Adinkra symbols

Adinkra symbols

writing system, alphabet

Part of	Adinkra script
Indigenous to	Akan people
Ein location	Ashanti Region
Intangible cultural heritage status	National Register – Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ghana

Adinkra be symbols wey dey comot from Ghana wey dey represent concepts anaa aphorisms. Dem dey use Adinkra extensively for fabrics insyd, logos den pottery. Dem dey incorporate am for walls den oda architectural features insyd. Adinkra symbols dey appear for sam traditional Akan goldweights top. Dem sana dey carve de symbols for stools top for domestic den ritual use. Tourism make new departures dey use de symbols for items such as T-shirts den jewellery top.

De symbols get sam decorative function but esana dey represent objects wey dey encapsulate evocative messages wey dey convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life, anaa de environment. Chaw symbols dey wey get distinct meanings, wey often dey link plus proverbs. For de words of Kwame Anthony Appiah insyd, na ebe one of de means give "supporting de transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief".^[1]

Ebe Bono people of Gyaman wey originally create Adinkra symbols. De Gyaman king, Nana Kwadwo Agyemang Adinkra, wey originally create anaa design dese symbols, wey he name am afta ein body. Na de Bono menners largely dey use de Adinkra symbols for pottery, stools top, etc. Na Gyaman king dey wear Adinkra cloth, wey ein usage spread from Bono Gyaman go Asante den oda Akan kingdoms afta dema defeat. Na edey say na dem dey force de guild designers wey na dem dey design dis cloth give de Kings say make dem teach de Asantes de craft. Gyaman king Nana Kwadwo Agyemang Adinkra ein first son, Apau, wey na he be well versed for de Adinkra craft insyd, dem force am say make he teach more about Adinkra cloths. Oral accounts attest plus de fact say Adinkra Apau teach de process give sam man wey ename be Kwaku Dwaku for sam town wey dey near Kumasi.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Ova tym, all Akan people wey dey include de Fante, Akuapem den Akyem all make Adinkra symbols sam major part of dema culture, as na dem all dey originate from de ancient Bono Kingdom.

Dem make de oldest adinkra cloth wey dey survive for 1817 insyd. De cloth dey feature 15 stamped symbols, wey dey include nsroma (stars), dono ntoasuo (double Dono drums), den diamonds. Dem print de patterns plus carved calabash stamps den sam vegetable-based dye. Edey British Museum insyd since 1818, as Thomas E. Bowdich donate am give dem.^[8][9][10]

Dem send de next oldest piece of adinkra textile for 1825 insyd from de Elmina Castle go de royal cabinet of curiosities for De Hague insyd, for response insyd give sam assignment from Major Friedrich Last, wey na dem appoint am as temporary Commander of Dutch Gold Coast. Na he get cloth wey dem commission from de Fante paramount chief of Elmina for William I of de Netherlands, wey na ego explain why de coat of arms of de Netherlands dey ein centre. De oda motifs be typical of de older adinkras. Dem display am now for National Museum of Ethnology wey dey Leiden insyd.^[11]

For November 2020 insyd, sam school board wey dey York, Pennsylvania insyd, wey dem ban as "a children's coloring book that featured African Adrinkra [sic] symbols found in fabrics, logos and pottery."^[12] Dem subsequently overturn de decision.^[13]

For Akan (Twi) insyd, de term adinkra no really be symbols, but sam particular type of cloth.^[14][15] Na royalty den spiritual leaders dey wear Adinkra cloths traditionally for funerals den oda very special occasions. For de past insyd na dem be hand-printed for undyed, red, dark brown anaa black hand-woven natural cotton fabric top wey edey depend for de occasion den de wearer ein role; nowadays dem frequently dey mass-produce am for brighter coloured fabrics top.^[16]

53 adinkra symbols sample dem record den dema meanings

1. ↑ Appiah, Kwame Anthony (1993). In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture (1st paperback ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506852-8.
2. ↑ DeMello, Margo (30 May 2014). Inked: Tattoos and Body Art around the World [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-076-8.
3. ↑ "Adinkra Symbols | African Themed Weddings | African Wedding Ceremonies | African Wedding Traditions". Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
4. ↑ "History and Origin of Adinkra Symbols". 25 April 2015.
5. ↑ "Adinkra Symbols and the Rich Akan Culture". African Heritage. 27 August 2014.
6. ↑ Boateng, Boatema (2011). The Copyright Thing Doesn't Work Here: Adinkra and Kente Cloth and Intellectual Property in Ghana. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-7002-4.
7. ↑ Rucker, Walter C. (2006). The River Flows on: Black Resistance, Culture, and Identity Formation in Early America. LSU Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-3109-1.
8. ↑ "Adinkra". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
9. ↑ "Adinkra Ghanaian Textile is a printed traditional cloth in Ghana". Bellafricana. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
10. ↑ "cloth | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2011
12. ↑ Locurto, Tina. "'Afraid to teach': School's book ban targeted Black, Latino authors". York Dispatch. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
13. ↑ "Central York School District Reverses Diversity Ban: 'We Have Heard You'". yorkdispatch.com. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
14. ↑ Christaller, Johann Gottlieb (1881). "adiṅkărá". A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi (Chwee, Tw̌i). Basel. p. 84.
15. ↑ Kotey, Paul A. (1998). Twi-English/English-Twi Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7818-0264-2.
16. ↑ DeMello, Margo (30 May 2014). Inked: Tattoos and Body Art around the World [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-076-8.
17. ↑ Ayensu, Edward S. (1978). Medicinal plants of West Africa. Algonac, Mich.: Reference Publications. p. 101. ISBN 9780917256073.