Mudcloth, known as Bogolanfini in the Bambara language, is a distinctive West African textile tradition indigenous to Mali. The word bògòlanfini is a composite of bɔgɔ, meaning "earth" or "mud"; lan, meaning "with" or "by means of"; and fini, meaning "cloth". Although usually translated as "mud cloth," bògòlan actually refers to slip clay with a high iron content.
The origins of the art form date back to the 12th century, and the style has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity since the 1970s.
Termed Bogalanfini (Bambara term) or Bogolan (modern terminology for a contemporary cloth), this textile is a handmade, Malian, cotton fabric which has traditionally been dyed with fermented mud in a painstakingly long and complex process.
Today, bogolanfini textiles function as a symbol of pride in the Bamana/African identity.
Example of Bogolanfini cloth.
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
Historical Significance
This craftsmanship was carried out by women and passed down through apprenticeship, the cloth believed to carry ritual and spiritual significance. The cloth was made traditionally by the Bamana who live to the east and west of Bamako, but the best cloth comes from the Beledougou area where it is thought the cloth originated from as early as the 12th Century. The centre of production is San and the highest quality cloth can be found here, woven by the menfolk into strips of narrow cloth which are then stitched and dyed by the women of the town.
Decoration takes place by either males or females and the whole process can take weeks to complete. The designs go beyond aesthetics being traditionally based on cultural symbols and patterns and are full of meaning making reference to animals, religion, cultural and historical events, tribal stories and mythologies.
This cloth was a major element of life; often incorporated in milestones and sacred events. Historically worn by tribal women as a wraparound item of apparel, like a skirt or shawl, it signified important, transitional events like after excision, pre-marriage, childbirth and finally a burial shroud. It was also worn by men as a hunting tunic or shirt such as this historical item featured above. Sometimes these tunics would be dyed red as camouflage in desert areas.
As many African countries gained their independence, national pride in traditional crafts grew significantly. Social and political developments in the USA caused an interest in African textiles and 'back to roots' cultural identity.
Popularity of these textiles even extended to fashion and in 1979 a young Malian designer Chris Say-dou (the father of African fashion) included bogolan wraps in his collection in Paris.
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
The Dyeing Process
In traditional bògòlanfini production, men weave the cloth and women dye it. Spinning, weaving and sewing are gender specific tasks. Women hand spin yarn of locally grown cotton while menfolk continue the process by weaving the undyed yarn into long but narrow strips using a hand held, double heddle loom. In the creation of bogolanfini, men would weave strips of cotton cloth and sew them together.
The dyeing begins with a step invisible in the finished product: The cloth is soaked in a dye bath made from leaves of the n'gallama tree (Anogeissus leiocarpa) that have been mashed, and then boiled or soaked. This fabric will be soaked in brown liquid which is colored by the leaves from the n'gallama tree giving the cloth a distinctive strong yellow base. The yellow color does not appear in the finished article but it significantly contributes to the process, acting as a fixative for the colors to come.
Now yellow, but not yet color-fast, the cloth is sun-dried and then painted with designs using a metal tool or wooden stick, and carefully and repeatedly applied to outline the intricate motifs. The decoration of the canvas was completed by women, who would first immerse the cloth in a bath of leaf dyes to initiate the resist process.
The paint is made from a specially selected mud, collected from riverbeds and fermented for up to a year in a clay jar. After drying, women would hand-paint the dark areas of the cloth’s pattern with fermented mud from the Niger River. Because of a chemical reaction between the treated mud and the dyed cloth, the brown color remains after the mud has been washed off.
The design will be light (yellow) against the dark background.
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
The remaining yellow places are then bleached to get the fabric back to its original, undyed color. Bleach is then applied to the areas of negative space, which turn white after drying in the sun for a week.
These areas are painted with a substance made of ground peanuts, caustic soda, millet bran and water which turns these places a light brown.
These steps, the soaking in the n’gallama and n’tjankara mordant bath, the mud application, the washing and drying in the sun are repeated several times (even three). After each step, the mud painted areas on the yellow cloth become darker (black). To obtain the terracotta & brown palette (the “red tones”, as Malian call them), the women use different mix of barks, leaves and roots.
The final step consists of removing the yellow color of the mordant: these areas are painted with a substance called le savon de sodani, locally made by mixing and boiling together ground peanuts, caustic soda, millet bran, and water. The artist carefully retraces the yellow areas with a stick dipped into this solution, turning them into brownish zones. Then the cloth is placed in the sun for a week and finally washed with clean water.
Around Mopti and Djenné, a much simpler method is used by artists considered to be of inferior skill: The cloth is dyed yellow in wolo solution, made from the leaves of Terminalia avicennoides, and then painted over with black designs.
Modern versions of African mud cloth involve a completely different type of process. In this cloth below, the dark tannins that create the brown/black dye for the background have been replaced by indigo dye. Based on these simplified techniques, as of around 2000 large quantities of bògòlanfini are being mass-produced for tourist and export markets. These fabrics use simpler designs, often applied by stencil, painted in black on a yellow or orange background. With this method, the cloth can be produced about six to seven times faster. The democratic reforms after the overthrow of Moussa Traoré in 1991 caused many young men to lose their previously guaranteed government jobs and scholarships. This led many to take up bògòlanfini production.
A mud cloth seller in Bamako, Mali.
