About the Kente Cloth Pattern

Used on This Page

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Kente Pattern Name

OBAAKOFO MMU MAN

(OH-bah-ah-KOE-foh eh-MOO mahn)

Literally means "one person does not rule a nation."

It expresses the Akan (Ah-Kahn) system of governance based on participatory democracy (and is therefore very appropriate for our page on Norbertine life, which emphasizes community and consultative consensus).

The nine squares represent MPUANKRON (em-POOH-an-krawhn) -- nine tufts of hair -- a ceremonial hair cut of some royal functionaries who help rulers make decisions.

Originally the cloth was named FATHIA FATA NKRUMA (fah-TEE-yah FAH-tah en-CREW-mah). "Fathia is a suitable wife for Nkrumah." After the military overthrow of Nkrumah, the original significance of MPUANKRON (participatory democracy) was applied to reflect the prevailing political atmosphere. The cloth symbolizes PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY and serves as a WARNING AGAINST AUTOCRATIC RULE

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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