Brief History and origin of the Kente Cloth
It is known that the Kente cloth originated with the Ashanti people of Ghana, in a village called Bonwire. One story about Kente says that two friends/brothers learned to weave by observing a spider weave its web. They imitated of the spider by using raffia fibers to create a strip of fabric.
Their leaders were so impressed with this new cloth that it became the royal cloth and was saved for special occasions. There are more than 300 different patters of Kente cloth.
Each pattern has a name and its own meaning. The meanings come from past events, religious beliefs, political ideas, and social customs. Another name for Kente is “Nwentoma” which translate to woven cloth in the Akan language. Kente can be made from silk, cotton, or rayon fabric.