DO YOU KNOW THAT KENTE IS NOT AN ASHANTI CLOTH!
The Kente cloth did not originate in Kumasi. The cloth is indigenous to the Eʋe(Ewe) people of Ghana, Togo, Benin and Southwestern Nigeria (the stretch of land formerly known as the Slave Coast). The earliest documentation of the Kente cloth in West Africa is in the former Eʋe(Ewe) kingdom called Allada (in present day Benin), before the 1600’s. Before the transatlantic Slave trade, the Portuguese were buying Kente from Allada on what later became « The Slave Coast », and they were selling it on « The Gold coast /Akan-Asante » for Gold. “Cotton textiles even became a major export from the Slave Coast, being bought by European traders for re-sale on the Gold Coast to the West
The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750: The impact of Atlantic Slave Trade on an African Society. By Robin Law
Research the textile trade on the Slave coast. If the Gold coast/Asante (which did not cultivate cotton), was known for the Kente cloth (a traditionally cotton cloth), then why were the Portuguese selling it to them? The true originators of the Kente cloth are the Eʋe (Ewe) people who once were the major ethnic group in Allada before it was conquered by the Dahomey in 1724. The cloth belongs to the inhabitants of the Slave Coast and not The Gold Coast-Asante. As should be expected, the cloth is woven by Eʋes in all the countries where Eʋes are found (Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria). This is in contrast to the Asante(whom are one of the Akan group) who are the only Akan group claiming to be the cloth’s weavers and originators, while the other Akan groups don’t. In fact, there are 8 million Baoule(an Akan group in La Côte d’Ivoire) to whom Kente is foreign. We have our histories of how the Asante royals began to fancy the cloth which among the Eʋe originators of it is also called “Eʋeɖo"(Eʋe cloth). “Kente” is simply a description of how the cloth is woven: Ke-na-te (open and press tightly) in Eʋe language. The Kente cloth is undoubtedly an Eʋe cloth. Textile experts all agree that the Kente woven by the Eʋe Kente cloth is a higher quality cloth than the counterfeit cloth known to the Asante. Read “African majesty, the textile art of the Ashanti and Ewe” by Peter Adler and Nicholas Barnard
The Original Akan/Asante cloth is called “Adinkra”. That is the stamped cloth with the beautiful and deeply communicative Adinkra symbols.
The truth about the origin of the Kente cloth always stirs up emotions among Asante people who for decades have falsely touted to the whole world that they are the originators. When faced with facts what should we do? Should we throw out facts in favor of your emotions? No. We should rather analyze the facts and do our own evidence-based research. My comment gives you historical context and land marks which are all verifiable. I also provide you with at least one citation with reference. For starters, here is a blue and white Kente tunic taken by Europeans from Eʋeland in the year 1620. This tunic is currently at the Ulmer museum in Germany. https://www.instagram.com/p/CbyO2h2JChN/?igshid=NzNkNDdiOGI=
This tunic predates the Asante claim of inventing the cloth in the 1700’s.
By the way, the Asante claim that two farmers, one of whom is named “Ameyaw”, learned to weave Kente cloth by observing the mythical spider “Ananse” weave it’s web, and that’s how weaving became known in Asante land. The problem with that story is that spiders weave webs, not Kente. These are two totally different activities requiring entirely different techniques. Secondly, Ananse is a mythical character. And finally, “Ameyaw” is not an Asante name, as a matter of fact it’s not even an Akan name. Ameyaw is an Eʋe name. If Ameyaw is an Asante name, then please tell us the meaning in Twi. So how did an Eʋe man end up in an Asante story? Who knows? One can only conclude that the Eʋe taught his Asante counterpart how to weave the cloth. Again, the conclusion is not based on my emotions but rather based on all the historical facts which I have presented here.
https://youtu.be/0UzYfZhwscU
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