2019.23.4

Collection type

Object

Description

Blue adire cloth, resist-dyed cotton with a stencilled bird design.

Long description

Adire cloth, made from two rectangular pieces of plain weave, machine woven cotton that has been dyed a dark blue using indigo. The two pieces of cloth are machine stitched together using a row of running stitch in colour matched dark blue thread. There is a machine stitched hem of 7-8cm down each side. One side the textile there is a makers’ mark ‘ORIMIPE’ which has been folded under as part of the hem. The textile has been patterned with a grid-like design of seven squares by eight squares, producing a total of 56 squares. Each square is filled by an alternating stencilled pattern of bird figures and different shapes filled in with a waffle design. The word adire literally means "that which is tied and dyed," but it is commonly used to refer to all indigo-dyed cloth in Nigeria. Adire eleko is the name for the resist dye technique used to decorate the cloth which involves the application of starch paste to the surface of cotton textile. The paste is made from cassava flour, known as lafun in Yoruba, which is boiled with alu to form a thick starch. The paste was applied through a metal stencil using either a brush or metal comb. Small areas of cassava starch paste residue are visible across the surface of the textile creating areas of stiffness. The colour is achieved using indigo, either imported or derived from locally grown indigo leaves. These leaves were fermented and mixed with water softened by caustic soda to create the dye. The cloth is dipped into a large pot of dye, removed to oxidize, and this process could be repeated to intensify the colour. After the dyeing process, the starched areas remain white, and the rest of the cloth turns a deep indigo blue. The starch is applied to only one side, leaving the underside plain blue. Cloth preparation and dyeing were primarily done by women.

Geographical reference

Nigeria

Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria

Cultural groups

Yoruba

Person

Field collector Sarah Lasenby

PRM source Sarah Lasenby

PRM source Steve Lasenby

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1970

Date collected

1969 - 1970

Acquisition information

Donated: 22/07/2019

Materials and processes

Material Cotton Seed Fibre Textile Plant, Material Pigment, Process Woven, Process Resist Dyed, Process Stencilled, Process Indigo Dyed, Process Stitched, Material Cotton Seed Fibre Yarn Plant

Dimensions

Width: max 1670 mm, Length: max 1990 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 2019.23.4

Research and responses

This textile was viewed by Dr. Louisa Onuoha, Assistant Director in the Museum Educational Services and Training for the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), Nigeria on Tuesday 17 June, organised as part of the Clothworkers’ Textile Project.

Please see a summary of Louisa’s comments below;

Adire cloth is culturally significant in Yoruba culture and was traditionally worn at special events such as naming ceremonies and weddings. Nowadays the fabric is available in all garments such as jeans, T-shirts etc – it has evolved greatly. Adire is still made and is a symbol of Yoruba identity, but there are changes such as men now being more involved, rather than just female dyers, and replacement materials such as wax, instead of cassava paste, being used.

At the time the pieces in the collection were made [pre 1970s] there very little mass production and the cloths were made by hand. The cloth was 100% cotton meaning the dye can be taken well (synthetic fabrics do not absorb the dye) and the richness of the colour shows it is of a high quality. Adire like this is really expensive today. We now have very few handmade textiles, and we mainly do not have this quality because there is a lot of imitation, a lot of mass production and makers wanting to make as many in as little time as possible to make money. So, there’s no longer the beauty and the creativity. In reference to the hand painted ones – this is a lot of work, and it’s a lot of hard work for little money. But I prefer these ones, they are the originals.

The designs depict everyday life on the fabric, a closeness to nature, the environment and a connection to spirituality. All the designs have meaning. “Koko” is seen on many cloths and means communication in Yoruba, passing on the message and making a connection. Geometric shapes such as the large V shapes, represent strength, stability, protection, energy, movement and dynamism. Cowries represent wealth and status and are worn as a status symbol. Floral designs represent growth, beauty and fertility. Leaves represent abundance, prosperity and good fortune. Many animals feature and all have individual meanings, the tortoise for example symbolises resilience, longevity and wisdom

Cassava is a staple of Yoruba culture, they eat it, they use it for a lot of things, so it’s normal that it would be depicted in fabric because it’s something they see every day as well as being used in the resist dye process.

