President Kufuor And the Kente Myth

The Kente has been very controversial in terms of its origin and the cultural association with Ghanaians. A lot of Ghanaians, especially the Akan speaking people hold the Kente and Adinkra fabric dear to their hearts. This is more evident in the Agoo magazine Kente functions and other all-Kente events of recent years. There is no doubt in the beauty of the interwoven pieces that evolves into a Kente cloth.

The slinging of a piece of cloth over the shoulder is in itself not original to Ghana. The Roman Emperors in ancient times slung pieces of white cloth over their shoulders and held it in place with some sort of pins or buttons. If we should go back to biblical times from the Old Testament, all the prophets and rulers of the various kingdoms slung pieces of cloth over their shoulders. The Kente in this civilization originated from Eweland, which was originally part of Togo. It is not certain where it originally came from in past civilizations. One of the oldest civilizations (Egypt) had symbols and patterns that closely resemble designs in the Kente and Adinkra. The Persians of ancient civilization had similar designs as well. The real origin of Kente is not conclusive, so Ghana cannot claim it as part of our original culture. It is a borrowed addition to our culture.

The Italians will not dress like the ancient Roman Emperors for any state function, neither will the American President and his cabinet dress like their first president George Washington for official functions. George Bush will not wear a pair of jeans with cowboy boots and a Texas hat and ride a horse to address congress and the general public on Independence Day because he is closely linked to Texas. I am wondering why Ghanaians are not complaining about the appearance of our security agencies at the parade grounds. Why didn’t they have straw skirts and their weapons of choice being, spears, bows and arrows and primitive cutlasses (langalanga). Why do we appreciate how smart they looked at the parade but in the same token ridicule our President for wearing a suit?

Everything in this world belongs to everyone because everything has been copied from somewhere or something. Whatever we create now is a perception of an illusion that is already in existence. Why do we still perm our hair, wear hair extensions, wear western clothes, drive in fancy automobiles, use computers, put gas in our cars, sleep in brick and cement houses, speak English, use flush toilets, deodorant, bottled perfume, eat processed food, use purified water that runs through pipes, wear the high heels, just to mention a few, and yet we squeeze our president’s throat for not wearing Kente which doesn’t even originate from Ghana on our 50th Independence anniversary?

Culture is dynamic. We shouldn’t be stuck in one state of mind and point accusing fingers when it suits us. The way forward with every generation is to keep an open mind, embrace what is good for our personal and community development, and leave behind what will retard our progress.

Ghana will be richly blessed, now and always.

Tom Vergas, MD, U.S.A.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.