CONGOBONGO Newsletter | Kuba, the beatiful raffie textiles from Kuba people

American Embassy Kinshasa Newsletter September 23, 2010

In this Edition 2 Kuba the Raffia Textiles 6 Photo shoot 7 CLO’s Line 8 FLO Weekly Update 9 AERWA News 10 What’s Going On 13 Classifieds 15 Calendar

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SOURCES: Ann E. Svenson Assistant Textile Conservator Los Angeles County Museum of Art http://www.lacma.org Adams, Monni. "Kuba Embroidered Cloth," African Arts, 11/78, Vol.XII, No.l, 24-39.

Mack, John. "Bakuba Embroidery Patterns: A Commentary on Their Social and Political Implications," Textiles of Africa, W.S. Maney and Son Ltd., 1980, 163-174.

Picton, John and John Mack. African Textiles. London: British Museum Publications, Ltd., 1979.

Sieber, Roy. African Textiles and Decorative Arts. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1972.

Sean Rorison. DRC The Bradt Travel Guide Adam Hochschild. King Leopoldo’s Ghost Pan books editions

T

he "Kuba cloths" or "Kasai velvet" whose irregular, highcontrast designs which African-American quilts are said to recall, are a 20th century anomaly made by a Kuba subculture even their neighbors consider "all mixed up". The Kuba are among Africa’s greatest artists, working in masks, sculpture, textiles and elaborately carved tools.

Because of its location deep in the Congo’s interior, the Kuba kingdom had been largely protected from the slave-raider of both the east and west coast. The Kuba valued their insulation and did all they could to keep outsiders at bay. William Sheppard was the first black American missionary in the Congo. Achieving something most anthropologists can dream of, in 1892 Sheppard became the first foreigner to reach the town of Ifuca, seat of the court of the Kuba king, Kot aMbweeky II. The king angrily ordered Sheppar, his followers, and everyone who had helped them brought to court for beheading. Then he discovered that the intruders had dark skin and could speak some Kuba. They returned back to United States with gifts for President Theodore Roosevelt - a pipe and a palm fiber coverlet.

When examining Kuba cloth, it is important to remember that the Kuba people were not among the Africans taken as slaves to North America, and were the last people in the region to adopt this textile.

In 1910, a European visitor noted the Kuba people still considered the cloth an "innovation," and used backcloth for ceremonial wear.

Moreover, the "Kuba cloths" commonly used as examples were made after 1950 and primarily by the Bashoba, the first Kuba with whom Europeans made contact in around 1890. And while Europeans presumed Bashoba aesthetics were the Kuba norm, in reality Bashoba asymmetry and habitual blending of motifs is anomalous: other Kuba describe Bashoba textiles as "all mixed up". As the 20th century progressed and Bakuba began embroidering cloth for sale to tourists, quantity rather than quality became the goal. Pre-contact examples are embroidered, monochromatic, and contain numerous repeats of a single motif.

Twentieth-century cloths are worked in the faster cut-pile stitch in several colors, and consist of a few repeats of a variety of large motifs. In effect such cloths are "closeups"; they look asymmetrical Congo CongoBongo BongoSeptember September23, 23,2010 2010

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The Kuba Textiles The Kuba people have surrounded themselves with a sophisticated vocabulary of elaborate decorative patterns which are found in architecture, basketry, carved objects, and textiles. The embroidered and appliquéd raffia textiles produced by the Kuba are the focus of this paper. To Western eyes, the cloths are simultaneously bold and intricate, dramatic and subdued, irregular and ordered, as well as asymmetrical and balanced. In all cases they are fluid, visually engaging and full of surprises.

Kuba cloth is woven from the fiber of the Raphia Vinifera Palm. Production of these textiles is a multiple stage process, which involves the participation of children, men and women of the same clan. The process includes gathering and preparing the raffia fibers for weaving and embroidery, weaving the basic cloth unit, dyeing the embroidery fibers, and embellishing the woven cloth with embroidery, appliqué, patchwork and dye.

