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I've been searching for any pictures or any forums that might help me see or get an idea of how the Malians dressed at the time of Sundiata. I found a great statue of an archer sculpted at around that time. But that's pretty much all I've been able to find.
Found another of an "equestiran" that was nice too. And help anybody can give would be greatly appreciated.
Posts: 248 | From: Way Down South | Registered: Sep 2007
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^I highly doubt this reflects what Sundiata actually wore, but the artist's reckoning of the "basic outline" of the dress code may not necessarily be that vastly off the general theme of the actual one.
Perhaps Mansa Musa's dressing as seen by "outsiders" provides an indication of what the conventional male dress code would have been like not only during his reign, but also during that of Sundiata...
His version of the clothing might have been given more glitter or an air of glamour to it due to his social status, but I doubt it would've been out of mainstream as far as the conventional dress code was concerned.
-------------------- The Complete Picture of the Past tells Us what Not to Repeat Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by markellion: Is this picture realistic?
That is typical of West African horse cultures. And what you see today is only a shadow of what there was PRIOR to the colonial period. Just like everything else, African textile traditions, metal working traditions and many other traditions have BEEN LOST or DEGRADED due to colonial contact. So keep in mind that some of the aspects of African culture were MORE advanced as you go back. But many are still trying to maintain their culture.
There are many examples of those traditions that have been posted on this forum, including here:
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I didn't know that pic of the Musa was drawn by someone who had seen him..
The book cover may not have been too far off for a pre-colonial West African royal.
Then again, his atire in the map doesn't look off(for someone of the Malian Empire) at all.
West African textiles:
Magnifique!
*
^There's a bit of a disconnect in this one for me (Ghanaian Nokia model) but west African textiles would be KILLIN IT in the fashion game. At least by my artistic tastes.
Posts: 5555 | From: Tha 5th Dimension. | Registered: Apr 2006
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And to think that filthy dogshit racist Djehuti said Malians weren't "sub-saharan" or "black".
Posts: 3085 | Registered: Jan 2008
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Just to clarify: not all of the Mandinka come from Mali (or even the regions where the Mali Epire was located).
I did this purposely; to give an idea of how Mandinka (the 'Mandingo') dress. Don't know how much this affected the dress but most Malians (nationals) are Islamic (I think).
But yeah, black people are found throughout the continent and beyond it.
Posts: 5555 | From: Tha 5th Dimension. | Registered: Apr 2006
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You guys should check this book out. i read it awhile age.I seen some pics in some other books about early west africa,it seems that the upper classes had abit of a different way clothing,but you see this in early egypt,rome and other early cultures,THE dressing habits tend to be ,more elaborate for the ruling and upper classes,and for the middle more elaborate than the lower classes.It was the same everywhere back than.
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Interesting to note that if one goes by the eurocentrist propaganda or the movies/tv, the above are lies because Africans did not dress like the above.
Posts: 3085 | Registered: Jan 2008
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The book done by a black american,get the book it's very good and it show how varied african dress wasin the empire of mali.
African dress varied just like any other people.Armour was used by fighting men as well,i seen art of the men of mali that dress like the pic above,helmets,horses,covered in armour etc....
I seen a pic for example of a red noba king in in northern nubia dress in roman like armour with a big war crown or something like that on his head.Armour was more common by the way in nubia and certain other kingdoms like ancient ghana,the songhay etc... and varied clothing.
Posts: 2688 | Registered: Jul 2004
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That is a correct picture showing the different dress forms of mali,and the upper classes had even more varied clothing.
Oh,i did not see this above,yes this shows a fighting man with armour and helmet.I Seen others that were like this too but different.I seen them with long coats and armour and helmets on horses as well.In nubia alot of cotton was grown and cotton made clothing was worn.
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In West African attire, and indeed those across the continent, unique-to-Africa linen clothing lines is more than abundant, and many of these have been *carried on* from the 'Medieval' pre-colonial periods. When it comes to styles, although changes did occur along the way [some of it was attributable to fads that come with change of times, and some of it had to merely do with taking an element(s) of certain imports and meshing it with indigenous ones, as a source of inspiration from those designs that were an instant hit with the locals; of course neither of these are particularly unique to Africans], African-unique attire are still fairly conservative in their general designs.
His attire in those "contemporary" paintings of Mansa Musa show parallels to those of Moorish elites which 'Medieval' southern European artists have left us, and indeed, contemporary "warrior" horsemen as those shown above, serve as good indicators of what attire of Sahelian and coastal Northwest Africans looked like when the Moorish-Arab expansion into Europe began. These attire would have well been in place before Moorish rule in Europe.
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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This may give folks a basic idea how some christian nubian fighting men dress in the middle ages.This is to show how varied even fighting men of africa were back then.
After all the kings of the christain nubia had did have palaces large or larger than football fields and two at least two stories up or more.They raided egypt many times too and even conqured it again a few times large parts of it a few times.
Some nubian fighters.
View of the ruined Christian church at Qasr Ibrim, Lower Nubia, 600 to 1000 century CE. Basilica of Qasr Ibrim-Nubia
The reason i chose these images because they are quick to post and i seen them before so sorry for getting o topic with mali,but i want to show these before.
Nubia was one of the few countries in the ancient world converted to Christianity without a prior experience of Roman rule… The Nubians used the liturgy of St. Mark, and decorated the walls of their churches with murals that showed their royals dressed in Byzantine style. In 1961, Polish archaeologists excavated what appeared to be a mound of sand, and within it, found Faras Cathedral, its walls decorated with 169 magnificent paintings of dark-skinned Nubian kings, queens, and bishops, biblical figures, and saints… There were up to 6 Christian churches in each village, and the dead during this Christian era were not buried with all the grave goods that the pre-Christians had.
In the early 600’s the Arabs conquered Egypt , but they did not conquer Nubia . They were repelled by Nubia ’s brilliant archers and formed a treaty, recognizing them as an independent, Non-Muslim state. SOURCE: Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa , p.30-31
christian nubian kingdom of makuria
Fresco of a Nubian bishop with the Virgin Mary and Christ child. From the great cathedral at Faras, Sudan. About 900 to 1000 CE.
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Bishop Petros (924-999) and St. Peter the Apostle
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Bishop Marianos (1005-1039) and Virgin with Child, after 1005
These paintings show very strong Byzantine characteristics, and are further evidence of the deeply rooted influence which the Byzantine church must originally have had in Nubia. The illustration shown here (FIG. 4) from the church at Faras is of a bishop, almost certainly the bishop of Faras, who may well have been the senior bishop of the Nubian church. He is shown in full vestments, which are very similar to those then in use in the Orthodox Church. An unusual feature is the series of what are apparently bells sewn round the hem of his cope.
The other illustration, (FIG. 5), from the church at Abd el Qadir, is of very great interest and importance. An inscription beside it shows that it is a representation of the Eparch of Nubia (see above, Kingdom of Dongola). He is seen holding a representation of the church, of which he was presumably the founder, in his hand. On his head he wears the two-horned headdress, which seems to have been an emblem of Nubian royalty. The double-headed eagles on his costume are again evidence of the persistence of Byzantine tradition.
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To find out more read.
Derek A. Welsby, The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia. Pagans, Christians and Muslims along the nile.
Posts: 2688 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Thanks all. If anyone has any other pictures of sculptures made in Mali at that time please let me know.
Posts: 248 | From: Way Down South | Registered: Sep 2007
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quote:Originally posted by sportbilly: Thanks all. If anyone has any other pictures of sculptures made in Mali at that time please let me know.
