Adinkra is a printed or stamped traditional cloth made by the Ashanti people in Ghana. The centre of production is the village of Ntonso, where the cloth has been made for a long time, though no-one knows how long. When the printers are asked, they say, "we Ashanti don't use dates or numbers. It was a long, long time ago."

a story of the beginning of Adinkra cloth

King Adinkra, the chief of Gyaman, wore special clothes with patterns on them made up of symbols with special meanings. King Adinkra insulted the king of the Ashanti by copying the design of his sacred golden stool. King Bonsu of the Ashanti was angry with King Adinkra and killed him, and the Ashanti took the patterns from King Adinkra's clothes as their own.

But local printers say that the patterns were created by the first men to make the cloth, and that the symbols have been passed down through the generations, some changing, and some staying the same.

a cloth for funerals

At one time, Adinkra cloth was only worn for funerals. The fabric you wore, and how you wore it, depended on your relationship to the deceased, and the symbols on the clothes contained messages in their patterns. Nowadays Adinkra cloth is used for other celebrations, and young Ghanaians wear white Adinkra for weddings. The fabric can only be used for special occasions, however, as it is not designed to be washed!

Information and images courtesy of Aid to Artisans in Ghana