kente cloth...

...from ghana, africa

an amazing cloth known locally as nwentoma, it's a type of silk and cotton - made of interwoven cloth strips native to the akan people of ghana and the ivory coast... it's royal and sacred. kente was typically the cloth of kings but has become much more widespread now... however, it remains to be seen still in high esteem - of much value by the akan family and the entire country of ghana...

legend has it that kente was first made by two friends who went hunting in a forest and found a spider making its web. the friends stood watching the spider for 2 days - then returned home... implementing what they'd seen...

when i was in ghana, i was fascinated watching weavers work the looms - many of whom would sit on the ground - legs outstretched with the loom on their laps... weaving like madmen... making beautifully colored kente cloth... it was a sight to see.

each color has a different symbolic representation... when wearing or displaying the cloth - the choosing has as much to do with the color as with the pattern... for the kente above, the colors represented are:

maroon - the color of mother earth... associated with healing
red - political and spiritual moods... bloodshed... sacrificial rites and death
gold - royalty... wealth... high status... glory... spiritual purity
black - maturation... intensified spiritual energy

i feel very privileged to have several pieces of kente in my hands... to know what it represents... to know it was handmade - by artisans in africa... to realize that it is highly esteemed and valued. to know the effort that goes into each woven piece and the skill necessary to produce the results... i'm grateful it's not me sitting in the grasses with a loom on my lap - earning my livelihood - but feel a deep connection with the akan family because i have a part of their history with me across the miles... and have now contributed to their continuance of the story by sharing it with you... thus

making for...

a

happy day.....