Adinkra Symbols

In Ghana, there are special symbols known as Adinkra which means goodbye and were mostly worn in the form of clothes by royalty as mourning clothes thus showing respect to the dead. Adinkra  is the name given to the colorful ,hand printed, hand-embroidered  cloth used for mourning by the Akan people of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. However its production and use have come to be more associated with the Ashantes than any other group of people.

Oral tradition dates the arrival of Adinkra among the Akan to the end of the Gyaman-Ashante war in 1818. The King of Gyaman copied the symbols on the Golden stool(which was the heart and soul of Ashante)which signified that he disrespected the Ashantes by saying indirectly that he had their heart and soul and therefore  the Asantes  had no vision. This infuriated them and led to the war where the King of Gyaman, Nana Kofi Adinkra was captured. To add insult to injury, he was captured in a cloth with the symbols all over.  Another source has it that an Englishman Thomas Edward Bowdich collected the piece of Adinkra cloth in 1817, which demonstrates that adinkra art existed before the traditional starting date. He got this cloth from Kumasi, a city in south-central Ghana. The patterns were printed using carved calabash stamps and vegetable based dye. The cloth features fifteen stamped symbols including nsroma(stars),dono ntoasuo(double Dono drums) and  diamonds and the piece is now in the British museum.

Adinkra symbolism is a visual representation of social thought relating to the history, philosophy and religious beliefs of the Akan peoples of Ghana and Cote' d'Ivoire" defined Dr. Kwaku Ofori-Ansa.

Adinkra symbols express various themes that relate to history, beliefs and philosophies of the Ashantes. Others depict historical events, human behavior, animal behavior, attitudes, plant life forms and shapes of objects. There are several types of Adinkra cloth. Thus, the cloth worn by tribal chiefs have symbols such as think ahead and performing the unusual. Brightly coloued cloth called Kwasida is worn by the people for more festive occasions. Each Adinkra symbol has a name and meaning. The first adinkra symbol meant royalty which is the basis for adinkra. Symbols like Gye Nyame (except God ) means the symbol of omnipotence and immortality of God, funtunfunafu denkyem funafu  means democracy or oneness irrespective of cultural diffrences, adinkra hene (adinkra king)means royalty or greatness and thus forms the basis of adinkera printing and many more. For example the Mercedes Benz logo, the star has been adopted by the cloth makers which now represent prestige and power in Ghana. Also the Ghana Standard Board use the hyemudua meaning excellence or superior quality, the People’s National Party use the abe dua which signifies self sufficiency or toughness and the Takoradi Flour Mill use sankofa which means wisdom or learning from old experiences.

However, adinkra symbols continue to change as new influences impact on our Ghanaian culture.the adinkra clothing is stamped with adinkra symbols and is one of the examples of traditional clothes in Africa.

Due to modern trends adinkra is used for festivals, marriage, naming ceremonies among others. It can also be worn by anyone for a special occasion as compared to the past where it was for only royalty. Adinkra symbols can be described as small symbolic pictures and motives used to decorate colorful patterned cloth by fashion designers in Ghana.

 Designers use adinkra to create and decorate other accessories like flower vases, for interior decorations of rooms and houses.

Also, other artisans/craftsmen like architects and sculptors use these symbols to design their products.

Added to that, some corporate institutions use these symbols as logos for their institutions based on their meaning and its relevance to the brain behind the set up of the organization.

Adinkra symbols are usually used in clothes based on the message the individual want to convey to the people around and the quality of the cloth shows status of the one wearing it.

 

REFERNCES.

v http://www.altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefsardinkra.htm.

v Facts and History,AdinkraSymbols, http://www.ghana.gov.gh.
http://www.touringghana.com/adinkra.asp
http://www.africawithin.com/tour/ghana/adinkra.htm