Kente Cloth

Did you know the story of how the Ashanti culture started weaving their cloth? According to legend, two brothers (other stories say they were friends!) from the village of Bonwire (now Ghana), went hunting one afternoon. They saw a spider spinning a web and they were amazed by the beauty of the web. They thought that they could create something like it. When they returned home, they made the first cloth out of black and white fibers from a raffia tree.

Kente cloth designs vary, with the different designs, colors, and patterns each having their own special meanings and stories. For example, a zigzag pattern means "life is not a straight path", and the color blue represens, "love, peace and harmony".

Although Kente was mostly used for royalty before, today, the emphasis on symbolism remains, however, the materials of the cloth and its uses have changed. Instead of being made only from silk, Kente is now made mostly of cotton, as well as rayon, making it affordable for a much wider reach of the population.