African fabrics boast a rich history, deeply intertwined with the culture and heritage of various regions, reflecting distinct techniques and influences over time. African textiles date back centuries, with early fabrics crafted from animal hair, plant fibers, and bark. In West Africa, civilizations such as the Mali Empire had established weaving traditions. Various regions developed unique styles and techniques.
The Yoruba people in Nigeria are known for their intricate Ase Oke cloth, woven by men in narrow strips. Ghana's Ashanti people crafted the renowned Kente cloth, distinguished by its bright colors and complex patterns. Benin City was another prominent center for textile craftsmanship. Over time, cotton became more prevalent, supplanting earlier materials. Trade significantly influenced African textiles.
As Islam spread into West Africa, new styles like the boubou emerged, inspired by Islamic dress. Commerce with other regions introduced new materials and techniques. These cross-cultural exchanges enriched African textile traditions. The Ankara, also known as wax hollandais or Kitenge fabric, became synonymous with African fashion. Textiles were also used as currency for trading, underscoring their value beyond mere aesthetics.
Traditional African fabric-making involves intricate weaving and dyeing techniques. Kente Cloth, originating from Ghana, is handwoven using silk and cotton threads. The fabric is woven on a traditional loom, with each strip of cloth created separately before being stitched together. Batik and Adire are traditional dyeing techniques prominent in West African countries such as Nigeria.
African fabrics are known for their vibrant patterns, cultural significance, and unique production methods. Ankara Fabric is perhaps one of the most recognized types of African fabrics. Originally produced by the Dutch for the Indonesian market using the batik process, Ankara eventually became popular in West Africa.
Read also: The Art of Moroccan Textiles
The patterns on Ankara fabric are typically created using a wax-resist dyeing technique. This method involves applying wax to specific areas of the fabric before dyeing it, to prevent the wax-covered parts from absorbing the dye, resulting in vivid and intricate designs. Mudcloth or Bogolanfini is another well-known fabric originating from Mali. This textile is made from handwoven cotton cloth dyed using fermented mud. Each piece of mudcloth is unique, with the patterns carrying specific meanings and stories.
African textiles have seamlessly transitioned into various aspects of global fashion and home decor. African textiles have made a substantial impact on modern fashion around the globe. Accessories like bags, shoes, and headwraps also showcase these vibrant textiles. These items add a unique, colorful element to everyday outfits, making them both fashionable and functional. Beyond fashion, African textiles have found a prominent place in home decor.
Pillows, throws, and wall hangings adorned with African prints offer unique ways to brighten living spaces. Accessories such as lamp shades, table runners, and upholstery also feature African fabrics. Such items not only serve as functional decor but also as conversation starters that reflect a rich cultural heritage.
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a sovereign country located in West Africa bordering Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. A multinational state, Nigeria is inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups with over 500 distinct languages all identifying with a wide variety of cultures. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east; comprising over 60% of the total population. The official language of Nigeria is English, chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level.
Cloth weaving had been in existence from pre-historic times in Nigeria. It came into being when the earliest man discarded the use of leaves and animal skin to cover his nakedness. The bark of certain species of trees formed the material from which the first woven cloth was produced.
Read also: Batik: History and Techniques
Inside an Aso oke Weaving Factory in Nigeria
Aso-Oke: Yoruba Hand-Woven Textile
The Yoruba people are renowned for the production of two types of traditional clothes. It is called traditional because of it is a very long practicing tradition of cloth production of Yoruba people ever before the coming of foreigners whether Muslim merchants or the Christian missionaries. These two clothes production practice include the hand-woven textile called “Aso-Oke/Aso-Ofi” and pattern-dyed cloth called Adire”.
The traditional textile art tradition of Yoruba people is an hereditary craft passed from one generation to the other. The weaving of Aso-Oke is an old age craft among Nigerians as different groups have local fabrics cherished among the members. More importantly, Aso-Oke is very significant to the Yoruba group of southwestern Nigeria.
Aso-Oke is usually worn by Yoruba men and women throughout southwestern Nigeria which basically include contemporary Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Lagos State. Yoruba stocks in part of Kwara, Kogi and Edo States and other parts of the countries also wear this kind of cloth. The etymology of the name dated back to late 19th century when people of Iseyin Area (Oke Ogun) were referred to by Lagos merchants as “Aso-Oke (people from Oke-Ogun or Yoruba hinterlands).
When the cloth made in Iseyin is taken to Lagos for sale, the people in Lagos would called the cloth “Aso awon ara Ilu Oke (cloth of the people from hinterland). It is called Aso-ofi because the process through which it is made, particularly the loom. Aso is the Yoruba name for “cloth” which “ofi” is the loom. Aso oke is a major artifact among the Yoruba and it’s a form of identity that links generation of the Yoruba race.
