Adinkra aresymbols from the Akan people ofGhana that representconcepts oraphorisms.Adinkra are used extensively in fabrics, logos and pottery. They are incorporated into walls and other architectural features.Adinkra symbols appear on some traditionalAkan goldweights. The symbols are also carved on stools for domestic and ritual use. Tourism has led to new departures in the use of the symbols on items such as T-shirts and jewellery.
Adinka symbols have a decorative function but also represent objects that encapsulate evocative messages conveying traditional wisdom, aspects of life, or the environment. There are many symbols with distinct meanings, often linked withproverbs. In the words ofKwame Anthony Appiah, they were one of the means for "supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief".[1]
One oral tradition states that Adinkra symbols were originally created by theBono people ofGyaman.[2] The Gyaman king,Nana Kwadwo Agyemang Adinkra, originally created or designed these symbols, naming it after himself. The Adinkra symbols were largely used on pottery, stools etc. by the people of Gyaman. Adinkra cloth was worn by the king of Gyaman, and its usage spread from Gyaman toAsante and otherAkan kingdoms following its defeat. It is said that the guild designers who designed this cloth for the Kings were forced to teach the Asantes the craft. Gyaman king Nana Kwadwo Agyemang Adinkra's first son, Apau, who was said to be well versed in the Adinkra craft, was forced to teach more about Adinkra cloths. Oral accounts have attested to the fact that Adinkra Apau taught the process to a man namedKwaku Dwaku in a town nearKumasi.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Over time, all Akan people including theFante,Akuapem andAkyem all made Adinkra symbols a major part of their culture.
This oral tradition of a Gyaman origin however has been directly disproven, as the Gyaman-Asante war in which tradition recounts the Asante learning Adinkra symbols from Gyaman started in 1818 and the campaign ended in 1819. Two years before this in 1817,Thomas Bowdich visited Kumasi and had personally seen and written about Adinkra cloth being produced in the Asante capital of Kumasi. He also brought back a physical example of Adinkra cloth from Kumasi which is still in the British Museum today. The name of the cloth being Adinkra is explained by an informant from Asokwa that related to Kojo Arthur that King Adinkra's body was found in a pile of dead people and when it was retrieved, his body was found to be covered in Ntiamu Ntoma (Stamped cloth). From then on Ntiamu Ntoma became known as Adinkra cloth. Which suggests that the cloth was known before 1818 and became associated with Adinkra after the war. In the Asokwa and Ntonso areas Adinkra cloth is still referred to as Ntiamu Ntoma.[9][10]
There are other hypothesis and oral traditions for the origin of Adinkra cloth and its name, such as it originating in Denkyira, though these have not been disproven they all have their respective issues and the exact origin of Adinkra cloth is not something that is clear.[11]
The oldest surviving adinkra cloth was made in 1817. The cloth features 15 stamped symbols, includingnsroma (stars),dono ntoasuo (double Dono drums), and diamonds. The patterns were printed using carvedcalabash stamps and a vegetable-based dye. It has resided in theBritish Museum since 1818, when it was donated byThomas E. Bowdich.[12][13][14]
The next oldest piece ofadinkra textile was sent in 1825 from theElmina Castle to the royalcabinet of curiosities inThe Hague, in response to an assignment from MajorFriedrich Last, who was appointed temporary Commander ofDutch Gold Coast. He had the cloth commissioned from the Fante paramount chief of Elmina forWilliam I of the Netherlands, which would explain why thecoat of arms of the Netherlands is in the centre. The other motifs are typical of the olderadinkras. It is now on display in theNational Museum of Ethnology in Leiden.[15]
In November 2020, a school board inYork, Pennsylvania, banned "a children's colouring book that featured African Adrinkra [sic] symbols found in fabrics, logos and pottery."[16] The decision was subsequently overturned.[17]
InAkan (Twi), the termadinkra refers to not symbols, but a particular type of cloth.[18][19]Adinkra cloths were traditionally only worn by royalty and spiritual leaders for funerals and other very special occasions. In the past they were hand-printed on undyed, red, dark brown or black hand-woven natural cotton fabric depending on the occasion and the wearer's role; nowadays they are frequently mass-produced on brighter coloured fabrics.[3]
The present centre of traditional production ofadinkra cloth is from Ghana,Ntɔnso, 20 km northwest of Kumasi and in Ivory Coast.[20] Dark Adinkraaduro pigment for the stamping is made there, by soaking, pulverizing, and boiling the inner bark and roots of the badie tree (Bridelia ferruginea)[21] in water over a wood fire. Once the dark colour is released, the mixture is strained, and then boiled for several more hours until it thickens. The stamps are carved out of the bottom of acalabash piece. They measure between five and eight centimetres square. They have a handle on the back, and the stamp itself is slightly curved so that the dye can be put on with a rocking motion.
