Textile Traditions

Dictionary entry

1. Batik traditional–present / Technique

   Java's cloth dyed again and again through wax resist — the canting's drawn line building a pattern language of rank, region and rite.

2. Kente 17th century– / Style

   The strip-woven cloth of Ghana's Asante and Ewe, where every color and pattern bears a name and a meaning — wearing it is a statement.

3. Bogolanfini traditional–present / Technique

   Mali's Bamana cloth drawn with fermented river mud — iron and plant dye reacting into black-and-cream geometry that carries story and protection.

4. Tapa (Barkcloth) prehistory– / Technique

   The Pacific's beaten barkcloth: geometric patterns stamped, drawn and smoked onto it, serving as communal insignia in ritual and exchange — a Pacific graphic language whose pattern systems differ island by island.

5. Kanga 1880s– / Style

   The printed cloth worn by women along the East African coast: border, central motif and a Swahili proverb (jina) in three-part composition — cloth on which wearing is speaking.

6. Mola late 19th century– / Technique

   The reverse appliqué of Guna women in Panama: layered colored cloth cut back and stitched so contours ripple in multiple lines — printmaking in fabric, worn daily as blouse panels.

7. Adire 19th century– / Technique

   The indigo resist cloth of Yoruba women: raffia ties and cassava-paste painting and stenciling reserve white patterns against deep indigo, weaving proverbs and signs into the contrast.

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