An Adinkra sign of the Akan people of Ghana, read as “lifelong learning”. Adinkra signs began as proverb patterns printed on mourning cloth by Akan makers. This one is a saying to carry through a life of study, not a spell for exams.
Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.
Adinkra began as proverb patterns printed on mourning cloth by Akan makers. The oldest dated piece in our sources is an Adinkra cloth of 1817 in the British Museum, studied in British Art Studies. We have not yet found an early dated example of this sign.
To verify: An early dated example of Nea Onnim No Sua A Ohu, and whether it is on the 1817 cloth; The drawing follows commonly printed forms; to check against an Akan maker’s chart
The name Nea Onnim No Sua A Ohu is itself a proverb in the Akan language, and the sign is read as “lifelong learning”. Adinkra signs like this one are sayings: something to read, think about and pass on.
To verify: A word-by-word translation of the name, from an Akan source
Shops sell this sign as a pendant. We tell it as a proverb sign of a living Akan tradition, credit Akan makers when we show it, and make no promise about exams or grades. The learning stays with the learner.
