Adinkra As A Good Communication Tool In Ghana

In this essay, I will start by discussing what Adinkra symbols are, their origin/history and how they are used. I will touch on how they were used in time past, how they are being used in this modern era and how effective they are in communication. In conclusion I will discuss my position as to whether adinkra symbols are good or bad communication tools based on the elements of communication.

 

    Introduction 
 

Upon first glance by the casual observer, Adinkra does not seem to be writing. In fact it is usually carved or imprinted onto a numerous number of mediums and is not written (as we think of the action of writing) onto anything at all. Perhaps it is due to this factor that renowned linguists, such as Walter Ong and John DeFrancisis have described or suggested such writing systems (that are not phonetic) as inferior or in a developmental stage progressing towards a so called ‘true’ phonetic system. However it is imperative to know that Adinkra is a writing system, an ideographic script—a script that has symbols that represent ideas—which is not acknowledged as such because it does not contain the attributes of Western writing systems which are portrayed as ideal.

 

     What Are Adinkra 

Adinkra are often defined as symbols (and ideographs), which through stylized pictures convey the philosophy of the Asante’s of Ghana (also known as the Akan), the culture to which they belong. (Danzy 2009). In the language of the Akan ethnic group (twi) of which Asante is a part, Adinkra also means ‘goodbye’ or ‘farewell’. It has therefore been the tradition of the Akan especially the Asante to wear cloths decorated with Adinkra symbols on important occasions especially at funerals of family relations and friends. Stylistically Adinkra symbols are “based on various observations of and associations between humans and objects they use, flora and fauna scenes, the human body and its parts, and elements of nature, [geometric] and abstract ideas” (Arthur 33). Thus, Adinkra are pictorial designs of birds, vines, chains, body parts, all of which represent more than their image and are understood within the context of Asante culture. 

 

     History/Origin of Adinkra Symbols

Although the proverbs that Adinkra symbols represent are remembered, the actual history of the origin of Adinkra symbols, despite the many theories that exist, has been lost. One theory held by the spiritual Akan, and most likely not by anyone else outside of the culture, is that Adinkra came with the Asantehene’s golden stool. In Asante history there is a belief that Okomfo Anokye, the first chief priest, called upon the heavens to bring down the golden stool, an artefact that came to symbolize the power of the first king of the Asante nation, Osei Tutu as well as the power of every succeeding Asantehene. 

These theorists believe that Adinkra cloth was on top of the stool brought down from the heavens, which would place Adinkra’s origin in the seventh century (Willis 31). A more credible yet disproven theory, which comes from oral traditions, is that Adinkra symbols originated from Gyaman, a former kingdom in today’s Côte D’Ivoire.According to an Asante legend, Adinkra was the name of a king of the Gyaman (Nana Kofi Adinkra). He was defeated and captured in a battle by the Asante’s for having copied the “Golden Stool”, which represents for them absolute power and tribal cohesion. He was finally killed and his territory appropriated to the kingdom of Asante. 

The tradition had it that whiles alive, Nana Adinkra wore patterned cloth, which was interpreted as a way of expressing his sorrow on being taken to Kumasi the capital of Asante. The Asante people around the 19th century then took to painting of traditional symbols of the Gyamans onto cloth, a tradition that was well practiced by the latter.

 

      The Use Of Adinkra Symbols

The Adinkra symbols express various themes that relate to the history, beliefs and philosophy of the Asante. They mostly have rich proverbial meaning since proverbs play an important role in the Asante culture. The use of Proverbs is considered as a mark of wisdom. Other Adinkra symbols depict historical events, human behaviour and attitudes, animal behaviour, plant life forms and shapes of objects. 

Often Adinkra symbols are not recognized for the messages that they communicate but rather their aesthetic features. Adinkra appears on a variety of art mediums, “textiles, pottery, stools, umbrella tops, linguist staffs, gold weights, jewelry, swords, architecture,” and much more (Quarcoo ix). However they are most common on utilitarian objects, like combs, stools, clothes, etc. Although Adinkra is present on items of useful value, they are not less meaningful nor are the objects less beautiful.  

Today, Adinkra symbols are symbolic pictures or motives used to decorate colourful patterned cloth by fashion designers in Ghana. Designers in modern times use Adinkra symbols in creating and decorating other accessories than cloth. Other artisans/crafts men such as sculptors, carpenters, and architects also use the symbols to design their products. Some corporate institutions in Ghana now use the Adinkra symbols as their institutional Symbol or Logo.

 

      How Effective Adinkra Are In Communication

Before we can settle as to whether Adinkra serve as a good communication tool or not, we will first have to understand what we mean by communication and then see how best Adinkra helps in the process of communicating.

Communication in its simplest form is the transmission of message from a source to a receiver. It has been defined by Huss Rebekah (2002) as “the process of understanding and sharing of meaning”. This is to say that communication is not complete until the parties involved have a common meaning of the message. With this in mind let us now look at how Adinkra helps in creating a shared/common meaning between various parties involved in a communication process taking the elements of communication (Process, Understanding, Sharing, Meaning and Environment/Context) into consideration.

·         Communication is an activity, an exchange or set of behaviours that occur over time and also it’s not an unchanging product. The emergence of new Adinkra symbols is reflective of the new ideas that have developed as a result of social, cultural, and historical changes (i.e. exchange or set of behaviours that occur over time). 

Adinkra symbols and their meanings have transcended time yet they have adapted (i.e. not an unchanging product) to the social, cultural, and historical changes that characterize modern Ghanaian society. An example of this is the Adinkra symbol of a chain link, “epa” that was created before the slave trade with Europeans. When the symbol was created it stood for ‘law and justice’ reflecting that in the past people who committed crimes were sold into slavery. 

