The traditional mourning cloth worn by the people residing in Ghana and Cote' d'Ivoire, the area of Asante in particular, is referred to as "Adinkra". These people, known as the Ashanti, are members of a large cultural group who identify strongly with a culture and collection of traditions known as the Akan. The common language of the Ashanti is known as "Twi", although other Akan people speak various dialects of Twi, such as the Fanti, a Coastal group, and the Akua-pim, a group located south-east of Asante. Although the Ashanti have been in contact with Europeans and other Western cultures since as early as the fifteenth century, the members of the Ashanti kingdom have managed to preserve many of their ancient customs and traditions.

Translated, Adinkra means "saying goodbye to one another when parting." According to legend, there was a war between Adinkra, the king of Gyaman and Asantehene, the king of the region of Nana Osei Bonsu-Panyin of Ashanti. Adinkra had attempted to copy the designs of the Ashanti Golden Stool, the unifying force of the Asante Nation. Adinkra's sacriligious attempt angered Asantehene and a quarrel ensued. Adinkra was defeated in this battle and eventually died. The cloth that Adinkra had worn was taken by Asantehene as a memento, thus introducing it to the Asante Nation. This colorful printed cloth, referred to as "Adinkra cloth", is worn by the Akan people when they wish to say goodbye to their deceased. The wearing of this cloth plays a role in the rememberance of the dead: the cloth is covered with printed symbols chosen specifically to express the wearer's feelings about the deceased.

The Akan people have traditionally worn special cloths decorated with Adinkra symbols as part of a mourning ritual. Funerals in the Akan culture take place as ceremonies and celebrations in which the participants display grief and loss. There are two types of art forms associated with Akan funerals, transitory forms and physically permanent forms. The transitory art forms include dance, music, singing and funerary laments; the physically permanent forms include the Adinkra cloth as well as ritual pottery and terracotta figures. Adinkra cloths are made from plain white or dyed russet brown fabric that has been stamped with traditional Akan symbols to form intricate patterns. The russet brown cloth is called "kuntunkuni" because the dye is made from the kuntunkuni tree. It is customarily worn by the Abususa elders and the immediate family of the deceased the first day after their death and often through the time of burial, signifying a prolonged feeling of melancholy. Adinkra cloths made from yellow ochre or white cotton fabrics are worn for happy occasions, such as weddings.

Today, the term Adinkra is also used to describe the printing or hand-stamping process as well as the symbols themselves. Adinkra cloths are made in villages where men, women and children all participate in their creation. After the fabric is obtained, a man prepares a black dye used for printing by boiling a special type of bark called "badies" in a large kettle into which lumps of iron slag have been placed. The bark is boiled for a couple of days until it is thick. Another man cuts Adinkra symbols out of gourds which have sticks attached to them that have been bound with twine and made into handles. The person responsible for the printing lays the cloth on a clean, flat patch of ground and secures the corners before taking the stamp, dipping it into the dye, and pressing it onto the cloth. The symbols are repeated or alternated with geometric patterns in a square block or a long strip until the entire cloth is covered. Children between the ages of eight and fifteen sew the strips of cloth together and hem the entire piece. The cloth is then sold by women at the local market.

Special thanks to Hyungsook Kim.

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