Nkyinkyim
Nkyinkyim, “twisting”, is the zigzag adinkra symbol of initiative, dynamism and versatility: the road of life twists and turns.
Meaning
Nkyinkyim is an Akan symbol from Ghana, stamped on adinkra cloth; the KNUST authors J. E. T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor, George Appiah and Melvin Nartey spell it Nkyimkyim. They translate it as “Twists and Turns” and give its meaning as “Dynamism or versatility is the soul of life”. “Life is not a straight line,” they write; “Prudent living is a balance between a zig and a zag,” and the zigzag on the cloth stands for prudence, vigilance and balance. Anthony Zamblé (The Covenant Quarterly, 2023) reads it as a lesson for the young: “The road of life is full of twists and turns.” The design-tools table at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has “Twisting” and “Initiative, dynamism, and versatility”.
Read next
- Next in Adinkra symbolsAkoma (the heart)Akoma, “the heart”, is the adinkra symbol of patience and endurance. Its saying is nyaakoma, “take heart”.
- The same shape in Chinese radicalsCǎo 艸The character for ‘grass’, and radical 140 of the 214 Kangxi radicals, under which the names of plants and flowers are filed.
See also
Denkyem (crocodile), Gye Nyame, Nyame Dua, Nsoromma (star), Osram ne Nsoromma (moon and star), Sankofa.
Sources
- The philosophy behind some Adinkra symbols (Kuwornu-Adjaottor et al. 2016), J. E. T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor, George Appiah and Melvin Nartey (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), “The philosophy behind some Adinkra symbols and their communicative values in Akan”, Philosophical Papers and Review 7, no. 3 (2016): 22–33, doi:10.5897/PPR2015.0117, Academic Journals, Some familiar Adinkra symbols: Nkyimkyim
- A Reconstruction of African Religion through Adinkra Symbology (Anthony Zamblé 2023), Anthony Zamblé, “A Reconstruction of African Religion through Adinkra Symbology”, The Covenant Quarterly 81, no. 2 (2023): 18–31, The Covenant Quarterly (North Park Theological Seminary), p. 26
- Adinkra Symbols (Culturally Situated Design Tools), Culturally Situated Design Tools (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with the National Science Foundation), “Adinkra: Symbols”, Culturally Situated Design Tools, table of symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols formed from lines.
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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