The wrapper, lappa, or pagne is a colorful garment widely worn in West Africa by both men and women. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored ensembles. The formality of the wrapper depends on the fabric used to create or design it.
In West Africa, a kaftan or caftan is a pull-over woman's robe. [1] In French, this robe is called a boubou, pronounced boo-boo. The boubou is the traditional female attire in many West African countries including Senegal, Mali and other African countries. The boubou can be formal or informal attire. The formality of the kaftan depends upon the fabric used to create or design it.
In Yorubaland, Nigeria, the wrapper is commonly, called an iro in the Yoruba language, pronounced i-roh. The literal translation is "the act of wrapping." The wrapper is usually worn with a matching headscarf or head tie that is called a gele in Yoruba, pronounced geh-leh. [2] A full wrapper ensemble consists of three garments, a blouse, called a buba, pronounced boo-bah the iro and a headscarf called a head tie in English and a gele in Yoruba. It is also often worn with a Shoulder cloth called Ipele. Traditional male attire is called a agbada. A wrapper takes metres of quality fabric.
Pagne (French: [paɲ] ) designates a certain cut (two by six yards) and type (single-sided "fancy" or double-sided "wax" prints) of untailored cotton textile, [3] especially in Francophone West and Central Africa. [4] Enormously popular in much of tropical Africa, the pagne cloth's usage and patterns may be used to convey by the wearer a number of social, economic—and sometimes even political—messages. [5] It is similar—though distinct in size, expected pattern, and usage—to the Khanga, Kikoy or Chitenge of East and Southern Africa. From the pagne any number of garments may be created (the boubou, dresses, or western style suits) or it can be used untailored as a wrap, headtie, skirt, or tied as a sling for children or goods. The word pagne, likely derived from the Latin pannum, was a term introduced by merchants from the 16th Century and adopted by several African societies to identify often pre-existing textiles or garments distinct from a simple cloth. The Portuguese pano for cloth has become the French pagne (loincloth), Dutch paan, and others. [6] It appears to have originally referred to East Asian textiles traded in East and West Africa, before becoming a term for a certain length (a yard, later two by six yards) of commercial printed cloth sold in coastal West Africa. [7] [8] [9] [10]
In the UK and North America, wrapper is also an older term for an informal house garment. Today, words such as housecoat and bathrobe (US) or dressing gown (UK) are usually employed instead.
The kaftan is always worn with a headscarf or head tie. During a wedding ceremony, the bride's kaftan is the same color as the groom's dashiki. The traditional color for West African weddings is white. [14] The most popular non-traditional color is purple or lavender, the color of African royalty. [15] Blue, the color of love, is also a common non-traditional color. [16] Most women wear black kaftans to funerals. [17] However, in some parts of Ghana and the United States, some women wear black-and-white prints, or black and red. The kaftan is the most popular attire for women of African descent throughout the African diaspora. African and African-American women wear a wide variety of dresses, and skirt sets made out of formal fabrics as formal wear. However, the kaftan and wrapper are the two traditional choices. It is not uncommon for a woman to wear a white wedding dress when the groom wears African attire. In the United States, African-American women wear the boubou for special occasions. The kaftan or boubou is worn at weddings; funerals; graduations; and Kwanzaa celebrations.
The men's robe is also called a boubou, see Senegalese kaftan for further information. [18]
A buba (pronounced boo-bah) is a top or blouse. Buba is a Yoruba word that means the upper clothing. For women, the buba is worn with the iro (wrapper) and gele (head tie). For men, it is worn with sokoto (trousers) and fila (hat). The buba, sokoto/iro and fila/gele set is the traditional costume of the Yoruba people in South Western Nigeria and the other regions of Yorubaland.
A folk costume expresses an identity through clothing or costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicate social, marital or religious status. If the costume is used to represent the culture or identity of a specific ethnic group, it is usually known as ethnic costume. Such costumes often come in two forms: one for everyday occasions, the other for traditional festivals and formal wear. The word "costume" in this context is sometimes considered pejorative due to the multiple senses of the word, and in such cases "regalia" can be substituted without offense.
