Adinkra Symbols
As two Haitian artists, when we decided to found our art business, it was very important to us that it reflected our roots and culture. As many of you may already know, the main spoken language in Haiti is Haitian Creole. During the colonization of Haiti, a lot of slaves were brought from different parts of West Africa. The African slaves had no effective way of communicating with each other since they spoke different African languages. In order to establish a common form of communication, the slaves decided to learn French. But the French dialect that they started to develop was very different from standard French. It was mainly a mix of French, Taino - language of the indigenous people - and African languages, which contributed to the richness of the Haitian language as we know it today.
Adinkra Symbols Chart from pinterest.com.
Including an African element in our logo design was the perfect way to celebrate the influence of the African languages on the birth of our mother tongue. We found inspiration in the Adinkra symbols which represent different concepts and aphorisms that reflect the beliefs of the Asante people. These symbols are believed to have their origin in Gyaman, a former kingdom of modern-day Côte d’Ivoire. According to the Asante legend, Adinkra was the name of the king of Gyaman, who was defeated and captured in battle by the Asantes. Adinkra wore patterned clothes, which was believed to be his way of expressing sorrow for being taken. Adinkra also means “goodbye” or “farewell” in Twi and it has been the tradition of the Asante people to wear patterned clothes at funerals of close ones.
Marking on Adinkra clothes from en.wikipedia.org.
Printing Adinkra symbols on clothes is a long and elaborate process that includes making the stamps and ink that are used to transfer the symbols to the fabric. The Asante originally handmade their own stamps and the ink is derived from natural pigments of the Badie and Kuntunkuni trees. The main methods used by the Asante people to print the Adinkra symbols on cloth are block-stamp technique and screen printing. There is a long list of Adinkra symbols. They refer to historical moments, animals, human qualities and behaviors and usually have a deep meaning. Nowadays, these elements are used on fabric, walls, pottery and sculptures. They are also used by fashion designers to decorate accessories other than clothes. Although the Adinkra symbols were originally used on funeral clothes, today the Adinkra symbols are worn by different ethnic groups all over Ghana for the celebration of all kinds of occasions.
Elder wearing Adinkra from http://www.earthmetropolis.com.
When we started building our brand, it was important to us that our logo transmitted a meaningful message. Atizay’s logo is inspired by the Adinkra symbol “Denkyem” or “Odenkyem”, which literally means “the crocodile.” The symbolic meaning of this element, however, is “prudence,” and perfectly illustrates our belief in art that is made with care and intention to deliver a story. There are a couple of versions of the crocodile and it can also mean “adaptability”, in reference to the way the animal can naturally adapt to both the air and water elements, and we love how this reminds us that art can be born from all places and circumstances.