Ghanaian poet and literary coach Philip Dua Oyinka, best known as Nana Asaase has raised the flag of Ghana high as he has been featured in a documentary on CNN’s ‘Inside Africa.’
The documentary, titled, ‘The Birth Place Of Kente Fashion’, captures the history, art and importance of the ‘kente’ cloth.
In the documentary, Nana Asaase is seen performing a poem themed on ‘kente’ with his deep weave of words that evoke the spirit of Ghanaian oration.
“To me, I see the kente-weaving process to be generic to any art form like poetry, before you set of to write. The master does not just get up and throw anything about in the loom. No. To me, I compare it to a dream state where in his sleep he communes with his muse or his creator, who lends him the secret of what he’s about to do,” he said in the documentary.
Kente is a hand – woven Ghanaian cloth with yarns of different types and colors. It is believed to have developed in the 17th Century A.D. by the Ashanti people but archaeologists also trace its roots in a long tradition of weaving in Africa dating back to about 3000 B.C.
In the olden days, it was the preserve on the royalty, sacred functions and the affluent. It signified wealth and power. In recent times Kente has become a Ghanaian costume and by far one for other people across the world, merely for fashion.
Kente is now used widely across the country on special occasions such as festivities, wedding ceremonies, naming ceremonies among others.