A sarong or a sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid or checkered patterns, or may be brightly colored by means of batik or ikat dyeing. Many modern sarongs have printed designs, often depicting animals or plants. Different types of sarongs are worn in different places in the world, notably the lungi in the Indian subcontinent and the izaar in the Arabian Peninsula.
African clothing is the traditional clothing worn by the people of Africa.
The dashiki is a colorful garment that covers the top half of the body, worn mostly in West Africa. It is also known as a Kitenge in East Africa and is a common item of clothing in Tanzania and Kenya. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar, and tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines. It is frequently worn with a brimless kufi cap and pants. It has been popularized and claimed by communities in the African diaspora, especially African Americans.
A kufi or kufi cap is a brimless, short, and rounded cap worn by men in many populations in North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is also worn by men throughout the African diaspora. The hat has strong associations with many Islamic cultures, as well as Pan-African pride. It is commonly called a "topi" or "tupi" in the Indian subcontinent. The kufi is similar to the kippah in Jewish culture.
A head tie, also known as a headwrap, is a women's cloth head scarf that is commonly worn in many parts of West Africa and Southern Africa. The head tie is used as an ornamental head covering or fashion accessory, or for functionality in different settings. Its use or meaning can vary depending on the country and/or religion of those who wear it. Among Jewish women, the Biblical source for covering hair comes from the Torah in the book of Bamidbar Parshas Nasso which contains the source for the obligation of a married woman to cover her hair. An eesha sotah is a woman whose husband suspects her of having acted immorally. The Torah commands the Kohein to take various steps to demonstrate that the sotah has deviated from the modest and loyal path of most married Jewish women. Among the procedures, the pasuk clearly states: "ufora es rosh haisha..."and he shall uncover the hair of the head of the woman (5:18). One can only uncover something that has previously been covered; in this case the Torah is referring to the married woman's hair. Among Christian women in certain parts of the world, such as Africa and the Caribbean, the head tie is worn as a headcovering in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:4–13.
African textiles are textiles from various locations across the African continent. Across Africa, there are many distinctive styles, techniques, dyeing methods, and decorative and functional purposes. These textiles hold cultural significance and also have significance as historical documents of African design.
Adire (Yoruba) textile is the indigo-dyed cloth made in south west Nigeria by Yoruba women, using a variety of resist-dyeing techniques. It is a material designed with wax-resist methods that produce patterned designs in dazzling arrays of tints and hues. It is common among the Egba people of Ogun State.
Aso oke hat, known as fila in the Yoruba language, is a soft hat traditionally worn by the Yoruba people of Western Africa. It is made of hand-woven aso oke fabric, cotton, velvet, or damask. They are usually lined with cotton, but can be unlined if crafted to be worn for a single event.
Aso oke fabric, is a hand-woven cloth created by the Yoruba people of west Africa. Usually woven by men and women, the fabric is used to make men's gowns, called agbada and hats, called fila, as well as women's wrappers, called iro and head tie, called gele.
A Senegalese kaftan is a pullover men's robe with long bell sleeves. In the Wolof language, this robe is called a mbubb or xaftaan and in French it is called a boubou. The Senegalese caftan is an ankle length garment. It is worn with matching drawstring pants called tubay in Wolof. Normally made of cotton brocade, lace, or synthetic fabrics, these robes are common throughout West Africa. A kaftan and matching pants is called a kaftan suit. The kaftan suit can be worn with a kufi cap. Senegalese kaftans are formal wear in all West African countries. In the United States, some merchants sell this robe as a Senegalese style dashiki pant set or a full length dashiki pant set. Men who are members of the Hausa tribe, wear these kaftans to formal events like naming ceremonies and weddings. In the United States, a kaftan is one of three formal suits, equivalent to the tuxedo, that African-American grooms select for their weddings. The other styles being the dashiki pant set, and the grand boubou, pronounced gran boo-boo. There are various other formal robes that are worn throughout West Africa, and with the exception of the Yoruba Gbarie robe, pronounced barry, most of these are a form of Islamic dress, see sartorial hijab. The kaftan is worn by Christians, African Jews, Muslims, and followers of African traditional religion. Furthermore, Senegalese kaftans are common among men of African descent in the African diaspora. The Senegalese kaftan is men's attire. In West Africa, and the United States, this robe is not worn by women. The women's robe is called a kaftan.
