Authentic Kente Cloth is hand woven and can easily be identified by its thick texture, though it is often confused with the mass produced cotton kente print fabric which does not carry the same value and prestige.
The best place to get authentic hand woven kente cloth is from Ghanaian kente weavers.
Originally, the use of kente was reserved for Asante royalty and limited to special social and sacred functions. Even as production has increased and kente has become more accessible to those outside the royal court, it continues to be associated with wealth, high social status, and cultural sophistication.
Kente cloth is completely a product of handicraft. No machine is involved. As such, it is labor intensive. A lot of special skill is essential to make it. Because of these features, Kente cloth was traditionally reserved for royal family members. It was generally worn by kings and queens in Ghana and is reserved for special occasions and ceremonies.
All colors have places in Kente clothes. Blue stands for peace, love and harmony. Green signifies growth, harvest and vegetation. Yellow denotes prosperity, royalty and richness. Red is indicative of death, mourning and funeral. The designs used in Kente clothes are even more meaningful and significant. Forgiveness, tolerance, patience, harmony in variety, responsibility, hard work, progress, dependency on God and power of the people are a few among a number of implications of various designs used.
Get it touch with Samba Afri-Glam for authentic hand woven kente cloth sourced directly from Ghana.