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| Picture: Bill Clinton and wife in Kente |
Its renown has spread internationally, so that it is now one
of the most admired of all fabrics in many parts of the world. Its
colorfulness makes it stands out wherever. The strip-woven cloth called Kente, made by the Asante peoples of Ghana
and the Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo, is the best known of all African
textiles.
The cloth has its origin in the former Gold Coast of West Africa as a festive dress for special occasions – traditionally worn by men and by women as an upper and lower wrapper its existence as spectacular apparel, however, has obscured its many other roles in Asante and Ewe culture, especially in royal regalia. Over the past forty years the cloth has been transformed into hats, ties, bags, shoes, and many other accessories, including jewelry, worn and used on both sides of the Atlantic. Individual Kente strips have found a permanent home in the United States and are especially worn as a ‘stole’ or applied to academic and liturgical robes.
The rather frequent wearing of Kente
at special ceremonies by the first president of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr.
Kwame Nkrumah placed Kente right in the eyes of the World, also Kente’s
adornment of the walls of the United Nations general assembly auditorium
has added to its strong stature in international circles. Kente, with
all its glory, is not exempt from controversy in several interrelated
arenas. At the forefront are debates concerning the primacy of Asante
versus Ewe weaving. These involve issues of ethnic and cultural pride
and reflect as well as still-lucrative indigenous markets. While
certain clues as to its origin reside in the cloth itself, the fact is
that the most of the arguments exist in the easily manipulated realm of
oral tradition, rendering it impossible to determine definitely who
influenced whom. Despite Kente’s obscure past, the fact remains that,
the similarities between Asante and Ewe Kente, especially in central and
northern Ewe areas, are much greater than any discernible differences.The Homes of Kente In Asante, Bonwire continues to be regarded as home and center of Kente weaving, even though place like Adanwomase is prominent when it comes to Kente weaving and infact recognized as a seat for royal weavers. In Eweland, the most noticeable centers are Agbozume and Kpetoe. The institution of two festivals to celebrate and to market it to the World has enhanced the glory and the quest to celebrate Kente. In 1996, the Ewe town of Kpetoe created the first Kente festival (AGBEMEVOZA) to be followed by the creation of another one in 1998 in Asante weaving center Bonwire. (BONWIRE KENTE FESTIVAL) Isn’t it interesting and ironic that the most popular song composition to glorify Kente weaving composed by Ghana’s greatest musicologist, Dr. Ephraim Amu ( a very proud Ewe) was about the stunning weaving skills of Bonwire weavers, and what is most amazing is that one of the most prolific and legendarily skillful Kente weavers of Bonwire, a man called Samuel Cofie is an Ewe man born in Anyako, another Kente weaving town in Eweland. Cofie has been weaving Kente since 1961.
Kente, like any prominent has suffered the creation of fake ones on the market. Anyway, my parents did well to train me to discern the differences between Ewe and Asante Kente and of course l have the capacity to also discern fake, replicas or imitations of Kente when l encounter one.. Kente has been researched by many including Rattray in 1927. The Asantehene is told to have over 300,000 Kente cloths with a whole King “ Abenasehene” in charge of storing and maintenance.
