Adinkra on Hudson

Adinkra on Hudson: Symbols Provide a Glimpse into the Past

06 April 2012

Oh Sankofa, high on the Heavens you soar
My soul is soon to follow you, back to yesterdays moon
will it remember me?
Back to yesterdays sun, It will rekindle me
Rekindle the spirit into tomorrow and high on the wind
Sankofa flies again and again

Cassandra Wilson, Sankofa, 1993

Cassandra Wilson’s Sankofa was high on the playlist when your friendly blogger made a trip to Ghana some years back.  You see, Sankofa isn’t just a pretty song; it’s a symbol, a proverb, a fashion statement, and even something of a meme.

Sankofa originated as one of many symbols used in the Asante art of Adinkra printing.  Long before Ghana existed as a nation, the Asante had lived around the Obuasi highlands for centuries.  Part of a larger cultural group known as the Akan, the Asante are famous for their beautiful and unique textiles—Kente and Adinkra cloth.  Scholars aren’t exactly sure when Adinkra cloth was first developed.  Some believe that the Asante adopted the technique from the Gyaman Kingdom in the early 19^th century.

Traditionally, Adinkra cloth was worn as mourning clothes by royalty and other spiritual leaders.  In fact, in the Akan language the word Adinkra means goodbye or farewell.  The cloth itself is both a work of art and a storyteller’s dream.  Skilled craftsmen weave cotton into cloth.  The fabric is then dyed, traditionally, red, black, or brown, although today there are many more choices.  Now comes the art of Adinkra.  Using a traditional stamp press technique, the cloth is decorated with myriad designs and patterns culled from dozens of Adinkra symbols.  Each symbol is carved out from the bottom of a calabash so it stands in relief.  Craftsmen dip the stamp in a special black dye and apply it to the cloth.  There are numerous design patterns and symbols.  Because each symbol has a specific meaning, each finished cloth has a unique narrative—a story to be read through the choice and placement of the symbols.

Sankofa is one of many symbols used by the Asante for Adinkra printing.  There are actually two symbols used to represent Sankofa—one that looks like a curly heart and another of a bird looking behind itself.  Sankofa’s literal translation, Se wo were fin a wo sanko fa a yennki, means “it is not a taboo to return to fetch something you forgot earlier on.”  For many (especially those of us into history), it has come to mean “learn from your past” or “to return from whence you came.”

Other common Adinkra symbols include Gye Nyame which means “except God” and refers to the omnipotence and immortality of God.  Adinkrahene is shown as a series of concentric circles and represents royalty and greatness.  Hene is the Akan word for King and this symbol forms the basis of all Adinkra cloth.  A personal favorite is Ntesie mate masie, a symbol for knowledge and wisdom.

 

 

It turns out that Philipsburg Manor shares some of its cultural identity with this small but historically significant region of West Africa.  Philipsburg’s enslaved community was quite diverse.  Captive Africans came to the colonies from numerous African ports, others were transported from the Caribbean, and others were born in America.  Researchers at Philipsburg looked over Philipse family wills and probate inventories and found naming patterns suggesting that some members of Philipse’s enslaved community were either first generation Akan or were descended from Akan forebearers.

Although no evidence has been unearthed that suggest Adinkra cloth or symbols existed at Philipsburg, debate continues nearby at the African Burial Ground National Historic Park in Manhattan.   Re-discovered in 1991, archaeologists found a heart shaped image on the coffin of an enslaved man who had died in the 18^th century.  The New York Times ran a story on this just a few years back.  Whether the symbol found on the coffin was a Sankofa or not, it serves as a fitting reminder that we continue to learn from our past.