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The evolution of African clothing
The evolution of African clothing is difficult to trace because of the lack of historical evidence. Although artifacts from Egyptian culture date back to before 3000 B.C.E., no similar evidence is available for the majority of the African continent until the mid-twentieth century.
Sources from Arab culture refer to the people of northern Africa by the eighth century C.E., but much of early African clothing history has been pieced together from art, oral histories, and traditions that are continued by present-day tribal members. When Europeans began trading and later developed colonies in Africa starting in the thirteenth century C.E., more information about how Africans dressed was recorded and continues to this day. The spotty information available, combined with the huge number of different cultures living in Africa, however, provides an only a very general history of the clothing trends on the continent
Clothing was not a necessity for warmth or protection throughout much of the African continent because of the consistently warm weather. Many people, especially men, did not wear any clothing at all and instead decorated their bodies with paint or scars. When Africans did wear clothing, evidence suggests that animal skins and bark cloth were the first materials used. It is unknown when these readily available materials were first utilized, but they were used to make simple aprons to cover the genitals or large robes to drape around the body.
Later many cultures developed weaving techniques to produce beautiful cloth. Raffia, the fiber of a palm plant, and cotton were common materials used to weave fabric. At first, the cloth was woven by hand, and later looms (weaving devices) were created to make more complicated fabrics. Men and women worked together to produce fabric for clothing, with men weaving the fabric and women decorating it in many cultures. Perhaps the most well-known fabrics were the intricately woven cotton or silk Kente cloth of Ghana; the mud cloth of Mali, with its distinctive brown and beige patterns; and the tufted Kuba cloth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Other types of cloth were also woven by other groups; each culture using its distinctive cloth to create clothing.
Some used their fabric to create elaborate wrapped clothing styles, similar to the toga worn by ancient Romans. Others cut and sewed their fabric into skirts, shirts, dresses, and loose trousers. Different versions of loose-fitting robes are worn in many different regions of Africa. In Nigeria and Senegal, a robe called a boubou for men and a boubou for women is popular. Other similar robes include the agbada and Riga in Nigeria, the gandoura or leppi in Cameroon, and the dashiki in West Africa. Styles in northern Africa reflect the strong influence Muslims have had on the cultures, especially the Berbers of Morocco and other Saharan desert countries.
Read more: http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Early-Cultures-African/Clothing-of-African-Cultures.html#ixzz5zjLudl1D
Read more: http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Early-Cultures-African/Clothing-of-African-Cultures.html#ixzz5zjLudl1D
By 800 C.E., the Ghanaian empire began to flourish due to the development of extensive trade routes in Northern Africa and the discovery of gold throughout the region. Many smaller groups developed into communities in Southern Africa as a result. The Malian empire became large and powerful after the fall of the Ghanaian people in 11 C.E. By 1200 C.E. Mali was the largest empire in West Africa and profoundly influenced the region’s culture through the spread of its language, laws, and customs. Mali wore hand-printed cloths called Bogolanfini or mud cloth. Each cloth had arrangements of symbols revealing something secret about its intended meaning. The language of the cloth was passed down from mother to daughter along with specific motifs. Men were responsible for weaving the narrow strips of plain fabric that were pieced together into a larger rectangular cloth.
Meanwhile, in Southern Uganda, Barkcloth was being crafted by the Baganda people of Uganda during the 15th century. Barkcloth was one of the first fabrics made by mankind; using an ancient technique that predates the invention of weaving. Serving as a versatile fabric, the cloth was used to produce loincloths, skirts, draperies, wall hangings, and even bedding. Barkcloth is harvested from the locally grown Mutaba tree without bringing harm to the tree. The long history of the production of barkcloth among Uganda’s indigenous population provides a great pre-historic example of how to utilize our environment’s renewable resources. Nevertheless, the art of bark cloth making is slowly disappearing to modern convinces. In 2005, UNESCO declared bark cloth making to be a masterpiece of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Ankara also known as “Real Dutch Wax” originates from the European replication of batiks from the far east during the early 19th century. Batiks are a printed fabric with designs on both sides of the cloth. Initially, marketed to the Dutch-East Indies as “Java prints,” the Ankara fabric has a crossbred cultural background that finds its historical roots in present-day Indonesia. It has been theorized that West African men conscripted to the Dutch army bought batik fabrics home. The European Companies such as Vlisco, HKM, and ABC Wax began to tailor designs according to African tastes and demands that included colorful cloths and tribal patterns/ motifs. Currently, imitation wax fabrics are made locally and also imported from Asia, both ubiquitously exemplify African fashion. However, a question of Ankara fabrics African authenticity is a subject of much debate. What do you think?
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