Key Takeaways
appear everywhere from Wakanda to theU.S. Capitol , kente cloth is the well - known of all African textiles . It may have even help earn Ruth Carter the Oscar forBest Costume Designfor " Black Panther " in 2019 .
realize by its lustrous colors and rows of sheer , woven radiation diagram , kente cloth is more than a piece of fabric . With historical ancestor dating back one C of year — and deep significance connected to identity , family and the conception of wealth — kente cloth is often little understood even if it is consistently recognized .
The Origins of Kente
Kente fabric is historically associated with theAsante Empire(also spelled Ashanti ) , a political res publica that began in the recent seventeenth century in what is today the West African country of Ghana . In the Washington urban center Kumasi , artisans of Asante and other heathenish groups converged and receive majestic patronage , according to " Adinkra and Kente Cloth in History , Law , and Life , " by Boatema Boateng , Ph.D. , publish in the diary Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings .
Legendhas it that a spider teach the skill of weaving designs from a single thread to two young human being . When the special fabric was presented to the first swayer of the Asante Empire , Asantehene Osei Tutu , he named itkente , which means basket . But the roots of kente material may go back as far as 1000 B.C.E. to cloth production of the Akan mass of the Ivory Coast and the Ewe people of southeasternGhana .
Initially , kente material was associated with the Asantehene — the ruler — who was the only one allow to wear it . Over time , lesser rulers gained license , and eventually , anyone with enough moneycould purchase even the best cloth , although they would n’t wear out the same excogitation as the Asantehene in his presence . Despite kente material ’s wider accessibility , it continued to beassociated with"wealth , high social status and cultural sophistry . "
With British colonization in the late 19th 100 , the Asante’spolitical ability minify . However , the independency move of the next century relied on reenforcement from the indigenous rulers , and the ethnic grandness of the Asante stay .
Kente Cloth in the 20th Century and Beyond
In the mid-20th century , independence leaders helped vulgarize kente textile , explainedDr . Patrick Mbajekwe , associate professor of history at Norfolk State University . For deterrent example , Kwame Nkrumah , who would become Ghana ’s first president , wore a Mmeeda kente textile in 1951 when he was released from prison house after he had served a one - year condition for sedition against the colonial government . Mmeeda patterns are said to carry " ' something unheard of , unprecedented , extraordinary , ' " according to theSeattle Art Museum . " Wearing an Mmeeda was an omen for the next decade of Nkrumah ’s career as he led Ghana to independence , " the website say .
Thanks to Nkrumah , kente cloth became recognized globally . Current Ghanian leader jade it too , Mbajekwe state . Once only associated with Asante royalty , it has become a symbol of national pride .
This type of home pride has continued into the twenty-first hundred — and outside of Africa . As Swarthmore College supporter prof of religionJames Padilioni Jr.explained in a piece for " Black Perspectives , " many Black American college students wear a kente stole as they receive their diplomas . Members of the Congressional Black Caucus worestoles to the 2018 State of the Union addressin response to President Donald Trump ’s description of some African land " sh – hole countries . "
Padilioniwrote that he seesthe wearing of kente cloth by Black Americans as meander " together the wisdom of Africa before the Middle Passage with the persistent battle to ( re)attain knowledge of oneself that defines ignominious experience in the Diaspora . "
Why Kente Cloth Is Special
Each kente fabric has substance , which is conveyed through its colors , pattern andsymbols . fit in toInternational Traveller , the twelve most important colors are :
In addition to the import woven into each piece of kente , the cloth has been amethod for stack away and transferring riches , specially among cleaning woman . Kente is not always designate to be made into vesture . " Such textile may be put in unsewn for year and pass away on to a char ’s heirs if she does not apply it during her life , " Boatengwrote in her article .
If you take the air the streets of Accra , Ghana ’s capital , today , you wo n’t see many people wearing it as everyday fashion , Mbajekwe say . Instead , kente is worn with reverence for important social occasion and solemnisation . You would n’t wake up in the morning and discombobulate on some kente to go to the market .
" There is still that esteem , " Mbajekwe says . " There is a lot of artistic work that go into it . It ’s a very beautiful piece of cloth with hopeful colors . "
When it is worn , traditionally work force wrap it over their shoulders like a toga , and women wear off it in two man as a long apparel and shawl .
Kente Cloth Copyright
Today , you could get both handmade ( read : expensive ) and printed ( inexpensive ) kente cloth on the grocery . Boatengexplains in her articlethat the printed cloth has gained acceptance , even in Ghana , and an former distinction between the uses — when and where each is appropriate — is lessening . Ghana and other African countries produce these imitations , but so does China .
What ’s significant to know is that all kente aim and processes are protected under Ghana ’s 2005 Copyright Act , explain Dr. Stephen Collins , lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland , whose enquiry focuses on postcolonial indistinguishability .
" The Act protects Ghana ’s folklore and specifically names kente andAdinkrasymbols as falling under its protection , " Collins says via email . Both the designs and the weaving processes are protected , whether the author is known or unknown , and they are protected in sempiternity . Anyone who uses them out of context , for profit and without proper ascription is liable to a fine or custodial punishment under the natural law .
Unfortunately , Ghana ’s copyright laws only apply to trade good sell in Ghana , which means anyone else can take the design and impress them — on a T - shirt , for example — and sell that outside Ghana without fear of the Ghanian authorities .
" However , though it is technically legal to do so , it is morally problematic as right of first publication law protects the moral and economic rightfield of the Lord , " Collins pronounce . " So someone might wear the plan without ever knowing about Ghana or the centuries of artisanship that have go into the design just because it looks ' cool ' or ' African . '
" It ’s really unmanageable to police , and so there ’s some discussion around whether it ’s better to protect the operation , the way of life in which the material is made and woven , rather than the design , as the summons is more difficult to double . "
Should You Wear Kente Cloth?
As a non - expert , you may have difficulty determining whether a slice of kente cloth is authentic or caricature . So , should you buy it or fatigue it ?
" It ’s one of the big debates , " says Mbajekwe . " On the one deal , the mass production is what construct it popular . " On the other bridge player , the meaning behind the fabric and what it represent calls that into question . One solution might be using kente as a peter for teaching history , African culture and African arts .
" People should essay to understand what it means , seek to understand the history behind it , " Mbajekwe explains .
Collins offers similar advice . " What I ’d like citizenry outside Ghana to know is if they are opt to wear it , then they ’ve get great gustatory perception , but that it ’s as far away from fast fashion as it ’s potential to get and should be see as an invitation to explore Ghana ’s rich cultural inheritance and dynamic artistic present . "
Collins would care for clothes designer and/or manufacturer to properly attribute the figure to Ghana and even seek license for consumption from the Ghana Folklore Board . " Even if they do n’t feel obligated to pay to support the crafts people that make it , at least this might lead consumers to learn more about it and learn more about Ghana and how great it is , " Collins say .
Mbajekwe note that the kinship created through kente between the African Diaspora and Africa is overconfident , and graduate students wear it with pride and reverence . It highlights the connexion between America and the continent .
" That ’s the deep meaning , which I think is nerveless , " he says . " citizenry can wear it . If they translate the history behind it , they can have more reverence for it . "
FAQs
Yes , kente cloth is typically worn with veneration for of import occasions and festivity , rather than as everyday fashion .
All kente designs and process are protect under Ghana ’s 2005 Copyright Act , ensure effectual auspices for the figure and weaving process .