Recorded sample of 53adinkra symbols and their meanings.
| Number | Symbol Name | Literal Meaning | Further Details | Related Symbols |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aban | a two-storied house, a castle | This design was formerly worn by the King of Asante alone.[22]: 265 | |
| 4 | Adinkira 'hene | the Adinkira king | 'chief' of all these Adinkira designs[23]: 266 | |
| 8 | Agyindawuru | the agyin tree's gong | the juice of a tree of that name is sometimes squeezed into a gong and is said to make the sound pleasing to the spirits[23]: 266 | |
| Akam | an edible plant, possibly a yam | [23]: 266 | ||
| 9 | Akoben | the war-horn | ||
| 12 | Akoko nan tia 'ba, na nkum 'ba | A hen treads upon chickens but does not kill them | [23]: 268 | |
| 13 | Akoma | a heart, sometimes with a cross in the centre | [23]: 267 | |
| [None listed] | No. 13 | |||
| 14 | AKOMA NTOSO | the joined hearts | [22] | |
| 18 | Aya | the fern | the word also means 'I am not afraid of you', 'I am independent of you' and the wearer may imply this by wearing it[22] | |
| 20 | BI NKA BI | no one should bite the other | ||
| 23 | DAME-DAME | name of a board game | symbol of intelligence and ingenuity | |
| 25 | Dono | thedono drum | [23]: 268 | |
| 26 | Dono ntoasuo | the doubledono drums | [23]: 266 | |
| 27 | Duafe | the wooden comb | [22] | |
| 28 | Dwenini aben | the ram's horns | [23]: 266 | |
| 30 | Epa | handcuffs | [22] | |
| 34 | Fihankra | the circular house | [23]: 266 | |
| 35 | Se die fofoo pe, ne se gyinantwi abo bedie | what the yellow-flowered fofoo plant wants is that the gyinantwi seeds should turn black | An Asante saying. One of the cotton cloth designs bears the same name. Thefofoo, the botanical name of which isBidens pilosa, has a small yellow flower, which, when it drops its petals, turns into a black spiky seed. Said of a jealous person. According to Ayensu (1978), thegyinantwi also refers toBidens pilosa.[23]: 266 [24] | |
| 37 | Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu | Siamese crocodiles | They share one stomach yet they fight over food | |
| 38 | Gyawu Atiko | the back of Gyawu's head | Gyawu was a sub-chief of Bantama who at the Odwira ceremony is said to have had his hair shaved in this fashion[22] | |
| 39 | Gye Nyame | 'Except God' or 'Only God' | Fear none but God[23]: 267 | |
| 41 | Hye wo nhye | He who would burn you be not burned | [23]: 266 | |
| 44 | Kojo Biaden | |||
| 47 | Papani amma yenhu Kramo | The (large number of) people who do good prevents us knowing who really are Mohammedans | as adherents of Islam are enjoined to do good works in the community, and increasing numbers of non-Muslims are also doing so, we can no longer use that criterion to distinguish those Muslims living amongst us[23]: 266 | |
| 49 | Kuntinkantan | bent and spread out | nkuntinkantan is used in the sense of 'do not boast, do not be arrogant'[22] | |
| 50 | Obohemaa | Queen of stones | copied from Europeans adopted by Akans to define Gold Coast's diamond mining, which began in 1919[25][23]: 267 | |
| Non listed | Kwatakye atiko | at the back of Kwatakye's head | Kwatakye was a war captain of one of the Asante kings; at the Odwira ceremony he is said to have cut his hair after this fashion[23]: 267 | |
| Non listed | Mmrafo ani ase | thekeloids on a Hausa man | ||
| 55 | Mmra Krado | the Hausa man's lock | [23] | |
| 56 | Musuyidie | something to remove evil | a cloth with this design stamped upon it lay beside the sleeping couch of the King of Asante, and every morning when he rose he placed his left foot upon it three times[23] | |
| 58 | Mpuannum | five tufts (of hair) | [22] | |
| 62 | Nkonsonkonson | links of a chain | [23] | |
| 63 | Nkotimsefuopua | Certain attendants on the Queen Mother who dressed their hair in this fashion. Variation of a swastika.[22] | ||
| 64 | Nkuruma kese | dried okras | [22] | |
| 66 | Nkyimkyim | the twisted pattern | [22] | |
| 68 | Nsaa | from a design of this name found on nsa cloths[22] | ||
| 69 | Nsirewa | cowries | [22] | |
| 70 | Nsoroma /Nsoromma | a child of the Sky / Child of the Heavens | referring to the saying:Oba Nyankon soroma te Nyame so na onte ne ho so, 'Like the star, the child of the Supreme Being, I rest with God and do not depend upon myself.' / the pattern was on the King of Asante's pillow[23]: 267 | |
| 71 | Ma te; Masie | I have heard (what you have said); I have hidden it | this extols the virtue of being able to keep a confidence[23]: 267 | |
| Non listed | Nyame, biribi wo soro, ma no me ka me nsa | O God, everything which is above, permit my hand to touch it | the pattern was stamped on paper and hung above the lintel of a door in the palace. The King of Asante used to touch lintel, then his forehead, then his breast, repeating these words three times[23] | |
| 74 | Nyame dua | an altar to the Sky God | [23] | |
| 76 | Nyame nwu na ma wu | May Nyame die before I die | [23] | |
| Non listed | Obi nka obie | I offend no one without a cause | [23]: 267 | |
| 84 | Ohene niwa | (in) the king's little eyes | To be in the king's favour[23]: 267 | |
| 85 | Ohen' tuo | the king's gun | [23]: 267 | |
| 86 | Kodie mmowerewa | the eagle's talons | [23]: 268 | |
| 92 | Owo Foro Adobe | The symbol of heroic deeds and accomplishing the impossible, but being quiet about it | ||
| 93 | Pa gya | To strike fire (with a flint) | [23]: 267 | |
| 96 | Sankofa | turn back and fetch it | [22] | |
| 97 | Sankofa | turn back and fetch it | [22] | |
| 98 | Sepow | a knife thrust through the cheeks of a man | the man is about to be executed to prevent his invoking of a curse on the king[23][page needed] |
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