To get a more better correct idea how nubian fighting men dress like in the middle ages or women,get the book above.Now for mali and some other pics.
The equestrian figure has been an image in art of the Western Sudan for hundreds of years. Terre Cotta figures have been found at the archeological site of d'Jenne. The horse is not native to the region--yet it is said to be a symbol of power. To the Dogon, it represents the first animals off the ark from the heavens in the creation. It is said that the figure may represent Lebe, the ancestral figure who taught the first Dogon how to die. See this terracotta equestrian figure from, d'Jenne, Mali. See photographs of a Dogon village of Mali. Don't forget to come BACK (click "Back" in your browser) See a Dogon ancestor mask. Learn about Dogon blacksmiths. Go to this site to see more images of Dogon life. ---------------------------------------------------
This clay figure is from Jenne, an ancient city of Mali, on the delta of the Niger River. The city was active around 250 BCE, and the 10" terra cotta figure dates from the 13th century CE.
Kneeling Male Figure
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Hunter's Tunic
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The emergence of the three centralized states at given points in history can be attributed to the coupling of the lucrative gold trade from the Sudan with the salt brought by North African Muslim traders. Ghana was the richest of the three in c. 1150, owing its wealth primarily to the vast gold fields of Buri and Bambak.
The acceptance of Islam by the rulers of Ghana, Mali and Songhay (also spelled Songhey and Songhai) in c. 1000 encouraged trade between the empires and North Africa. The introduction of Islam also instituted more cosmopolitan social structures, such as universities, world religions and, especially, centralized state systems and military forces.
At its peak, the Mali Empire extended across West Africa to the Atlantic Ocean and incorporated an estimated 40 to 50 million people. The administration of such an enormous territory was formidable and relied on the establishment of a government sensitive to the diversity of the land, population and cultures and accepting of the indigenous rulers and their customs. What distinguished the empires of West Africa, particularly Mali and later Songhay, was their ability to centralize political and military power while allowing the local rulers to maintain their identities along side Islam. The imperial powers were located in active commercial centers like Djenne, Timbuktu and Gao.
The wealth of the Mali Empire is illustrated by the Mali emperor Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. His entourage reportedly included thousands of soldiers, officials and attendants, 100 camels each carrying 300 pounds of gold, and 500 maids and slaves to serve Mansa Musa's senior wife. Once in Egypt, Mansa Musa paid homage to the sultan with gifts of gold. He distributed so much gold that its value was decreased by 10 to 25 percent.
Commerce promoted the development of public works, including the building of social and religious structures. The imperial rulers ordered mosques constructed and palaces converted into mosques. Mosques were often identified with the cities where they were built and the rulers who commissioned their construction.
Using established building techniques, architects and builders increased the size of the mosques to accommodate a larger Muslim population and underscore the importance of Islam. The cities of Gao, Djenne and Timbuktu boasted large mosques.
posted
It depends. Many of the elite who succeeded Sundiata wore imported materials from North Africa and the Middle East as to signify "prestige" as well as their Islamic faith. According to Al-Umari, much of the population at large dressed themselves in locally manufactured African textiles, mainly of cotton and other fabrics. Not much different than how you'd conceive it to look or like the representations above, likely similar to many griots and traditionalists of today. Niane describes some of it in the epic of Sundiata as well. Sunidata himself appealed more to the commoner unlike his successors.
-------------------- mr.writer.asa@gmail.com Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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It depends. Many of the elite who succeeded Sundiata wore imported materials from North Africa and the Middle East as to signify "prestige" as well as their Islamic faith.
Not to imply that it couldn't have been so, but what primary text or tangible evidence in the times in question suggest this?
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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It depends. Many of the elite who succeeded Sundiata wore imported materials from North Africa and the Middle East as to signify "prestige" as well as their Islamic faith.
Not to imply that it couldn't have been so, but what primary text or tangible evidence in the times in question suggest this?
I determined that from a number of sources in tandem. According to John Hunwick, al-Sadi alludes to it in the Tarikh al-Sudan and it was also directly mentioned by Al-Umari in describing Mansa Musa and by Ibn Battuta in describing Mansa Suleyman.
I've found a brief reference to it right here as well (page 75)...
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Do you have the specific primary texts that mention this, or at least the text wherein John Hunwick says they described this.
The pages on the link you provided take a while to load on my system, and so, not accessible to me at this time. Ps - Never mind, finally loaded!
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
Actually the idea that African royalty simply imported textiles from North Africa as backwards. Northern Africans were importing textiles from West Africa. It is from the Nigerians that the Saharan Berbers got their fabrics from. It is from Kano Nigeria that the famous Moroccan leather originates. It is from West Africa that much of the Gold in the Moorish kingdoms originates. It was from West Africa that much of the steel and iron making traditions among Saharan Berbers originates. Not only that, but there are species of insects that produce silk in West Africa and have been used for NATIVE spun African silk textiles for hundreds of years.
quote: Silk-producing Insects of West Africa.
GERALD C. DUDGEON Top of page Abstract
THE following observations in connection with the wild silk-producing insects of West Africa may be considered of interest. In parts of Nigeria (Ibadan, Ilorin, &c.) the cocoons of Anaphe infracta, Wlsm., and A. venata, Butler, are used for the production of a cloth termed “Sanyan,” which is woven from yarn, spun from the boiled cocoon masses, mixed with native cotton yarns. In a state of nature the silk from the cocoons of both these species is brown or yellow-brown, and is of this colour when exposed for sale in the markets, but another kind of silk, which is brought to Ibadan from Bauchi and Bornu (in N. Nigeria), is pure white in colour, and is called “Gambari,” or Haussa silk. This is only obtainable as boiled cocoon masses, and the dried remains of the worms found in them seem to indicate that they are allied to Anaphe. The collectors of this silk are said to gather the worms from the trees, on which they find them, when they are prepared to spin, and to confine them in calabashes.
Throughout Western Africa prior to the colonial period or Islam, there were many kingdoms and city states that were based around trade and craftsmanship. Throughout this area there were iron workers, brass workers, steel makers, textile producers, gold miners, jewelry makers, leather workers, wood workers, dye makers, craftsmen and so on. All of this was the basis of the fame and reputation of African craft products that were traded widely throughout Africa and the Mediterranean. Africans were also trained to be able to work with their hands and learn a craft as part of their "traditional" upbringing. Men were taught how to live on the land and how to work with nature to produce everything they needed. There were guilds of craftsmen oriented around all areas of craft and trade. So this idea that West Africans had no industry and needed to import everything is pure non sense. Most of what you read about in Western history books is only the tip of the iceberg. Just like the famous Benin Bronzes that Europeans claimed were the result of Asian influence, there are many other traditions in metalworking, textiles and craft production that are often kept in museums and private collections and not seen by the general public. Art collectors and curators know about this stuff, but not the lay man. If you research the various city states and Kingdoms of West Africa you will find a rich history of craft and trade that is much more complex than most people know about. Kano, for example was always known for its Iron working, as one of the legends of the founding of Kano states that it was founded by a king searching for Iron ore, which he found on the site called Iron hill, which is where modern Kano was founded. They were also famous for their textiles, which is where much of the indigo robes and dress of the Tuaregs and other Saharan groups originated. So there is much much more there than meets the eye, but because of the disruption and destruction of these trade networks and kingdoms during the colonial period, a lot of this knowledge has been either hidden, destroyed or lost. The current policies of international "free trade" are actually DESTROYING the ancient fabric of African industry. Not to mention that African textiles have been VERY influential on European fashion for hundreds of years, but of course you won't hear them tell you this. All across West Africa from Nigeria to Ivory Coast, Senegal and elsewhere many native traditions and creative energies were influential on all cultures who encountered them. And this same pattern also applies to North Africa and Islamic Spain as well. That is why these places have their own distinctive styles within the larger repertoire of Islamic culture world wide. It is that unique stamp that makes it African and therefore not IMPORTED from anywhere else. It is home grown.
