About the Kente Cloth Pattern

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Kente Pattern Name

SIKA FUTORO

(SEE-kah Foo-TOH-row)

Literally means "gold dust."

Before the use of coins and paper as money, gold dust, was used as a medium of exchange among the Akan peoples and was therefore considered as a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

The predominant use of intricately textured patterns in yellows, orange and reds replicate the visual characteristics of gold dust. The cloth symbolizes WEALTH, ROYALTY, ELEGANCE, SPIRITUAL PURITY and HONORABLE ACHIEVEMENT.

What is Kente?

Kente (KENN-tay) is an Asante (Ah-SHAN-Teh) ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom. Strips measuring about four inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloth. Clothes featuring Kente patterns come in various colors, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions.

In a total cultural context, Kente is more important than just a cloth. It is a visual representation of history, philosophy, ethics, oral literature, moral values, social code of conduct, religious beliefs, political thought and aesthetic principles.

The term Kente has its roots in the word kenten which means a basket. The first kente weavers used raffia fibers to weave cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as kenten ntoma (kenn-ten En-toe-mah); meaning basket cloth.

The original Asante name of the cloth was nsaduaso (En-sah-do-AH-soh) or nwontoma , meaning "a cloth hand-woven on a loom" and is still used today by Asante weavers and elders. The term Kente is the most widely used today in and around the west African nation of Ghana.

Many variations of narrow-strip cloths, similar to Kente are woven by various ethnic groups in Ghana and elsewhere in western Africa.  In addition to the traditional patterns, modern patterns are devised as well.

NOTE:  The Asante are one of the Akan (Ah-KANN) peoples who live in parts of the western African nations of Ghana and Cote d'lvoire.

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