Textiles

TEXTURES!

Lets look at some textures. Finding out what things are made of will then help me with creating props and learning how to incorporate these things into my designs. It'll also give me an insight into the history of Africa that isnt just fashion based.

TEXTILES

The earliest surviving sub-Saharan African textiles are cloth fragments and parchment fragments that date to the ninth century BC from sites at Igbo Ukwu of the Igbo people of Nigeria. Some twelfth century cloth fragments date from the Tellem caves in Mali. Surviving thirteenth century samples originate from Benin City in Nigeria.

African textiles are a part of African cultural heritage that came to America along with the slave trade. As many slaves were skilled in the weaving, this skill was used as another form of income for the slave owner.

African Men and Women Weaving

In most of Africa the weavers were men while the women spun the thread. The weavers in many of the countries were part of a caste-like group and sometimes slaves to noble families. In Yoruba compounds were used where master weavers would teach all the boys weaving and all the girls would learn to spin and dye the yarn. And children did some jobs too, like providing fabric and also weaved at a very young age of 4.

Some examples of African textiles are:

• Aso oke fabric - woven by Yoruba people
• Adire- tie-dye produced by Yoruba people
• Kente cloth - woven by Ashanti and Ewe people
• Barkcloth - produced by the Buganda tribe
• Mudcloth- produced by the Bambara tribe
• Kitenge - produced in Kenya and other regions of East Africa

Yoruba Nigeria Cotton Fabric

Yoruba African Tie Dye Fabric - West African Land and Sea Colours

Kente Cloth being Hand-Woven

Kente Cloth Pattern, Ghana, woven by Ashanti and Ewe People

Buganda Tribe beating Bark Cloth

Bark Cloth - Buganda Tribe of Uganda

Cotton Mudcloth - Bambra Tribe of Mali

Kitenge - Produced in Kenya and Other Regions of East Africa

 These images are each of some tribal fabrics. There is a brief description of how they are made in the captions, but lets just say they are all made from earthy products and all made by hand. They are each woven, using tiny machines and handwork. Some cloths are made from the cotton in which the people grow, others are made from mud or clay. These fabrics are then worn by the people of the tribes. Although the textiles are made with such poor conditions and quality control, they are still made exciting and happy with the use of colour and patterns. Its completely mind blowing that people are able to do this with so little help of machinary. The textiles (in my opinion) should be worn with such pride, and whenever I see something like this again I will feel that!