Phaloborwa, an ancient site of metal working in South Africa:
quote: The name "Ba-Phalaborwa", given to the area by the Sotho tribes who moved here from the south, means better than the south. The Sotho mined and smelted copper and iron ore here as far back as 400AD. Masorini, near Phalaborwa gate, is a reconstructed baPhalaborwa hill village, with huts, grain storage areas, and an iron, smelting site.
There are two townships, Namakgale and Lulekani where the Pedi and Tsonga reside, and rural areas such as Mashishimale, Makushane and Ga-Maseke.
quote: Product Description China and India's new-found interest in trade and investment with Africa - home to 300 million of the globe's poorest people and the world's most formidable development challenge - presents a significant opportunity for growth and integration of the Sub-Saharan continent into the global economy. Africa's Silk Road finds that China and India's South-South commerce with Africa is about far more than natural resources, opening the way for Africa to become a processor of commodities and a competitive supplier of goods and services to these countries - a major departure from its long established relations with the North. A growing number of Chinese and Indian businesses active in Africa operate on a global scale, work with world-class technologies, produce products and services according to the most demanding standards, and foster the integration of African businesses into advanced markets. There are significant imbalances, however, in these emerging commercial relationships. These can be addressed through a series of reforms in all countries:
*"At-the-border" reforms, such as elimination of China and India's escalating tariffs on Africa's leading exports, and elimination of Africa's tariffs on certain inputs that make exports uncompetitive *"Behind-the-border" reforms in Africa, to unleash competitive market forces and strengthen its basic market institutions *"Between-the-border" improvements in trade facilitation mechanisms to decrease transactions costs *Reforms that leverage linkages between investment and trade, to allow African businesses to participate in global production networks that investments by Chinese and Indian firms can generate.
And as usual, Western industry, after promoting the decline of the INDIGENOUS industry, promotes itself as the solution:
quote: The British government is to join hands with the Kano State government in the revival of the state's collapsing industries and the exploration of the state's untapped mineral resources.
The United Kingdom's Director of Trade and Investment in the British High Commission in Nigeria Mr Peter Stephenson, made this known when he paid a courtesy call to Amal Business Services Ltd, one of the Kano's leading business outfits.
Mr Stephenson expressed shock on the way Kano industries, mostly textiles, are collapsing saying that his department in the British High Commission will do everything possible to help in addressing the ugly trend by inviting interested British companies to invest in the sector.
He said: "All I want for now is the list of the collapsed industries. We need that for analysis to enable us know what the industries required to come back to shape. I assure you that we would do our best to see that the most vital industries to Kano's economy are put back in shape, if not all."
The diplomat said that Britain businessmen and women are interested in making investments into the Nigerian economy and Kano is one of the cities, which the British entrepreneurs are interested in.
"Kano being the second largest commercial city in Nigeria, we are aware that investing in its economic sector will be beneficial to our countries," Mr Stephenson added.
Now that happy sounding article is only hiding the facts:
quote: Chinese exporters destroying Nigerian textile industry, laments MAN E-mail Written by VANGUARD Sunday, 16 November 2008 MANUFACTURERS Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), has raised alarm over the systematic and deliberate destruction of the Nigerian textile industry and economy by unscrupulous Chinese textile exporters and called on the Federal government to engage the Chinese government over the matter.
In a joint presentation at a policy dialogue forum on Nigerian Textile, organised by the National Union of Textile, Garment Tailoring Workers of Nigeria in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FEF) in Abuja, MAN and NTMA, lamented that the most serious problem afflicting the textile industry in Nigeria is the unabated influx of counterfeit textiles from China.
Presenting the joint position of MAN and NTMA, Executive Secretary of NTMA, Mr. Paul Olarewaju alleged the counterfeited textile fabrics originate in China and specifically target and copy the trade marks of Nigerian textile manufacturers, Made-in-Nigeria or Made-as-Nigeria on the selvedge and even blatantly take SON/NIS markings to deliberately mislead consumers.
According to Mr. Olarewaju, the markets in Kano, Ibadan, Onitsha and Lagos are flooded with smuggled textiles through nation’s land borders, particularly, Niger Republic which now occupy over 80% market share. He said: The situation in the Nigerian Textile Industry is alarming. Unless urgent steps are taken by the government, a total collapse is imminent. The most serious problem afflicting the industry is the unabated influx of counterfeit textiles from China. There has been a sharp increase in the volume of textiles being smuggled in through our land borders, particularly via Niger Republic.
These goods originate in China and specifically target and copy the trade marks of Nigerian textile manufacturers; print Made in Nigeria or Made as Nigeria on the selvedge and even blatantly take SON/NIS markings to deliberately mislead consumers. The markets in Kano, Ibadan, Onitsha and Lagos are flooded with smuggled textiles which occupy over 80% market share.
The Federal Government is urged to engage the Chinese authorities by drawing their attention to the serious damage caused by the trade malpractices of their textile exporters to the Nigerian economy. Federal enforcement agencies such as Customs and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) should be tasked to take effective measures against faking and counterfeiting of Nigerian manufacturers trade marks.
The Textile sector is a strategic non-oil industry in Nigeria. A basic industry that almost all countries have as their first industrial activity and most developing economies show a high degree of self-sufficiency for textiles and garments. An industry which uses maximum indigenous raw materials — Cotton. An employer of 200,000 workers in 1985 now reduced to 24,000 workers and a million indirect people — cotton growers and labour. The second largest textile industry in Africa (after Egypt).
On a replacement basis the present installed textile manufacturing capacity in Nigeria represents a US$2 billion investment. There is a huge potentials to create thousands of jobs in the garment sector if the textile industry is allowed to survive.
Given details of the modus operandi of the dubious Chinese textile exporters, the Executive Secretary of NTMA, said: Chinese companies violate intellectual property rights (IPR) of Nigerian textile manufacturers by specifically targeting popular Nigerian textile companies and counterfeiting their trade marks on the material produced in China and destined for Nigerian market. Several Nigerian and international laws are broken to gain illegal market entry to the detriment of Nigerian textile industry in particular and economy in general. The faking of trade marks is done to mislead Nigerian consumers into buying counterfeits of genuine materials at cheap price by evading duties and taxes due to the government.
Chinese companies target popular Nigerian textile companies and counterfeit their trade marks which are printed on the cloth selvedge. Made in Nigeria or Made as Nigeria is printed on the cloth selvedge and labels to falsify country of origin declaration. Chinese textile companies even openly display the Nigerian manufacturers trade mark on their websites to attract potential importers. There is an urgent need to draw the attention of the Chinese authorities to the serious damage caused by their exporters to Nigerian economy.
quote: There is no more smoke billowing from its lone chimney and cobwebs now cover the dusty production line of a run down food processing company in a once-busy industrial estate in Kano in northern Nigeria.
Not too far away, a stray goat dashes out of a steel company whose premises have been overtaken by weeds.
The plight of Sharada Industrial Estate epitomises the economic decline of a once great city - once the hub of a busy pre-colonial trans-Saharan trade.
It later became Nigeria's second most industrialised city after Lagos, with five big industrial estates.
