Kanga vs Mola
カンガ / モラ
Both sit in Textile Traditions, so the question is not what they belong to but how they behave. One is style and the other technique. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Kanga
Women along the East African coast wear this printed cloth in a single piece. Its three-part composition of border, central image and Swahili proverb (jina) makes the act of wearing an act of speech.
Mola
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Guna women in Panama make reverse appliqué. Layers of colored cloth are cut back and stitched down until every contour ripples in several lines, printmaking in fabric that is worn daily as the panels of a blouse.
| Kanga | Mola | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1880s– | late 19th century– |
| Family | Textile Traditions | Textile Traditions |
| Kind | Style | Technique |
| Cues | Border-and-center composition / Swahili proverbs / Bold two-color contrast / Worn in pairs | Layered reverse appliqué / Multiple contour lines / Maze-like ground filling / Animals and geometry |
| Best used for | Cloth given as a gift that carries the giver's words with its image · Designing a garment that speaks, where wearing is saying | Building an image in cloth where contour thickness itself does the work · Setting imagery into a garment meant to be worn every day |
| Type | One line of proverb set inside the border, smaller than the central image | Run several contours around the figure at even spacing |
| Composition | Frame with a border and place a single image at the center | Center the main figure and fill the leftover ground with maze-like slits |
| Material | Two-color print on plain cotton, made in pairs of the same design | Stack colored cloths, cut down from the top, turn the edges and stitch |
| Caution | Laying proverbs out as pattern without knowing what they say leaves the wearer unable to speak and can distribute an insult. | Fewer layers and a single contour stop the color from emerging through the cuts, and the panel goes flat. |