The Possibilities of Converting Akan Totems into Textile Designs for Ceremonial Cloths:A Means for Checking the Abuse of Totems in Ghana

Abstract

In the Ghanaian societies, totems are represented by either plant or animals, sculptural work, landscape or even a mythical entity revered by members of that particular social group. These  serve as an emblem of a particular family or a clan and often as a reminder of their ancestry and protection. In Ghana, almost every traditional ruler, chief or king has a totem. Many wildlife species are regarded as totems due to their historical or socio-cultural significance, however, they are seriously abused by hunters and other human activities. This study seeks to find out the possibilities of converting some selected totems from the Akans into textile designs  for cloths to be used during festive occasions as a means of education. This sensitizes the societies and  the  traditional rulers on the disappearance of those plants and animals  and the need to preserve the remaining few. As an art-studio based  practice, the study employs manual sketches of selected totems among the Asante and Kwehu clans  using pencils and Adobe Photoshop CS3,computer graphics software as the main  design tools. The study was based on qualitative research approach which made use of the art-studio practice and descriptive observational method of research. Purposive sampling technique was used to gather data from clan heads, people from centre for national Culture, lecturers from KNUST and Kumasi polytechnic,  students from KNUST and Kumasi polytechnic, textile retailers and  textile artists within Kumasi metropolis to establish the conceptual background for the study. Observation and unstructured interview guides were the main instruments used for data collection. The study concluded that converting totems into  textile design for ceremonial cloth was paramount to understanding of their importance and easily educate  the general public their philosophical and economic ideals.

Keywords: totems, cloth, textile  design, ceremony, philosophy, communication