SMART KIDS Kente Cloth - Princeton University Art Museumartmuseum.princeton.edu/files/_attachments_pages/kente_cloth... · SMART KIDS Try This Pretend that the strips below are part

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Kente ClothSMART KIDS

Look Carefully

What colors do you see?

What shapes do you see?

Describe the patterns you see.

Kente is a colorful cloth made by the Akan and Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. It is a symbol of power and wealth that originally was worn by royalty but today is worn by men and women all over the world.

Kente cloth is woven with thin strips that are sewn together to make a large cloth. There are hundreds of different patterns used for Kente cloth. Many of them tell a story or convey a wise saying.

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SMART KIDS

Try This

Pretend that the strips below are part of a woven Kente cloth strip. Draw some of the patterns you see here or create a pattern of your own.

Use Your Imagination

Weaving is the process of making cloth by interlacing threads (over and under) on a loom, or frame.

What things can you think of that are woven?

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