From time immemorial, it was said that the production of the traditional cloth requires relatively more complex processes such as the preparation of yarn from cotton plant materials, the dyeing of the yarn into required colourful thread, the acquisition of highly-technical skills for cloths weaving and the fabrication of tools and equipment such as looms, motor, spreaders, rollers and peddlers used by the entrepreneurs to produce the cloth.
Read also: Explore African Textile Heritage
The production of the hand-woven textile in Iseyin have been said to have taken place one step after the other. Iseyin cloth production can be classified into pre-weaving process and the weaving process. In Iseyin town the women were also the ones responsible for the extraction of thread from the cotton this process of extraction is called “riran Owu” with the use of molded machine made of clay and “Oparun” (bamboo) tree.
To remove the seeds, ginning usually involves placing cotton balls on a block of wood and rolling an iron rod over them. The pressure exerted on the turning cylindrical object pushes out the seeds of the cotton fibres. After the seeds are removed, the fibres must be aligned and this process is called ginning. The ginning process which was confirmed to be done indigenously through a bow type device called Okure. This process produces the fluffy product which is ready to be spun into thread.
After all the thread have been extracted from the cotton, it is said that the women will prepare pots of dye and pour the extracted thread into the dye to bring out different colour. After ginning the process of spinning takes place in a traditional cumbersomely-manual way. The spinner pulls and twists enough fibres to secure it to a spindle. Though it was gathered that spinning sets can take two major forms, but in the case the spindle is weighted by a clay whorl. The spinner sets the spindle in motion draws fibres into a thread and winds them on the spindle. This instrument is called akowu.
There are three major types of Aso-Oke: etu, alaari and Sanyan with many variations, have been identified. However, modern names have been given to the designs such as baby computer, carpet, wire-to-wire among others. In Yoruba society, the Aso-ofi/Aso oke performed socio-cultural cum religious, gender and political functions.
It is always socio-culturally reserved for special occasions where it is worn in a show of societal class, means of expression of communal, loyalty, solidarity and love and used in ceremonies like Yoruba traditional wedding (a compulsory groom’s gift item for the bride), burial ceremony, and for traditional religious purposes (like the Oro and other festivals where it is used to decorate religious objects). Aso Oke is also gender indicative considering its differing usage among Yoruba men and women.
Yoruba women use Aso Oke as girdle (oja) to stray babies, Ipele used as a covering cloth because of its thickness, buba (blouse), Iro (wrapper), gele (b) head-tie), Osuka (head pad for head-porters) and Iborun (shawl), which is usually hung on the should of the user were commonly worn by the Iseyin and generally the Yoruba women of precolonial, colonial and postcolonial Iseyin.
Depending on the functions and textures, these clothes were classified into casual cloth (aso iwole/Iyile) traditional hand-woven textile for everyday use and traditional hand spun thread or with industrial threads to produce lighter cloth as domestic and social function clothes known as kijipa or ikale, otigba meta and ala which are sown up buba (blouse) and iro (wrapper).
The Yoruba men also cloth themselves in aso-oke for work and other social ceremonies. For the Yoruba men, the aso-ofi in the ancient times was worn as work dress on their farms, and sow it with full agbada for ceremonial occasion, agbada siki, sokoto kembe mostly used by the chiefs, abeti-aja for cap and they also use it for social, religious and traditional ceremonies. Aso-oke was often used as symbols of political prestige.
Generally, weaving is sometimes influenced by the availability of capital, low patronage and the cost of maintaining the loom. Others include low profit, weather condition, the influx of Western garment and occasion people want to do. Availability of capital to purchase raw materials in bulk often affects the weavers. When the level of patronage is low there will be less motivation to produce in large quantities.
Besides, weaving on a loom is equally demanding as it involve exertion of strength and energy among the weavers. Today, wearers are using more colour fast yarns to produce a more durable fabric.
The British policy in Nigeria from 1886 has been said to be designed to knock down the home industries in other to guarantee continuing importation of British made goods to her colonies which Sir Lord Lugard implemented. With Lugard’s policy of indirect rule (the use of traditional rulers and chief as intermediary to help implementing British government policies in Yorubaland) which was predominant in Yorubaland the colonialist was able to gain direct access to the land, human and farm produce of the Yoruba people.
During the colonial era, cotton was widely cultivated as an export commodity. Now varieties of cotton introduced during this fine may have been responsible for its large-scale production relative to the pre-colonial period. The policy of commercial forming introduced greatly affected cotton farming Iseyin. This gave impetus for the production of cotton exportation to foreign market rather than using it locally. So the thread became scarce. This limiting the production of Aso-Oke in Iseyin.
