Sub-saharan Africa

Question 0

Mud cloth

Answer 0

Cotton cloth painted with fermented mud. Only can happen in certain areas with a specific chemical composition. A technique particular to Africa.

Question 1

Adire

Answer 1

Paste resist on indigo cloth

Question 2

Wax print

Answer 2

Printed fabric using wax resist

Question 3

Commemorative “fancy” prints

Answer 3

Worn on special occasions and used to express political affiliations. Have portraits on them of heads of state. If portrait is worn upside down, it’s a statement of disapproval

Question 4

Strip weaving

Answer 4

Made on small looms that are later stitched together

Question 5

Kente cloth

Answer 5

In it’s pure form it’s a strip woven fabric where the colors and designs express group identification and tribal identity. I’m modern day society it can be a printed fabric.

Question 6

Gele

Answer 6

Turban. A distinctly African form of the turban that takes on architectural shapes. Can be wrapped in different shapes and with different cloth

Question 7

Hijab

Answer 7

Large Muslim population, especially closer to the Middle East, and see the hijab commonly draped instead of wrapped

Question 8

Pagne

Answer 8

Rectangle of fabric used in different ways. Dominant word in francophone countries. Used to describe tribal clothing like the sari and the sarung. Can also be called a wrapper, lappa, and cloth.

Question 9

Boubou (bubu)

Answer 9

Unisex garment. Big poncho or very full T-shaped garment like a kaftan.

Question 10

Missionary dress

Answer 10

Like “mother Hubbard” dress. Describes western-influenced 19th century style dress. Jumper style bodice and flounced skirts paired with peasant blouses.

Question 11

Bush coat

Answer 11

Male version of the female missionary dress. Jacket derived from European styles.

Question 12

Dashiki

Answer 12

Loose shirt, typically T-shaped with short to long sleeves. Male garment that’s usually fabricated with traditional fabric.

Question 13

“Up and down”

Answer 13

Male garment. It’s a slang term to describe matched top and pants.

Question 14

Urban street dress in Ghana

Answer 14

Very active street dress culture. Derived from American pop culture. It’s a collage of different elements. Sunglasses are hugely popular. Sense of color can be shocking in some places. Joy and irony in fashion.

Question 15

Salaula/mitumba

Answer 15

Mitumba is a Swahili term for bundles. Used to describe second-hand clothes from the U.S and Canada.

Question 16

Sapeurs

Answer 16

In the Congo. Style group of men. Pink is king and there’s a joyousness to it. It evolved out of social troubles.

Question 17

Heavy metal

Answer 17

In Botswana. Both men and women are engaged in this subcultural group. Like the Rockabilly style tribe in Japan. Inspired by American pop culture.

Question 18

Cowry shells

Answer 18

Important amulet used as decoration. In jewelry. An amulet of fertility and most common natural substance used as amulet and jewelry.

Question 19

Fulani peoples

Answer 19

Northwestern Africa. An umbrella term for the Woodabe and Bororo. Include different tribes and are typically Muslim. Men wear conical straw hats and turbans. Indigo is very popular. See decoration for celebration. Small tattoos on face mixed with body paint on face and body for special occasions.

Question 20

Geerewol festival

Answer 20

All the tribes get together for a mating ritual. Men are the commodity and are dressed up for the women to select them. Kind of like a beauty pageant to show desirability. Men would paint a line down the nose to elongate the face. Importance of white teeth and white eyes and showing it off with different strange expressions.

Question 21

Lobi

Answer 21

Tribal people of Burkina Faso. White paint connects them to the higher world. Religion involved ancestral worship.

Question 22

Nuba peoples

Answer 22

Umbrella term for interrelated tribes in Sudan and central Africa. Known for body painting on men and scarification on women because men’s accomplishments are temporal and women’s are permanent as a wife an mother. Often use ochre as body paint. The Nuba were strongly studied by producers of cirque du soleil

Question 23

Kadundor

Answer 23

For Nuba peoples, this is the age of full manhood. Between 18-30 when you can increase body paint. After age 30, man becomes an elder. No two men decorate selves the same.

Question 24

Dinka

Answer 24

Southern Sudan tribe. Have different sub groups. Scarification indication of group identification. Ash is used for paint.

Question 25

Malual

Answer 25

Beaded corsets used by the Dinka. Color of beads correspond to age group. A male garment. Beads are generally glass but now use plastic as a result of trade with westerners.

Question 26

Alual

Answer 26

The collar version of the malual worn by women of the Dinka. Like 19th century Bertha collars. Alual means beadwork.

Question 27

Mangbetu

Answer 27

Known for scarification and mixing color with the scars. Tree sap is used to create more permanent stand than henna.

Question 28

Kuba

Answer 28

Tribal group known for use of leopard and beading and for making fabrics out of raffia. Raffia cloth has distinctive patterns. Red pigment being made because believed to be the most spiritually evolved color.

Question 29

Twool

Answer 29

Tree with red core that is used for red dye.

Question 30

Surma

Answer 30

Ethiopian tribe. Famous for stick fighting match. They paint each other for this fighting ritual to look fierce. Paint with limestone dust. Women have scars on their shoulders for group identification.

Question 31

Kiyaku

Answer 31

Kenyan tribe. Paint selves with limestone dust. Style of body painting is covering selves with pigment and then scraping off design.

Question 32

Massai

Answer 32

Tribal group in Kenya and Tanzania. Wear headdresses made of mud with the hair being organized with a large safety pin. Elders are highly decorated. They don’t create own textiles, rather they but it and wrap it around their body. They like striped and red fabric. Incorporated other African tribal dress into culture.

Question 33

Herero

Answer 33

Southern African tribe that’s mostly in Namibia. They were the victim of genocide by Germany. Incorporated a traditional dress that’s the zenith of missionary dress and looks very 19th century with leg o’ mutton sleeves.

Question 34

Xhosa

Answer 34

Umbrella term for tribes in South Africa. Known for coming of age ritual for men where they go to the wilderness and are isolated from the tribe while they are painted in white and wrapped in blankets.

Question 35

Ndebele

Answer 35

South African tribe with a distinct aesthetic. Leopard used to indicate hierarchy. Use of color and geometry. Beading is extremely important. Have bright colors. Clothing has apron concept. Also has neck rings but not for body manipulation. Wear beaded rings around legs.