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This text returns to the topic of African decorative and applied arts, and today I would like to take you on a short tour of the world of African fabrics. Fabric production in Africa dates back to 5000 BC, for example, ancient Egypt cultivated flax for weaving linen. The textile industry in North Africa is booming, producing raw materials from bark, hides, cotton, palm, jute, flax and silk.
Before the Dutch and French introduced batik, Africans had used earth and textures to create simple patterns, sparking the African textile revolution.
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African fabric "Ankara"
The most common African fabric is Ankara fabric. People can make original clothing from them or use them for interior design. Real Ankara fabric, made using the hot batik technique. These products are often referred to as "African wax fabrics", and many people believe that they are impregnated with wax
Readers who are keen on crafting by hand know that wax is applied to fabrics that should not be permeated by paint. Multi-colored fabrics sometimes go through more than two dozen operations. Usually there is a residue of wax between the fibers, which makes the fabric more dense.
The word "batik" actually originated in Indonesia (ba – wax; tik – drop). The homeland of batik fabrics is indeed Indonesia. From this country, technology came to the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana) and then spread to countries in West and Central Africa. Africans skillfully adopted the hot batik technique and modified the design to suit their traditions.
Hand-printed fabrics cost a lot of money in Africa, and industrial production is cheaper
In Africa, the fabric is a status symbol. Young people combine clothing made of Ankara fabrics with traditional European styles. Seniors wear traditional attire appropriate to their area.
Ornaments on African fabrics are a separate topic entirely. Various patterns are patented; Experts can find their numbers on the edges of the fabric. Quotes from African epics can be encrypted in ornaments. The pattern of ornaments and colors can tell the social status of those who can read it, who belongs to a particular ethnic group. Sometimes, wax figures are named after famous people or cities, famous buildings, or major events.
Made from soft cotton fabric from Mali, which is a major distributor worldwide. Traditionally, these fabrics are hand-dyed like batik using local materials, plants, earth, and soda ash. The fabric is dried in the sun and then decorated with embroidery, knots or wax prints.
Unfortunately, chemical dyes are the most commonly used these days. But despite this, fabrics in Mali are still very popular, and the demand for them is not declining. In Bamako (the capital of Mali), about 250,000 people work in textile production enterprises.
The African fabric Bogolanfini, or more simply Bogolan, comes from Mali. Sometimes referred to simply as "mud cloth".
The cotton fabric is soaked in a soup made from the leaves of the Ngallama tree. This causes the fabric to turn yellow and coats the brown-toned pattern in the fermented mud.
To this day, hunters wear clothes made of this fabric for protection, and women use it during childbirth, believing that it cures diseases.
The bark cloth is produced by the Buganda tribe. The Ugandan lubgo bark fabric is a complex and completely unique material.
It is a major cultural product of the Buganda people, the largest tribe in Uganda, who have been making cloth from trees for hundreds of years.
Raffia fiber, which comes from dried raffia palm leaves, is widely used in West and Central Africa because it is found in grassland countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria. Over time, most of the unique fibers were replaced by cotton.
Shweshwe is a printed, dyed cotton fabric that is widely used in traditional South African clothing. Originally dyed with indigo, the fabric comes in a variety of colors and printed patterns, characterized by intricate geometric patterns.
Hand-woven Aso oke fabric, created by the Yoruba people of West Africa. It is made from wild anafi and cotton yarn, or from synthetic or local cotton and shiny thread, sometimes with a perforated pattern.
Adiré is an indigo-dyed fabric. It is made by Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria using various dyeing techniques.
Akwete cloth is a unique handmade textile produced in Ibland. The town of Akwit in Abia State, Nigeria, is famous for this.
Traditional Igbo weaving processes sisal, hemp, raffia, cotton, or other fibers into finished products.
Kitenge is a sarong-like fabric in Eastern, West, and Central Africa that is usually worn by women, wrapped around the chest or waist, and worn on the head as a scarf or baby carrier.
Kitenge is a fabric that is colorful and has a variety of designs. In the coastal areas of Kenya and Tanzania, Swahili proverbs are often written in Kitten.
Kanga Kanga is produced in Tanzania. It is similar to the kitenge but lighter. In the Great Lakes region of Africa, women wear this garment, and sometimes men wear it as well. Kitenge is a more formal fabric that is used to make beautiful garments, kanga is more than just a piece of clothing, it can be used as a skirt, headband, apron, thermal mat, towel, etc.
Kanga is culturally significant on the east coast of Africa and is often given as a gift on special occasions.
As early as a decade ago, African motifs entered global mass fashion, and in all stores, prints of African animals often appeared on shelves and hangers on clothing with appropriate geometric patterns, and a large number of people around them wore dresses and skirts printed with elephants, lions and rhinos. Interest in fabrics and objects from the African continent's decorative and applied arts has not disappeared over the past few years, so we will certainly be exposed to their artistic designs on the surrounding clothing fabrics.
Life is short, art is eternal. Dear artists, if you have any comments on this article, please leave a message below. We communicate with each other and seek common ground while reserving differences. Convey our feelings in the language of art....