There was also the huge imposition of tax on cotton planters and textile weavers, which made the farmers and the weavers to work harder and earned little as profit because the profits have gone to the taxes paid to the colonialists through the middle-men. In corollary to this policy of indirect rule, there was a report of riot in 1916 which took place in Iseyin/Okeho axis at this point and was said to have happened in Ode-Oba. There was a fight against the British representative on huge levies of taxes which was placed on the cotton produces and cloth weavers in Iseyin.
As a result of these colonial polices in Yorubaland, handcrafted textiles with smuggling activities along Nigerian coastal towns and land boarders became a major obstacle to the growth of the textile industries. In essence the British colonialists attacked local industries through legislations banning the production of certain goods by the craftsmen. On a final note, the implication of these policies discouraged the production of Aso-Oke as well as its usage.
After colonialism, much more developments have been discovered to have taken place in the production of Aso-Oke in Iseyin which has led to changes. No one is interested in the cultivation of cotton and manual extraction of thread which were said to be long lasting compared to the imported ones. In fact there was a notion of lazy attitude which has taken over the textile production and business. Also the new textiles being cut and sown into different style, some even go to the extent of merging the Aso-Oke with other textile materials such as lace and Ankara.
With the attainment of Independence, there was the re-emancipation of the traditional clothes in Nigeria, thereby people had to go back to their wardrobes and bring out their originality made clothes including the Aso-Oke just to express themselves and portray freedom from the hand of the colonialist, this therefore again popularized the traditional clothing tradition and later at the turn of the 20thcentury aso-oke became tied to Yoruba (and Nigerian) cultural identity. Yoruba intellectuals (often from slave returnee families) rejected the formal wear of the British Empire in favour of this local cloth. The twentieth century witnessed an increasing surge in demand for Aso-ofi which has meant that its production is widespread throughout southwestern Nigeria.
In a bid to promote the production, marketing and usage of Aso Oke, on the 16th September 2017. Aso-Oke international market was established in Iseyin. This research has documented the history of weaving activities, process of production, usage and the colonial impact. It revealed that colonial impact affected the production and sometimes availability of capital and cost of maintaining the 100m. Though up till recent times, these has been increase in the purchase and patronage or Aso-Oke in Iseyin which has also helped in sustaining the production of hand-woven textiles in the area; that is why when you get to Iseyin today, most of the family are still very much involved in the business, in fact there is no other vocation in Iseyin than the production of Aso-oke.
Despite the fact that the Iseyin people are still preponderantly involved in the hand-woven textile business there has been much wind of change over the years in the production process, these which ranges from procurement of equipments and use of foreign thread which gave way for mass production of the Aso-ofi compared to the past.
Table: Types of Aso-Oke and Their Characteristics
| Type of Aso-Oke | Characteristics | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Etu | Deep blue, almost black, indigo dyed cloth with thin warp and weft stripes of lighter blue. | Major life-cycle events, festivals, and holy days. |
| Alaari | Woven using magenta waste silk imported from southern Europe. | Major life-cycle events, festivals, and holy days. |
| Sanyan | Woven from the beige silk obtained locally from the cocoons of the Anaphe moth, forming a rather uneven pale brown cloth. | Major life-cycle events, festivals, and holy days. |
| Modern Designs (Baby Computer, Carpet, Wire-to-Wire) | Various modern patterns and colors. | Various occasions depending on the design and color. |
Akwete Fabric: A Symbol of Strength and Vitality
The first time I heard of Akwete was from Chief Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She was speaking at an Igbo Conference and the title of her speech was Igbo bu Igbo and being the intentional person I think her to be, her beautiful yellow pants were made of Akwete fabric. When she spoke about it being a Nigerian-made fabric, my interest in it grew and so did my pride in what we (Nigerians, and Africans) are capable of. I wrote about the history of Ankara fabric because it intrigued me and it is also my reason for writing about the history of Akwete fabric.
The fabric is local to Akwete, Abia State, Eastern Nigeria. It is primarily made by the people of Ndoki town of Akwete in Ukwa East Local Government Area of Abia State. The first record of its production was said to be in the mid-19th century and it was introduced to the community by the legendary weaver, Dada Nwakata.
When I first saw Akwete fabric, it reminded me of Ghanaian Kente, so I researched the link between them. Like in the relationship between Batik and Ankara as explored in the Ankara fabric article (You should read it if you haven’t), Kente is the Ghanaian version of Akwete and is produced with the same technique.
The weaving of the fabric has always been and is still being done by women. Older women are known to favour this trade as it gives them an outlet for their creativity and the spool can easily be set up in their backyards or verandahs. The weaving and trade are also passed down from these older women to their younger female relatives.
Generally, the Akwaete fabric signifies strength, power, and vitality amongst the Akwaete people of Abia state. The fabrics, however, do come in different motifs that are worn for different occasions and signify differences in social statuses in some cases.
