" I must identify myself with
Africa. then I will have an identity"
Fela Kuti.
Today we zoom in on Ghana, a country in West Africa whose culture places significance on classical and contemporary African prints or Ghanaian fabrics which mirrors our rich and valuable traditions and cultures.
My mother is a lover of Ghanaian fabrics probably because her grandmother and her mother traded in them and hence increased her interest to get to know more about them and trade in them as well.I remember going to boarding school with a couple of my mom's fabrics which was sewn into prep attires, church attires and some a yard i got to use as sleeping cloth which had array of designs that can even be seen today in forms of pebbles,birds,feathers,large fans,etc with bold and dazzling colors.
It is quite interesting to note that these fabrics have grown over the years from being worn by people in circles to worn during certain passage rites and even used to pay for a woman's bride-price.
Imagine my surprise when my mom told me the meaning of the names of some of fabrics she sold with their local names: I'd shed some light on a couple popular ones which are mostly in Akan
(Ghanaian language)
Thats "Nsubra" the Akan name for well, the tiny dots in spiral form resemble ripples after water is fetched from a well or the ripples made when a stone falls in the depth. this trendy fabric is co,es in different colours. it bold designs makes it versatile and confident. it can be sewn into different styles for both men and women.
Enibre 3ns) gya
this simply directly translates when one is serious-minded about something the eyes doesn't light up fire.
yeah, funny but true. mostly when someone is going through a difficult time and hence is earnest it is not always exhibited in the individual. probably if it was the eye colour would have been red lit up by fire then one would see the severity of what the person is going through. this fabric most often has darker colours worn during funerals but is now in fashion due to its design like the draft board game
as)bayer3
This design is in a form of leaves, that's leaves from a local species of yam called as). hence the name of the design. it comes in two different designs, one with coloured flowers and another with white flowers. they come out to showcase the indigenous Ghanaian culture
sika w) ntaban
People also call it "sika tu" this literally means money has wings or money flies. it is depicted by a flying bird.
i guess you will agree with me that money flies. it ends up with different people at all times hence since money is difficult to come by, if it is not handled well it flies away from your hands.
Wa fa me nwa
This literally means "you have taken me for a snail(cheap)" my mother explains that in the olden days, snails were not as expensive as they are now, you can come across them in the swampy areas in the forest. so they were that cheap. hence the meaning of the design in the fabric. it has very bold and beautiful colours.
picture show the blue and yellow of the fabric>>
Adomi Bridge
opened in 1957, it is an important historical landmark in Ghana. it is a two hinged steel arc bridge built across the Volta river. it is the shortest link between the Eastern and Volta Region of Ghana.
It serves as one of the symbols of our independence and growth.
Kwame Nkrumah Pencil
Also fondly called Nkrumah's pen, in homage to Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. As i have learnt from my History class, Nkrumah arrived from the USA with his "flaming pen"
that fired powerful writings in the Ghanaian Press Drama where he joined the journalism movement by starting up his own newspaper.
wo b3 ka me ho as3m a, fa akonndwa
This fabric is also known as "stool" it has the traditional stool
which translates if you want to talk about me, then take a seat, these designs sometimes have humourous meanings but nevertheless I figure has very deep wise sayings. Probably a way of bragging about ones self or if you
want to talk about someone you need to take a stool to sit down and take your
time instead of standing around
so next time you're shopping for fabrics in the market try finding out more interesting names. :)
