Ghana boasts a rich cultural heritage, deeply embedded in its traditional attire. The Ghanaian Smock, known as Tani, and Kente cloth stand out as prominent symbols of this heritage, representing the nation's identity and history.
The Ghanaian Smock (Tani)
The Ghanaian Smock, or Tani, is a fabric worn by both women and men in Ghana. It is the most popular traditional attire in the country. The fabric is called Tani in Dagbani, while the male and female wear are respectively called Bin'gmaa and Bin'mangli. The smock is also called Bun-nwↃ or Bana by Mamprusis, fugu in Mossi, batakari in the Asante dialect, dansika in Frafra, and Banaa in Kusaal both in the upper east region.
It is worn by Royals and civilians across Dagbon and other northern regions, but popular across Ghana. The smock originated in the northern region of Ghana, during the reign of Yaa Naa Zanjina, but widely used in West Africa and across the world. The smock is traditionally made from hand-loomed strips comprising a blend of dyed and undyed cotton yarns.
Watch how GHANAIAN local cloth is MADE (SMOCK or FUGU)
Ghanaian Smock
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Historical Context
Historically, the smock was rarely seen in the West. As recently as the 1990s, immigrants from Ghana were the only individuals seen wearing the smock. All of that changed as the popularity of films produced in Ghana increased among Black Americans and Caribbeans.
Artistic Representation
Purple Hibiscus was a temporary, large-scale public art installation created by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. The centrepiece of Purple Hibiscus was approximately 2,000 square meters of bespoke, hand-woven pink and purple fabric. Hundreds of craftspeople from Tamale, Ghana, created this fabric specifically for the installation. Sewn onto the fabric were roughly 100 "batakari" robes, traditionally worn by Ghanaians in both northern and southern regions.
The title, Purple Hibiscus, referenced Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel of the same name, which explores themes of family, tradition, and change in post-colonial Nigeria. The vibrant colours and textures of the installation contrasted starkly with the Barbican's concrete exterior. Mahama's use of handcrafted textiles highlighted the importance of human labour and traditional craft practices. The batakari robes themselves embodied the concept of intergenerational knowledge and cultural heritage.
Kente Cloth
If you’ve ever seen the distinctive, unique patterns and easily identifiable coloured cloth representing West African culture, then you’ve seen Kente cloth. According to Kente cloth tradition, the black weave represents Africa, the red represents the blood of the nation’s forefathers, the yellow represents gold and the green represents the fertile land. Made from silk and handwoven, Kente cloth used to be the preserve of royalty and important societal figures, and even then it was saved for only very special occasions. But today it’s much more readily available, making Kente cloth a cloth of the people.
It isn’t just the cloth that is imbued with significance. To the person wearing the item of clothing, the pair of shoes, the wrap, it carries an even greater meaning. Each item of apparel tells its own story; it has its own anecdote, and represents its own set of values. Every shape of the design, every colour of fabric, every pattern woven, has a specific meaning, bespoke to the creator.
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Kente cloth carries even more significance for the Ghanaian and African diaspora - those people who carry their heritage close to their hearts, because they don't live in the motherland. For these people and their descendants, this brightly coloured, uniquely patterned cloth symbolises a unity with where they’re from. It’s amazing how a simple piece of cloth is capable of bringing people together, from all across the globe. This symbol of African identity is instantly recognisable around the world, and so popular, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it was coveted by a major fashion house.
Kente Cloth
Kente Cloth: A Geographical Indication of Ghana
Kente is a Ghanaian textile, officially recognised as a geographical indication (GI) of Ghana to safeguard its authenticity and origin. It is made of hand-woven strips of silk and cotton. Historically, the fabric was worn in a toga-like fashion among the Asante, Akan and Ewe people. According to Asante oral tradition, it originated from Bonwire in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Due to the popularity of kente cloth patterns, mass-produced prints with the kente patterns have become widespread throughout West Africa, and by extension the whole of Africa. Globally, the print is used in the design of academic stoles in graduation ceremonies, worn mostly by African American as well as the African Diaspora.
Kente comes from the word kɛntɛn, which means "basket" in the Asante dialect of the Akan language, referencing its basket-like pattern. In Ghana, the Akan ethnic group also refers to kente as nwentoma, meaning "woven cloth".
