Quilting Fabric Symbols Mirror African and African American Spirituality and History

Quilting has long been more than decoration — it’s storytelling, survival, and resistance. African slaves combined quilt patterns and hand sewing as a path to freedom on the Underground Railroad, using visual codes when words could not be spoken aloud.

Quilting became a form of coded resistance and survival.

Ancient Quilting Traditions

No one knows exactly when quilting began, but evidence in the Temple of Osiris at Abydos, Egypt, shows quilted clothing was worn 5,000 years ago. An ivory carving in the British Museum depicts Egypt’s first dynasty king wearing a quilted mantle scarf.

Long before newspapers or books, and before Europeans arrived in the Americas, quilt history began as a practical art. Pre–Civil War quilting (1619–1865) didn’t follow the research standards we use today, but oral history kept the stories alive.

Did You Know? Oral history has existed longer than written records. For enslaved Africans, quilts became clothing, bedding, insulation, and sometimes a coded map to freedom.

Coded Quilts of African Freedom

Documented evidence of coded Underground Railroad quilts didn’t appear in print until the late 1990s, when South Carolina quilt seller Ozella McDaniel Williams shared her family’s story. According to her, enslaved men and women created symbolic quilt blocks to guide escape routes. Though some historians remain skeptical due to lack of physical proof, secrecy was vital for survival — leaving little written record.

Common Quilt Patterns and Their Meanings

• Monkey Wrench – Signaled it was time to prepare mentally, physically, and spiritually for escape.
• Wagon Wheel – Told slaves to pack supplies and be ready for a long journey.
• Bow Tie / Hourglass – Indicated an Underground Railroad conductor was present to help them leave.
• Bear’s Paw – Directed travelers to follow animal tracks toward water and safe food sources.
• Drunkard’s Path – Encouraged zigzag travel to avoid slave catchers and dogs.
• Flying Geese – Pointed the way north, following the seasonal flight of geese.
• Log Cabin – A quilt with a black center square displayed at a home could mean safety for fugitives.

Underground Railroad quilts carried hidden survival codes.

Adinkra Symbols: Africa’s Visual Language

Quilt coding parallels West African Adinkra symbols — visual icons that represent proverbs, beliefs, and history. The Akan people of Ghana created this symbolic writing long before colonial contact.

Sankofa: “Return and get it” — learn from the past to build the future.

Sankofa comes from “san” (return) + “ko” (go) + “fa” (seek). It teaches that knowing your history empowers your future. Just like decoding Adinkra, interpreting quilts required understanding hidden meaning passed orally across generations.

Many cultures used quilting to record history and identity.

Quilting as Living Memory

Though proof of coded quilts remains debated, their legend continues to inspire. Oral histories of freedom quilts show how enslaved Africans used creativity and secrecy to survive. Like Adinkra, these codes preserved culture and offered hope under oppression.

More to Explore:

• Akan Calendar Sacred Days
• Survival of the Fattest – African History
• American Colonization Society
• Love Never Loses Its Way Home: African Languages

Land is defined as continents and islands solid parts of their surface not covered by water on the Earth's surface.

“Land governance issues need to be front and center in Africa to maintain and better its surging growth and achieve its development promise,” says Frank Byamugisha, author of the report and Lead Land Specialist in the World Bank’s Africa Region. “Our findings provide a useful, policy-oriented roadmap for African countries and communities to secure their own land for building shared prosperity.”

Inefficient land administration, weak governance and corruption to the land governance system in many African countries will fuel the land grab surge. An example of poor government is the fact that Ghana, Kenya and Uganda each have fewer than 10 professional land surveyors per one million people.

Land tenure legally or customarily is the legal system in which an individual, who is said to hold the land, owns land. Secure tenure is an important pillar for agriculture and food security. Research has shown that secure tenure provides incentives for farmers to invest in land.

Africa appears small in size on the map but Mexico, China, Eastern and Western Europe, India, The USA and Japan can all fit into Africa's total land area very comfortably. Africa is 11.68 million square miles or 30.2 million km2 and covers 20.4 percent of the total land area on Earth.

