SYMBOLIC COLORS OF KENTE

 

The colors, patterns, and shapes woven together on each Kente cloth combine to represent a story, theme, or anecdote, or symbolize the wearer’s clan or specific set of values.

 

Originally made of white cotton with some indigo patterns, kente cloth developed when silk arrived to Portuguese traders in the 17th century. Fabric samples were pulled apart for the silk thread, which was then woven into the kente cloth. Later, as skeins of silk became available, more sophisticated patterns were made, although the high cost of silk meant they were only available to Akan royalty. Kente is a meaningful sartorial device, as every aspect of its aesthetic design is intended as communication: 

  • black: maturation, intensified spiritual energy, spirits of ancestors, old age
  • blue: peacefulness, harmony, and love
  • green: vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth and energy, spiritual renewal
  • gold: royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity
  • grey: healing and cleansing rituals; associated with ash
  • maroon: the color of mother earth; associated with healing
  • pink: the color of female essence of life; a mild, gentle aspect
  • purple: the feminine aspects of life; usually worn by women
  • red: political and spiritual moods; violence and anger, bloodshed; sacrificial rites and death
  • silver: serenity, purity, joy; associated with the moon
  • white: goodness, victory, purification, sanctification rites and festive occasions
  • yellow: preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, beauty
 

Another important moment in Kente fashion history occurred at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Recognizing the need to honor the particular historical and personal struggle of Black students to complete a baccalaureate degree.

The practice has since spread to hundreds of high schools, colleges, and universities, making the sun-drenched splashes and bursts of Kente print a ubiquitous sight of any commencement ceremony today. When Black students wear Kente stoles as a sign of their successful matriculation through higher education, they transform their bodies into living, breathing proverbs.

The Asante stylized their values and ethics through the poetics of Kente. Kente appeared on the radar of most African-Americans in 1958 when Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister of independent Ghana, wore the cloth to meet with President Eisenhower at the White House. Coinciding with the Civil Rights and African Decolonization Movements, Black Americans associated Kente cloth with Black politics and the dignity of the African heritage. By the early 1970s, the predominant garment featuring Kente in the United States was the dashiki, a long tunic-type shirt that grew increasingly popular and commodified by the fashion industry.  Kente’s appeal within Black Power waned, with Fred Hampton and other Panthers leadersderiding those who wore them. Nevertheless, Kente cloth and dashikis remained staples of urban Black life and received a new layer of significance when adopted by the Hip Hop community in the 1980s.

Sources

This article uses material from the SITE BLACK PERSPECTIVES, ARTICLE WRITTEN BY James Padilioni, Jr (thanks!)

https://www.aaihs.org/the-history-and-significance-of-kente-cloth-in-the-black-diaspora/

Sankofa Edition: https://www.sankofaedition.com/blogs/know-sankofa/what-do-the-colors-in-the-kente-cloth-mean

https://www.kentecloth.net/kente-cloth-colors/

Thanks to Wikimedia Commons

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