Traditional Clothing of Akan People Akan people of Ghana wear outfits of many different styles and materials. Their clothing choices depends on their status and local resources. Early fabrics were derived from wool and tree bark. Cotton became widespread around the 10th century, grown on northern savannas and traded along forested coasts. As the power of the Gold Coast grew with trade, materials like silk became more plentiful among the upper classes. Men who worked as farmers, fishermen, and laborers tended to wear tunics with trousers, or fugu . Upper class men wrapped themselves in large cloths called ntoma . These restricted their movement, asserting their status as men who did not need to work. Women wore skirts, or lappas , wrapped around their waist, leaving the top bare. Christian missionaries encouraged the use of a blouse. A second lappa covers the upper body of married women, leaving the right shoulder bare. Akan women may wear pan...
One of the interesting observations we should be making in most of the previous lessons and the videos are the use of special Umbrellas called AHENFO KYINIE. Used by almost all Akan or Southern Ghana Chiefs as well as some parts of Ghana, the Ceremonial Umbrella is a symbol of true Cultural Heritage, Pride, Communication, Authority, Grace, Peace, Unity, Power, Intelligence, Humility and many others. The use of Ceremonial Umbrellas is the exclusive of the Royal courts/palace, and honorary community chiefs. Private individuals CANNOT own Ceremonial Umbrellas but Professional Cultural Troupes CAN with permission from community Chief make prototype for use during cultural performances. This lesson is very important because of the Africussion Percussion Discussion group, an independent performing arts group at The Smith Center. The group is one of the leading School Assembly Performing companies for Southern Nevada's...
Ghanaian stool Featured snippet from the web The traditional Ghanaian stool (or asesedwa in the Asante Twi language) is a carved wooden stool common in sub-Saharan West Africa, and especially common in Ghana . ... The stool is used as a symbol of chieftaincy (particularly male) in special and private occasions, and is seen as a symbol of royalty, custom and tradition. There are as many special stools as there are chiefs and elders in all Akan communities in Ghana. The stools, used by the chiefs and queenmothers have special symbols that represent the family, the village or the community. Every stool has a proverbial meaning a sort of metaphor that recounts a particular history of the family, the occupant or the community. There are many other stools even for children but the royal ceremonial ones are special. They have different colors, designs and symbols depending on who owns it and what it represents. B...
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