Bogolanfini, African Mud-cloth (Radhika, Pallavi, Ishita, Anjum & Niranjana)

Bogolanfini - African Mudcloth:

What:

Bogolanfini, or Mudcloth as it is more popularly known is a traditional cotton hand woven and hand dyed textile of the Bamana people belonging to the north and eastern region of Bamako, Mali. The word bogolan means something made by using mud, while fini means cloth. It was the Bamana Women who traditionally made the cloth using techniques and traditions that have been passed down from generations.

This piece of cloth played a major component in marking major life events such as birth, marriage and death. It also communicates a lot about ones social status, occupation and character as well as represents African culture. For instance, the Bamana hunters wear a variety of Bogolanfini made from red mud and ornamented with leather amulets and symbols that were said to bring luck while hunting. Every aspect to this unique textile conveys a meaning and story whether it’s the symbols, colours or patterns. Hence no two Bogolafinis are identical.

When:

Evidence shows that the dyes used in the fabric can be dated back to 12^th century AD and some of the patterns that were repeatedly used on the cloth depict historical events of the 19^th century. In fact excavations from caves in the Bandiagara area of Mali, show signs of a cotton industry residing there as early as the 11^th century. However there is no definite proof narrowing down one particular date.

How:

The process of making mud-cloth is time consuming, as it is entirely hand-made. Depending on the weather, the process takes 4 days to a week. Each piece of mud-cloth is made entirely of cotton and the dying process is a resist dye method.

The men of the community weave cotton thread on a hand held loom. Generally around nine of these panels made of 4-5” strips are sown together.

Traditionally, the women of the community paint and decorate the cloth. The process begins by washing the cloth in boiling water, shrinking it to its final size. Once dry, the cloth is soaked in a solution containing leaves of the Bogolon tree, which is native to Mali. This solution makes the cloth a faint yellow but enables it to absorb the mud dye.

The mud dye is made from mud rich in iron. This mud is collected from ponds and fermented for around a year, making it black. The mud dye is painted on the cloth using sticks, reeds, bamboo strips, feathers and other tools. Once the mud dries, the cloth is washed. Further coats of mud are applied to enhance the color of the mud-cloth. Once the final coat of mud is applied, the cloth is once again washed in a solution of leaves so as to bind the dye to the cloth. The final stage involves bleaching the yellow portions of the cloth with a caustic soda.

Colours of the Mud Cloth:

Cream is the natural colour of mud cloth before dyeing. The traditional colours of the mud cloth have been black background white designs. This combination was often used for storytelling purposes. The hunting community wears the colour rust as it is used as a camouflage and represents the colour of blood from the hunt. Women and girls wear White during ceremonial events. Nowadays, brighter colours like reds, purples and oranges are used and being untraditional, are not appreciated by the older generations

Patterns of the Mud-Cloth:

Apart from being a form of ornamentation, the patterns of the mud cloth are abstract or semi-abstract images of everyday objects. The most popular designs depict historic events or tale of the successes of heroes. There is no one interpretation for a pattern adorning the mud-cloth.

The meanings behind symbols can differ with the region, ethnic group and from where the textile was created. The orientations of the designs are also an important aspect. For women, the patterns are usually displayed horizontally, as the textile is wrapped around their body. Male hunters believe that the patterns are imbued with powerful nyama capable of protecting them.(Nyama refers to vital life force, energy or power.)

The Future:

Mud-cloth was referred to as one of the “Most influential ethnic fabrics from the 1990’s”  The late Chris Seydou, a major French fashion designer internationalized Bogolanfini designs and patterns in Western attire in one of his collections at the Paris Fashion Week. Today it has its unique geometric patterns everywhere from clothing to wall papers, book covers, wrapping paper etc. Massive quantities of Bogolanfini cloth are made for the tourist markets or for export purposes. They are still made on strips of cotton cloth just to prove to the consumers that they are handmade instead of machine made. However newer methods have been developed to make the production process easier such as using stencils. The drawback being, the monotony of these patterns, that in turn diminishes the ethic, and traditional value of authentic mud-cloth.

