It’s “The Day”! Everyone is overjoyed. Friends and family gathered together in harmony, in love, and in beauty. They are gathered for the greatest feeling man has ever known, love.
Engagements are the heart of our world. They are where families start. They are where old friends meet to support and cherish mutual connections. Engagements nurture society.
Engagements are very important aspects of every serious relationship when you take the big step, to get married. Of course, you’d have to look amazing for such a day as important as your engagement.
In Ghanaian society, wherever people are gathered in a big social setting or event, there is kente. It has become almost synonymous with joy, fun, family, unity, and love.
A prominent feature of African engagement ceremonies is the beauty and splendor exhibited with beautiful kente designs. Who said engagements have to be boring? Kente adds the necessary color and brightness to your engagement making it an experience to relive over again without any regret.
Engagement in African Context
In all parts of the world, engagements are always a moment to behold and celebrate. Engagements in Africa are particularly a special affair for the to-be couple, their families, and friends. The engagement ceremony is the formalization of the intent of the to-be couple to marry.
In most Western Traditions, the acceptance of the marriage proposal from either the man or the woman concludes the engagement. This is often the beginning of the wedding as the to-be couple starts preparing for their wedding.
African traditions aren’t very straightforward and involve many traditional requirements. One of the popular requirements is the dowry. Without fulfillment of the dowry, the marriage cannot take place.
The engagement is made possible after the dowry and requirements of the woman’s family.
A traditional engagement or wedding follows next.
Clothing is a very important part of every African tradition. To the extent that there are sometimes prescriptions for clothes for certain events. Naming ceremonies are traditionally happy occasions and involve wearing white to celebrate life. And welcome the new child into the family.
The African Kente is one of the most popular pieces of clothing that happens to be appropriate for happy events – weddings, engagements, etc. It’s commonplace to see women wearing kente designs for engagements. Kente designs can be made to fit a wide variety of styles hence styling is going to be a problem. Local and international designers are continually adapting kente to fit the trends of clothing and fashion. Kente styles for engagement are in abundance. The year 2021 is probably the year of weddings as many nuptial celebrations were put on hold in 2021. It’s always a good sight to see couples take up social media with their stunning, colorful, and beautiful engagement pictures.
We have carefully selected some of the very best kente designs for engagements we have seen this year. These African kente designs for engagements can be worn by guests as well as the couple. It’s however best that the couple goes with a matching couple design and kente design. That would make them more adorable, and “together” for their big day.
Beautiful African Kente Designs and Styles for Engagement in 2021
It might just be right to say kente was made for engagements, weddings, and other happy events. Its bright colors, attractive designs, and patterns make for a jolly celebration any day anytime. Beautiful African kente designs are adorned almost every weekend during engagements. And we have the best of kente designs for you. So whether you are planning to get engaged soon or you have been invited to one, here are some of the best.
Significance of Kente During Engagement
Kente has been passed down over the past 4 centuries as a royal clothing. It used to be only for royals but got its way into the mainstream. Kente was also used for a wide variety of things such as ritual celebrations, festivals, traditional weddings, and other celebrations.
The brightly colored kente cloths were mainly used for joyous occasions. Just like western clothes have been associated with Christian and formal wedding celebrations, indigenous African clothing such as kente and African prints are prominently associated with traditional engagements and weddings.
This is because engagement and marriage were traditional events before laws were made. Traditional ceremonies also existed before the laws were made to govern marriage.
Of course, we couldn’t abolish our traditions, so we had to adapt. Traditional ceremonies are now gaining much appeal and more people embrace the activities with much enthusiasm and grandeur.
Kente is probably the most cherished piece of not just Ghanaian but African fashion clothing. Kente was made a national cloth. It has been used by African Americans as a way to reconnect with their heritage and ancestry.
Kente was first a royal cloth among other things. After the first kente cloth was made, the King of the Ashanti kingdom made it clothing for his court and family. It would later be worn by the ordinary person. However, kente was used strictly for special occasions such as traditional marriages, engagements, and festivals.
Depending on what the occasion is, kente styles of different colors can be worn. This is because color has some special significance and connotation in African culture. Each color has meaning. Kente designs are created with much reverence for color. Color in African culture bears significant meaning.
Some kente style colors for traditional engagement include
- Blue: peacefulness, harmony, and love
- Gold: royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity
- Pink: assoc. with the female essence of life; a mild, gentle aspect of red
- Purple: assoc. with feminine aspects of life; usually worn by women
- Silver: serenity, purity, joy; associated with the moon
- White: purification, sanctification rites, and festive occasions
- Yellow: preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, beauty
A mix of yellow, white, and gold makes a good combination for a royal wedding theme marriage.
Conclusion
African kente styles for engagement are often what you would wear for traditional marriage. Both ceremonies could be held together as one. Our Ghanaian traditions hold a lot of significance. They add a flair of importance and reverence to whatever we do. So does kente. Kente makes every traditional engagement what it’s meant to be: colorful, joyous, and full of love.