Symbolism and Patterns
There is a symbolic language in these designs and the meaning of these symbols is closely guarded by tribal womenfolk. This knowledge gives them prestige in their societies. Designs would be aligned (horizontal, vertical, borders) according to their end usage.
The decorative motifs on the cloth are typically abstract patterns and representations of everyday objects. A combination of motifs can express “a proverb or a song, articulate a message, or represent an historical event.”
All the geometric patterns of bogolanfini have a decorative appeal. The symbols used in the designs of these beautiful cloths can be interpreted according to knowledge passed through the generations, mother to daughter.
Bògòlanfini patterns are rich in cultural significance, referring to historical events (such as a famous battle between a Malian warrior and the French), crocodiles (significant in Bambara mythology), and other objects, mythological concepts, or proverbs.
In traditional Malian culture, bògòlanfini is worn by hunters and serves as camouflage, ritual protection, and a badge of status. The traditional mudcloth is more of an encyclopedia or a piece of history and culture than a piece of cotton; it’s alive and kicking still today.
The modern bogolan has successfully adapted to the current national and international markets: it shows more colors, fewer characters, and more simplified elements. New symbols, as the stylized Chiwara, have been added to the traditional ones. It’s still handmade, but the mud painting has become faster thanks to the use of stencils and the final step is made by using chlorine bleach mixed with karité butter soap.
Object 2009.002.24 from the UWM Mathis Gallery is a traditional bogolanfini. Many mud-cloths retain a yellow tinge from the leaf dyeing process, but this textile serves as an excellent example of the characteristic white-on-black color contrast.
A few of the patterns on this object are identifiable as traditional symbols. The three parallel lines are abstract representations of a spindle for weaving cloth, which symbolizes wealth and luxury. This is one of the oldest bogolanfini designs. Also, the diamond formation made up of four dots and separated by triangles may be a variation of a similar pattern that references a belt worn by warriors. This symbol signifies that the wearer is brave.
White bogolanfini is associated with both death and purity.
Bogolanfini is a very distinctive textile and very 'African' in flavor. Strong geometric or natural patterns, earthy colors like ochre, terra-cotta and charcoal, thick, robust and handwoven cotton fabric sewed together with manually bound seams.
Medicinal and Ritual Uses
Traditionally woven by Black women, the art has continued to be passed down in Gullah communities, with each basket created unique to the basket weaver and her design. Beyond its significance as an iconic symbol of the SC Lowcountry, sweetgrass baskets represent generations of African cultural and artistic heritage, craftsmanship, and storytelling.
Brett-Smith wrote that the medicinal knowledge was coded into bogolanfini designs. A cloth is not a cloth. Now you know that it holds true for bogolanfini, at least.
Bogolanfini is a textile used during many periods of importance in the life of West African Bamana women. Judith Perani and Norma H. Wolff write in Cloth, Dress, and Art Patronage in Africa (1999) that bogolanfini cloth is “woven from cotton and painted with an iron-rich mud pigment” (38). Perani and Wolff continue, writing that the cloth “is used in female rituals at puberty, marriage, motherhood and death” (38).
“Immediately after the excision surgery, the girl is wrapped in a specially mud-dyed cloth called bogolanfini… The bogolanfini cloth is later worn for her marriage ceremony and used as the swaddling wrap for her first baby.
Bogolanfini etymological roots are Bambara, the language spoken by the Bamana people of Mali and it is derived from 3 words..'logo' meaning mud/earth, 'lan' meaning by means of and 'fini' meaning cloth. However, many beautiful antique examples of mud cloth can be found in museums throughout the world.
Modern Applications
How to make West African mudcloth (bogolan)
These days, Bogolan cloths are widely exported from Mali and used in fashion, upholstery, interiors and decoration. Design and color wise, the fabric has widespread appeal and fits into many applications in the home decor and fashion world. Of course, the authentic and traditional version is still produced and there is growing concern for how the demand for a more commercial version will affect the future of the production of these traditional cloths. Especially as those tribal folk that have the knowledge are declining in numbers.
Scatter cushions, throws, table linen, bedspreads, upholstery... bogolan cloths can be applied to many decor options. An undyed ground with a mono print of a less complicated and repetitive pattern is particularly appealing for a more contemporary look for upholstery and bed throws.
Considered by some to be the founder of African design, Malian Chris Seydou (1949-1994) took bogalanfini to the catwalk in the 80's and early 90's but had to re-design the patterns into a repeat form that suited his clothes. These days it is used in a much more flamboyant way with bigger repeat patterns or even modern interpretations of the printed patterns. Bogolan designs and prints are perfect for handbags.
The Bogolan Kasobane Group artists, recently graduated from the National Institute of Art, Bamako formed this group in 1978. It still exists today with the same members but for one (Kandioura Coulibaly) who died in 2015. Their newest member is a woman, Nene Thiam. Their common goal was, and still is, to innovate and promote the art of making bogolan cloth in Mali and the rest of the world.
They have exhibited widely, promoting their contemporary pieces as well as showing the origins of bogolanfini. They are also very interested in the cloth being used for non-traditional, combined purposes; like using bogolan fabric to make up boubous, the traditional, long garment with wide sleeves worn by Malian males. Usually its embroidered but with Group Kasobane, the robe is given a very different take... an elaboration of tradition in their attempt to preserve their heritage.
