The symbol on the back of a Ghanaian taxi, the logo of a school, the tattoo on a footballer’s arm and the print on a funeral cloth often come from the same source: Adinkra. These symbols, from Asante culture, carry proverbs and ideas in simple shapes. Many Ghanaians recognise dozens of them without knowing their names.
Funeral cloth
Adinkra cloth was traditionally worn at funerals and other solemn occasions. The word adinkra is often linked with farewell. The cloth was dark, stamped with symbols that expressed messages about life, death and wisdom.
How it is made
Adinkra cloth is made by stamping. Artisans carve symbols into pieces of calabash and attach handles. They make dye by boiling the bark of a tree until it becomes a thick black paste. The stamps are dipped in the dye and pressed onto cloth laid out on a flat surface. Lines are drawn with combs to divide the cloth into squares.
Ntonso
The town of Ntonso, near Kumasi, is famous for Adinkra cloth production. Visitors can watch artisans boil dye and stamp cloth, and even try stamping themselves.
Gye Nyame
Gye Nyame means “except God”. It expresses the supremacy of God and is the most widely used Adinkra symbol in Ghana. It appears on buildings, fabrics, jewellery and church decorations.
Sankofa
Sankofa means “go back and fetch it”. It is shown as a bird looking backwards or as a heart-shaped design. The message is that it is not wrong to go back for what you have forgotten: the past can guide the future. Sankofa has become a symbol for the African diaspora’s search for roots.
Dwennimmen
Dwennimmen, the ram’s horns, stands for humility combined with strength. The ram fights fiercely but submits to be slaughtered, a lesson that even the strong must be humble.
Nyame Dua
Nyame Dua, “God’s tree”, represents the presence and protection of God. It recalls a forked post where offerings were placed in Asante homes.
Funtunfunefu Denkyemfunefu
This symbol shows two crocodiles sharing one stomach. It teaches unity in diversity: people with different interests share a common destiny, so fighting each other harms all.
Adinkra today
Adinkra symbols are now used far beyond funeral cloth. They appear in architecture, logos, fashion, tattoos and art. Printed fabrics carry them in bright colours for celebrations.
Each symbol is a short sermon. Gye Nyame on the back window of a trotro is not decoration. It is a proverb its owner wants every driver behind him to read.