However, in present day Ghana the symbol does not stand for the possibility of becoming a slave but rather for “the uncompromising nature of the law” and the price for committing a crime being imprisonment (“West African Wisdom”). Another symbol that has adapted to changes throughout time is the “Gye Nyame” symbol. This symbol in the past reflected the Akan’s belief in the supremacy of God. 

Today it also stands for the supremacy of God; however, it is applied to the Christian God (Arthur 42). While the meanings of the symbols have not changed, they are being adapted to fit the changes in Ghanaian society. Adinkra has been adapted into all aspects of Ghana’s developing society and appears on churches, universities, banks and insurance houses (Quarcoo ix). This then means Adinkra can be confined within the communication element ‘Process’.

·         Communication involves perceiving interpretation and construction of meaning of verbal and non-verbal behaviour/ideas of others. Adinkra is a writing system, an ideographic script—a script that has symbols that represent ideas. These ideas have common meanings among the Asantes. 

The Okyeame, advisors to the king, were one of the first to propagate values through the use of Adinkra. They were known as Chief Linguists because of their ability to communicate wise words through language and images like Adinkra. When advising the king, the Okyeame always carried a staff of office carved in wood with an emblem at the top covered with gold leaf. 

These emblems described on the head of the linguist staff were symbols, either Adinkra symbols or less stylized representations of things that represented a meaning (a proverb, symbolize qualities of the chief, or reflect a historic event in the life of the nation). The Okyeame used these symbols to communicate values to the king and the royal court (but the symbols still have significance today). 

An example of an Adinkra emblem on an Okyeame staff is the symbol called Sankofa, which means to learn from the past in order to move forward—se wo were fin a wosankofa a yenkyi (it is no taboo to return to fetch something which has been forgotten).

·         Communication involves interaction between people to exchange meaning. This means parties involved in the process agree on same meaning of the message communicated.  Adinkra is a means of communication, particularly in the Asante language “twi” but the ideas can also be expressed in other languages because the symbols do not represent sounds and are used to give advice or warnings. Here it can be said that Adinkra can still be used for communication by other people (who are not necessarily Asantes) although it did not originate from them. This is because there is agreement as to what which symbol signifies. Example the “Gye Nyame” symbol connotes the supremacy of God in Asante. It

also connotes the same if a Ga uses it. This is because there has been a shared meaning as to what the symbol signifies.

·         Communication involves shared understanding of the message. It involves learning cultural codes and symbols of the message. One will have to learn what a particular symbol signifies before they can be used to communicate effectively. An example is the “Sankofa” Adinkra. 

There are two versions of this Adinkra symbol. One is a very stylized image that looks like a heart but are two birds looking backward as their front still extends forward. Often this is not the representation used on the linguist staff, instead of using this stylized version, there is another Adinkra symbol of a clear representation of a bird facing backward with a calabash in his mouth as his feet move forward. 

The Okyeame used this ‘particular’ staff to visually remind the King and council to look to their history in order to act appropriately in the future. It can be said then that the Okyeame upon learning, discerned that, the second type of the same Adinkra (Sankofa) is what he needed to best communicate his message even though there are two types. Here we also talk about the meaning people attach to something. 

In Asante culture for example, objects are appreciated and valued more because of the Adinkra symbols that appear on them, which adds to their aesthetic value because Adinkra is full of meaning

·         Communication also involves the socio culture arena/context in which communication and interaction takes place (e.g. Ghana) It also sometimes refers to the people involved in the communication process (primarily Asantes in this case). 

While Adinkra is valued for its link to art, outsiders of the Asante culture do not always value the symbols for what they visually communicate such as “proverbs, parables and maxims” (Agbo v check). Adinkra are pictorial designs of birds, vines, chains, body parts, all of which represent more than their image and are understood better within the context of Asante culture. 

This means in Asante land Adinkra will be more appreciated and understood when used than other places in Ghana; just as some words can be better understood within the specific context they are used.

         Conclusion

Adinkra symbols are to a large extent good communication tools in Ghana; taking into consideration the fact that people put on cloths with Adinkra to announce a situation (death) or their emotional state (grief). Also Adinkra has been adapted into all aspects of Ghana’s developing society and appears on Churches, Universities, Banks and Insurance houses and some Corporate Institutions in Ghana even use the Adinkra symbols as their institutional Symbol or Logo. Example…..   

It is however imperative to know that the meanings of these symbols are not understood by all. Thus Adinkra is most popular among the Asantes. Also due to evolution people in this era do not really appreciate or see the essence of Adinkra. This may be due to the fact that methods of communicating have evolved and thus more complex ways of expressing same meanings are available. People thus do not have the urge to learn or understand Adinkra Symbols today.

 

      Bibliography

 

 Agbo, Adolph Hilary. Values of Adinkra and Agama Symbols. Kumasi: Bigshy Designs
         and Publications, 2006.

Arthur, George F. Kojo. Cloth as a metaphor: (re)reading the Adinkra cloth symbols of
         the Akan of Ghana. Legon: Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 2001.

Danzy J. Adinkra Symbols: an ideographic writing system. Stony Brook University,
          New York, 2009.

Quarcoo, Alfred Kofi. The Language of Adinkra Patterns. 2. Legon: University of Ghana,
          1994.

Tetteh, V. ADINKRA: cultural symbols of the asante people. 2011

 Willis, W. Bruce. The Adinkra dictionary : a visual primer on the language of Adinkra.
          Washington, D.C: Pyramid Complex, 1998.


By: Julius Ofori Boadu (JOB)
(juliusboadu@gmail.com)
Twitter: @CwesiOfori