One of the most widely celebrated African textile forms is the bogolanfini which is created by the Bamana peoples of Mali. This textile is also known as African mud cloth.
The term "bogolanfini" means mud-dyed cloth and comes from Bambara, the language of the Bamana. The origins of the art form date back to the twelfth century, and the style has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity since the 1970s. Today, bogolanfini textiles function as a symbol of pride in the Bamana/African identity.
Bogolanfini Museum in Bamako, Mali
Bogolanfini is a textile used during many periods of importance in the life of West African Bamana women. 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.
The Making of Bogolanfini
In the creation of bogolanfini, men would weave strips of cotton cloth and sew them together. 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. After drying, women would hand-paint the dark areas of the cloth’s pattern with fermented mud from the Niger River.
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Bleach is then applied to the areas of negative space, which turn white after drying in the sun for a week. 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.
This craftsmanship was carried out by women and passed down through apprenticeship, the cloth believed to carry ritual and spiritual significance.
Object 2009.002.24 from the UWM Mathis Gallery is a traditional bogolanfini. Figure 1 is an example of the symbolically patterned textile from the collection at the British Museum. The museum describes the textile’s patterning, which “consists of a five by eight grid decorated with chevrons, zig-zags, and triangles.”
Example of African Mud Cloth Design
Symbolism and Motifs
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.”
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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.
Here is a table summarizing some common symbols and their meanings:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Parallel Lines | Spindle for weaving cloth; wealth and luxury |
| Diamond Formation | Warrior's belt; bravery |
Evolution and Modernization
The textiles are worn by both men and women, initially by performers or hunters. In the past, young women would learn how to decorate the textiles from their mothers in a long-term apprenticeship. However, the popularity of European fabrics in the 1960s threatened the continued creation of bogolanfini. Fewer young women desired to learn the technique, which prompted young men to learn in their stead.
The resurgence of the textile’s popularity occurred in 1970 and initiated a new generation of mud-cloth creators. The original patterns were still produced, but variations of the designs were newly experimented with in modern clothing and the decorative arts.
“new forms of this mud cloth, termed bogolan, have entered the sphere of contemporary ‘fine arts’ in Bamako, Mali. Whereas bogolanfini is traditionally hand painted by women outside of urban centers, bogolan is typically stamped by men in cities.
Read also: History of Bogolan
