I tell everyone that if I don't make it as a journalist, my backup is to become a seamstress. I love to sew and I love to look at fabrics and imagine what to make with them. I was in fabric heaven in Kenya and Tanzania because kangas - one of my favourite types of cotton cloth - are from there. One word: whimsical.
Kangas are about 150 years old and originated in East Africa. They always include three
sections: the middle design, the border, and the printed saying. These
days, Kenyan kangas almost always have a common Swahili saying, but older
kangas also have sayings printed in Arabic, since Arabic was also used
on the East African coast. In other countries you can also find kangas with sayings in Lingala.
The word could have more than one origin. Wikipedia tells me it comes from the Swahili verb "ku-kanga" or "to wrap" (people typically wrap themselves in kanga). But they could also be named after the wild bird "kanga" because the first cloth design was black and white with spots, resembling these animals (this is according to the special exhibit on kangas in Stone Town's House of Wonders museum, which is perhaps a more credible source).
Kangas are typically sold in sets of two rectangles, but it is possible to buy just one cut rectangle to use, for example, as a beach wrap. I stocked up on a few patterns. My colleague helped me translate a few, and I figured out the rest with the help of Google translate. I am told that one appears to be a condolence kanga (something you might offer to a friend who flunked an exam), another says something like "I eat in the dark because I fear my neighbours" and my favourite one - which I will turn into a dress one day - goes something like "I am better without you." Maybe it's a celebratory break-up kanga?
Other fantastic fabrics in the East African textile safari include kitenge (see left). The fabric is printed in traditional batik fashion using wax and dye. Apparently, some of the patterns have special meanings, although I don't know what these two on the left mean. This is also the kind of cloth you see printed with political slogans and faces of politicians.
In Kenya it's common to see Maasai men dressed in shukas (left). These brightly coloured wraps are heavier than kanga and use plaid and striped patterns. I noticed the palette is often bright red, orange, purple, with occasional splashes of dark blue or even bright green. All the shukas I encountered were made from acrylic wool, but I imagine traditionally they were woven from real wool. Not only are cattle herders clearly visible among their herds, but wearing a shuka protects from sun and dust.
