Other African Traditions
Other African indigenous textile traditions included djellaba, kente cloth, raffia cloth, barkcloth, kanga, kitenge, and lamba mpanjaka. The Djellaba was made typically of wool and worn in the Maghreb. Kente used silk from the Anaphe moth and was produced by the Akan people (Ashante, Fante, Enzema) in the countries of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Raffia cloth was the innovation of the Kuba people, present day Democratic Republic of Congo. It used the fibers of the leaves on the raffia palm tree. Barkcloth was used by the Baganda in Uganda from the Mutuba tree (Ficus natalensis). Kanga are Swahili cloth that comes in rectangular shapes, made of pure cotton, and put together to make clothing. It is as long as ones outstretch hand and wide to cover the length of ones neck. Kitenges are similar to kangas and kikoy, but are of a thicker cloth, and have an edging only on a long side. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Sudan are some of the African countries where kitenge is worn. In Malawi, Namibia and Zambia, kitenge is known as Chitenge. Lamba Mpanjaka was cloth made of multicolored silk, worn like a toga on the island of Madagascar.
Camel hair was also used to make cloth in the Sahel and North Africa.
In Southern Africa one finds numerous use of animal hide and skins for clothing. The Ndau in central Mozambique and the Shona mixed hide with barkcloth, cotton cloth. Cotton weaving was practiced by the Ndau and Shona. Cotton cloth was referred to as machira. The Venda, Swazi, Basotho, Zulu, Ndebele, and Xhosa also made extensive use of hides. Hides came from cattle, sheep, goat, elephant, and from jangwa( part of the mongoose family). Leopard skins were coveted and was a symbol of kingship in Zulu society. Skins were tanned to form leather, dyed, and embedded with beads.
Three types of looms are used in Africa: the double heddle loom for narrow strips of cloth, the single heddle loom for wider spans of cloth, and the ground or pit loom. The double heddle loom and single heddle loom might be of indigenous origin. The ground or pit loom is used in the Horn of Africa, Madagascar, and North Africa and is of Middle Eastern origins.
Read more about this topic: Science And Technology In Africa, Textile
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