African print fabric and a dead man
I was in that hospital room when my comatose father morphed. I had brought his change of clothes in preparation for the trip to relocate him to the village, but the guy took a unilateral vote against that trip.
When the hospital requested salt and wrapper, I went home to get the items.
“This man has transitioned before I am able to take care of him”. I pondered as I walked along the streets.
“What else can I do for him now?”
As I got home, the crowd had gathered around my mother. How was I going to ask her for wrapper?
I brought down my suitcase and took out a new exquisite purple wrapper – one of my kayan lefe [Hausa for bridal ware] the items I were putting together to take to my marital home.
A beautiful Atampa I brought back from the North. I took it along with the salt and as I handed it to the doctors, I felt peace.
“Since you will neither witness my marriage, nor get a father’s due, I have given you this offering which cost me something”
Enter the African print as our last story in the #blackhistorymonthUK series.
Names of the Wrapper Across Africa
Known around Eastern and Southern Africa as kitenge, vitenge, chitenge or zitenge the print is universal within the continent.
Across Nigeria, it is Atampa (Hausa), Ankara (Yorùbá) Mkpụrụ, Ogodu, Ákwà, Abada (Ìgbo). The wrapper trails you through all significant stages of life and provides;
Cultural significance of African textiles
Cover – used to wrap a newborn. Shield your naked body and provide dignity.
Support/comfort – used in straddling a baby to your back, allowing connection & providing warmth while you proceed about your business. Soothes a crying baby and puts them to sleep. Thrown around someone grieving for them to hold onto as a sign of protection from the ‘cold’
Girdle; offers a 2nd layer of support while backing a baby. or when a woman is dressing up. Also during competitions or fights, when tied around the waist, allows you focus on the task at hand
The Wrapper as a Cultural Archive
Ceremonial – used in coming of age rites for both men and women. As gifts of respect when a death happens, or when you go to visit a mentor, someone you hold in regard + invite someone to your event.
Solidarity – As uniforms. For example, aṣọ-ẹbí. Shows that you are part of a whole. Used by friends of the bride during marriages, women communities during events.
Another sacred use as solidarity is when a woman falls into labour in the marketplace. Women take off their outer wrappers, form a ring and shield the vulnerable woman from exposure while other women jump in and help out.
Curse – when a woman you have wronged, takes off her wrapper and exposes her nakedness to you, that is big trouble.
Fashion: do I need to explain this?
Person of colour, how else, is the wrapper used in your culture?
Whites, what have you learnt from this?
Thank you for staying the course with me this October as we ran through this #linkedinlearning. The essence was to help you understand a bit more about that black person around you.
I hope you did?
#amarannajiwrites
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