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Origins and Development
Asante oral tradition give the origins of Kente to an individual from Bonwire who introduced a loom among the Asante from Bono Gyaman during the reign of Nana Oti Akenten in the 17th century. Another oral source states that it was developed indigenously by individuals from Bonwire during the reign of Osei Kofi Tutu I, who were inspired by the web designs of a spider.
It is plausible that early Asante weaving took influence from the Gyaman region, although likely in times previous to when oral traditions relate, these early cloths of blue and white cotton stripes bear striking resemblance to Bondoukou cloths and some others in West Africa. In the 18th century, Asantehene Opoku Ware I was documented by Danish agents Nog and L.F. Rømer, to have encouraged expansion in craft work. The Asantehene set up a factory during his reign to innovate weaving in the Ashanti Empire. This was the early stages of Kente production.
According to oral tradition, Ewe weaving goes back to the 16th century when weavers were among the migrants who resettled in Ghana from Benin Republic and Western Nigeria. In the 18th century Keta became the centre of weaving among Ewe migrants who had settled in Southern Ghana. The earliest description of weaving among the southern ewe was from a report in 1718 by a Dutch West India Company official during his visit to Keta.
Weaving Process and Gender Influence
Weaving is done on a wooden loom in which multiple threads of dyed fabric are pressed together. Weavers are typically apprenticed under a master weaver or company for a number of years before producing their own patterns. Gender has an influence on cloth production.
Patterns and Meanings
There exist hundreds of different kinds of kente patterns. Kente patterns vary in complexity, with each pattern having a name or message by the weaver. Ghanaians choose kente cloths as much for their names as their colors and patterns. Although the cloths are identified primarily by the patterns found in the lengthwise (warp) threads, there is often little correlation between appearance and name.
Names are derived from several sources, including proverbs, historical events, important chiefs, queen mothers, and plants. The cloth symbolizes high value. Ahwepan refers to a simple design of warp stripes, created using plain weave and a single pair of heddles. The designs and motifs in kente cloth are traditionally abstract, but some weavers also include words, numbers and symbols in their work. Example messages include adweneasa, which translates as 'I've exhausted my skills', is a highly decorated type of kente with weft-based patterns woven into every available block of plain weave.
Modern loom for weaving kente.
Contemporary Use and Symbolism
Today, there is a still a wide use of Kente cloth in events such as ceremonies and commencements. Many universities, such as Florida A&M University, wear an Academic stole. This historically black institution incorporates historically accurate African art through the use of Kente cloth stoles. Traditionally, wearing a Kente cloth stole was a "college ritual of marking oneself with a visible sign of Africa" and "literally weaves ... wisdom of Africa" and incorporates the history and culture of African art.
Controversies
In June 2020, Democratic Party leaders kneeled in the United States Capitol Visitor Center for 8 minutes and 42 seconds in protest, causing controversy by wearing stoles made of kente cloth to show support against systemic racism. While it was said to be an act of unity with African-Americans, many, including Jade Bentil, a Ghanaian-Nigerian researcher, voiced objection tweeting "My ancestors did not invent Kente cloth for them to be worn by publicity (obsessed) politicians as 'activism' in 2020".
There is also a controversy with Louis Vuitton's usage of a printed and monogrammed version of kente in their autumn-winter 2021 collection by American creative director Virgil Abloh, whose grandmother was Ghanaian. Additionally, questions of ownership of the woven craft, its image, and location of ateliers of production of kente.
To this question of cultural appropriation, Abloh's response to the press in 2020 was: "Provenance is reality; ownership is a myth.
In September 2025, Ghana gained GI status for the Kente. Under the GI status, only kente cloths woven using traditional techniques and in approved Ghanaian communities are allowed to use the name, as the law protects Kente as Ghana's intellectual property. Bonwire, Agotime Kpetoe, and Sakora Wonoo are the towns where Kente is traditionally woven and approved by the Ghana Ministry of Tourism. Only kente crafted in the selected communities may lawfully be sold as kente thanks to the new GI law.
| Cloth | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Black Weave | Africa |
| Red Weave | Blood of the nation’s forefathers |
| Yellow Weave | Gold |
| Green Weave | Fertile land |
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