Kanga

カンガ / 1880s– / Style / Textile Traditions

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.

Kanga — Kanga cloth (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © Bukulu Steven
Kanga cloth (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Bukulu Steven
Kanga — Wearing a kanga (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © Dauupicha
Wearing a kanga (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Dauupicha

At a glance

Visual cues

  • Border-and-center composition
  • Swahili proverbs
  • Bold two-color contrast
  • Worn in pairs

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

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Dictionary entry

Type
One line of proverb set inside the border, smaller than the central image
Composition
Frame with a border and place a single image at the center
Material
Two-color print on plain cotton, made in pairs of the same design
Caution
Laying proverbs out as pattern without knowing what they say leaves the wearer unable to speak and can distribute an insult.
Further study
the culture of jina / Zanzibar's trading history / campaign kangas

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https://indexstyle.org/styles/kanga
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[Kanga — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/kanga)
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