One oral tradition states that Adinkra symbols were originally created by the
Bono people of
Gyaman. The Gyaman king,
Nana Kwadwo Agyemang Adinkra, originally created or designed these symbols, naming it after himself. The Adinkra symbols were largely used on pottery, stools etc. by the people of Gyaman. Adinkra cloth was worn by the king of Gyaman, and its usage spread from Gyaman to
Asante and other
Akan kingdoms following its defeat. It is said that the guild designers who designed this cloth for the Kings were forced to teach the Asantes the craft. Gyaman king Nana Kwadwo Agyemang Adinkra's first son, Apau, who was said to be well versed in the Adinkra craft, was forced to teach more about Adinkra cloths. Oral accounts have attested to the fact that Adinkra Apau taught the process to a man named
Kwaku Dwaku in a town near
Kumasi. Over time, all Akan people, including the
Fante,
Akuapem and
Akyem, made Adinkra symbols a major part of their culture. This oral tradition of a Gyaman origin for Adinkra, however, has been directly disproven, as the Gyaman-Asante war in which tradition recounts the Asante learning Adinkra symbols from Gyaman started in 1818 and the campaign ended in 1819. Two years before this, in 1817,
Thomas Bowdich visited Kumasi and had personally seen and written about Adinkra cloth being produced in the Asante capital. He also brought back from Kumasi a physical example of Adinkra cloth, which is still in the
British Museum. The cloth being named Adinkra is explained by an informant from Asokwa who related to Kojo Arthur that King Adinkra's body was found in a pile of dead people and when it was retrieved, his body was found to be covered in
Ntiamu Ntoma (stamped cloth). From then on,
Ntiamu Ntoma became known as Adinkra cloth. This suggests that the cloth was known before 1818 and became associated with Adinkra after the war. In the Asokwa and Ntonso areas, Adinkra cloth is still referred to as
Ntiamu Ntoma. There are other hypothesis and oral traditions for the origin of Adinkra cloth and its name, such as it originating in Denkyira, though these have not been disproven they all have their respective issues and the exact origin of Adinkra cloth is not something that is clear. The oldest surviving adinkra cloth was made in 1817. The cloth features 15 stamped symbols, including
nsroma (stars),
dono ntoasuo (double Dono drums), and diamonds. The patterns were printed using carved
calabash stamps and a vegetable-based dye. It has resided in the
British Museum since 1818, when it was donated by
Thomas E. Bowdich. The next oldest piece of
adinkra textile was sent in 1825 from
Elmina Castle to the royal
cabinet of curiosities in
The Hague, in response to an assignment from Major
Friedrich Last, who was appointed temporary Commander of
Dutch Gold Coast. He had the cloth commissioned from the Fante paramount chief of Elmina for
William I of the Netherlands, which would explain why the
coat of arms of the Netherlands is in the centre. The other motifs are typical of the older
adinkras. It is now on display in the
National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. In November 2020, a school board in
York, Pennsylvania, United States, banned "a children's colouring book that featured African Adrinkra [
sic] symbols found in fabrics, logos and pottery". The decision was subsequently overturned. ==
Adinkra cloth==