KENTE

Kente cloth is the national cloth of Ghana.  It is made the same way, on the same style of looms since it was created centuries ago.  It is worn for special occasions and by those considered royalty.  We love the bright colors, the geometric shapes and bold designs with titles such as "Happy Marriage", "Every Journey Begins With One Step", "Two Heads Are Better Than One", "A Poor Man Can't Eat Stones" and many others.  Each color in the cloth has a specific meaning, for example black means maturity, blue peaceful.

 

 This is the village where we first discovered the Kente weavers.  They weave the same way and live similar to the way their ancestors did

 The looms where they weave Kente. 

 This young man is a very fast Kente weaver and he is only 11 or 15, depending on the day you ask.

 Here are many Kente weavers.  You can always tell when you see one by the colorful trails of thread.

 

 Here is a Kente factory.  No mechanization here, everything is done the same way as their ancestors.  In this case it is all under one roof in a nice open aired building.

 The strips of Kente cloth are hung for viewing and possible purchase. 

Some of Kente cloth is sewn together to make larger pieces.  Most of the cloth is about 5" wide by 6' long.  They can be woven longer, up to 30' in length if needed or ordered.  

 

 Sister Lyon being shown how to wear a single strip of Kente.

 Elder Lyon with the weaver of this Kente cloth.  This is one of the first pieces we bought.

 Kente cloth can be used for many purposes.  Sister Lyon wears this one as an accent for her dress.  Most Africans are more that willing to pose for photos as are Justice and David.

 The tie worn by Elder Lyon was made from a Kente cloth woven in this village.  The sweet lady, Mousie, wove this basket for us.

 The Kente cloth can be sewn together to make beautiful dresses.

 These 2 lovely women of Kpong District are wearing their Kente dresses and matching headscarf. 

 This is the way the men wear their Kente robes.  Love the contrast of the man wearing the traditional robes of a chief, while talking on a cell phone.

At the annual Yam Festival in Ho there was a gorgeous array of people wearing Kente.  This man is the regional chief and those around him are all dressed in their finest apparel of Kente.

Legend has it that Kente was first made by 2 Ashanti friends who went hunting in an Asanteman forest.  They found a spider making its web.  The friends stood and watched the spider for 2 days then returned home and implemented what they had seen.  There are many uses for the Kente cloth as has been shown.  We love to hear the rhythmic clicking sounds that emanate when the Kente weavers are working their craft.  We hope you enjoy Kente cloth too.