“Live with no excuses, travel with no regrets. . .” If you have never left the confines of your comfort to see a place you have never seen before, what are you doing in this dark, twisted world other than sleeping, waking up and waiting for another night fall?
“Life is short and the world is wide” If you have the itch for adventure beneath your skin, scratch gently – Africa is endowed with lots of beautiful places to see before the uncertain end of the world.
Africa’s alluring culture has been the intent behind every tourist’s visit. Our distinction from westernization is not only our heritage but our element of global excellence. You can trust Africa with the warmest welcome of all the continents in the world. What if we told you can explore some places in Africa without the burdens of your luggage?
Nigeria
This is the making of Aso Oke fabric in Nigeria. A hand loomed cloth woven by the Yoruba people of western Nigeria. Aso oke means top cloth in the English language. Usually woven by men, the fabric is used to make men’s gowns, called Agbada, women’s wrappers, called iro, and men’s hats, called fila.
It is from the Yoruba culture in Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Lagos, and the Osun States in southwestern Nigeria. The way of making Aso-oke cloth has remained the same for centuries, however new techniques and production methods have been looked into to eliminate the weight and thickness of the Aso-Oke cloth, and to make it more accessible for casual wear.
Adire textile is another beautiful piece; the indigo-dyed cloth made in southwestern Nigeria by Yoruba women, using a variety of resist-dyeing techniques.
Ghana
Kente, known as nwentom in Akan, is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Akan ethnic group of West Ghana. Kente is made in Akan lands such as Ashanti Kingdom, (Bonwire, Adanwomase, Sakora Wonoo, Ntonso in the Kwabre areas of the Ashanti Region)
It is also worn by the south eastern, central, and a part of the northern people of Ghana. Kente comes from the word kenten, which means basket in Akan dialect Asante. Akans refer to kente as nwentoma, meaning woven cloth. It is an Akan royal and sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance and was the cloth of kings. Over time, the use of kente became more widespread. However, its importance has remained and it is held in high esteem with Akans.
