warp pattern. When purchasing a kente cloth, customers often consider the meaning of the names. The warp pattern of this cloth, formed by repeating sets of 4 white threads and 44 black threads, is called kubi. The solid horizontal bands of this pattern block are known as babadua, named after a plant similar to bamboo.

It is one of the most common designs on Asante kente cloths. The repeating triangular shapes in this pattern block are called nkyemfre, meaning unity in strength.

In the past, the finest, most intricate kente cloths were reserved for Asante royalty. The Asantehene the king had a special assistant whose job it was to select, store, and repair his official wardrobe. Many patterns and designs could be used only on royal cloths.

Even among lesser officials, it was bad manners to have a finer cloth than your superior. Kente cloth has become a symbol of pride in African heritage. Leaders from all over the African continent and elsewhere have adopted it as part of their official dress.

Asante people now wear kente for formal occasions much as Westerners wear tuxedos and evening gowns. Kente cloth is often handed down from father to son and mother to daughter as a treasured family heirloom. Today, kente patterns are often reproduced in machine-made and printed fabrics that take far less time to make. In America, kente is similarly a symbol of pride and unity for many people of African heritage. High school and college students and professors often wear strips of kente as stoles at graduation ceremonies.

Colorful kente patterns are used to decorate nearly everything imaginable, from mouse pads to wrapping paper to furniture upholstery, making it possible for people to celebrate African identity in their everyday lives. In addition to wearing royal cloth and gold jewelry, during official appearances the Asantehene sits on an elaborately carved and decorated stool or throne like this one.

The Asantehene king pictured above also wears gold jewelry and carries a staff or flywhisk. It was replaced by a new design — Adwene Asa meaning "consensus has been reached" — woven by his son Asare's son Kwasi Asare in Sign up for our Newsletter!

Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Cultural Traditions. The roots of kente cloth may go back as far as B. Gold — Royalty, wealth, high status, glory and spiritual purity Silver — Serenity, purity, joy; associated with the moon Grey — Healing and cleansing rituals Black — Maturation and intensified spiritual energy White — Purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions Yellow — Preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility and beauty Red — Political and spiritual moods; bloodshed; sacrificial rites and death Pink — Female essence of life; a mild, gentle aspect of red Purple — Feminine aspects of life; usually worn by women Maroon — The color of Mother Earth; associated with healing Green — Vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth and spiritual renewal Blue — Peacefulness, harmony and love.

A vendor displays kente cloth for sale along the roadside in Bonwire near Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region in Ghana, West Africa.

Elijah Cummings, D-Md. Now That's Interesting. Cite This! Try Our Crossword Puzzle! What Is the Missing Number? Try Our Sudoku Puzzles! Antique he ritage cloths can make for an uplifting addition in a room, giving it a touch of authenticity and a delightful focus of attention.

A series of units, primarily residential, it takes its color and design from the county's most recognized design product.. It is in the diversity and visual intensity of African fabrics that contemporary African artists find inspiration. A material culture exists in most major cities of West Africa and it is in the diversity and visual intensity of African fabrics that contemporary African artists find inspiration.

El Anatsui was born in in Ghana, belonging to the Ewe tribe. His father and brother were kente weavers and indeed, Anatsui's metal sculptures resemble huge panels of kente cloth, hanging like vast shimmering tapestries with folds and creases.

His luminous sculptures allude not only to indigenous textiles but also to the history and heritage of Africa and also the over-commercialization. The colors of kente cloth are the same as the bottle tops he uses to build up his monumental structures.

Arranged with shifting grid of stripes and blocks of color and shapes, they form their own organic kente cloth made from metal and tin and shining gold and silver. Anatsui uses over a dozen assistants to help him flatter the bottle caps into strips. He then arranges the tops into a configuration he likes and the pieces are stitch together with copper wire. Serge Attukwe Clottey was born in in Accra, Ghana where he still resides.

Working across installation, photography and sculpture he explores intimately personal and political subject matter. His narratives are often rooted in histories of trade and migration.

Some of his influences can be directly seen in his work like kente cloth, Chinese symbols representing new Chinese colonisation of Africa and bar codes radical over-commercialism.

Through his use of discarded materials by re-assembling, he manages to shape and reshape contemporary notions around colonial histories, economic entanglements and gender structures, remaking the world. He has termed his work afrogallonism in reference to over-commercialization in his home country; these yellow plastic containers are used in many ways to make his point.

You can do so right here and now by building a web page of your own within this web site. Click here and you'll be 'live' in minutes. Do you want to publish your gallery and exhibit your work globally? I am a young developing artist who developed a new technique of manipulating calabash a few months back transforming it to modern and local artifacts.

African sculpture takes many forms and offers us huge insights into the cultures and tribal communities from whence it came. All rights reserved. Asantehene Osei Tutu II wearing kente, Kente cloth, Asante. Kente tapestry cloth, Ewe. Indigo blue and white Kente cloth.