Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series:
Diversity of African Textiles
African Textiles: West Africa
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part I
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part II
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part III
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part IV
Djerma Weaving of Niger and Burkina-Faso
Woolen Stripweaves of the Niger Bend
Nigerian Horizontal - Loom Weaving
Yoruba Lace Weave
Nigerian Women's Vertical Looms
The Supplementary Weft Cloths of Ijebu-Ode and Akwete
African Tie and Dye
Tie and Dye of the Dida, Ivory Coast
African Stitch Resist
Yoruba Stitch Resist
Yoruba: Machine-Stitched Resist Indigo-Dyed Cloth
Yoruba and Baulé Warp Ikat [1]
Wax Resist [1]
Though never esteemed in the same way as stripwoven or other forms of resist-dyed cloth, wax-resist cloths are by far the most widespread handmade cloths in West Africa. With their bright colors and 'psychedelic' designs, they are used as women's and men's cloths and made into dresses, shirts and gowns. Cheap and cheerful, the generically known gara cloths of Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries have sparked screen-printed and factory-made imitations that are often difficult to distinguish from the originals.
The West African love of wax-batik cloth is said to have originated because the Dutch took soldiers from the Gold Coast to Java to fight in their colonial wars during the 18th century.
West Africa has no equivalent of the Indonesian canting or the South Indian kalam, instruments for the application of wax. Practitioners of wax batik in West Africa have to make do with the humble commercial sponge. Laying out the mill-woven cloth on a padded table, the worker dips a sponge into a little heated metal pot of molten paraffin wax and applies it to the cloth, which is then dip-dyed in a vat of chemical dyes.
The festering, or veining, of the design is achieved by scrunching the waxed cloth before dyeing so that hair-line cracks appear in the wax resist, through which the dye can penetrate. This feature, which in Java would indicate inferior batik, is highly valued in West Africa.
A multi-colored wax-batik woman's cloth from Gambia. The veined effect is achieved by crumpling the wax resist before dyeing.
Wax has been printed onto this cloth from Mali with simple wooden stamps before it has been dyed.
A woman's gown from eastern Nigeria. The cloth from which it has been made had a wax resist applied to it through plastic lace curtains.
Wooden stamps from Guinea for applying wax resist.
Reference:
[1] J. Gillow, African Textiles, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London (2003).
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series:
Diversity of African Textiles
African Textiles: West Africa
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part I
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part II
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part III
Stripweaves (West Africa) - Part IV
Djerma Weaving of Niger and Burkina-Faso
Woolen Stripweaves of the Niger Bend
Nigerian Horizontal - Loom Weaving
Yoruba Lace Weave
Nigerian Women's Vertical Looms
The Supplementary Weft Cloths of Ijebu-Ode and Akwete
African Tie and Dye
Tie and Dye of the Dida, Ivory Coast
African Stitch Resist
Yoruba Stitch Resist
Yoruba: Machine-Stitched Resist Indigo-Dyed Cloth
Yoruba and Baulé Warp Ikat [1]
Wax Resist [1]
Though never esteemed in the same way as stripwoven or other forms of resist-dyed cloth, wax-resist cloths are by far the most widespread handmade cloths in West Africa. With their bright colors and 'psychedelic' designs, they are used as women's and men's cloths and made into dresses, shirts and gowns. Cheap and cheerful, the generically known gara cloths of Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries have sparked screen-printed and factory-made imitations that are often difficult to distinguish from the originals.
The West African love of wax-batik cloth is said to have originated because the Dutch took soldiers from the Gold Coast to Java to fight in their colonial wars during the 18th century.
West Africa has no equivalent of the Indonesian canting or the South Indian kalam, instruments for the application of wax. Practitioners of wax batik in West Africa have to make do with the humble commercial sponge. Laying out the mill-woven cloth on a padded table, the worker dips a sponge into a little heated metal pot of molten paraffin wax and applies it to the cloth, which is then dip-dyed in a vat of chemical dyes.
The festering, or veining, of the design is achieved by scrunching the waxed cloth before dyeing so that hair-line cracks appear in the wax resist, through which the dye can penetrate. This feature, which in Java would indicate inferior batik, is highly valued in West Africa.
Reference:
[1] J. Gillow, African Textiles, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London (2003).
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