"Kano was once called the 'Manchester of Africa' as a tribute to its vibrant textile industry," says Bala Ibrahim, a trader in ancient money at Kano's Kasuwan Kurmi market.
He also remembers the legendary "groundnut pyramids of Kano", when the city was a major agricultural centre, before oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, diverting most of the country's investment and business acumen to the south.
Kano's dying companies have also thrown up other crisis for the ancient city with unemployment on the increase and crime rates also climbing higher.
The growing army of unemployed youth also seems to provide a ready resource pool for the frequent religious and ethnic clashes that Kano has come to be identified with.
INTRODUCTION Since May 1953 there have been many riots in Kano. The ferocity of these uprisings and the human and material cost has always increased. The nature of state and elite responses has also been consistent. The state always sets up a commission of inquiry with a promise that it will never allow such a thing to occur again. Whereas the elites always condemn with a call for the government to take decisive action against the culprits and sometimes the perpetrators were punished. But why have these riots continue to occur despite previous lessons and their threat to the survival of the society?
Inuwar Jama’ar Kano (Kano Forum), which is part of the civil society should as a matter of public responsibility try to find out the reasons for the persistent occurrence of riots in Kano. Since it is an independent organization it is expected to analyze issues objectively and advice the state and the society without fear or favor. Anything short of this will be violation of Divine injunction. To achieve this noble objective the organization will have to commission researchers to investigate the causes of these riots. The research will involve both library and field work. This short piece is just a preliminary survey of some of the causes with a few suggestions that may help in reducing social tensions.
SOME OF THE CAUSES OF KANO RIOTS The following could be identified as some of the numerous causes of Kano riots over in the last half a century:
History Kano and other parts of the Sokoto Caliphate were defeated in a military encounter with the British imperialists and were subsequently incorporated into the British Empire. Colonial rule was a Western Christian innovation of dominating other peoples. The intention of the colonialists was primarily to exploit the resources of the colonized people without any regard to human sufferings based on their epistemological vision. Part of that scheme was the imposition of European culture as a facilitator of the economic exploitation. Naturally all the peoples resisted colonialism more especially Muslims. But the Europeans were skillful. They made compromises as long as their economic interests were not threatened. In northern Nigeria they introduced indirect rule for practical reasons. It was convenient for them as well as for the native ruling class. The radicals viewed this as the Anglo-Fulani alliance.
After establishing themselves as new masters the British colonialists then began to demolish all the existing institutions some of which were replaced with European inspired ones while others were not replaced at all. One of the first casualties was the social welfare institution. Both Clapperton and Bourdon have noted the operation of the poor rate system in the Sokoto Caliphate under which the destitute and students were taken care of by the state. The colonialists abolished this system without any replacement despite resistance from the emirate authorities.
Another casualty was the Shari’ah legal system. It was bastardized and reduced to the levels acceptable to the British. That was not all the British tried to encourage the Emirs to use siyasa (politics) as a means of independent judgment so that Shari'ah could be abrogated but to his eternal credit Sarkin Kano Abbas resisted. The British made the introduction of the penal code a condition for granting independence. The penal code is a syncretization of Shari'ah and English law because it accepted some of the crimes recognized by the Shari'ah but adopted different procedures and punishments. Sardauna has documented in his autobiography that the British made it clear that there will be no foreign investments unless this "reform" was made. Forty years after independence and the penal code in the north, foreign investments have not been forthcoming and the states and federal government are still soliciting for such investments. And up to 1970, ten years after independence Muslims were humiliated with a Supreme Court judgment, which quashed a High Court judgment based on Islamic personal law because it was incompatible with the English Wills Act of 1870.
Meanwhile with the global resurgence of Islam and expansion of Muslim awareness through community based Islamic education provided by Islamiyya schools, Muslims intensified their demand for Shari'ah and restoration of their dignity. Most scholars have agreed that it is only Islam that could mobilize Muslims. Then came Ahmed Sani Yariman Bakura who mobilized the Muslims and expanded the scope of the Shari'ah by incorporating its criminal code as a positive law of the state. All over Northern Nigeria Muslims began to agitate for the restoration of Shari'ah as was done in Zamfara State. Most of the governors of the predominantly Muslim states had no option but succumb to the pressure and with reluctance restored the Shari'ah in theory.
As usual those who are against the Shari'ah had to device the means of domesticating it as they did to all other Islamic revival movements. Several strategies were adopted. The most apparent is propaganda especially against Ahmed Sani. They capitalized on his weaknesses by downplaying his egalitarian successes. When that failed they resorted to political thuggery and intimidation. During one of those encounters the beneficiaries of Zamfara loan scheme came to his rescue especially those who were given credit to purchase donkeys.
It has been alleged that Kano State government made several attempts to break the solidarity among the Ulama, which was one of the dividends of Shari'ah agitation. This was achieved by exploiting the Sufi and anti-Sufi differences. The community-based hisba (vigilant group) was truncated. Had this system been empowered the 'yan daba (hooligans) may not have unleashed mayhem after the genuine peaceful protests have ended quietly. For as long as the state wants to domesticate the Shari'ah through manipulation of differences of groups along with refusal to empower the community based hisba, there will always be room for the break down of law and order.
The other area that suffered the colonial onslaught was the educational sector. The colonialist introduced secular education and made every attempt to obliterate the Islamic education that was in place before their advent. Products of traditional Islamic schools (madrasah) who became Ulama (scholars) were not accorded respect. At first they were employed as local judges (alkalai) and district heads (hakimai). They distinguished themselves as able administrators during the reign of Sarkin Kano Abdullahi Bayero who listened to their counsel. Later they were dropped. And things changed to worse whereby a partially western educated man could become a permanent secretary while an alim (Islamic scholar) could only be a local judge or district head.
The western educated elites ('yan boko) who received secular training are largely responsible for the present state of the society. They are totally alienated from the people. They have even destroyed the system that produced them. None of them take their children or wards to public schools even those involved in the management of such schools have no confidence in what they manage. This can only happen in society that is heading towards total collapse. The schools have become breeding grounds of 'yan daba. The products of such schools hardly pass qualifying examinations. Western educated elites have betrayed the trust of the people, but they always complain and blame others. They think the solution is blind imitation of the west.
The federal government made attempts to encourage industrialization in Nigeria through several programmes and institutions such as NIDB (Nigeria Industrial Development Bank), NBCI (Nigeria Bank for Commerce and Industry) and NERFUND (National Economic Recovery Fund), which was privileged to have a Kano indigene as chairman. There is need to conduct thorough research to know whether Kano has adequately benefited from these programmes and institutions. The people of Kano have been known for the “extensive initiative and perseverance” hence they pioneered the first textile industry in Nigeria. It should be noted that even in the pre-colonial period Kano “was probably Nigeria’s most celebrated textile exporting centre”. Kano’s products were in high demand even in North Africa and it was rightly observed that: Almost as far as the Nile, and certainly in Southern Morocco, the blue haiques and burnouse of semi-Arab and Moorish tribes are the products of craftsmen in Kano and Sokoto, and this ‘country cloth’, as, it is called, is worth much more along the coast than any turned out in Manchester.
And again, one must take note of the fact that it is only in West Africa that you see the extravagant garb that was once the epitome of Moorish culture in Iberia and Northern Africa. This cannot be simply called influence from unnamed foreign influences, especially given that it is UNLIKE the conservative styles of dress found in Northern Africa today. It is more likely the survival of an old pattern of indigenous African tradition within the sphere of the Islamic world. As an example all the old statues and objects from Benin and West Africa show kings with adornments and attire that often covered their faces below the nose. This easily can be said to be the origin or basis of the African tradition of covering the face with fabric as seen not only in Nigeria but in the Saharan groups as well. Another example is the leather amulets and talismans seen on early Nok and Nigerian artwork which is incorporated in to Saharan and Nigerian fashion. Both of these are examples of patterns of African custom and style not imported from anywhere else.
