Adinkra symbolism
The Adinkra symbol language is found on ornamental cloths and textile, often worn as clothes by ordinary modern Africans. It was founded mainly within the Asanthe tribes in Ghana in West Africa.
This picture is from a poster I bought personally in Ghana, filled with the symbols. A bit dissappointed, a quick google on this turns up perfect dictionaries of the symbols. I prefer my poster.
Actually go read some of the symbols on the dictionary. It is quite interesting to find symbols for what we in Western society find as opposites, instead being married into one symbol - actually having a symbol and a language for the tension between different opposites. To me it shows a rather nuanced and complex society. Some examples are 'DWENNIMMEN', 'ESE NE TEKREMA', 'WO NSA DA MU A'. The culture really shows in the language. :)
I can really recommend travelling to Ghana, it is a most friendly and wonderful country!
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3 comments:
a wonderful post and very interesting to learn about all this
thanks
Very, very interesting
I want to discuss this with some of my colleagues from Africa.
Actually,
hmm, then I must correct myself a bit. To be fully right, the Adinkra symbols are also funeral symbols. If I remember correctly, I think the tradition is to weave a blanket with the symbols telling the story of the deceased, and to bury it with in the grave.
I'm happy you find it interesting Ulla, I have a part of my soul in Africa, I'm afraid. :)
-C
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