Kente, Royal Cloth of the Ashanti

Kente inspired dress by Victoria Pettersson Henry source

Some time ago I wrote a post dedicated to the spectacular gold ornaments of the Ashanti (Asante). But besides their gold the Ashanti are famous as creators of one of the most spectacular elite dress in all of Africa. I am talking about kente. Kente is a large cloth about two by four meters for men and one by two meters for women made up of 16 to 24 long and narrow (3-5 inches wide) loom-woven strips sewn together. According to legend the first weaver learnt his skill by studying the way in which a spider - a symbol of treachery and wisdom in Ashanti folklore - spun its web.

Gold jewelry of the Asante

King Otumfuo Osei Tutu, the 16th Asantehene, King of the Ashanti. Photo source

Seeing an Indian or Sumatran bride one may be overwhelmed by the amount of gold jewelry they are traditionally decorated with. But if one happens to see the king of Asante in all his ceremonial attire the impact will be even more impressive.
Asante (Ashanti) used to be one of the most successful and powerful kingdoms of West Africa. Natural gold resources brought wealth and influence to the country. Gold dust was the currency and gold objects were symbols of power and prestige. The wearing of gold jewels and gold decorated regalia was restricted to the king and major chiefs, and certain of their senior officials and servants. Gold-dust which had been accumulated during a successful career could only be turned into regalia with the king's permission. The amount, size and form of gold ornaments used by officials at each lever of the hierarchy was strictly determined.

Traditional dress and adornments of Ndebele

photo source

Today I am taking you to Africa again. On the south of the continent a tribe lives women of which have very interesting traditional costume and adornments. The tribe's name is Ndebele and they are famous around the world for their traditional wall painting art. Researchers say that probably the coloured geometrical patterns of the wall paintings are derived from the more ancient ornamental tradition of decorating women's clothing.

Victorian ladies of Africa

photo source

Do you know that there are women out there who still wear Victorian dress? And not as dressing up for a festival or a costume ball but on everyday basis. The dress is even a symbol of their national unity. These women are of the Herero tribe living in Namibia. So, how did it happen that a Victorian dress became a traditional dress for these African women? At the time when missionaries arrived to Namibia the Herero women used to go around wearing literally nothing except for a short skirt. No wonder that this was not approved by the modest customs of the missionaries, and so the Herero women had to cover themselves up. And there was no other choice for them then to copy dresses that missionary women wore.

Beads in the ethnic jewelry of Africa

Samburu woman. Photo credit Sankara Subramanian

Beadwork is the most popular form of adornment among many Eastern and Southern African people. In earlier times beads were made from ostrich-eggshell, wood or bone but in the 19th century coloured beads from Europe came to the continent and tens of thousands of them began to be used to make amazing ornaments. These ornaments started to play an important role in social life of tribal people of Africa.