The following book lists the various moths that have been used for indigenous Silk production in West Africa:
Keep in mind that West Africans have ALWAYS liked the shiny looking textiles seen often on West Africans and in the Sahara. To produce this effect they used various techniques, like pounding, extensive dyeing as well as processing of silk from native West African moths, of which there multiple species that produce silk. So, it isn't so simple that Africans got silk from outside Africa. Africans have been developing traditions of textiles using insect fibers (silk), tree fibers and plant fibers for hundreds of years, forming another example of the range and diversity in skills and craft that were highly respected and sought after in Africa.
But again, much of this history and diversity is not properly documented in the West, especially at the lay man level and the only way to get to this information is through direct research and investigation, which is beyond the scope of the average person's interest.
More on Kano and northern Nigeria's history including the introduction of Islam:
And contrary to what some books may say, Iron working was a common practice in and around Nigeria from a very ancient time, prior to the Islamic period. There were multiple groups practicing iron working in the period prior to Islam in Nigeria, one of which is the Nok, which is one of the oldest cultural complexes in the region. Certainly it is quite possible that other peoples migrated into the area in the early Islamic period, including Nilotic Africans, but they did not introduce iron working, as iron working in West Africa pre dates that in the Sudan. Again the antiquity and diversity of these practices is seen in the wide variety of steel, bronze and other implements that have been collected by various European collectors over the last few hundred years.
quote: In terms of archaeology, stone implements recovered by Soper, Davies and Shaw from the Ebira zone, extending from Keffi-Nasarawa-Izom westwards to Jebba and further upstream, have been associated with the Sangoan assemblage. The reading from this implements indicates that man may have lived in this area as far back as some forty-five thousand years ago. The Ebira zone is also prominent in the prehistoric civilization of the Iron Age generally characterised by the Central Nigeria as epitomised by Nok Culture. Even recently the iron-working site of Ife-Ijummu (Kogi State) has been dated to 260 B.C. Thus, it could be deduced that the Ebira as a group existed for a long time in locations within Central Nigeria not far from where they are located presently (Ohiare 1988, Willamson 1967, Beneth 1972). The Ebira Okene occupy the hilly stretch of land southwest of the Niger-Benue confluence area and share boundaries with the Yoruba-speaking people of Akoko, Owe and Ijumu to the west; the various Akoko-Edo people to the south and south west; the Hausa, Nupe and Ebira groups at Lokoja to the north; and the River Niger to the east.
And keep in mind that this diversity and depth not only applies to metalworking but other areas as well:
quote: Nigeria: Another Gigantic Pot Discovered in Kano City
Daily Trust (Abuja)
May 3, 2006
Posted to the web May 3, 2006
Mustapha Isah Kwaru
On Sunday April 16, a gigantic pot was found in Kano city. It is about 129cm in height, 99cm in diameter, with a depth of 139cm, and the size of the flip is 50cm. It is estimated to have been buried over one thousand years ago. It was discovered in Gwammaja quarters of the Dala local government in Kano state. Charcoal, bones, suspected to belong to that of the cat family, clay and pot sherds were found in the pot, when it was excavated, and about 20 people gathered to remove it from the hole in the ground.
The archeologists who handled the excavation of the pot said it was buried at about 210 centimeters below the ground level. Daily Trust investigations revealed that the Gwammaja incident was not the first of such in the history of the ancient city of Kano. For example in 2002, another historic pot was discovered in Agadasawa quarters of the metropolis, another in Goron-Dutse in Dala local government, in addition to other discoveries made either in the course of road constructions, construction of a septic tank (soak-way) or culverts. The discovery of the huge pot attracted great attention from the general public which temporarily converted the area into a site for a pilgrimage of sorts. The team of ethnographers, conservationists and historians, had to spend over three hours before they succeeded in excavating the pot. The pot was first discovered by three masons who were building a septic tank (soak-away) for one Alhaji Garba Muhammad in his house. Daily Trust gathered that the excavation work was done through an inch by inch scraping method, while information was taken at a 10 cm speed level, so as to document the contents of the artefact, with a view to providing information concerning the dating of the pot, and its possible use in the pre-Islamic period, when it was believed to have been buried. In normal operational mode, a research is undertaken, before an excavation commences, but in the case of accidental discovery, such as in the case of the Gwammaja giant pot, a rescue operation is undertaken to save the object, and prevent it from being destroyed. The excavation is normally expected to have been undertaken not later than three weeks from the discovery of an object so as to ensure that it is done carefully, and allow it to dry from the ground moisture, so that it would not be broken during the excavation work.
Note: many of these ancient sites of iron working are where white Europeans decided to start mining for ore drawn by the legends, traditions and trading networks that they encountered in Africa.
So the idea that Europeans were needed to introduce a metal working industry in Africa is a lie. It is more like they decided to DESTROY the native industry and replace it with their own. All of this goes back to the fact that the Europeans KNEW FULL WELL of the resources and wealth of Africa and THAT is why they went there in the first place.
Igbo-Okwu metal working (not to be confused with Yoruba metal work)
quote: Alice Apley says:" It is possible that the inhabitants of Igbo-Ukwu had a metalworking art that flourished as early as the ninth century (though this date remains controversial). Three sites have been excavated, revealing hundreds of ritual vessels and regalia castings of bronze or leaded bronze that are among the most inventive and technically accomplished bronzes ever made. The people of Igbo-Ukwu, ancestors of present-day Igbo, were the earliest smithers of copper and its alloys in West Africa, working the metal through hammering, bending, twisting, and incising. They are likely among the earliest groups of West Africans to employ the lost-wax casting techniques in the production of bronze sculptures. Oddly, evidence suggests that their metalworking repertory was limited and Igbo smiths were not familiar with techniques such as raising, soldering, riveting, and wire making, though these techniques were used elsewhere on the continent.
Regardless, the talent of these casters was truly astonishing. Many of the castings were made in stages. For instance, in one bronze bowl set on a flat stand found at Igbo-Ukwu, small decorative items including insects and spirals were cast first and placed in the wax model before the main parts of the bowl were made. The vessel itself was then cast in two parts and fitted together by casting a middle band. In addition to a variety of ritual vessels (whose designs appear to reproduce the form of gourd vessels to which metal handles have been attached), many other bronze items have been found at Igbo-Ukwu, including pendants, crowns and breastplates, staff ornaments, swords, and fly-whisk handles.
These works were also found with tens of thousands of beads, attained through trade for slaves, ivory, or spices. Igbo-Ukwu bronzeworking was an isolated phenomenon at the time, but bronze casting developed several centuries later in other parts of Nigeria."[1]
[edit] Reaction
The high level of technical proficiency of artwork found at Igbo-Ukwu raised questions about its origins with some historians theorizing foreign influence or phantom voyagers. However from all indications the metal were mined from nearby areas and the use of scarification show local origin and cultural continuity with modern day Igbo culture.
quote:Originally posted by The Explorer: Do you have the specific primary texts that mention this
And how the hell would you know the difference between a primary and secondary text if you saw it Ausarianstein? Lucy Dawidowicz, remember?