This is a list of African countries ranked by total area in Africa and world rank. Africa has eight countries in the top 25 world rank of land size of Earth's surface.

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Largest Countries in Africa by Land Size.

African Country	Size Rank in Africa	World Rank
Algeria	1	11
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2	12
Sudan	3	17
Libya	4	18
Chad	5	22
Niger	6	23
Angola	7	24
Mali	8	25
South Africa	9	26
Ethiopia	10	28
Mauritania	11	30
Egypt	12	31
Tanzania	13	32
Nigeria	14	33
Namibia	15	35
Mozambique	16	36
Zambia	17	40
Morocco	18	41
South Sudan	19	44
Somalia	20	46
Central African Republic	21	47
Madagascar	22	49
Botswana	23	50
Kenya	24	51
Cameroon	25	56
Zimbabwe	26	62
Republic of the Congo	27	65
Cote d'Ivoire	28	70
Burkina Faso	29	76
Gabon	30	78
Guinea	31	79
Uganda	32	81
Ghana	33	82
Senegal	34	88
Tunisia	35	93
Malawi	36	100
Eritrea	37	101
Benin	38	102
Liberia	39	104
Sierra Leone	40	119
Togo	41	126
Guinea-Bissau	42	137
Lesotho	43	141
Equatorial Guinea	44	145
Burundi	45	146
Rwanda	46	148
Djibouti	47	150
Eswatini	48	158
The Gambia	49	165
Cabo Verde	50	175
Comoros	51	179
Mauritius	52	180
Sao Tome and Principe	53	184
Seychelles	54	198

The Mercator projection of 1569 was one of the first navigation maps produced; the Mercator projection is for traveling purposes and is not an accurate visual representation of Africa. The Mercator projection was not developed to accurately show the true size of Africa but projections from the Mercator projection are still in use today.

1. Deadliest routes for refugees
2. Cooking with shea butter oil
3. Worst serial killers recorded in history are women
4. Indigenous healers and plants used
5. Night running illness or magic
6. What is back to Africa

Home › Explore Africa › African Folktales

Dying Over Honey: African Folklore of Koelle and His Two Wives

In this African folktale, honey becomes more than sweetness — it becomes a test of thoughtfulness, greed, and truth. The story of Koelle and his wives reminds us that generosity sweetens life, while selfishness sours it forever.

Koelle’s wives discover honey in the forest — the sweetness that leads to tragedy.

The Folktale of Koelle

Koelle had two wives. One day, both went to fetch firewood together. The younger wife discovered some honey. They harvested it and ate together — but the older wife saved a little for home. When questioned, she replied, “You have only a husband to care for, and yet you forget him. I will take honey home to mine.”

The younger wife said nothing but grew bitter. That evening, the older wife offered her husband the honey she had saved. He praised her and ate it all. Then, thinking the younger wife would have brought more, he rushed to her house — but she had none.

Angry that his favorite wife had not thought of him, Koelle struck her, and she fell dead against the fireplace stones. To calm the earth spirits, he buried her with her bead-and-feather necklace. But a few feathers rose and turned into a bird that circled above, crying, “I am the wife of Koelle! He killed me for honey!”

Haunted by the bird, Koelle killed it and sealed it in his bag. Later, when he reached another village, he opened the bag — and the bird flew out, repeating its cry for all to hear. The villagers demanded the truth; Koelle denied it, but they saw his guilt. Justice came swiftly: Koelle was punished, and his greed became a warning sung for generations.

Moral of the Story

Love without thoughtfulness is empty. Honey in this story symbolizes sweetness turned to sorrow — a reminder that what we keep to ourselves may destroy what we love most.

Cultural Insight

This tale belongs to a long African storytelling tradition where honey symbolizes both sweetness and temptation. Across many regions — from West Africa to the Congo Basin — honey often appears in proverbs and fables as a test of generosity, humility, and respect for the unseen moral order.

Explore more lessons in our African Proverbs Collection and African Folktales Hub.