Ghana Boy meets Al-Buraq

In the 1960s and 70s many young Dogon and Bamana  men from Mali migrated to the relatively cosmopolitan cities of Accra and Kumase in Ghana in search of work. Back home to show of their new found sophistication these youths became known as the “Ghana Boys.”  Alongside imported clothing,  some wore a new and distinctive style of embroidered sleeveless tunic  decorated with colourful and often figurative designs.

This example, which was collected recently in Jenne, has a particularly fine depiction of Al-Buraq, the winged horse that carried the Prophet on his night journey to Jerusalem.

For more on “Ghana Boy” tunics see Victoria L. Rovine: Continuity, Innovation, Fashion – Three Genres of Malian Embroidery in African Arts 44(3) Autumn 2011

Magic Squares: The Patterned Imagination of Muslim Africa in Contemporary Culture

Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto

May 18, 2011 - Nov 20, 2011

Curated by Patricia Bentley

“Four contemporary artists explore the relationship of patterns, communication and spirit in conversation with textiles and symbols from the Museum’s permanent collection of Islamic African artifacts. Magic squares, known all over the world as mathematical games like Sudoku and Kenken, become carriers of powerful and diverse cultural meanings when they are painted, woven or embroidered on textiles in Muslim Africa.”