Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
We visit Bonwire and Adanwomase, two villages near Kumasi in Ghana. These villages form the centre of Kente weaving in Ghana. Kente weaving is a traditional form of weaving, originally associated with Ashanti culture. The Ashanti are an ethnic group in southern Ghana. UNESCO has added the craft of Kente weaving to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Kente weaving, strips approximately 15 to 20 cm wide are woven, which are then sewn together to make traditional clothing. Nowadays, synthetic yarn is used as the base material. Weaving is carried out on a simple loom, often made from a few rough wooden beams. The warp is not mounted on a frame, but is secured about ten metres away under a heavy stone, which keeps it taut. This keeps the loom as simple as possible. The threads are cut to length in advance and stretched tightly between two beams. The weft thread is wound onto bobbins. The main heddles are operated by means of ropes with a small crossbar at the end. The weaver holds this in place with his toes. The linen weave is produced on the loom. The patterns are woven in using separate, hand-operated heddles. The weaving comb, which is used to beat the threads firmly together, is traditionally made from split bamboo or the fibres of the raffia palm. The fabric is characterised by bright colours and geometric patterns, both of which have traditional significance.
In Bouaké, in Côte d’Ivoire, we had already visited a place where such looms are made. Unfortunately, the maker was not there at the time.
Kente is known throughout the world, but Benin also has its own rich history of textile production. The techniques used in West Africa share many similarities, such as the use of horizontal looms on which threads of different colours are alternated to form symbolic patterns.
Here we also see a woman weaving in a different way: a wider piece on a vertical frame loom on which the warp is stretched to its final length. This type of loom is used in various parts of West Africa for weaving larger pieces of fabric. As the warp is not raised, the maximum length of the fabric is equal to the length of the stretched warp.
We visited Ghana on our overland trip by car (a Toyota LandCruiser 4WD campervan) from West-Africa; see our channel youtube.com/user/JanvanBekkum for hundreds of clips. More clips of Ghana can be found here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYlw_C7EP8KqyTKPnPCZ38MjsZxf_bkB. Enjoy more UNESCO Heritage Sites by playing the clips in this playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYlw_C7EP8IBS8qx_Y9CPHH8DbALfEd4.
Music and/or sound effects:
- 'Somewhere Sunny (ver 2)' by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Accralate'by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Expeditionary' by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Symphony of the Streets. Hip-Hop Background Music for video 60 second' created by Maksim Dudchyk and uploaded from Pixbay (pixabay.com/nl/music/orkestraal-symphony-of-the-streets-hip-hop-background-music-for-video-60-second-476679/).;
- 'Calm inspiring technology logo short version' created by Alex Zavesa, distributed by Pixabay (pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-calm-inspiring-technology-logo-short-version-518993/)."
We visit Bonwire and Adanwomase, two villages near Kumasi in Ghana. These villages form the centre of Kente weaving in Ghana. Kente weaving is a traditional form of weaving, originally associated with Ashanti culture. The Ashanti are an ethnic group in southern Ghana. UNESCO has added the craft of Kente weaving to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Kente weaving, strips approximately 15 to 20 cm wide are woven, which are then sewn together to make traditional clothing. Nowadays, synthetic yarn is used as the base material. Weaving is carried out on a simple loom, often made from a few rough wooden beams. The warp is not mounted on a frame, but is secured about ten metres away under a heavy stone, which keeps it taut. This keeps the loom as simple as possible. The threads are cut to length in advance and stretched tightly between two beams. The weft thread is wound onto bobbins. The main heddles are operated by means of ropes with a small crossbar at the end. The weaver holds this in place with his toes. The linen weave is produced on the loom. The patterns are woven in using separate, hand-operated heddles. The weaving comb, which is used to beat the threads firmly together, is traditionally made from split bamboo or the fibres of the raffia palm. The fabric is characterised by bright colours and geometric patterns, both of which have traditional significance.
In Bouaké, in Côte d’Ivoire, we had already visited a place where such looms are made. Unfortunately, the maker was not there at the time.
Kente is known throughout the world, but Benin also has its own rich history of textile production. The techniques used in West Africa share many similarities, such as the use of horizontal looms on which threads of different colours are alternated to form symbolic patterns.
Here we also see a woman weaving in a different way: a wider piece on a vertical frame loom on which the warp is stretched to its final length. This type of loom is used in various parts of West Africa for weaving larger pieces of fabric. As the warp is not raised, the maximum length of the fabric is equal to the length of the stretched warp.
We visited Ghana on our overland trip by car (a Toyota LandCruiser 4WD campervan) from West-Africa; see our channel youtube.com/user/JanvanBekkum for hundreds of clips. More clips of Ghana can be found here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYlw_C7EP8KqyTKPnPCZ38MjsZxf_bkB. Enjoy more UNESCO Heritage Sites by playing the clips in this playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMYlw_C7EP8IBS8qx_Y9CPHH8DbALfEd4.
Music and/or sound effects:
- 'Somewhere Sunny (ver 2)' by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Accralate'by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Expeditionary' by Kevin MacLeod. Link: www.incompetech.com. License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/;
- 'Symphony of the Streets. Hip-Hop Background Music for video 60 second' created by Maksim Dudchyk and uploaded from Pixbay (pixabay.com/nl/music/orkestraal-symphony-of-the-streets-hip-hop-background-music-for-video-60-second-476679/).;
- 'Calm inspiring technology logo short version' created by Alex Zavesa, distributed by Pixabay (pixabay.com/sound-effects/film-special-effects-calm-inspiring-technology-logo-short-version-518993/)."
