The word “ankara” is used to denote a style of clothing and fabric that prints traditional African designs, colors, patterns, and symbols on cotton using a wax-based process. You may have heard Ankara referred to by different names, such as “kente cloth”, “african wax print”, “kitenge” or “ankara patterns”.
The word “Ankara” was used by Nigerian tradesmen to refer to “Accra,” Ghana’s capital. These tradesmen would travel back and forth to Accra to source fabric, since Accra was the main hub for African prints at the time.
It is 100% cotton cloth. The method of producing African print fabric is called batik, a wax-resist dyeing technique. The design and colours look the same on both sides of the fabric.