Posts: 4165 | From: jamaica | Registered: May 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Doug M: [QB] Actually the idea that African royalty simply imported textiles from North Africa as backwards. Northern Africans were importing textiles from West Africa. It is from the Nigerians that the Saharan Berbers got their fabrics from. It is from Kano Nigeria that the famous Moroccan leather originates. It is from West Africa that much of the Gold in the Moorish kingdoms originates. It was from West Africa that much of the steel and iron making traditions among Saharan Berbers originates. Not only that, but there are species of insects that produce silk in West Africa and have been used for NATIVE spun African silk textiles for hundreds of years.
Great. However, you forget still that the Malian royal line was Muslim. You mention steel , gold and iron which has nothing to do with clothing. I never denied the use of native west African silks either and as a matter of fact, they mention silk-cotton trees in the Epic of Sundiata. I'm also not sure I ever denied mutual trade between North and West Africa, I only added input on the royal attire most commonly attributable to the royal Keita clan of Old Mali (not Nigeria, greater west Africa, or even the general Malian population). It isn't that they HAD to import, they just did due to extravagance (especially Mansa Musa). Al-Umari even writes about how Mansa Musa's "slaves" were all dressed down in Persian silk brocade during his famous hajj. As for the locals, both Ibn Battuta and Al-Umari spoke favorably of the physical appearance/native attire of west Africans in Mali who wore anything from native silks, to cotton and leather. (See: "Ibn Battuta in Black Africa")..
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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And what kills me is how Europeans talk about influences in Africa but don't talk about the fact that MOST European dress and culture is the result of influences from somewhere else.
As an example, why don't they speak of the fact that European and American dress and culture relating to horses is the result of HEAVY influence from Africa and Asia including: cowboy boots, cavalry boots, saddles, horse pants, embroidered cavalry uniforms, decorated leather pouches, white fabric strips crossed on the chest, plumed headdresses, military sabers and so on. Seems odd that they would suggest that THEIR culture has no such influences of their own.
quote: Although the uniform obviously has heavy North African influence, the Zouaves’ origin is French. Here is how it started and came to America:
Remember that in the 1800s France had the reputation of being the center of military expertise, because Napoleon Bonaparte was the best known master of the military art.
But the French monarchy was restored in 1815. One of the royal priorities was suppressing republican, Jacobin and radical influences. Among these tainted ideas was the skirmishing technique which the French revolutionary armies had used well. In 1830 France invaded North Africa and proceeded to take Morocco and Algeria. In doing so they fought an enemy whose infantry only skirmished, and who had excellent light cavalry. That combination was hard on French troops who only fought in close order. Their lack of a skirmishing capability was repaired by a native tribe who joined the French and whose name was something like “Zouave”.
The Zouaves were so valuable that a general who was a member of the French royal family decided to raise French Zouave battalions. With royal sponsorship the Jacobin taint was taken off of skirmishing tactics. The French Zouave battalions became an elite, and NCOs from other units would take a reduction to private to be part of the glamorous and expert Zouaves. Among other things, the Zouaves were the first units to train using the obstacle course, which is a modern military standard. The French Zouave battalions retained the North African style of dress, standardized to a uniform with blue jacket, red square-cut pants (really a square bag with leg holes), and the fez ( brimless hat named after the city of Fez) and a turban wrapped around the fez.
The French Zouaves’ reputation was known in the United States. They received world-wide publicity in the Crimean War (1853-1856). In the U.S., the uniform and the drill were popularized in the late 1850s by Elmer Ellsworth, who was the captain of a militia company in Illinois. Ellsworth drilled his company so well that it won all drill competitions, and went on a nation wide tour just before the Civil War. Militia companies were social clubs, and this one must have been expensive to join because it had several uniforms. The most exotic and flashy was the Zouave uniform. The impression that North African costumes were exotic and desirable is not too strange, since it persisted into the 20th century, as is demonstrated by the Shriners and their fezzes.
When the war started, many people raising regiments both North and South, raised Zouave regiments because they wanted to be elite and exotic, and the young troops were under the illusion that dressing like one will make you one. Zouave uniforms were designed uniquely for each regiment, and some Western Federal Zouaves had rather plain uniforms. On the Confederate side the famous Louisiana Tigers were Zouaves, with blue jackets but instead of red pants theirs were made of striped mattress ticking. Some of the Zouave regiments actually were better drilled than most troops and practiced skirmishing, and taking the name did indicate a certain commitment to excel and high morale. But American Zouave units turned out not to be unusually elite.
Incidentally the Zouave uniforms did persist throughout the war, at least in the North, and new uniforms were supplied as needed. We know this not only because of surviving orders referring to turbans and such unique items, but also because at the end of the war thousands of Zouave uniforms were sold as surplus.
quote:Originally posted by Doug M: And what kills me is how Europeans talk about influences in Africa but don't talk about the fact that MOST European dress and culture is the result of influences from somewhere else.
As an example, why don't they speak of the fact that European and American dress and culture relating to horses is the result of HEAVY influence from Africa and Asia including: cowboy boots, cavalry boots, saddles, horse pants, embroidered cavalry uniforms, decorated leather pouches, white fabric strips crossed on the chest, plumed headdresses, military sabers and so on. Seems odd that they would suggest that THEIR culture has no such influences of their own.
quote: Although the uniform obviously has heavy North African influence, the Zouaves’ origin is French. Here is how it started and came to America:
Remember that in the 1800s France had the reputation of being the center of military expertise, because Napoleon Bonaparte was the best known master of the military art.
But the French monarchy was restored in 1815. One of the royal priorities was suppressing republican, Jacobin and radical influences. Among these tainted ideas was the skirmishing technique which the French revolutionary armies had used well. In 1830 France invaded North Africa and proceeded to take Morocco and Algeria. In doing so they fought an enemy whose infantry only skirmished, and who had excellent light cavalry. That combination was hard on French troops who only fought in close order. Their lack of a skirmishing capability was repaired by a native tribe who joined the French and whose name was something like “Zouave”.
The Zouaves were so valuable that a general who was a member of the French royal family decided to raise French Zouave battalions. With royal sponsorship the Jacobin taint was taken off of skirmishing tactics. The French Zouave battalions became an elite, and NCOs from other units would take a reduction to private to be part of the glamorous and expert Zouaves. Among other things, the Zouaves were the first units to train using the obstacle course, which is a modern military standard. The French Zouave battalions retained the North African style of dress, standardized to a uniform with blue jacket, red square-cut pants (really a square bag with leg holes), and the fez ( brimless hat named after the city of Fez) and a turban wrapped around the fez.
The French Zouaves’ reputation was known in the United States. They received world-wide publicity in the Crimean War (1853-1856). In the U.S., the uniform and the drill were popularized in the late 1850s by Elmer Ellsworth, who was the captain of a militia company in Illinois. Ellsworth drilled his company so well that it won all drill competitions, and went on a nation wide tour just before the Civil War. Militia companies were social clubs, and this one must have been expensive to join because it had several uniforms. The most exotic and flashy was the Zouave uniform. The impression that North African costumes were exotic and desirable is not too strange, since it persisted into the 20th century, as is demonstrated by the Shriners and their fezzes.
When the war started, many people raising regiments both North and South, raised Zouave regiments because they wanted to be elite and exotic, and the young troops were under the illusion that dressing like one will make you one. Zouave uniforms were designed uniquely for each regiment, and some Western Federal Zouaves had rather plain uniforms. On the Confederate side the famous Louisiana Tigers were Zouaves, with blue jackets but instead of red pants theirs were made of striped mattress ticking. Some of the Zouave regiments actually were better drilled than most troops and practiced skirmishing, and taking the name did indicate a certain commitment to excel and high morale. But American Zouave units turned out not to be unusually elite.
