Africa Fashion / Culture

Thursday, 10 March 2016

African Beads

Beads were highly valuable in traditional African society, even today. They are used for different purposes. Most societies in Africa use them for adornment. They are also used for artworks. Besides using beads for fashion reasons, some African communities in the past used special types of beads as currencies for exchange of goods and services.
Beads can serve as a means of identity. In some communities for example, men of high status wear special kinds of beads to indicate their positions in the society. They can be worn to show the tribe or family a person belongs to.
The use of beads by Africans is said to have started as far back as 75,000 years ago. The first known examples of beads used for adornment purposes were discovered in 2004 by the Archaeologist Chris Henshilwood on the Blombos Cave on the SA coast. They were made with the shell of ostrich eggs.
Beads believed to be more than 12,000 years old were discovered in Kenya, Sudan and Libya. These beads made from egg shells were used by the Turkana people as currencies which were given to women before their actual marriage as part of their dowry.
Before Africans started using the glass beads in 4^th century, the cowrie shell and bone beads served as currency for exchange of goods and services. However, the glass bead later became more popular and dominant source of currency for almost 700 years. Evidence proving the existence of glass beads in Africa was discovered in Egypt and South Africa. There is evidence that suggest that glass beads were introduced into Africa during the 4^th century, from Portugal. This was the time when trade in Africa began to bloom.
However, the actual evidence of glass beads production in African nations such as Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Krobo dated back to 12 century. The initial method used in the production of these beads is referred to as wet-core powder method.
By 14^th century, glass beads had become an acceptable currency for trade. The explorers used glass beads as a means of exchange. The economic activities of the explorers in African society helped to increase the production of African currency in Venice by 1500. Various types of beads were used during the Golden Trade Era in Africa. Examples of beads used then were the Stripe Chevrons beads, Venetian trade beads, and Millefiori beads.

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Africa Fashion / Culture: The Kwahu Easter Festival:One Of Ghana’s Greatest Tourist Attractions

The Kwahu Easter Festival:One Of Ghana’s Greatest Tourist Attractions

All tribes in Ghana have their own traditional festivals. The Nzemas have Kundum, the Ewes have Hogbetsotso, the Asantes and Vumes have Akwasidae, and the Gas have Homowo.

As for the Kwahus, they have Easter. But Easter isn’t a traditional African festival.

Over the years, the Kwahus have put so much into celebrating their adopted festival that it now forms part of the national calendar. People travel from around Ghana at Easter to see and participate in the Kwahu Easter celebrations.

The Kwahu Easter Festival showcases the tourism potential of the forested plateau region of eastern Ghana. In addition to the famous Easter festivities, foreign tourists are attracted to the area to partake in its annual paragliding festival.

Marking the death and resurrection of Christ, Easter is deeply rooted in Christian teachings and traditions; all the same, the Kwahus have adopted it as their bona fide festival to the extent that it has overshadowed any traditional festival they once had.

Worthy of note is their style of celebration, which is totally different from that of other followers of Christ who commemorate and drive home the significance of Easter with various church activities like Bible studies, church conventions, eating of communion and the reenactment of the story of Christ’s death.

To the Kwahus, the Easter festival means something more than Christ dying to save mankind and rising from the dead. It is a special homecoming celebration of its people, a time when families unite to reflect on the year gone by and to plan for the future.

Traditional authorities of Kwahuman are the ones who kick off the celebrations by pouring libation on behalf of the Kwahu people and performing various rituals to purify the land and to remember their ancestors. It is also a time when community members gather to celebrate their culture and raise funds for developmental projects.

Of course, the Kwahus seize the Easter moment to recommit to their Christian faith, but that is just a tiny aspect of the whole festival, which seems to have a different meaning and significance for the youth.

They celebrate Easter on the streets with jams, eating, drinking and dancing. One thing that doesn’t escape even the idlest eye is the way most of the youth who participate in the festivities dress. To be charitable, it can be described as offensive. The traditional authorities have shown grave concern at the negative message such dressing casts over the festival. They believe the youth have missed the essence of Easter celebrations and are gradually turning the Easter festival into something that Kwahuman never imagined.

Before the adoption of Easter, the Kwahus marked festivals like Adae and 3to piti3. Although some communities still mark these celebrations, they do not have the same popularity as the Easter festival. Elders of the land are making efforts, however, to remind the people to acknowledge and respect their traditions.

Until that’s achieved, Easter remains the central point of the culture of the Kwahus and the “traditional” festival they are most known for.

How to Wear Kente Cloth

Kente cloth was traditionally worn by royalty however in modern times they are worn by everyday people for special events such as weddings, naming ceremonies or funerals. Determining what kind of Kente cloth to wear depends on the event as the colors and weave patterns have meanings. First determine the message you would like to send by your choice of color and pattern and make sure it is appropriate for the event. Once you have decided on the cloth, follow these steps to wear it in the traditional manner.

How to wear Kente Cloth:

MEN (wrap as you would a Toga if the below is too complicated for you)

Put yourself in the middle of the kente cloth by holding opposite ends of the cloth in each hand, with the cloth behind you, adjacent to your back.

Drape the left end of the cloth over your left shoulder. The extra fabric will end up hanging on the inside.

Enfold the fabric from the right side underneath the arm and across the body and place it over your left shoulder.

Take the cloth that is covering the left arm and place it over the cloth on the left shoulder so both arms are now exposed and the bulk of the cloth is lying on the left shoulder. (Wrapping is quite similar to a toga style)
WOMEN
Wrap the Kente Cloth around the body, underneath the arms (exposing the shoulders) and at waist or breast level. Coordinate with a solid colored blouse. You may also wrap Kente around the shoulders to wear as a shawl.

some Traditional Elders in Kente

A Chief in Kente

Elders In Kente

Women in Kente

Couple in Kente

Women In Kente