References: 

 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2800615?seq=1 Bogolanfini: A Mud-Painted Cloth from Mali
 - J. B. Donne 

http://www.up.ac.za/saafecs/vol31/toerien.pdf

http://africaimports.com/mud-cloth.asp

 

Behind the fingers that weave

Today’s lecture left me with interesting questions. What is the relevance of region who produces the cloth, the culture, materials they have access to, who they’re making it for. How does a cloth or particular ornamentation become distinct to a place? 

Some cloth can be produced for many things like ceremonial rituals, trade and commission work.  Cloth, from producers big or small, acts as a source of style, identity markers, and culture-markers. The problem now is that our culture doesn’t recognize the weaver as a part of the society.

We were divided into groups of four and given one cloth from some part of Africa. My group got a cloth from Yemen.

From individual assessment I procured that it was some sort of cotton, roughish to touch and quite soft, and with the help of a senior discovered it was a 2 warp 1 weft threaded cloth.

Before the arrival of the sewing machine, styles were almost universally “ghamis”styled garments made from local indigo dyed cotton cloth - or made from the famous Yemeni striped cloth which is no longer made. After the introduction of the sewing machine, about 60 years ago, regional variations appeared, a wider range of cloth became available and the hand guided embroidery machine facilitated new regional patterns and designs to be developed.

Small groups continued the tradition with Imam Yahya supporting his private factory which was hand weaving the famous old striped cloth for use by the royal family. This production was still producing a limited supply of the traditional textile into the early 1980’s.

An interesting factor is the message the clothes convey.  Whereas men's clothing used to reflect Yemen's stratified social hierarchy, women’s clothing never had that function.  Their social standing is determined by their husband or father, and the distinction in clothing only signifies their geographical origin.

These regional styles are determined by climate, the type of work that people engage in and finally the availability of certain materials and fabrics. For example, in the coastal area along the Rea Sea, where it is hot and humid most of the year, women wear light clothes and protect themselves from the heat with straw hats. The local indigo industry in Zabid is at the origin of a peculiar type of dark blue and shiny dress (Zenna) that is worn rather tight but with a wide neck opening both to allow better breathing and to make dressing easier.

UNDERSTANDING CLOTH

Reading cloth last week was very interesting, as we all were given  pieces of cloth, which were brought in from different places in Africa. The cloth we got was from Kenya, it was called 'mud cloth' a very interesting, different kind of fabric, in terms of feel, look, and the making of it.

when one sits down to read a cloth, its interesting to see how one sub divides the information that has to be found. As in, we question the cloth as to where, when, why and how this piece has been created.
I think a cloth also contributes in defining a person's nature, specially when it comes to typical traditional styles, which have been brought by 
 craftsmen. 

Reading cloth

Artists by Movement:

Art Nouveau

Late 19th Century to Early 20th Century

Art Nouveau is an elegant decorative art style characterized by intricate patterns of curving lines. Its origins somewhat rooted in the British Arts and Crafts Movement of William Morris, Art Nouveau was popular across Europe and in the United States as well.

Leading practitioners included Alphonse Mucha, Aubrey Beardsley, Gustav Klimt and the American glassmaker Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Art Nouveau remained popular until around the time of World War I, and was ultimately replaced by the Art Deco style.

Artists by Movement:

Art Deco

1920's to 1930's

Art Deco is an elegant style of decorative art, design and architecture which began as a Modernist reaction against the Art Nouveau style. It is characterized by the use of angular, symmetrical geometric forms. One of the classic Art Deco themes is that of 1930s-era skyscrapers such as New York's Chrysler Building and Empire State Building. The former, designed by architect William Van Alen, is considered to be one of the world's great Art Deco style buildings.

The Art Deco look is related to the Precisionist art movement, which developed at about the same time.

Well-known artists within the Art Deco movement included Tamara de Lempicka, fashion illustrator Erte, glass artist Rene Lalique and graphic designer Adolphe Mouron (known professionally Cassandre).