Incidentally the Zouave uniforms did persist throughout the war, at least in the North, and new uniforms were supplied as needed. We know this not only because of surviving orders referring to turbans and such unique items, but also because at the end of the war thousands of Zouave uniforms were sold as surplus.
LOL..Europeans admiting that their culture is nothing but African and Asian influenced...LOL...Please! Dude thats like a liar admiting the Truth...LOOOL
Its just not dress, lets not forget the Architectural influences as well like the Moorish influence in Spainish and later Mexican and Spanish colonial Architecture. Just one glimpse of Spanish Arch. is like looking back at Toledo, Cordova, or Granada. Lets not forget before a Eurocentrist Cries.."WELL THE MOORS WERE ARABS" The Most Influential or Moorish Architecture besides Ummyad is the Almohadian Style...Clearly African in origin. Also the Moors influenced European Dress during and after the Reconquista.
So much of Western Civilization is derived from Eastern and African origins...its not even a Joking matter. Europeans were not innovators or the Worlds saving light as they have most Americans and most people of the world believing. Their culture is rather Barbaric and static. Nothing Innovative other than a few, very slim exceptions.
Its sad really that very few people actually know the lies and propaganda of Western Civilization and the Lies that Whites feed the world, pretending they were some kind of God sent saviors to mankind.
Innovators...LOL...these people didnt even know how to bathe and utalize proper Hygine.
Posts: 8804 | From: The fear of his majesty had entered their hearts, they were powerless | Registered: Nov 2007
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Oh, Doug M. I purhased some new Books on Africa and I have some really nice pics on the Berbers and African regions and cities of the Sahara....I wish I could uplad them now but my Comp. sucks and wont react to my All in one printer so I will have to wait until I get my new Mac. in a couple of weeks.....
I want to show you becuase you seem to always have good images of Berbers and North and west Africans.
Posts: 8804 | From: The fear of his majesty had entered their hearts, they were powerless | Registered: Nov 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Doug M: [QB] Actually the idea that African royalty simply imported textiles from North Africa as backwards. Northern Africans were importing textiles from West Africa. It is from the Nigerians that the Saharan Berbers got their fabrics from. It is from Kano Nigeria that the famous Moroccan leather originates. It is from West Africa that much of the Gold in the Moorish kingdoms originates. It was from West Africa that much of the steel and iron making traditions among Saharan Berbers originates. Not only that, but there are species of insects that produce silk in West Africa and have been used for NATIVE spun African silk textiles for hundreds of years.
Great. However, you forget still that the Malian royal line was Muslim. You mention steel , gold and iron which has nothing to do with clothing. I never denied the use of native west African silks either and as a matter of fact, they mention silk-cotton trees in the Epic of Sundiata. I'm also not sure I ever denied mutual trade between North and West Africa, I only added input on the royal attire most commonly attributable to the royal Keita clan of Old Mali (not Nigeria, greater west Africa, or even the general Malian population). It isn't that they HAD to import, they just did due to extravagance (especially Mansa Musa). Al-Umari even writes about how Mansa Musa's "slaves" were all dressed down in Persian silk brocade during his famous hajj. As for the locals, both Ibn Battuta and Al-Umari spoke favorably of the physical appearance/native attire of west Africans in Mali who wore anything from native silks, to cotton and leather. (See: "Ibn Battuta in Black Africa")..
The point I was making is that focusing on this one line or sentence out of an ENTIRE book on African textiles is somewhat misleading. The point is that textile traditions in Africa are ancient and that influences from outside Africa did come in, but also Africans influenced the outsiders, like any other culture. Therefore, African chiefs have always had elaborate customs of dress and adornment that predate any imports of textiles from anywhere else, so the fact that they did import textiles does not really say much about the state of African textiles at the time. The styles and patterns of African textiles in the time period of the Empire of Mali were UNLIKE those from anywhere else on the planet and simply the result of local indigenous creativity along with influences from without. But it is also a reflection on the nature of trade and the exchange of ideas being a two way street. Which is the larger point I was getting at. So the elites in Mali may have worn textiles with imported fabrics(much as many West Africans do today) at times but this still is within a framework of indigenous textile traditions that were fundamentally African.
The problem here is that because of the widespread and growing nature of the Islamic world from the 7th-15th centuries, there are patterns of indigenous development that get caught up in a mix of ideas, customs and traditions that cannot always be untangled. The Africans have always had a form of adornment for their chiefs in West Africa and these traditions predate Islam, but the problem is one of trying to determine what existed prior to the arrival of Islam as well as how Islam influenced such traditions and how Africans influenced Islamic traditions. And from this broad palette of influences from Africa, Asia and elsewhere, the Europeans were also inspired in their own traditions.
Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005
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Actually the idea that African royalty simply imported textiles from North Africa as backwards. Northern Africans were importing textiles from West Africa. It is from the Nigerians that the Saharan Berbers got their fabrics from. It is from Kano Nigeria that the famous Moroccan leather originates. It is from West Africa that much of the Gold in the Moorish kingdoms originates. It was from West Africa that much of the steel and iron making traditions among Saharan Berbers originates. Not only that, but there are species of insects that produce silk in West Africa and have been used for NATIVE spun African silk textiles for hundreds of years.
Your point about North Africans importing fabrics from sahelian/sub-Saharan Africa is noted. Other than that, trade between these areas would mean exchange of material and ideas. To this end, it would be hardly surprising to see either trading parties importing items from the other. The obvious lesson that should be drawn from this discourse, is that west Africans, including ancient Mali -- the subject of this thread, had a mosaic of dressing codes in this region, from those that showed more skin to those that showed none; some of this was influenced by lifestyles or shall I say how "livelihood" was attained. It should be obvious also that there were differences in clothing in correlation to social strata, at least as far as the then more *premium* fabrics were concerned - which would have been more reachable to the more well-off layers of the society; a concept hardly specific to Africa. And of course, last but not least, woven fabric has been a long held tradition in west Africa, and its development there was autochthonous; a non-African explanation for origins is not needed.
Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Doug M: The point I was making is that focusing on this one line or sentence out of an ENTIRE book on African textiles is somewhat misleading.
Sure, which is why I drew from multiple sources that diverge on the same account. Not sure who "focused on one line or sentence out of an entire book" but you. Claims in general however, are composed at times of one-liners and it is our duty to evaluate the claims and what they are based on in order to debunk or support them. Unreasonable doubt isn't a substitute for valid criticism.
quote: The point is that textile traditions in Africa are ancient and that influences from outside Africa did come in, but also Africans influenced the outsiders, like any other culture.
No one (at least not me) is discussing the matter of who "influenced" who, we're discussing how the people of Old Mali dressed up. The fact that the Malian emperors were Muslim and were described by Muslim travelers is important to that question. This however, cannot be extrapolated to the population as a whole as was mentioned.
quote:Therefore, African chiefs have always had elaborate customs of dress and adornment
The Malian rulers were not "chiefs", they were emperors who were intensely involved in trade.
quote:that predate any imports of textiles from anywhere else, so the fact that they did import textiles does not really say much about the state of African textiles at the time.
OK..
quote: The styles and patterns of African textiles in the time period of the Empire of Mali were UNLIKE those from anywhere else on the planet and simply the result of local indigenous creativity along with influences from without.
