- Cloth Name
- Cecilia Yevu Kente
- Registry No.
- KR-D-2026-15050
- Origin
- Kpetoe (Agotime-Kpetoe), Volta Region, Ghana
- Weaver
- Cecilia Akpene Yevu
- Tradition
- Ewe (Agotime-Kpetoe)
- Pattern Family
- Striped Kente
- Signature Pattern
- Alternating coloured bands with fine pinstripes and ribbed stripes
- Primary Colours
- Pink-red, green, white & navy blue
- Provenance
- Woven by Cecilia Akpene Yevu, Kpetoe, Volta Region
Cecilia Yevu Kente is a strip-woven textile that reflects the elegance of simplicity. Unlike highly figurative Kente patterns that incorporate complex motifs, this design relies on the careful rhythm of alternating coloured bands to create harmony and balance.
Pattern & Design Analysis
Primary Composition: A symmetrical striped cloth built from woven strips, its character formed not by figurative imagery but by the measured repetition of coloured bands.
Pattern Meaning & Etymology: The design is named “Akpene Yevu” by its creator, the blind master weaver Akpene Yevu. Rather than drawing on a traditional proverb or court message, the pattern bears the weaver’s own name and stands as a deeply personal expression of identity, resilience, and craftsmanship — her artistic signature woven in cloth.
Visual Description & Technical Detail
The cloth is composed of alternating horizontal bands of soft pink-red mélange, bright white, deep navy blue, and vibrant green. Fine blue pinstripes separate the wider colour bands, adding precision and visual definition, while green ribbed stripes provide strong contrast and rhythm throughout the piece.
A balanced, repeating arrangement of colours creates a calm and harmonious visual flow. The weaving shows exceptional consistency — remarkably even strip widths and tight selvedges — demonstrating extraordinary technical skill achieved entirely by touch, despite the weaver’s visual impairment. The overall effect is one of quiet elegance rather than visual complexity: the colours complement one another to produce a textile that is at once vibrant and refined.
Its distinguishing features include:
- Alternating horizontal bands of soft pink-red mélange, bright white, deep navy blue, and vibrant green.
- Fine blue pinstripes separating the wider colour bands, adding precision and visual definition.
- Green ribbed stripes that provide strong contrast and rhythm throughout the cloth.
- A balanced, repeating arrangement of colours that creates a calm and harmonious visual flow.
- Exceptional weaving consistency, with remarkably even strip widths and tight selvedges, demonstrating extraordinary technical skill despite the weaver’s visual impairment.
Visual Documentation
Symbolic Interpretation
Although Akpene Yevu has named the pattern after herself rather than assigning it a traditional proverb or message, the design naturally conveys several interwoven themes:
- Personal identity — a cloth that bears the weaver’s own name, serving as her artistic signature.
- Perseverance and determination — representing the remarkable achievement of a blind woman mastering one of Ghana’s most intricate textile arts.
- Precision through experience — demonstrating that true craftsmanship comes from knowledge, touch, memory, and discipline as much as sight.
- Continuity and balance — the uninterrupted sequence of stripes reflecting stability, order, and enduring tradition.
Cultural & Historical Significance
Named after its creator, Cecilia Yevu Kente serves as both an artistic signature and a testament to resilience. Woven entirely by touch, it exemplifies the extraordinary skill of a blind master weaver and highlights the inclusive nature of Ghana’s living Kente weaving tradition, where excellence is defined by craftsmanship rather than physical ability.
For the Kente Registry, the design carries exceptional cultural value because it documents not only a unique woven pattern but also the story of the artisan behind it. Recording Akpene Yevu preserves both the textile itself and the inspiring legacy of one of Ghana’s accomplished blind Kente weavers.
Connections to the Kente Registry
This profile sits within the Registry alongside the working record of its weaver, Cecilia Akpene Yevu of Kpetoe (Agotime-Kpetoe). It is preserved here as part of the documentary record of contemporary Ewe Kente — an artefact in which traditional technique, personal authorship, and remarkable resilience are held together in a single woven body.
Credits & Acknowledgements
The Weaver
Cecilia Akpene Yevu is one of the few women weaving Ewe Kente in Agotime-Kpetoe, and she is blind — working through knowledge, touch, memory, and discipline. Cecilia Yevu Kente stands among her signature works: a cloth of quiet elegance that joins technical mastery with a deeply personal statement of identity.
Citation
Cecilia Yevu Kente, Cecilia Akpene Yevu, Kpetoe (Agotime-Kpetoe), Volta Region, Ghana. Kente Registry, KR-D-2026-15050.
Attribution and sources
Sources
Information provided by
- Raymond Ayitey , 16 July 2026 . Kente Registry Field Officer