A kanzu is a white or cream coloured robe worn by men in the African Great Lakes region. It is referred to as a tunic in English, and as the Thawb in Arab countries. The kanzu is an ankle or floor length garment. It serves as the national costume of Tanzania as well as the Comoros, where it is called/pronounced 'Kandu' as well as thawb. The robe is also worn in some coastal Muslim regions of Tanzania and Kenya. The men of Uganda consider it their most important dress. Kanzu is a Ganda word of Swahili origin, which means "robe" or "tunic". In Tanzania, the term is used interchangeably with kaftan.
The national costume of Indonesia is the national attire that represents the Republic of Indonesia. It is derived from Indonesian culture and Indonesian traditional textile traditions. Today the most widely recognized Indonesian national attires include batik and kebaya, although originally those attires mainly belong within the island of Java and Bali, most prominently within Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese culture. Since Java has been the political and population center of Indonesia, folk attire from the island has become elevated into national status.
African wax prints, Dutch wax prints or Ankara, are omnipresent and common materials for clothing in West Africa and Central Africa. They were introduced to West and Central Africans by Dutch merchants during the 19th century, who took inspiration from native Indonesian technique and Akwete cloth designs. They began to adapt their designs and colours to suit the tastes of the African market. They are industrially produced colourful cotton cloths with batik-inspired printing. One feature of these materials is the lack of difference in the colour intensity of the front and back sides. The wax fabric can be sorted into categories of quality due to the processes of manufacturing.
The boubou or grand boubou is a flowing wide-sleeved robe worn across West Africa, and to a lesser extent in North Africa, related to the dashiki suit.
Thawb or thob, It is an Arab dress for the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, also called dishdashah, and kandurah, kandoora or gandurah in varieties of Arabic, is a long-sleeved ankle-length traditional robe mainly worn by men in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, North Africa, and some countries in East and West Africa, with regional variations in name and style. Depending on local traditions, a thawb can be worn in formal or informal settings; in the Gulf states thawbs are the main formal attire for men. The term "thob" is used is also used in some varieties of Arabic to refer to women's attire, such as in Palastine and Sudan.
Weddings in Mali involve various important customs and celebrations spread out through a number of days. Usually, the groom and the bride do not personally know the attendees that come to the wedding festivity, because Malian families tend to be very big due to polygamy. Thus weddings are a perfect occasion for all the extended family members of the couple to come for the big day. During this time food is given, and family from the village come to say goodbye to the bride-to-be and celebrate with the family.
The fashion industry in Nigeria plays an important cultural role and contributes significantly to the country's economy. Casual attire is commonly worn but formal and traditional styles are also worn depending on the occasion. Clothing incorporates a variety of colors, fabrics, and embellishments. Many of the component cultures of Nigeria wear styles that are characteristic of their tribal society and customs. Nigeria produces fashionable textiles and finished garments and has designers who have achieved international recognition.
Bazin stems from the Italian word "bambagia" meaning cotton wadding. It is a cotton damask or brocade fabric imported in West African countries from Europe or Asia. In Senegal, bazin fabric was introduced with the arrival of the French and was used to make a Boubou, a long loose traditional outerwear, worn by men and women mostly in West Africa and the West African Diaspora.
Gele is a traditional head tie of Yoruba women. It is a type of Iborun (headscarf) from Yoruba culture and of specific shapes and designs. Gele is worn alongsides other Yoruba women's outfits, like Iro ati buba, Komole and Asoebi wears.