Abe dua means "palm tree" in Twi, and the Adinkra symbol of that name represents the oil palm. Modern references associate it with self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, vitality and wealth.
Why the palm tree?
The oil palm was one of the most useful trees in the Akan world. It gave palm oil for cooking, palm wine, fibre, and fronds for building and weaving, and it could thrive where other plants struggled. A tree that provided so much, from one trunk, became a natural image of a person or community able to sustain itself.
The symbol
Abe Dua is usually drawn as a stylised palm, with a central trunk and fronds radiating out, in a compact, balanced form suited to stamping on cloth.
Abe Dua in jewellery
An Abe Dua design carries a simple, generous idea: the resourcefulness to make much from what one has.
