Cloth Dyeing, Resist Dyeing, Mud Dyeing Cloth, Traditional African Artists, African Textile Dyeing Industry

Africa is known for its culturaland artistic traditions. Any tourist visiting Africa will be charmed by thebreath taking prints and colors used in their everyday costumes. The elegant attiresand beautiful fabrics are regarded with respect by textile curators of variouscultural backgrounds. The pride of African culture and heritage is displayedthrough their fabrics which have distinct styles, and forms that indicate theethnic diversity of the country. The main method of decorating cloth in Africa is dyeing. It is a main business in many places in Africa and specialist skills aredeveloped in the process of dyeing clothes.

Cloth dyeing is the main sourceof income for woman from Labe, West Africa. In some places nearly everyone,including men and children are involved in this process. Cloth production is Africa not only varies from place to place, but is also influenced by societal change.Indigo dyeing is done by woman in Yoruba, and Soninke of West Africa, but amongHausa, this task is undertaken by men. The traditional and non industrialnature of dyeing and the way it is practiced makes it all the more fascinating.African traditional methods of dyeing clothes have now become a part of thecontemporary art.

Majority of the weavers use onlylocally produced dyes, and hence only a limited number of shades are available.Brown, green, yellow, and red are mostly used, and by far, the most importantcolor of African dyes has been indigo. Over the centuries, a vast majority ofclothes were being produced by combining the natural white color with indigoblue. Very fine quality of clothes were dyed in dark indigo and then dyed withmore indigo paste by specialist people so as to give it a glazed sheen. Theseare extremely expensive and are worn as face veils by nomads throughout North Africa.

Resist Dyeing:

This method is extremely popularin West African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Sierra Leone. Various methods are applied to protect some parts of the clothwhile other parts are dyed. Tie and dye, sew and dye, batik, and using cassavapaste resist are most common methods of resist dyeing. In tie and dye method,small areas of cloth are tied using raffia strings before dyeing. Sew and dyeis a method, where designs are sewn on the clothes and the stitches are pickedlater to reveal a light on the dark pattern. In batik method, melted wax isapplied on the fabric to resist the dye. This will be a combination of paraffinwax and bees wax.

Bees wax will stick to the fabric, while paraffin wax will allow some cracking, which is the characteristic of some batik. Then the cloth is either dipped or painted with colorful dyes. When the cloth is dyed, the color is absorbed by the other areas where wax is not applied. This method is popular all over Africa and Indonesia. Cassava paste is similar to batik, where a paste is applied on the cloth mostly through a stencil that will resist dye from penetrating into that part of the cloth. Batik designs are mostly used in wrap around skirts.

Mud Dyeing:

Women of Mali make a special kind of hand dyed cloth known as mud cloth used during special occasions like birth, marriage, and death. Techniques for dyeing this cloth and motifs are passed down through generations from mothers to daughters. No two clothes will have identical patterns, color combinations or designs. The colors, symbols etc of this cloth reveal a persons social status, and national identity. This cloth is usually dyed in black with white designs. The cloth is first prepared for dyeing by soaking pounded leaves of Bogolon, a native tree of Mali in a special solution. This solution is dark in color and allows the dye to adhere with the cloth. Mud dyes are made by rich, iron mud taken from ponds mixed with water and is fermented up to one year. This mud dye is applied on the cloth using sticks, reeds, feathers, strips of bamboo etc. The background of the cloth is painted leaving the design to remain white. Later on the cloth is washed with solutions prepared with leaves to bind the cloth and the dye strongly. Traditionally this cloth is dyed with black and white color, cut other colors like grey and rust are also used. Mud cloth is believed to posses supernatural powers, and protects hunters.

African art in the limelight:

During the past decade, cloth dyeing sector has started to operate on a large scale. Many associations are now formed to support the cloth dyers in places like Labe, Pita, Mali and Guinea. Initially dyeing was a family business carried down through the generations, and each dyer had their own version of designs, and made their own dyes with the natural materials available. Now, with latest advancements, most of the dyers are switching to supplement the local dyes and inputs with manufactured inputs from other areas like Banjul. The increasing global demand for African dyed clothes has also made the import of inputs necessary.

African textiles are now given a new significance. Modern textile designers are inspired by the work of traditional African artists. Apart from fulfilling the basic need for covering, African fabrics reveals the artistic expression of weavers, dyers, and cloth designers. African textile dyeing revolves around their own family and ethnic group reinforcing religious and social patterns.

References:

1) http://udel.edu/~orzada/africa.htm

2) http://www.tntindigo.com/

3) http://www.tk-designs.com

4) http://www.library.cornell.edu