African Food and Art

Thank you to our latest donor, Tony. Thank you, Tony. We were able to purchase three new stainless steel pots to continue our cooking and teaching heritage.

History behind three African cloth fabrics

African fabrics Kente cloth, Mud cloth, and Ndebele cloth pattern history and facts

Deep information about Kente, Mud-cloth, Ndebele cloth patterns.

Famous African Cloth

Three of the most famous African-cloth designs are Kente-cloth, Mud-cloth, and Ndebele cloth pattern.

African culture, particularly in the areas of dance, music and the fine arts has influenced cultures around the world for two millennia. African people are creative having a long history of unique cultural elegance valued around the world over.  The making and trading of African cloth have been vital elements in African culture.

Through African cloth, we can understand not only African history but also its engagement with other parts of the world. African cloth can be used to address global issues and to express individual traditions of Africa.

African cloth is unspoken language often providing a way of suggesting thoughts and feelings which may not or cannot be expressed in other ways.  These African cloths regularly move as symbols between the kingdoms of the earthly and the dead.

History behind three beautiful African cloth fabrics

Kente Cloth

Kente cloth

Kente cloth pronounced Ken-Tay is one of the most famous African textile designs. Kente is a colorful traditional cloth that is worn mostly on important occasions and celebrations.

The Ashanti people of Ghana and the Ewe people of Ghana and Togo make the African cloth, kente. Kente cloth is the most recognizable of all African textiles. Kente cloth originated with the Ashanti people of Ghana dating back 375 years in the village of Bonwire.

Bonwire is a kente clothing weaving village in Ejisu-Juaben Municipal district, a district of Ashanti. To this day, Bonwire is still the most famous center for kente cloth weaving.

Traditional Kente Cloth was black and white however the colors of black, red, yellow and green symbolize black represents Africa, red represents the blood of ancestors and yellow represents a wealth of gold.

Mud-Cloth

Mud Cloth African Cloth

The African country of Mali is famous for Mud cloth or bogolanfini. Mud cloth is a distinctive fabric made by the Bamana peoples of Mali, West Africa.

The geometric designs that are created are often stylized forms of animals or other objects from the natural world.

The zigzag motif on this cloth is known as 'the legs of a cricket'.

Ndebele Cloth Pattern

Ndebele African Cloth Pattern

Ndebele pattern has a strong symbolic value and is closely linked to the home and to the relationship of the person.

This art form has developed in the second half of the nineteenth century, using bright of the brightest colors.

Earth tones were used in the past. The South African Ndebele origins are unknown, however; their history can be traced back to chief Mafana in the 1600s.

The Ndebele first officially recorded chief, chief Mafana was succeeded by chief Mhlanga.


Together we build awareness that boost harmony, education, and success, below are more links to articles you will find thought provoking.

  1. Deadliest routes for refugees
  2. Cooking with shea butter oil
  3. Worst serial killers recorded in history are women
  4. Indigenous healers and plants used
  5. Night running illness or magic
  6. What is back to Africa

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

Week’s Best African Culture Posts

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

Image
How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali and
Learn More About Africa

Ethiopian Midwest American Hotdish

Image
Our Ethiopian hot dish combines Ethiopian cooking with classic Minnesota Midwest casserole meal. The hot dish’s origins are a product of settlers traditions in Midwest America dating back to the early 20th century. A hot-dish or casserole is a one-pan meal that traditionally includes a combination of starch like potatoes, pasta, or rice, ground meat, vegetables, and a creamy canned soup base, all topped with crunchy goodness like breadcrumbs or tater tots. The concept of hot dish became popular in the Upper Midwest, particularly in states like Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, in the 1930s and 1940s. This period was marked by economic challenges, including the Great Depression. The need for economical and filling meals led to the creation of dishes that could be stretched to feed many people using simple, affordable ingredients . Hot dishes became synonymous with potlucks, church suppers, and social gatherings. These events were central to rural and small-town communities, where
Learn More About Africa

Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa

Image
African Country by Size List. Africa Which are the top twenty largest, smallest, and territorial country in Africa by land area? 1. The continent of Africa is the world’s second largest based on land area and population just after Asia. 2. Top five largest countries of Africa are Algeria, Congo Democratic Republic of the, Sudan, Libya and Chad. 3. Top five smallest African countries and territories are Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Saint Helena and Mayotte. African Country from largest to smallest Area sq mile Area sq km Algeria 919,595 2,381,740 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 905,568 2,345,410 Sudan 718,723 1,861,484 Libya 679,362 1,759,540 Chad 495,755 1,284,000 Niger 489,191 1,267,000 Angola 481,354 1,246,700 Mali 478,767 1,240,000 South Africa 471,011 1,219,912 Ethiopia 435,186 1,127,127 Mauritania 397,95
Learn More About Africa

Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off

Image
Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off. Idzila are Ndebele wives traditionally wear rings around the neck as a status symbol and wear rings around the arms, legs, and neck. Wearing Neck Rings. For centuries, married South African Ndebele tribes’ women saw wearing heavy rings around their neck as an honored status symbol. Neck rings are any form of stiff necklaces worn around the neck of an individual. The neck rings are usually made of copper or brass. During initiation, girls wear an array of colorfully beaded hoops called izigolwan around their legs, arms, waist, and neck. After marriage, the Ndebele wife would wear copper and brass rings around her arms, legs, and neck, symbolizing her bond and faithfulness to her husband, once her home was built. Idzila rings were believed to have strong ritual powers. Husbands used to provide their wives with rings; the richer the husband, the more rings the wife would wear. These outward symbols can be removed only in ca
Learn More About Africa