The Europeans seemed to have noticed the
interest of the Ghanaian people in the fabric
hence creating more pieces for them. Reforms
had to be made in regards to designs and colour,
which encouraged the addition of indigenous
Ghanaian traditional features; mostly colour
and traditional symbols The fabric later gained
publicity and was patronized wildly among
the people of Ghana and other African regions.
As a result of the news of its patronage across
Ghana, women
especially decided
to customize
and personalize
the designs by
naming them to
market and for
easy identification.
The trend caught
on well and been
graced with
beautiful designs
and inspirational
themes.
A
fabric such as this
design is called the
Akyekyde3 Akyi,
(meaning the back
of a tortoise) and
pronounced in
an Akan dialect;
directs its origin to
the Ashanti region. The design is recognized
for the pictorial imprint of a tortoise and gives
a lead on its protective nature with reference
to its hard shell cover-depicting resilience
and strength. Many beautiful designs like
the ‘Sugarcane’, Angelina among others
32 | Colossium . September 2019
were made and many more are still being
made till date. Despite the fact that clothes
communicate messages and fabrics have names
with meanings, not many admirers of the
Ghanaian prints are aware of the forms, the
history behind their names, their meanings,
and the origin of the patterns. In some cases,
the wearers of these fabrics are schooled by
concerned onlookers on the history and design
of the fabrics and the reactions are just adorable
as to the depth of
information the
various pieces carry.
Center image: Sample
of Ghanaian wax
print.
Right corner image:
A woman wearing a
modern wax print