AFRICAN CRAFT

RASHMI SRIVASTAVA
B.VOC SEM-(Vth)
AFRICA
• Africa is the world’s second
–largest and second-most-
populous continent .
• At about 30.3 million km*2
including adjacent islands,it
covers 6% of earth ‘s total
surface area and 20.4 of its
totel land area.
• The continent is surrounded
by the mediterranean sea to
the north .
• Africa hosts a large diversity
of ethnicities,culture and
languages.
AFRICAN TEXTILES
• African textile the major
form of expression that
africans use to define
themeselves.
• African textile are also a
means for us to acquire
insight into the social ,
religious,political and
economic complexities of
many african communities
whose sophisticated culture
we ma otherwise remain
ignorant about.
 Some examples of african textiles are
the following:
• Akwete cloth:woven by lgbo people
• Ukara-dyed indigo cloth by lgbo people
• Aso oak fabric-woven by yoruba people
• Adire-tie-dye produced by yoruba people
• Kent cloth-woven by Ashanti and ewe people
• Mudcloth-produced by bambara tribe
• Kanga-produced in tanzania
• Kitenge-produced in tanzania and other region of
east africa
• Shweshwe-produced in south africa
AKWETE CLOTH
• Akewete cloth is a unique hand woven fabric
of lgbo women of akewete in Abia
state,nigeria.
• Akwete cloth comes in different pattern and
motifs.
• Most motifs are found on one side but can
also be seen on both sides ,and they are
named according to their
appearance,example are animal heart,snake-
back,stool and tortoise,and ritual objects and
symbols.
• The patterns ranges from plain stripped to
heavy patterned cloths.
• The akewete cloths woven from sisal-hemp
fibers are of coarse type, used by
masqueraders, and by warriors as headgears,
while those made from raffia fibers are used
on religious occasion.
• The lgbo men like akwete with the
interwoven geometrical pattern on white
ground.
KENT CLOTH
• Kent known as new entom in akan ,is
a type of silk and cotton fabric made
of inter woven cloth strips and is
native to the akan ethnic group of
south ghana.
• Kent is made in akan lands such as
Ashanti kingdom,and by akan in ivory
coast.
• It is the best of known of all african
textile.
• It is an akan royal and sacred cloth
worn only in times of extreme
importance and was the cloth of king.
• Akan kente is identified by its dazzling
,multicolored patterns of bright
colors ,geometrical shapes and bold
design.
ADIRE CLOTH
• Adire textile is the indigo-dyed-
cloth made in south western
Nigeria by yoruba woman ,using a
variety of resist –dyeing
techniques.
• Adire translated as tie and dye
,and the earliest clothes were
probably simple tied designs on
locally-woven hand spun cotton
cloth much like those still
produced in mali.
• New techniques of resist dyeing
were developed most notably the
practice of hand painting design
on the cloth with a cassava starch
paste prior to dyeing.
•
KITENGE CLOTH
• Kitenge is a east african, west
african and central african fabric
similar to sarong,often worn by
woman and wrapped around the
chest or waist, over the head as a
headscarf,or asa baby sling.
• Kitenges have an edging only a
long side .
• They are sometimes worn by men
around the waist in hot weather.
• The painting on the cloth is done
by a traditional batic technique.
• These are known as wax print and
the design is equally as bright
and detailed on the obverse side
of the fabric.
Mudcloth
• Mudcloth is a handmade malian cotton
fabric traditionally dyed with fermented
mud.
• The cloth is being exported worldwide for
use in fashion ,fine art and dacoration.
• Although usually translated as”mud cloth” ,
bogolan actually refer to a clay slip with a
high iorn content that produces a black
pigment when applied to handspun and
handwoven cotton textiles.
• In traditional mudcloth production ,men
weave the cloth and women dye it.
• The dyeing begins with a step invinsible in
the finished product.the cloth is soaked in a
dye bath made from mashed and boiled ,or
soaked.
• The cloth is sun-dried and then painted with
designs using a piece of metal or wood.
SHWESHWE CLOTH
• Shweshwe is a printed dyed
cotton fabric widely used for
traditiona south african clothing.
• Originally dyed indigo ,the fabric
is manufactured in a variety of
colours and printing design
characterised by intricate
geometrical patterns.
• Shweshwe clothing is traditionally
worn by newly married xhosa
women.
• Shweshwe is manufactured with
an acid discharge and roller
printing technique on pure cotton
calico.
 Famous craft of Africa

