West African Robes: some early photos of Nigerian robes

To mark the recent update of the robe section of our gallery, today I am posting a selection of early images of this style of robe in use. Although this style of robe was made in and closely associated with the nineteenth century Sokoto Caliphate in north Nigeria, taking in Hausa, Nupe and northern Yoruba peoples, such was it’s prestige that it was traded and worn across a much wider expanse of West Africa.

Photographer unknown. Lagos, Nigeria, Circa 1890.

Photographer N. Walwin Holm or J.A. C. Holm, circa 1900-10. The Alake of Abeokuta.

Photographer unknown, Cameroun, early C20th.

Photographer unknown, Burkina Faso, early C20th. the Moro Naba, king of the Mossi, Ouagadougou.

Photographer unknown, early C20th, Tuareg Chief, Zinder, Niger.

Photographer unknown, early C20th. Hausa dance troupe, northern Nigeria.

Photographer unknown, early C2oth, Shendam, east central Nigeria.

Click on the photos to enlarge. Please visit our robe gallery to see our current stock and for more information.

Interesting new book on Nigerian dress traditions…

Published in Nigeria in 2011 but new to me this is a substantial (600 + pages) volume that explores dress traditions across numerous ethnic groups in Nigeria in considerable detail. The author Dani Lyndersay, a theatre studies expert, lived in Nigeria for many years and has a Phd from the University of Ibadan. She draws on both her own field and archive research and a pretty thorough overview of the literature illustrated by numerous line drawings. These drawings are in may cases quite detailed and make up for the limited and rather poorly reproduced photographs (often a problem with books published in Nigeria.) There is much new and interesting information here – 28 pages on the dress of the Kanuri, for example.

The book is not listed on Amazon but I did find it at an online seller here. I bought my copy at SOAS bookshop in London, who no doubt could obtain more.

Eyo Masqueraders, openwork shawls and early aso oke.

Eyo or Adamorisha, is the signature masquerade performance of Lagos island, still enacted as an annual festival event. Today the performers wear imported white lace robes and veils but images from the early colonial era , above, show a combination of agbada gowns in various colours with locally woven openwork aso oke cloths similar to the two now very rare C19th examples shown above. We can imagine the performers borrowing women’s shawls from wives or mothers for this purpose, and that there participation in the spiritually charged performance added an additional layer of meaning to the textiles.

For more details on the shawls please visit out Nigerian men’s weaving gallery here. For robes see our agbada gallery.

The second masquerade picture above is in the British Museum, ref Af,A51.75. Other images authors collection.

African Lace – forthcoming exhibition

Advance notice of an interesting exhibition. From October 2010 to January 2011 the Ethnology Museum in Vienna will have a major exhibition on lace fabrics in Nigeria, in collaboration with the National Museum, Lagos. The show will then transfer to Lagos from March to Jun 2011. Austria is a major producer of lace for the West African market. A substantial catalogue in English and German editions will accompany the show. More details later in the year.