Adinkrahene

Meaning

"King of the adinkra symbols." It stands for authority, leadership and charisma.

Cultural note

Adinkrahene is reported to be the design inspiration for the other adinkra symbols. Its three concentric circles are the simplest form in the whole repertoire, and that abstraction is itself the point: adinkra are visual representations of concepts rather than of things. Eglash and colleagues suggest the form may derive from the ripples made by a drop of water. It appears in the seal of Ashesi University in Ghana.

ORIGIN

Akan people — Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

LANGUAGE

Twi

SOURCES

Nana Kwabena, Adinkra Symbols & Meanings — adinkrahene, 2020 · Eglash, Bennett, Lachney & Bulley, Adinkra Origins — Culturally Situated Design Tools, 2020

VERIFIED

2026-08-05

Cut files

Vector cut files for cutting machines — Cricut, Silhouette, and laser/CNC software that reads DXF or SVG. Compatible with vinyl, HTV, paper, thin foam, and other materials, depending on your machine and blade.

FORMATS

SVG, DXF, PNG

WORKS WITH

Cricut Design Space · Silhouette Studio (SVG in the paid version; DXF in the free Basic Edition) · Laser or CNC cutting software that reads DXF/SVG

MIN. SAFE SIZE

~35 mm on the longest side, for vinyl — smaller cuts risk losing fine detail when weeding.

Not yet physically tested on any material — the file format works with standard cutting software, but we don't promise a specific result until we've tested that material ourselves. Results depend on your machine, blade, and material.