Yoruba asooke in the Gold Coast, circa 1900

This photograph from the Basel Mission archive shows a wife of the King of Accra. She is dressed in the fashionable style of the day, with a typical high swept hairstyle, and most likely would have been of Ga ethnicity.   Although the description only notes that it dates to “before 1917” it appears earlier and more likely around 1900.  Aside from being a fine image it interests me because it provides a rare early glimpse of Yoruba asooke cloth in use in the Gold Coast. Folded across her lap is a shawl in a classic Yoruba strip weave design of the late C19th, similar to the example from our gallery shown below.

From the later decades of the C19th until the 1960s Ghana provided a large and important market for Yoruba weavers. Growing numbers of Yoruba people settled in the Gold Coast (most were expelled from the then independent Ghana in 1969) and traders from the Oyo Yoruba town of Ogbomoso dominated the export trade in asooke. Much of the cloth was woven to order, with traders gathering sufficient orders then walking back to their home region to organise the weaving of  the cloth, either in Ogbomoso or in the larger weaving towns nearby such as Iseyin,  Ilorin and Oyo. In the early decades of the twentieth century many of these traders used bicycles, packing a large bundle of cloth on the saddle then pushing it several hundred miles back to the north of Ghana.

Although locally woven cloth and cloth traded from elsewhere in the country was of course available throughout Ghana from Asante, Ewe, and other weavers, the imported varieties from Nigeria offered an alternative that at least in the case of more expensive examples using silk from the trans-Saharan trade, was highly valued. Our photograph provides a rare visual proof of this high status. Posing for a portrait photograph was a rare and important event at that period, and every detail of the sitter’s appearance and outfit would have been carefully selected. For a high status woman such as the wife of a king to display an asooke shawl so prominently in the photograph clearly indicates that it was a prized and prestigious possession. 

Senegalese Men’s Robes – some early C20th images.

“Trader from Cayor”, circa 1910, photographer Edmond Fortier.  Indigo resist dyed robe.

“Allioune Sô, chief of the Fulani of Sine”, circa 1910, photographer Edmond Fortier.

“Wolof chief and his griot,” circa 1910, photographer Edmond Fortier.

“Fulani chief” circa 1900, photographer Edmond Fortier.

“Thiès. Three elegant men” circa 1900-10, photographer/publisher E.H, Thiès.

“Thiès. Young Wolofs”, circa 1900-10. Photographer/publisher Harimann.

 

“Dakar (Senegal). Senufo types” circa 1900-10. Photographer/publisher Albaret.

“West Africa. Arrival of a Grand Marabout” circa 1900-20, photographer unknown. A marabout is an Islamic scholar and teacher.

 

“Dakar. Senegalese man, festival dress” circa 1900. Photographer/publisher P.H. & Co.

“Dakar. Senegalese students.” circa 1900-10. Photographer unknown.

All photos author’s collection.

Sapeurs - A Short Documentary by GUINNESS (2014)

Exhibition: Social fabric African textiles today–at The British Museum

Social fabric
African textiles today

Textiles of southern and
eastern Africa

14 February – 21 April 2013
Free

“The rich fabric of African printed and factory-woven textiles reflects changing times, fashions and tastes. From eastern to southern Africa, the social and historical significance of these beautiful and diverse materials are also reflected in the identities of those who wear them.

This exhibition takes a fresh look at the history, manufacture and continuing social significance of these textiles – the designs of which depict the convergence of African tastes and patronage with strong historical and contemporary trading ties from across the globe. The cultural and social significance of these textiles have also influenced some of the region’s foremost contemporary artists and photographers – including Georgia Papageorge, Karel Nel, Peterson Kamwathi and Araminta de Clermont.

These textiles – including kanga from Kenya and Tanzania, capulana from Mozambique, and shweshwe from southern Africa – mirror changing times, fashions and tastes. They provide a detailed chronology of the social, political, religious, emotional and sexual concerns of the (mainly) women who wear them. Their patterns and inscriptions also vary according to the age of the wearer and the context in which the cloth is worn. This unspoken language may be used to suggest thoughts and feelings which cannot be spoken. They are worn in secular and sacred contexts and play a central role in all of the major rite-of-passage ceremonies in women’s and, in some cases, men’s lives.

The exhibition contributes to the small but steadily growing body of research into these relatively neglected African textile traditions.”

Photo: From the series ‘A New Beginning’
© Araminta de Clermont, Cape Town, South Africa, 2009–2010

Fanti Asafo, Fanti Hairstyles….

Today’s post marks an update to our gallery of Fanti Asafo flags from Ghana with a focus on two of the remarkable women’s hair styles of the region.  [The first three images are from our collection, the fourth courtesy of the Smithsonian Eliot Elisofon archive. ]

Here are the complete flags:

For more details please visit our gallery online here.

More on “The Fashionable Hair”–style on Africa’s west coast in the 1900s

In a post last month I looked at a series of early postcards by the African photographer Arkhurst showing images of women’s dress and hair styles on Africa’s west coast, the region stretching from Nigeria up to Sierra Leone, in the early 1900s. Since so many people enjoyed seeing them, today I have brought together another group of postcards from the same era, this time by other photographers, showing similar fashions. All photos author’s collection, click to enlarge.

“Gold Coast, Fanti Woman” – postcard circa 1900, photographer “W.S. Johnston & Sons, Art Photographers, Freetown, Sa Leone.”

The above two photos “Gold in evidence gold coast Type” and “Gold Coast Beauty” are a rare instance of two views from the same sitting. Photographer “Photoholm – Lagos” circa 1900.

“Fantee-women” published by L. Pagenstecher & Co, Sekondi. circa 1900.

“Accra” – photographer and publisher unknown. circa 1900.

“Sekondi – Fantee Woman” photographer and publisher unknown. circa 1900.

“Congo. Femme Acra” photographer and publisher unknown. circa 1900.

For a discussion of this kind of image in the wider context of the history of photography in Africa I can recommend the book Photography and Africa by Erin Haney (reaktion books, 2010.)

Africa in fashion (again)

As fashion week rolls around once again certain types of African textile are very visible and ‘all things’ Africa seem once more to be in vogue. For a look at these developments that goes beyond the usual superficial celebration see:

African Nostalgia: Between Authenticity and Fad

And for an unusually extravagant illustration see the current issue of the online magazine Ghubar