Tuesday, 29 May 2012

African print fabrics -Names and Meaning





Ghana is one of the leading countries in the production of African print fabric. So to speak, there are two major companies that produce these fabrics; Ghana Textiles Printers (GTP), and Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL).

These fabrics are mostly designed to mirror various African culture and traditions. Many of the designs found on fabrics portray events or adages. Others also depict highly respected people.

Most of these fabrics produced in Ghana have local names. 'Yaw Donkor', 'Bosu', 'Ama Serwaa', 'Efie mmosea' etc. are some of the names of the fabrics in Ghana.

 Below are some pictures of the cloths and their names. 


sika wo nntaban







This fabric is known as sika wo nntaban or sika tu. It is translated as money flies. This simply means that, if you get hold of money, you must take care of it else you will loose it and money lost is difficult to regain.


Efie mmosea
Efie mmosea is the name of this fabric. This, in English is gravels. Gravels because, the design in it looks like small stones. The meaning is that if your sister or a relative hurts you, it is more painful than an outsider. The popular adage is, efie mmosea s3 etwa wua, eye ya-when a member of your family hurts you, it is very painful.









Bonsu


We all know that the whale is one of the biggest, if not the biggest animal in the sea. It caries its weight around showing that no animal can tackle it. In Twi, a whale is called 'Bonsu' ( Twi is one of the local languages in Ghana). This very fabric is called 'Bonsu', literally, the whale in the sea. so when a person puts on this cloth, the message he or she is trying to put across is that, no one can tackle him or her.






This fabric is known as 'Yaw Donkor'. This is a name of a person, meaning that the first person to
Yaw Donkor
have used this cloth was called Yaw Donkor and he was a very rich and popular man. Thus, because of his popularity and passion for African fabric, this particular one was named after him.









Names are given to fabrics so that it becomes easy to identify and purchase.

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23 comments:

  1. artificial nails1 June 2012 at 06:37

    my mom loves African prints, and so i have grown to love them too. however i never learnt the names from her. thanks for the tip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. printafricagh16 August 2012 at 11:20

      you are welcome my dear.

      Delete
    2. Kofi3 May 2022 at 06:56

      can you give us the content , properties and care label of the fabrics and perhaps the uses ....its a project work please help me

      Delete
  2. duygutufekci7 January 2013 at 05:34

    hi,

    I live in norht of africa. orginally ı am turque ı love africans print, tissu,

    and one day ı want to go another africans country.

    ReplyDelete
  3. kosimmy13 October 2014 at 14:45

    Good to go down memory lane. I used to keep pieces any time

    the old lady got a new piece. thats how i learnt the names of the prints

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown22 March 2015 at 09:09

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. Unknown22 March 2015 at 09:10

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Unknown22 March 2015 at 09:10

    This has helped a lot in my research. Thank u printafricagh

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  7. Unknown22 March 2015 at 09:11

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Unknown22 March 2015 at 09:11

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Unknown7 January 2016 at 08:39

    I like african print fabric. Ghana is the leading country to create African print fabric. thanks for share it.
    African Fabrics

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  10. arif10 January 2016 at 23:04

    ON this time african fabrics is not only for the African .Now a days it's become very popular all over the world for its color,cloth,amazing design,looks beautiful,n stylist .Every ages of people likes its very much.
    African Fabrics
    African Wax Print
    African George Fabric
    African Velvet George
    Guipure Lace Fabrics
    Nigerian Lace Fabric
    French Lace Fabric
    African Head Tie

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  11. Djeny17 April 2016 at 23:09

    Thank you very much for your blog
    I've been doing a case study in design and working on African print. The names and meaning of prints given above have been very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unknown27 December 2016 at 10:52

    very nice African fabrics. we have a great collection of African Fabrics at lowest price. visit us as early as possible hope you guys will like them all
    Sequin Fabrics

    ReplyDelete
  13. Unknown1 November 2018 at 04:12

    I need a cloth for my mum but I want one with a name

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unknown20 December 2018 at 02:17

    i want to a cloth for my mum with a good name and consoling heart

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown5 April 2020 at 17:56

      Look for the print called Obaapa. She will appreciate it.

      Delete
  15. Unknown6 July 2019 at 05:03

    I learnt we have particular ones for married
    If yes may I know those one

    ReplyDelete
  16. Unknown13 December 2019 at 07:04

    I learnt some cloth we can't give it out as a gift, if so can I know those ones

    ReplyDelete
  17. Unknown4 May 2020 at 08:29

    Waaw I like the bonsu mat my Girlfriend bought me that clothes on my special day as my birthday gift.
    On this very day 3rd may 2020.
    I was upset when I don't Kno the name of that material she bought for me until I find out over tnx to my dear on.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Unknown17 June 2020 at 11:09

    Pls I want to buy an GTP cloth to show appreciation to someone special for her good things she has been doing for me. Help me with the name of the cloth I should get for her..I guess each GTP africa cloth has got a name. Pls do help me the name

    ReplyDelete
  19. Unknown17 September 2021 at 07:02

    that is not the meaning of "YAW DONKOR" fabric. Yaw Donkor is a servant, the fabric is worn by leaders who want to assume positions of service. it symbolizes humility and service to humanity.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Unknown28 January 2022 at 13:19

    Please ooo...an assignment has been given to me to find 20 ghana prints their names and their meaning. So i need more please

    ReplyDelete

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