In terms of trade with other cultures, a commonly traded cloth was “Awka Miri” (Cloth of the water) translating to “towel”. It was woven as either a white cloth or a white cloth with indigo stripes. “Tortoise” or “Ikaki” is the most commonly produced motif and pattern. The main motif, ikaki, imagined as a tortoise here, is based on Ijebu Yoruba prestige cloth, Aso-olona.
Traditionally, it was created solely for royalty; and anyone who wore Ikaki that was not royal would be sold into slavery. This motif used the image of the tortoise, viewed as a wise and cunning creature symbolic of chieftaincy. It was also used for coronations and royal burials. It additionally represented peace. Ikaki itself has subcategories of motifs, Ikaki’s tortoise motif is the first and original pattern. The second is called Blandgidi or Plandigi “blanket” and contains a background with a solid color decorated with repeated flowers, flags, birds, or animals.
In the present day, there have been quite a few advancements regarding the production of Akwaete fabric. People of any gender and culture can learn how to produce the fabric so long as they have an interest in it. The fabric can also be purchased in any motif you want regardless of what it used to signify culturally. (Some Igbo communities still understand and hold on to the cultural significance, however) In Nigeria, while its birthplace remains Akwaete, Abia state, it is now popularly produced in Enugu, Ebonyi, and Benue states.
In Ebonyi state, the Ekwueme Federal University established a centre focused on Akwete weaving as well as a year’s worth Akwete weaving course. The university also encourages students to wear Akwete cloth on “Traditional Dress Mondays” and gives the best-woven pieces produced at the centre to important visitors as gifts.
Akwete has been featured in many fashion publications and houses and has been used to make different kinds of clothing - trousers, gowns, suits, wrappers, you name it. The fabric's sturdiness makes it an excellent choice for tailored clothing items and its durability ensures that it can be passed down from generation to generation within families.
Lace Fabric in Nigeria: History, Origin, and Types
Lace fabric is a delicate and beautiful textile that is popular in Nigeria. Nigerians use lace fabric to make various kinds of traditional attires that are worn during cultural events, weddings, parties, church events and more. The origin of lace fabric in Nigeria is quite interesting. Lace fabric was introduced to Nigeria by European missionaries and traders during the colonial era.
Originally from Europe, lace fabric became popular among the Nigerian elite and royal families in the early 20th century who were fascinated by the beautiful designs. Its usage eventually trickled down and became more widespread among regular Nigerians. The earliest lace fabrics were made of linen, cotton or silk threads that were intricately woven together to create lovely openwork patterns. In Nigeria, the fabric was initially mostly imported from Europe before local cottage industries started weaving and sewing the fabric. The traditional Nigerian lace fabric is the kind that is specially woven into loose open patterns.
Over the decades, Nigerian lace fabric has evolved adopting various colors, patterns and embellishments that make it uniquely Nigerian. The special Nigerian lace is so intricately designed that it takes great skill to handmake. Nigerian women particularly love the fabric for its gorgeous and classy visual appeal.
There are three main types of locally made Nigerian lace fabrics:
- Buba Lace: This type of lace fabric is designed for making buba blouses and tops. The patterns are deliberately created to suit blouses.
- Ready-made Lace: This refers to lace fabric that has already been stitched into a gown or dress. Most times, embroidery, beads or sequins are used to embellish ready-made lace dresses.
- Raw Edge Lace: This is lace fabric that has unfinished edges. They come in pieces and have to be stitched to make dresses or matched with other fabrics to create stunning outfits.
There are many places where lace fabrics are made in Nigeria. Abeokuta, Oyo and Lagos states boast the highest concentration of lace makers in the country. Other states known for lace fabric production are Ondo, Edo, and Rivers states amongst others. The lace making industry provides employment opportunities for numerous talented artisans in these places.
Making the uniquely patterned Nigerian lace is a specialized craft that requires great skill in embroidery, sewing, weaving and sometimes tie-dying fabrics. The openwork patterns are created using various stitching methods like embroidery, netting, knitting or crocheting fine threads together. Most times, imported laces may be combined with locally made embroidery to create a unique lace fabric. The threads and fabrics used for weaving and embroidering are sourced locally while some accessories like beads, crystals, needles and fasteners may be imported.
The process of creating made in Nigeria lace fabrics involves many steps including pattern design, sourcing materials, weaving/stitching the patterns, embellishing, dyeing, quality checking and final finishing. Many artisans are involved in the whole process specializing in the various stages. Quality lace fabric production requires deft skills in seamlessly combining colors, intricate patterns while ensuring the lace is durable enough to maintain structural integrity during wear. Top grade lace fabrics have evenly created patterns, firmly attached embellishments, and neat hems without loose threads.
Other Notable Nigerian Textiles
Besides Aso-Oke, Akwete, and lace fabrics, Nigeria boasts a variety of other notable textiles, each with its unique history and cultural significance:
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