bogolanfini mud cloth
from Mali

White cotton fabric is soaked in Bogon tree leaves and then abstract patterns and designs of flowers are applied. The cloth is then painted with mud (avoiding the patterns and designs) using sticks, feathers or bamboo. Sodani (a kind of natural bleach) is applied to areas that have not been painted with mud to brighten the patterns and designs. The mud and sodani are rinsed off and the cloth is left to dry. Bogolanfini mud cloth is very popular throughout the world, and is often sold in the United States for clothing and as art ot be hung on walls. . Go to the RESOURCES page and see how you can make your own "digital" mud cloth.

adire eleko
from Nigeria

This indigo (bluish-purple) dyed cloth is made by the Yoruba women of Nigeria. The word adire can be translated as "tie and dye." Women use cassava starch to hand paint designs on cloth (as a resist---the dye will not go through the starch) and then add the beautiful indigo color.

kente cloth

from Ghana

The Asante people create woven geometric patterns in bright colors that becomes a fabric that called kente cloth. The name kente comes from the word kenten, which means basket. In fact, the cloth does looks like a finely woven basket when it is finished. The different names of the basket patterns are just as important to the Asante people as the colors of the weave---the names of the patterns honor historical events, special plants and powerful chiefs. Kente cloth is an important cloth throughout the world too, it is often worn during Kwanzaa celebrations as a way to honor African heritage and traditions.