Book Review: The Spider Weaver: A Legend of Kente Cloth

The Spider Weaver: A Legend of Kente Cloth, written by Margaret Musgrove and illustrated by Julia Cairns, is a book retelling the legend presenting the mythical origins of Kente Cloth, a colorful type of cloth still produced by Ghanian weavers today. The legend itself dates back to the 17th century, during the time of King Oti Askenten. This story is most suitable for children in the lower to middle elementary grades.

The story features two weavers, Nana Koragu and Nana Ameyaw, who live in the Ashanti village of Bonwire in the country of Ghana. The cloth the men weave a simple cloth called nwen-ntoma, worn by everyone in the village, from the Ashanti king to the apprentice. One night, as they are heading home from the forest after a successful hunt, they happen across a spider’s web – but not just any ordinary spider’s web. The design of the web, constructed with a single unbroken thread, is the most extraordinary and exquisite they have ever seen. In their attempts to detach the web in order to bring it home to study, it collapses, and the weavers return home broken hearted.

The next day, they explain what happened to Afiya, Ameyaw’s wife. She gently explains that perhaps their mishap is a blessing in disguise, and that instead of trying to find another web, they might instead look for the weaver. The next day, Koragu and Ameyaw do exactly that – and among the banana trees, papaya trees, and tall silk cottons, they see a beautiful yellow and black spider, beginning a new masterpiece. Enchanted, the two men sit and watch the spider spin another web, a process resembling a weaving dance. Heeding Afiya’s advice, they realize they can learn how to weave her intricate designs by watching. And they do, watching their little teacher all afternoon and into the evening, until her second masterpiece is complete. Upon returning home, they are able to replicate the spider’s weaving dance, first with simple black-and-white thread, then with bright colors. They name their new weavings kente-nwen-ntoma, what is referred to as kente cloth today.

The book concludes with an afterword for the educator (and the inquisitive student), describing the origins of the kente cloth in more depth, as well as explaining the meanings of specific patterns used in contemporary kente cloths. Accompanying the afterword is a pronunciation guide of all of the unfamiliar words found in the story.

This book could be part of a larger lesson in which the students learn about weaving and create a weaving piece of their own. The educator can begin by leading the students in a review of the concept of patterns, which s/he can then tie into the concept of weaving as it pertains to patterns, e.g., the "over, under, over, under" pattern the weaver has to follow. Younger students would benefit from an activity in which they create a "weaving" out of strips of construction paper before they graduate to a project in which they create a weaving out of yarn or other types of yarnlike materials. Older students can be encouraged to use unorthodox materials in their weavings to create an interesting effect. Regardless of the grade level, vocabulary words pertaining to weaving should be reinforced in the hands-on activity.