• Basketry
• Beads
• Soapstone
• Wood carving
• Dolls
• Mask
• wax
BASKETRY
• Basket weaving is the process of
weaving or sewing pliable materials
into two-or threedimensional
artefacts, such as mats or containers.
• Basketry is made from a variety of
fibrous or pliable materials-anything
that will bend and form a
shape.example include pine straw,
stem, animal hair, hide ,grasses,
thread, and fine wooden splints.
• Classified into four types, according
to catherine erdly;
• Coiled basketry
• Plaiting basketry
• Twining basketry
• Wicker and splint basketry
WOOD CARVING

• Wood carving is a form of

woodworking by means of a
cutting tool is one hand or a
chisel by two hands or with one
hand on a chisel and one hand on
a mallet, resulting in a wooden
figure or figurine, or in the
sculpturel ornamentation of a
wooden object.
• These african wood carving are
traditionally said to be made from
ebony wood,with the heart of the
three containing a deep brown to
black colour.
•
SOAPSTONE
• The soap rock are sourced in
kena’s vast nyanza province in a
place known as Tabaka.
• Soapstone is often used as an
insulator for housing and
electrical component, due to its
durability and electrical
characteristics and because it can
be pressed in to complex shaped
efore firing.
• Currently ,soapstone s most
commonly used for architectural
application such as counter tops,
flour tles, showerbases and
interior surfacing.
• Soapstone is found in the kissi
district of kenya.
BEADS
• Beadwoek s the art or craft of
attaching beads to one another
by stringing them with a sewing
needle and thread or thin wire ,or
sewing them to cloth.
• Beadwork technique are broadly
divided into loom and off-loom
weaving ,stringing, bead
embroidery , bead crochet, and
bead knitting.
• In modern manufacturing ,the
most common bead materials are
wood, plastic, glacc, metal and
stone.
• The natural inorganic include
bone, coral, horn, ivory, seeds,
animal shell,and wood.
DOLLS
• The dolls can be simple or highly
complex and creative object.
• They might be made from local
,natural material,such as wood,
cane, calabashes, mud or clay.
• Their shaped and costume vary
according to region and custom.
Frequently dolls are handed
down from mother to daughter
• Doll concept is considered in the
context of african culture, they
are usually not children’s not
playing, but rather objects that
are laden with ritual and religious
association with the community.
• There are many types of dolls
found in africa-
• Ndebele dolls • Akuaba are wooden
ritual fertility dolls
• Linga koba dolls are from Ghana and nearby
from the ndebele areas. The best
known akuaba are those
people in southern of the Ashanti people,
africa. whose akuaba have
» Their clothing is large, disc-like heads.
similarly colourful Other tribes in the
.the beadwork on
these ndebele region have their own
dolls is as detailed distinctive style
as the clothing of of akuaba
the women
themselves.
 • IBEGI DOLL
• A man who wishes to • Instead of symbolising
marry a woman might future souls, some dolls
give her a doll as a sign take the place of a dead
of his commitment. A individual – for example,
very elaborately in Nigeria, an ere
designed doll can also be ibeji doll is often used to
a wedding present to represent a dead twin
wish the couple a child and to keep the harmony
as soon as possible between twins’ souls.
Wax

• Dutch Wax Prints also known

as African wax prints are
omnipresent and common materials
for clothing in Africa
especially WestAfrica.
• The process to make ankara is
originally influenced by Batik, an
Indonesian (Javanese) method of
dyeing cloth by using wax-resist
techniques.
• The design of the wax print fabrics
already has an influence on the
international world of fashion and
lifestyle The spare material is applied,
drawn or stamped on the fabric
protecting these parts of the fabric
(pattern) in the color bath and
creating a light pattern after
removal..
MASK
• Ritual and ceremonial masks are an essential
feature of the traditional culture of the
peoples of a part of Sub-Saharan Africa.
• masks usually have a spiritual and religious
meaning and they are used in ritual dances
and social and religious events, and a special
status is attributed to the artists that create
masks to those that wear them in
ceremonies.
• . African masks come in all different colours
such as red, black, orange, and brown.
• African masks are usually shaped after a
human face or some animal's muzzle, albeit
rendered in a sometimes highly abstract
form.
• The most commonly used material for masks
is wood, although a wide variety of other
elements can be used, including light stone
such as steatite, metals such as copper
or bronze, different types of fabric, pottery
and more.
THANK YOU