The Ikin Ifa or Ifa divinity tree is seen often and represents a connection to traditional Yoruba religion. We see the use of characters like Adam and Eve come into later designs showing the change that came with colonisation and the spread of Christianity.

The design and symbolism of the textiles all have their meaning and combine to communicate a message. For example, cloth with cowries, geometric designs and floral motifs will convey wealth, strength, resilience, beauty.

Regarding the overprinting of adire on fabric with existing decoration or supplementary weft designs, this is seen occasionally when cotton fabric was reused, and the pattern was layered as part of the artwork.

Patches of discoloration seen on a couple of the textiles are due to faults in the batches of dye mix, but no art is invalid and adds to creativity.

Several pieces have the raffia from the adire oniko dying process still in place. This is often left in to show that it is a newly made cloth and that the buyer if the first person to own it. The threads fall out and are lost during use. In a similar way a few cloths have seeds remaining tied in situ.

The main people to mention when talking about contemporary adire are Nike Davies-Okundaye and Susanne Wenger.

Nike Davies-Okundaye is a batik artist and champion of adire as a symbol of Yoruba heritage, empowerment and emancipation by giving people a livelihood. Nike has worked to preserve traditional culture and teach is to new generations.

Nike Davies-Okundaye praises Susanne Wenger in helping people respect and revive the tradition of adire. Wenger was born in Austria and moved to Nigeria in 1950. She became initiated in traditional Yoruba religion and learnt the art of adire eleko. Thorugh the revival of sacred artworks and redevelopment she helped to get the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove designated as a national monument in 1965 and as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.

Indigo dyers pay tribute and pray to Iya Mapo, goddess associated with women's crafts, and to the Osun the Yoruba water goddess. There is an annual festival in August which is dedicated to Osun, also the goddess of fertility, love, beauty which is held at the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.

Louisa demonstrated how the cloths would be worn by women and explained that adire cloths are worn as an iro (skirt), iborun (shawl) and gele (headscarf) with a buba (blouse). There are many different creative ways of tying them, see YouTube! Adire is now also worn by men as a buba (loose round necked shirt), sokoto (trousers) and agbada (robe.)

Information from V&A website 'Adire - Indigo Resist Dyed Cloth from Yorubaland, Nigeria': "...Cloths decorated by using starch made from cassava flour to resist the indigo dye were known as adire eleko. The starch was only applied to one side of the cloth so the underside would be plain blue. The use of starch allows for a greater variety in the patterns that can be created. Starch could be applied through a stencil or painted on to the cloth freehand. Like machine sewing, both cutting the stencil and using it were activities performed by men. The starch was applied using a piece of metal; a comb-like device could be used to create patterns in thickly applied starch. The size and complexity of the stencils varied a great deal..." http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/adire-indigo-resist-dyed-cloth-from-yorubaland-nigeria/ accessed 19/9/2019 [JMC 19/9/2019]

Information given by the donor: The dyeing was done by women, the stencils were done by men. [JMC 20/9/2019]

Associated publications

Adire coth in Nigeria 1971 - 2016, Editor: Doig Simmonds; Editor: Pat Oyelola; Editor: Segun Oke; Additional author: Dele Layiwola; Additional author: Bisi Akpata; Additional author: Nancy Stanfield; Additional author: Segun Oke; Additional author: Jane Barbour; Additional author: George Jackson; Additional author: Nike Okundaye; Additional author: Pat Oyelola; Additional author: Margaret Areo; Additional author: John Picton; Additional author: Doig Simmonds; UK on behalf of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 2016

Search terms: Textile, Clothing, Clothing Textile, Bird Figure, Body Cloth