African Textiles: Ewe Cloth
Ewe Cloth is a type of lesser known Kente cloth made by the Ewe (pronounced ev-ay) people who are thought to be originally from Nigeria and migrated in the late 17th century to Togo, Gahana and the Benin border. Kente Cloth is the name given to handwoven fabrics in Ghana and Togo.
Ewe Cloth is famously woven in strips on mostly cotton and is either very simple, like their indigo and white geometric patterns (below) or complex containing figurative motifs and designs seen above of cows, horses, people, plants, household items, ceremonial stools and more. These cloths were and are worn by all members of society.
There is a big debate between the Asante and Ewe people as to whom is responsible for the weaving of kente cloth, the Ewe claim it is from them. The best arguments we have read explain how the Ewe grew cotton as they migrated as opposed to Ghana which was more densely forested, and brought their cotton and weaving skills with them and taught the Asanti.
Either way, the range of textiles and the skill of the Ewe hand weavers is phenomenal, the motifs alone on top of a weft is a tricky process and requires great skill. We think they are the African Kings and Queens of woven cloth. You can see more of their skills here.
Here is our homage to the Ewe weavers, we used a motif that we recognised in a lot of their work and rich colours from their region. These socks are a firm favourite. You can buy your pair with a discount (limited number available) here. Or go to our website and enter EWEDISCOUNT when you've finished shopping at checkout.
Emmanuel Arthur —
The term “Kente” has no linguistic antecedents in the Ewe Language.Therefore,the Ewes wouldn’t have called the cloth Kente if it really originated with them.
The original Kente wasn’t woven with cotton.This explains why it looked like Kente(basket) hence “Kente ntoma”.Now if the Ewes brought the skill from Nigeria,where they migrated from,then we expect to see a kente-weaving tradition in Nigeria.But none exists over there.This makes it abundantly clear that on both linguistic and historical grounds,Kente did not originate with the Ewes.