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Thursday, July 26, 2012

How Kente is Worn For Traditional Performances



I have done a few posts on Kente presented in contemporary fashion dresses.  The more traditional presentation of Kente is not as extravagant, but no less elegant.

Earlier on in the summer of 2012, I attended  a wedding in Edmonton where this Ghanaian Dance Group from Calgary put on a show for the newly married couple.  The pictures I obtained in the difficult light conditions was nothing to write home about.

But as good fortune will have it, I will attend another wedding one month later which will feature the same Dance group beautifully decorated in Kente Cloth, African Glass Beaded jewellery around their arms, wrists and ankles.

Armed with a camera better suited for tricky light conditions, I had a field day photographing the Dance ensemble as they presented the Adowa Dance, of the Ashanti Tribe in Ghana.

The traditional outfit of the Ashanti people is built around the Kente cloth.  For those traditional occasions the Kente cloth is wrapped around the body just underneath the armpit and secured in place.  The accessories shown here are the African beads, including the Krobo variety...





The two finger wave is a signature Adowa dance move and this group executes so effortlessly on all the elements of the traditional Ashanti dance.






I suspect that a little bit of Azonto dance was incorporated into the Adowa routine from the move captured below. That arm raised to me is textbook Azonto right there...















I struggled to figure out the white fabric print with gold detail worn by these cute dolls shown here without success so I am going to leave it to my more knowledgeable patrons to leave comments below that we can share and learn from.
















If you have to have a wedding in the Calgary and Edmonton area, it will be worth using their services to grace your occassion with an authentic Ashanti cultural performance.

The name of the group is Adehyeman mma and you may contact them at adehemanmma2011@hotmail.ca through the group's mentor Margaret Boateng (Mama Peggy)

Thanks for stopping by, and please share your thoughts in the comments area below...


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