After the fibers are gathered and stripped by hand or with the aid of a stripping comb, men on a single heddle loom produce the basic cloth unit. The loom consists of a heddle bar and two horizontal bars between which the warp fibers are extended and secured in groups of fibers or hanks. The lower bar is fixed. Suspended from the upper bar is a cross beam supported by two poles. Among groups who weave raffia cloth, the single heddle loom used by the Kuba is found throughout the Congo River Basin. The orientation of the loom is unusual in that the face of the weaving leans toward and over the weaver at a 45 degree angle to the ground. The basic cloth units woven on this loom measure approximately 26 x 28", a size determined by the natural length of the raffia fibers. Noncontiguous weft fibers are laid into the alternating shed of the warps with several inches of excess nonwoven material on each side. To secure the cloth from unraveling after weaving, each unit is trimmed of excess and uneven fibers, and the edges either are hemmed or the cloth is joined to another cloth. The fabric is usually plain weave although sometimes a hand manipulated pattern of weft and plain weave combined is produced. After weaving, the cloth units are sometimes dyed and sometimes softened by repeated wetting and pounding in a mortar.

Three types of finished costume components are produced from the woven units: women's skirts, women's overskirts and men's skirts. The finished cloths are worn during ceremonial events, primarily of a funerary nature. They are wrapped around the waist, layer over layer, creating a voluminous appearance. After death, the cloths are also displayed on the body of the deceased during mourning, and buried with the body at the conclusion of the funeral ceremony. Production of the finished fabric involves four basic techniques: embroidery, appliqué, patchwork and dyeing.

The embroidered cloths may be divided into three types: cut pile embroideries, uncut embroideries and cut or open work embroideries. The cut pile embroideries look like velvet or velour and have been referred to as "Kasai Velvets" or "Kuba Velours." (True velvet is a warp manipulated cut loop technique performed during weaving while the fabric is on the loom).

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Pile cloth is a result of an embroidery technique in which raffia fiber is stitched with a needle under one warp or weft of the base cloth and then trimmed close to the front surface with a small knife. This cut embroidery stitch creates the carpet or velvet like appearance. The pile embroidery fibers are held in place between the cross over of the warp and weft of the base cloth. No knot is used in this technique. Seen from the back, the embroidered fibers are nearly hidden and only a shadow of the pattern is visible.

Uncut embroideries embellished with a stem stitch or blanket stitch are patterned similarly to the pile cloths but by contrast are flat in appearance. On open work embroideries, pattern is created by removing warp or weft elements of the base cloth, then embroidering around and through these losses to embellish and to prevent unraveling. Sometimes the openwork is created by binding warp and weft in a way that distorts the weave, leaving a pattern of embroidered openwork in the ground fabric.

Embroidered cloth units are individually conceptualized and the patterns, numbering 200, have been named and passed through generations. Sometimes these patterns are diagrammed onto the cloth with a writing utensil or stem stitch embroidery. Sometimes the patterns are not diagrammed but are worked out from patterns stored in the embroiderer's mind. Either way, individuality and creativity are allowed for both within a traditionally bound art form and within the rigid structure of the woven unit.

The appliqué technique again begins with the individual cloth unit to which raffia pattern elements are secured with an embroidery stitch in single or double rows around the perimeter of each. These cloths seem more random in pattern than the embroidered cloths. More freedom of pattern placement is possible because the pattern elements are not an integrated part of the weave but instead are one layer of raffia cloth placed on top of another. Cut out appliqués are a common variation which use the appliqué technique. Here, positive negative illusion is created by large and sometimes intricately cut out sections of raffia that are embroidered to the base cloth.

Patchwork cloths often are patterned similarly to appliqué cloths, but with a seemingly negative pattern image. These patchwork patterns are created by cutting and removing areas of the base cloth, thereby creating a pattern of holes which are patched on the front or back surface with raffia of the same shape.

Patches are secured to the ground cloth with an interlocked hem and embroidery stitch. Some patchwork cloth is created from small squares of raffia and again joined together with an interlocked hem and embroidery stitch. Elaborate patchwork cloths are created with alternating squares of dyed and un-dyed raffia which are sometimes decorated with embroidered patterns.

Like embroidered cloth, appliqué, cut out appliqué and patchwork cloths range in complexity and style.

