The choice of symbols as a motif is very important and remains a powerful tool to convey messages behind a design. This study aims to enlighten
designers, scholars in the field of fine
arts, instructors of fashion clothing and textile,historians, vendors and consumers on the selection
criteria of various symbols embodied as motifs on the adorn toghu cloth. Through audience interviews,
exploration of archives, Internet sources and descriptive research methods, the
authors have identified fifty symbols. The majority of the symbols used as motifs on toghu clothes were obtained in the
national museums, while others were a collection from Ghana and Nigeria. Their
significance was determined to be not
limited to their aesthetics, but also served as a tool of communication of traditional wisdom, unity of purpose, feelings,
distinguishing of persons, preservation of
cultural values in the society and cross-cultural exchange amongst
ethnic groups and across the borders. Some of the
References
[1]
Aborogong, F. J. (2015). Interview with the Noble: Cultural Addressor of Mankon Cultural Development Association in Bamenda.
[2]
Alain, S., & Jemes, U. (2004). Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir. http://www.fashiontheory.com/
[3]
Chen, F. (2022). Analysis of the Characteristics of Art Intangible Cultural Heritage in Cross-Cultural Communication. Art and Design Review, 10, 389-396. https://doi.org/10.4236/adr.2022.103030
[4]
Dereje, D., Liu, J. Y., & Zhou, J. (2013). African Textile Design and Fabric Art as a Source for Contemporary Fashion Trends. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Science and Social Research (ICSSR 2013) (Vol. 2, pp. 229-231). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/icssr-13.2013.50
[5]
Jong, T. V. (2014). Dramatizing/Transforming the Cameroonian Oral Tale: A Study of Ngoh Agnes Nzuh’s, the Story of the Stubborn Chicks: In Epasa Moto. A Multidisciplinary Journal of Arts, Letters and the Humanities, 1, 247.
[6]
Kah, H. K. (2014). Our Gowns for Your Trousers, Sexuality and Women Revolt in Colonial Laimbwe Land, Cameroon: In Epasa Moto. A Multidisciplinary Journal of Arts, Letters and the Humanities, 1, 103-106.
[7]
Levy, S. J., & Czepiel, J. A. (1974). Marketing and Aesthetics. In R. C. Curhan, & O. R. Portland (Eds.,), American Educators Conference (pp. 386-391).
[8]
Mawuna, R. K. (2013). 63 African Symbols for Creative Design. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adinkra_symbols
[9]
Ngome, E. N. (2016). Globalization and Cultural Identities: An Ethno-Historical Survey of the Decline and Resilience of the Country Cloth Culture in Cameroon, C. 1850-2015. TRANS Internet Journal for Cultural Studies, No. 20. http://www.inst.at/trans/20/globalization-and-cultural-identities-an-ethno-historical-survey-of-the-decline-and-resilience-of-the-country-cloth-culture-in-cameroon-c-1850-2015/,%20Accessed%20on%20February%2012,%202022
[10]
Njumah, N. M. (2017). “Traditional” Clothing Production and Uses in Urban-Bamenda: 1969-2012: Mutations and Socio-Economic Impact (pp. 2-30). Master’s Thesis, University of Bamenda. (Unpublished)
[11]
Wang, J. S. (2012). Introduction to Intangible Cultural Heritage. Adopted Traditional Symbols from the Adinka Cloth from Ghana. Xueyuan Press.