Kente
ケンテ / 17th century– / Style / Textile Traditions
The strip-woven cloth of Ghana's Asante and Ewe gives every color and every pattern a name and a meaning, so that wearing it makes a statement.
At a glance
Visual cues
- Strips sewn into cloth
- High-key gold, red, green
- Named patterns
- Ceremonial dress
Best used for
- Ceremonial dress where color and pattern declare pride and standing
- Applying the strip-and-seam structure to bindings or wall layouts
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- Keep any lettering inside a strip width, aligned with the weave
- Composition
- Build from long narrow strips, rhythm coming from the seams
- Material
- Gold, red and green adjacent at full chroma, edges held by black
- Caution
- Rearranging named, meaningful patterns as if they were a color swatch removes the very premise that wearing the cloth is a statement.
- Further study
- The Asante court and cloth rank / the naming system of patterns / diaspora reception and debates over wearing
Related entries
- Adinkra (アディンクラ)Shared effects: Trust.Compare Kente and Adinkra
- Bogolanfini (ボゴランフィニ（泥染布）)Same Textile Traditions lineage.Compare Kente and Bogolanfini
More from Textile Traditions
Continue through styles in the same Textile Traditions family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Akwete (アクウェテ織)Shared effects: Exhilaration / Luxury.
- Batik (バティック（ジャワ更紗）)Shared effects: Luxury.
- Tapa (Barkcloth) (タパ)Shared effects: Trust.
Browse all Textile Traditions entries
Cite this entry
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- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/kente
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- [Kente — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/kente)
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