There are a number of communication tools in Ghana with
which messages are carried across to a target individual or group of
individuals. Some of these communication tools could range from wall paintings,
wooden carven, metal works, designs and many others. One of these traditional
communication tools, which is widely used in Ghana and West Africa is the
Adinkra Symbols.
Adinkra [Y33 di nkra],which is a Twi word of the Akan Ethnic
group, literally means ‘Goodbye’ or ‘farewell’. It is a set of symbols which
represent popular proverbs and maxims, record historical events, express
particular attitudes or behaviour related to depicted figures, or concepts uniquely
related to abstract shapes(About.com). Adinkra symbols are widely used in
cotton cloth production as well as their embossment on several products like
pottery and metal works.
Adinkra symbols were originally designed and used for cloth
production by the Gyaaman clans of the Brong Ahafo region. It served as symbols
of royalty and used by spiritual leaders. Adinkra Symbols were often displayed
during Funerals and no wonder it literal meaning is a means of bidding farewell
to the deceased. Oral accounts and written narrations by Dr. J.B Danquah and
Prof. Adu Boahen have it that, Asantes
became the main producers of Adinkra symbols in the beginning of the 19th
century. According to these sources, a Gyaaman’s chief was killed in a conflict
between the Asantes and the Gyaamans in the latter’s attempt to copy the neighboring Asante’s ‘golden stool’.
The use of Adinkra Symbols is truly an effective means of
communication which to a great extent influences people’s thoughts and behavior. Over the years,Adinkra symbols have proven to be a great source of
history. Through the symbols, we now know some of the ways our fore fathers
used to communicate and their reach knowledge or expertise in the arts. The
physical appearance and certain objects used for the Adinkra symbols are not just
mere symbols or rough sketches but careful selection of depictive objects which
describes a person’s thoughts.
An effective communication process must have a sender,
message, receiver and a feedback. In this instance, adinkra symbols are very
good means of conveying messages from the user(sender) of the symbol to the
target audience(receiver). For instance, the use the ‘Sankofa’ symbol in a art
work is a means of urging people on for success by overlooking the number of
failures they may have encounted. A typical example to this point was some time
back when a friend lost her aunt. The family of the deceased alleged that a
friend of the woman killed her. The family members of the deseased therefore
used a funeral cloth with the ‘Owuo Atwedee,Baako mmfo’ symbol embossed on it.
This brought a sort of misunderstanding between the two families because the
family of the accused person reacted. From this instance, it could be seen
that,the deseased family planned a message with a target person in mind.
Through the Adinkra Symbol,they carried their message across which brought a
feed back.