Panels created from these techniques are also individually conceptualized and then many such units are joined to make skirts and overskirts. Several women work together on the long skirts with one woman usually as the leader. It is she who decides on the general patterns and colors to be used, and coordinates the production. When individual panels are finished, they are returned to the leader for assembly. Joined side by side the appliqué panels create overskirts and skirts. The women's skirts reach 25 feet in length while the men's skirts can be longer than 30 feet. It has been suggested that appliqué and patchwork evolved from a need to mend the skirts, and there is some evidence to support this theory, but these techniques are an Congo CongoBongo BongoSeptember September23, 23,2010 2010

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Other techniques of cloth production include the tie dyed cloths upon which overall patterns composed of un-dyed raffia set against a dyed background are created. Tie dying and the dying of cane stitched tightly to the cloth are techniques which are used. Although the literature on Kuba fabric production suggests that traditionally only natural dyes have been used, in fact both natural and synthetic dyes are used and the range of color includes orange, yellow, red, brown, black and purple. Synthetic sources for purple are commonly found in mimeograph ink, ball point pen ink and pounded carbon paper.

Finished cloths decorated by a variety of techniques, a combination of European trade cloth and bark cloth with raffia are all often seen on the skirts and overskirts. For example, it is not uncommon to see a tie dye panel joined to an appliquĂŠ panel; a cut work overskirt bordered by cut pile embroidered panels; or skirts on which trade cloth has been used as an appliquĂŠ element or a border panel. Skirts and overskirts are finished by hemming, binding, bordering with small embroidered panels, or by adding a fringe.

The weaving of raffia cloth is a continuing tradition among the Kuba for traditional use or for export. (The export cloth is generally of an inferior quality.) Within the kingdom, different ethnic groups produce distinctly differing cloths which vary in the number of fibers per inch, the shade of the base cloth, the embellishment and finish of the cloth, and the craftsmanship. Some cloth is fine and soft, resembling linen rather than raffia. While most fabric reflects a hand technique such as embroidery, seaming, appliquĂŠ and patch attachment, there are groups which prefer machine stitching. These groups who use sewing machines admire a machine stitched seam and attachment stitch. Art historians and conservators should view this variation as an important cultural decision.

In terms of age, most surviving raffia textiles from Congo rarely exceed 100 years. Cloth which dates from the turn of the century is considered old, although there are examples in European collections which date back to the middle of the 17th century. In the humid equatorial environment of Central Africa, these organic materials suffer from exposure to the climate. The tradition of burying the skirts, overskirts and panels with the deceased also reduces the number of textiles available for preservation.

The physical strength of Kuba textiles ranges from very weak to very strong. Display techniques then range from an approach in which a piece is simply laid in a case or on a slant board, to making a recess pressure mounting, a mounting on a fabric covered strainer or a mounting which involves the use of velcro. The author has used each of these methods successfully to suit a specific situation. The conservator's experience and the textile's condition will determine the method used. Raffia cloths are textiles and in their display they should be treated as such.

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Congo Bongo September 23, 2010

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The Tutorial and Learning Center

What:

Ashtanga yoga: a dynamic and fixed series of asana’s (yoga postures) in combination with breathing techniques. Ashtanga yoga is a challenge for the mind and body but anyone can enter since both the beginner’s version as a more advanced version of each posture will be demonstrated.

A meditative moment ends each session.

When:

From the 4th of October 2010 onwards: Sunday: 09.00 – 10.30 Monday: 19.00 – 20.30 Wednesday: 07.30 – 09.00 Thursday: 19.00 – 20.30 Friday: 07.30 – 09.00

Price:

provides a variety of diverse tutorial options to meet the needs of students. Academic support is available to students from K-6. The Tutorial and Learning Center provides the following services:      

Group tutorials Drop-in tutoring Individual appointments Homework assistance Reading and Comprehension skills Teaching English as a second language Location: Timings:

60 $/ ten sessions There are some mats available but if you have your own yoga mat, please bring it along. A towel and a bottle of water comes in handy as well since we will work without air-conditioning.

Contact:

They are great to take to the grocery in Kinshasa and great to send home as gifts.

There are a number of designs to choose from in the AQ. Stop by and check them out!

Going Green thought at the Embassy

Anyone interested in forming a “Green Committee” to help continue the focus on greening

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