Adinkra symbols are visual representations of Akan proverbs. The symbols are indigenous to the Akan people of West Africa. In Twi, Adinkra is also a greeting that means farewell. Because of the myth associated with the meaning of the word, Adinkra symbols are also popularly known as mourning cloth. Akan elders who highly revere their ancestors believe that the symbols serve as a medium of communication through the living and Asamando where the dead go to continue their life journey.
This website explores and archives the use of Adinkra as a symbolic language system for people of the African Diaspora. It also offers insight into the Public Humanities project organized in Ghana/USA as part of an initiative to celebrate the contribution of Adinkra and Poetry to the African literary Canon.
Adinkra symbols have several moving parts: language, art, decorative art, and material culture. The symbols were transferred to the United States during the late eighteenth century by Akan artisan men and continue to be used as a mode of bridging the multilingual gap between Africa and people of African descent. Adinkra symbols promote the joy of PanAfricanism and the beauty of West African languages.
