GHANAIAN FUNERAL CLOTH
Wax print fabric is covered extensively in history books and museum exhibits, yet the subset of Ghanaian funeral cloth has been almost entirely overlooked. These are the only mentions of Ghanaian funeral cloth that I’ve found in any print material:
The Art of African Textiles by Duncan Clarke
There is a wonderful full-page color photo of a lady wearing an outfit made from funeral cloth. The textile is mentioned in passing, within the context of proverbs rather than funerals, with a half sentence describing the design of the print and translating the proverb inscribed on it.
Photo of an unnamed woman with the caption: “Woman wearing the design Owu Se Fie (death spoils the family) popular in Ghana with people in mourning 1994”, p 124
“Asante Hightimers and the Fashionable Display of Women’s Wealth in Contemporary Ghana” essay by Suzanne Gott.
The paper explores the intersection between textile history, Ghanaian funerary customs, and the social and financial implications of textiles in Asante society as pertains to affluent ladies’ fashion. Funeral cloth is touched on only in passing (the types of cloth and colors are mentioned) however there are two wonderful photos of ladies wearing tailored outfits made from the understated ‘black-on-black’ variety of funeral cloth:
Photo of an unnamed woman with the caption: “A Kumasi woman attending a funeral dressed in a kaba ensemble sewn into a complicated or fanciful style, 1990”. Photo by Suzanne Gott, p 163
Photo of an unnamed woman with the caption: “Cries of “Oye Preman!” (she is a preman!) greeted the photograph of this Asante woman attending a funeral wearing a particularly fanciful and costly kaba ensemble, 1990”. Photo by Suzanne Gott, 142
African Wax Print Textiles by Anne Grosfilley
This book has a six-page chapter dedicated to funeral cloth entitled ‘Mourning’. Five pages contain images of print design details, predominantly designs which feature proverbs written out in text. The written portion of the chapter amounts to a single page of text describing some of the proverbs found on funeral cloth and their meaning.
Double page spread, pp 240 – 241
Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity by Doran Ross
Five pages of this book are dedicated to the ways kente is utilized during Akan funeral rights, including draping the coffin, building a shelter and gift giving. The designs of the textiles themselves are not addressed however this is the only publication I have found with images of handwoven funeral cloth:
The caption reads: Details of two Asante funeral cloths: (a) Kuntunkuni woven by Samuel Kwaku Appiah, 1996. Cotton. Warp-strip widths between 10.5 and 10.8cm (b) Kuntunkuni Kɛseɛ woven by Osei Antobre, 1994. Cotton. Warp-strip widths between 20 and 21.5cm, p 45
“African Prints/African Ownership: On Naming, Value, and Classics” essay by Kathleen Bickford Berzock
The essay addresses the subject of how wax print textile designs are named, and the importance of these names. Within this context, only one paragraph tackles funeral cloth but the essay does introduce Erekosima and Eicher’s theory of cultural authentication and Kopytoff’s concept of sacralized objects for further reading; both welcome and overdue additions to the conversation.
The caption reads: Guaranteed Superb Prints, Location unknown. Death Does Not Wait collected in Cote d’Ivoire between 1989 and 1992. Fancy print. Private collection, p 78
“Mourning and Memory: Factory-Printed Textiles and the Baule of Cote d'Ivoire” essay by Kathleen Bickford
The paper investigates the sociological connotations of funerary attire amongst the Baule in Cote d’Ivoire. While the Baule are distinct from the Akan in Ghana, the physical proximity of the two tribes has resulted in many shared cultural norms. The paper is an extensive exploration of all facets of funerary attire including colors, group uniforms, social status, the significance of sartorial choices such as male wrappers and commemorative prints. This is by far the most comprehensive coverage of the subject that I have found, though it doesn’t contain any pictures and does not appear to have appeared in print.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Black-on-black geometric funeral cloth being worn in Ghana. Google images
Artist applying dye to adinkra cloth, Ntonso Ghana 2017. Photo by Jennifer Brown
The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles/Recent Art p 21
Ghanaian funeral cloth are usually black-on-black or red-on-red or black-on-black geometric designs (adinkra symbols are shown on these factory made textiles from China). Black and red, or black and white, are also sometimes used.
6 Bottles. Personal collection 2019
Owu Se Fei (death destroys the family). Personal collection 2009
Yen Adeɛ Kɛseɛ Bi Afriyensa (we have lost something big). Personal collection 2019
D Clarke, The Art of African Textiles, Thunder Bay 2002
S Gott, “Asante Hightimers and the Fashionable Display of Women’s Wealth in Contemporary Ghana’, Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, Volume 13 Issue 2, Berg 2009
A Grosfilley, African Wax Print Textiles, Prestel 2017
D Ross (et al.), Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History 1998
K Bickford, “Mourning and Memory: Factory-Printed Textiles and the Baule of Cote d'Ivoire”, Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings, The Art Institute of Chicago 1996
K Bickford Berzock, “African Prints/African Ownership: On Naming, Value, and Classics”, African-Print Fashion Now!: A Story of Taste, Globalization and Style, Fowler Museum at UCLA 2017
L Gumpert (ed.), The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles/Recent Art, New York University 2008