Credited to Ghana. Asante accounts differ. One traces the cloth to makers from Denkyira after 1701, another to the defeat of Adinkra, King of Gyaman, in 1818, whose cloth makers or son are said to have taught the technique at Asokwa.
How it began
Asante accounts of the origin differ. One traces the cloth to 1818, when the Asante defeated Adinkra, King of Gyaman; his son, or his captured cloth makers, are said to have taught the Asantehene's cloth makers at Asokwa. Another account places it earlier, after the Asante victory over Denkyira in 1701, when Denkyira cloth makers arrived in Asokwa. In both, production was taken up by the Asante under the Asantehene.
How it works
Stamps carrying the symbols are carved from calabash or cassava tubers. The black dye, called badie, is made from the bark of the badie tree, which is soaked in water for a week, pounded, and boiled with iron slag into a dark, dense liquid. The maker dips a stamp in the dye, presses it on the cloth in repeating rows, and hangs the cloth to dry. Strips of cloth are joined with bands of brightly colored stitching called nhwemu.
How it spread
Asokwa remains the official supplier of adinkra cloth to the Asantehene, but the town of Ntonso became the more prolific center of production. The cloth was at first the exclusive property of the Asantehene. Restrictions on who could wear it were relaxed over time, and anyone who can afford the cloth may now wear it, chiefly at funerals.
Where it stands today
Adinkra symbols such as Gye Nyame and sankofa are now used well beyond cloth, on jewelry, accessories, buildings and monuments. The names and meanings of some symbols are contested: a scholar who interviewed cloth makers at Asokwa found that they did not recognize some symbols shown to them. Families in Ntonso continue to carve stamps and print cloth by hand.
