Arts and Artefacts

In Akan civilization, art is neither decorative nor passive—it is an encoded language of statecraft, philosophical discourse, historical documentation, and spiritual metaphysics. Every motif stamped into an Adinkra cloth, every color combination woven into Kente, and every golden finial mounted atop a linguist staff communicates an explicit axiom of social order and ancestral ethics.

Arts & Artefacts (Adwinneɛ ne Nneɛma) offers an immersive, academic investigation into the visual semiotics and material culture of the Akan people. Learners will master the iconography of traditional textiles, the ceremonial significance of state weaponry, and the strict protocols governing royal dress for war, grief, and triumph. This course equips museum curators, textile designers, historians, traditional rulers, and cultural researchers to read, interpret, and preserve Akan visual heritage with scholarly precision.

Topics covered

• Kente/Adinkra Symbols, Names, Meanings and Philosophy
• Swords/Guns
• Symbols and Symbolisms
• Afadee ne ne Mmere