Ghana’s Kente, Its Impact on Africans in America.

African Americans are descendants of ancestors taken from different parts of Africa, especially West Africa  and brought to the Caribbean and the America’s to work on different plantation fields to grow these economies.  After many years, many seek  to connect to their real roots and culture and have used various fashion sense as a connector.

The Kente cloth has been used as satchels for graduation ceremonies not only by Africans around the globe but by other races who identify with the richness of the proudly Ghanaian cloth.

Let me give you a little background regarding the Kente cloth. Its weaving has gone through many stages of development. The cloth was woven at the solar plexus using raffia fiber “endow” for yarns.  Nana Kuragu and Nana Ameyaw developed their first weaving system called “Ayaase- Nwin- Ntoma” or Ayaasentoma which translates to mean the cloth made for the private part. They developed the second weaving system called “Asaase- Nwin-Ntoma or “Asaasetoma” that is cloth woven on the ground. 

The third waving system they developed was an improved form of the “Asaasetoma” in which they use yarns form silk cotton tree “onyina”. The third weaving system was in two type, type A and B. Cotton from silk cotton tree was used.

The forth waving system they developed was called “Nsaduaso Nwin Ntoma” or Nsaduatoma which is cloth woven at the loom. It is on the loom that the first cloth called “Gagamuga” that is pinstripe was made. The word “Gagamuga” is a re-duplication of the word “Aga” which is referred to the lowest denomination of the Akan Asante currency in the olden days.

Otaa Kraban has been known to have improved upon the Kuragu Amewa hand loom after he had returned form a grip the Gyaman city of Bondugu in today’s Ivory Coast. It must be noted that this strip to Bondugu was after the invention of Kente at Bonwire. In the middle of the 20th century, Nana Tiko, Nana Kwaku Menso and Nana Kwame Duodu, all of Bonwire, took the Kente industry to another level by introducing new brands of Kente called Asasia, Antokoo and Kyerewere.

Chastity,an African American female based in Bastrop, Louisiana and an advocate of female empowerment together with Latonya are cultivating unchained royalty to excel and bringing back the power in African American female children to see the wealth they possess and use it for their personal and societal development.

She is connecting  these young females to the origins of African culture via several programs

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