Links to other Sites
& Books
L~i~n~k~s
Some sites worth a visit if you have an interest in Africa, or textiles or West African narrow-strip weaving in particular. We have only a handful of links here right now, no doubt there is plenty out there worth a visit - so let us know if you have a site we should mention.
   
Aba Tours offers unique tours to Ghana. Tours are for small groups and are tailored to participant's interests. They have many connections with artisan villages and can arrange workshops for various traditional crafts.
Visham is a retailer of African apparel as well as fashion accesories, jewelry, sculpture, masks and other artifacts and items for the home. Owned and run by a Ghanaian woman and located in Boston, MA and with a catalog on the Internet.

Ghana Home Page
When the web was a small place and a search for 'ghana' didn't return all that many hits, I remember this being one of them. Put together by a Ghanaian living in Finland. Seemed to be a labor of love, has grown into a very useful site for information and links to Ghana. An example, I think, of what's really nice about the internet.
Kente cloth and Adinkrah symbols
A page on Kente cloth as woven by the Ashanti, and a page on the symbols found in Adinkrah cloths. Various examples of cloths with an explanation of their meanings as a reflection of Ashanti values. Also offers calendars and posters.
Hasa Ghana
A strictly commercial site. Buy directly from the source. They have stores in Accra and Lagos. Well designed site, with a wide variety of nice looking products. Check this out for shopping.
Navrongo and Lawra
This is a great site. Two towns in northern Ghana are brought to the web by a pair of Peace Corps volunteers who lived some years in the area . Nicely designed, informative, fun and interesting. Definitely worth looking at if you're planning a trip to Ghana. Topics include culture, language, geography and history - plus some (like xylophone sounds...). If you're looking for Ghanaian or African sites, check out their collection of links.
A few more:

The Museum For Textiles
Yahoo!: Business&Economy:Companies:Arts&Crafts:Countries&Cultures:African
Gold Coast Africa Homepage
AFRICA ONLINE
AfriNET things African or African American

B·o·o·k·s
Some interesting reading on African textiles. Particularly West African narrow-strip weaving.
AFRICAN MAJESTY, The textile art of the Ashanti and Ewe
Peter Adler and Nicholas Barnard.
A fabulous book, outstanding selection of cloths with great color illustrations. A visual feast. Follow the link above for the publisher's info on the book and for ordering info. Published by Thames and Hudson Ltd.

WEST AFRICAN WEAVING
Venice Lamb, Duckworth & Co. Ltd.
The authoritative text on the subject. From the book's jacket: "Venice Lamb offers the first comprehensive survey of narrow-strip horizontal-loom weaving in West Africa. She examines not only the history and techniques, but also the geographical distribution and present economic development of this form of weaving. Having travelled extensively in West Africa, she describes the textiles of many regions, from Dakar in Senegal eastwards to Cameroun, and northwards to the sub-Saharan states of Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad. The most spectacular weavers, however, are the Asante and the Ewe, and it is their art which is described in most detail."

AFRICAN TEXTILES
John Picton & John Mack, British Museum Press.
A great read, covers textile arts from the whole continent. Beautifully illustrated.
"In Africa textiles are used not only as everyday clothing but for special events, sometimes with ritual meanings, and to decorate houses and shrines as well as people. This book looks beyond the design and making of African cloth to its social, political and religious significance."

This page last updated 1/16/99