Adinkra

The very essence of the word ‘Adinkra’ is ‘farewell’; as such, every symbol that is encapsulated in the whole body of Adinkra communicates or corresponds to a unique message or idea. Documented history has it that, as far back as the nineteenth century, unique Adinkra symbols were used in customary and traditional rites of society to depict the ideological stance of that society as regards to the ceremony or event in question. The art was showcased in various forms during festivals, funerals, marriages among others. Today, the use of Adinkra has been widely extended to cover almost every facet of life. In recent times, Adinkra symbols have become a suitable choice of branding the modern, competitive, and trendy Ghanaian clothing lifestyle. Over the years, Adinkra has gone beyond traditional cloth-making designs and has been fashionably incorporated into the designing of t-shirts, buttons, linen fabric clothes. Today, young people would prefer t-shirts with screen-printing inscriptions like ‘Me firi Ghana’, with an Adinkra like ‘Gye Nyame’ boldly designed beneath. Indeed, some acclaimed Ghanaian fashion designers like Mawuli Okudzeto, Kofi Ansah among others, have received international recognition by carving such niches for themselves, with popular brand names like MKOGH and PKOG, just to mention a few. Beyond that, apparels like footwear have also had a taste of Adinkra art. Artisans who make local footwear like sandals, slippers and ‘ahenema’ have also included these symbols in their designs. For instance, a locally made ‘ahenema’ has a carefully designed Adinkra symbol of three concentric rings encircling each other, known as ‘adinkrahene’ at the nose of each slipper. One other art is the design of bags with Adinkra symbols woven or sewn on the surface with fabric, (often kente pieces). The most popular addition to this art collection is the use of these designs in making jewellery and other fashion accessories. It is popular to see rings, pendants, earrings, necklaces, anklets, beads and many others designed with symbols like ‘ohene aniwa’, ‘epa’, ‘nkonsonkonson’, etc. In Ghana, the Precious Mineral Marketing Company (PMMC) is a typical example of an enterprise in this regard. Thus, on the international stage, Adinkra symbols have been employed as one of, if not the best indigenous symbols that give all manner of clothing, a unique fashion identity easily recognisable as truly Ghanaian. Quite apart from clothing, these symbols have formed part of locally designed fine and visual art. This has been such that, in creation of several Ghanaian sculptures, Adinkra has been one of the most recognisable themes. There many instances of metal and wooden sculpture designed into Adinkra. More often than not, these visual and fine arts have been used by individuals for decorative purposes. It is now commonplace to see a wall hanging in someone’s home, at the lobby of a corporate institution or in the sitting area of an afro-centric restaurant with the caption ‘welcome’ and a popular symbol like ‘Gye Nyame’ underneath it. Without a shred of doubt any Ghanaian who sees this in any institution in any distant part of the world, feels quite homey and comfortable, to some extent, immediately. Moreover, the designs of wooden plaques lately have also adopted Adinkra symbols. For instance, African institutions of late present Adinkra-designed plaques to individuals and entities, as gifts and awards for splendid performances. Woodcarvers as at today, still design stools for domestic as well as traditional purposes with these popular symbols. In Akan traditional homes, stools often known as ‘asesedwa’ are carved out of wood with these designs. Today as a unique of catching up with the west, local artisans have modernized their design of home furniture placed in areas like the living room, dining room and the study. Beautiful and attractive-looking sets are being carved daily. A common example is wooden coffee-table, which has an Adinkra symbol like ‘sankofa’ at the base with a glass plane on the surface. Hence it is ordinary to see the prolific use of Adinkra in fine and visual art because of the inherent artistic merits they possess. In present day, the use of symbols for trademarks and emblems cannot be over-emphasized. In corporate branding and marketing, many institutions have resorted to the use of symbols, both tactile and visual, as a mark of exclusivity and Adinkra are symbols of no exception. There are countless examples of institutions of all sorts who have adopted these symbols as logos, emblem, etc. In Ghana, for instance, a corporate institution like HFC Bank uses the symbol ‘ebankese’ as its corporate logo. Interestingly, Vodafone Ghana has designed their recharge cards such that whichever denomination has a long strip Adinkra symbols in front of the card. A popular plastics company by name ‘Strong Plast Ltd’ also uses the popular symbol, ‘Gye Nyame’ as a brand name for its plastic chairs. A very popular flour mill also uses ‘sankofa’ as the brand name of it flour. On a lighter side, along the coastal area it is fun to see fishermen decorate their canoes with these symbols as an interesting way of ownership.

Discuss and Compare two Care Philosophers Essay

Discuss and Compare two Care Philosophers - Essay Example It is thus prudent to take the level of affectedness and vulnerability of other interest before responding to a situation. Carol Gilligan and Joan Tronto are among the notable feminists who have contributed to the development of this theory. Joan Tronto borrows a lot from Carol Gilligan theory who he says is mentor. This paper discusses and compares the contribution of these two philosophers (Jagger et al, 42). The first part of the essay will discuss Carol Gilligan theory of different voices and the second portion will look at Joan Tronto rewriting of the ethic care theory into a postmodern theory. Carol Gilligan was a student of Kohlberg. However, she did not agree with the Kohlberg theories on moral development in humans. He saw Kohlberg theory as being gender biased since it showed that girls’ moral development was lower compared to that of boys and this was reflected in adult men and women. She asserted that this theory was biased in the sense that it only presented a mal e oriented perspective. This could also be contributed by the fact that Kohlberg subject were dominated by boys. She developed a theory that incorporated a female perspective on the subject. She said that men and women respond to moral dilemma differently (Held, 26). Women have to prioritize compassion and empathy over the moral scale that is provided by Kohlberg theory. This does not mean that they have weaker developed. She developed a new perspective of looking at the moral development called â€Å"The different voice† which was developed through unbiased empirical observation of the reaction of both men and women to ethical dilemma. Gilligan vies are contained in her book a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development written in 1982. This book has been seen to influence feminist not only in the field of psychology but also in other disciplines such as gender studies, political psychoanalysis and political studies. Being a feminist philosopher Gill igan aimed to deconstruct the classical masculine biased moral psychology by investigate the previously unheard female voice on the issues of ethics. She blamed the psychological theorist such as Kohlberg and Piaget for only using boys and the male perspective to construct the various moral theories in psychology. It is important to note that by asserting that gender differences results in differences in moral sensibility does not mean that Gilligan attacked Piaget and Kohlberg gender neutral theories. She claimed that it was wrong to conclude from Kantian theory that women are not fully developed morally since they are not able to be completely autonomous. She said that women actually do have a different voice than that of men which she now termed as the theory o f women moral sensibility popularly known as the care ethics. In order to understand Gilligan care ethics, it is important to look at Kohlberg theory of moral development. According to Kohlberg, moral development can be di vided into six stages which are divided into three main stages, convention, preconvention and post convention morality. The final stage which is the post convention morality is the point where a person is believed to have arrived at full moral development and has been labeled as the universal ethical principle orientation. He later realized not all human beings get to reach this stage with Mahatma Gandhi being an exceptional

Inventory management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Economics 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Ethical Codes and Particular Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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