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AdinkraStampFunction

Page history last edited by Barbara Allen 16 years, 2 months ago

What do I do?

Form
Function	I am used to make adinkra cloth, one of the most important fabrics to wear for ceremonial occasions in Ghana. When adinkra cloth is made for a funeral, the cloth is dyed over and over, as many as 10 times, with dye made from the boiled roots of the Kuntunkuni tree, until the cloth is as black as midnight. After the cloth is dyed to the right color, I am used to stamp on the adinkra designs, using dye made from boiling the bark of the Badie tree. The stamping dye is dark, dark brown and very shiny, so the designs shine against the black cloth. Both the cloth dye and the stamping dye fade in the sun and wash away when wet so adinkra cloth isn't washed. When it becomes too faded it will be redyed and restamped. When the adinkra isn't for a funeral, it can be dyed any color. For weddings adinkra is white, like the cloth in this picture, but the stamping dye is always dark, dark brown.
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