That's what I said. You have 1 emperor governing millions of people who adhered to their own traditions. No one said that "Malians" (in general) wore imported cloths, the elite however, did, especially at times of religious observance. From the very beginning I succinctly made a distinction between the Malian kings and the common citizen.
quote:But it is also a reflection on the nature of trade and the exchange of ideas being a two way street. Which is the larger point I was getting at. So the elites in Mali may have worn textiles with imported fabrics(much as many West Africans do today) at times but this still is within a framework of indigenous textile traditions that were fundamentally African.
Ok, my response was intended to address your points of disagreement but there's nothing to disagree with here. I think that you misunderstood what I wrote. No worries. Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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Of course, the link Sundjata posted earlier, while detailed and essentially argues for the long held traditions of West African woven fabric, does not escape victimization to Eurocentric thinking in some instances.
-------------------- The Complete Picture of the Past tells Us what Not to Repeat Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Jewish OpenAss, the offer to cure your faggoty Stockholm syndrome is still open; remember this:
Tell me, how can we remedy your serious psychological wound, which seems to find expression in homosexual tendencies? I'll be glad to be of help.
-------------------- The Complete Picture of the Past tells Us what Not to Repeat Posts: 7516 | From: Somewhere on Earth | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Doug M: The point I was making is that focusing on this one line or sentence out of an ENTIRE book on African textiles is somewhat misleading.
Sure, which is why I drew from multiple sources that diverge on the same account. Not sure who "focused on one line or sentence out of an entire book" but you. Claims in general however, are composed at times of one-liners and it is our duty to evaluate the claims and what they are based on in order to debunk or support them. Unreasonable doubt isn't a substitute for valid criticism.
quote: The point is that textile traditions in Africa are ancient and that influences from outside Africa did come in, but also Africans influenced the outsiders, like any other culture.
No one (at least not me) is discussing the matter of who "influenced" who, we're discussing how the people of Old Mali dressed up. The fact that the Malian emperors were Muslim and were described by Muslim travelers is important to that question. This however, cannot be extrapolated to the population as a whole as was mentioned.
quote:Therefore, African chiefs have always had elaborate customs of dress and adornment
The Malian rulers were not "chiefs", they were emperors who were intensely involved in trade.
quote:that predate any imports of textiles from anywhere else, so the fact that they did import textiles does not really say much about the state of African textiles at the time.
OK..
quote: The styles and patterns of African textiles in the time period of the Empire of Mali were UNLIKE those from anywhere else on the planet and simply the result of local indigenous creativity along with influences from without.
That's what I said. You have 1 emperor governing millions of people who adhered to their own traditions. No one said that "Malians" (in general) wore imported cloths, the elite however, did, especially at times of religious observance. From the very beginning I succinctly made a distinction between the Malian kings and the common citizen.
quote:But it is also a reflection on the nature of trade and the exchange of ideas being a two way street. Which is the larger point I was getting at. So the elites in Mali may have worn textiles with imported fabrics(much as many West Africans do today) at times but this still is within a framework of indigenous textile traditions that were fundamentally African.
Ok, my response was intended to address your points of disagreement but there's nothing to disagree with here. I think that you misunderstood what I wrote. No worries.
Actually you are again taking one sentence from an entire book which is based on here say and extrapolating that to make the argument that Malian Emperors ONLY wore imported textiles for religious occasions. That is my point. It is absolutely impossible to take that one sentence and use it to make such a conclusion. African Emperors as chiefs were part of a long tradition of African traditions and as such it is absolutely absurd to suggest that these Emperors would be SEPARATE from those traditions, especially based simply on some second or third hand accounts of what someone saw on one of their travels.
As another example of the antiquity concerning African customs in textiles for sovereigns, you have the accounts of the ancient Ghana Empire, which are much more detailed and elaborate than what you have provided so far. Not to mention the whole array of African rulers who have gained prominence from the time of the Ghana empire to the time of Timbuktu. That is a great span of time and tradition.
Note here that the one sentence I am referring to is the one from page 75 of the book you referenced
"By the time Ibn Battuta made his journey to sub-saharan Africa in 1352 and 1353, the fine white clothing that was deemed to be the most appropriate attire for devout Muslims was the dress frequently worn on special occasions in Mali, including Friday prayers, while the sultan and his officials were also observed wearing fancy imported woolens and silk brocades."
Hardly something I would use to suggest that Malian Emporers ONLY wore imported textiles which were different or separate from the indigenous textile industries of the region.
In fact, I would say you should consult Ibn Battuta himself to see if such a summary as found in this one sentence is even accurate.
Keep in mind that wearing white as a symbol of religious purity is a form of worship that indeed predates Islam by many thousands of years and that fine linens and silks are indeed an old example of such traditions from various parts of the continent. Also keep in mind that the exports of such African textiles were an important source of money and wealth as the result of trade and parts of Africa were centers for the production of such textiles. Along with that keep in mind that cotton textiles did not become widespread in Europe until following the 13th to 14th century.
quote: Cotton was first "officially" introduced to Europe after the First crusade. Italy was the first Christian nation to understand the significance of cotton, and began marketing it from the 12th century onwards. As a luxury fabric, Germany's earliest record of cotton products was in 1282 as overland transportation from Venice. France began to demand cotton after it appeared at the Champagne Fairs, the first record of sale was from 1376. From those fairs, it spread to England, but in such small quantities, that it was not well known until after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and English merchant ships reached the Levant. And even then, it was heavily opposed by the wool guilds and traders until cotton overtook wool in popularity in the mid 18th century. Spain, as an Arab nation was familiar with cotton from the outset of the Arab invasion in the 8th century. However, Spanish cotton was grown for local consumption, and was thus never really an exported commodity. As the reconquest of the Christian nations pushed back the Arabs, so too was cotton. Spanish-Arabs continued to use cotton, and its uses did spread to the Christian conquestors, but was never produced for exports. Eventually, with the final expulsion, cotton was replaced with more "standard" fabrics of other Christian nations. The sole exception to this was Barcelona, who had a noteworthy business in creating sails for ships. Throughout the Medieval and Renaissance period, cotton was utilized for many things, some based on necessity and some on fashion trends. At all times, cotton was used for bedcovers/spreads, coverlets, quilts, pillow and mattress stuffing, mattress ticking, pillow ticking, canopy coverings, curtains, drapes, cotton tablecloths, napkins, towels, sails, tents, funerary coverings, mourning clothes, clerical vestments, outerwear mantles, gloves, veils, hoods, wimples, ribbons, purses, linings, coifs, and doublets.4 The use of cotton for undergarments, tunics and summer clothing was in use in Italy for the poorer classes from the 13th century onwards, and while utilized by the lower classes right through the 16th century, was discarded by the upperclasses in favour of linen and other "fine" fabrics by the late 14th century.
quote: "Cotton has been spun, woven, and dyed since prehistoric times. It clothed the people of ancient India, Egypt, and China. Hundreds of years before the Christian era cotton textiles were woven in India with matchless skill, and their use spread to the Mediterranean countries. In the 1st cent. Arab traders brought fine muslin and calico to Italy and Spain. The Moors introduced the cultivation of cotton into Spain in the 9th cent. Fustians and dimities were woven there and in the 14th cent. in Venice and Milan, at first with a linen warp. Little cotton cloth was imported to England before the 15th cent., although small amounts were obtained chiefly for candlewicks. By the 17th cent. the East India Company was bringing rare fabrics from India. Native Americans skillfully spun and wove cotton into fine garments and dyed tapestries. Cotton fabrics found in Peruvian tombs are said to belong to a pre-Inca culture. In color and texture the ancient Peruvian and Mexican textiles resemble those found in Egyptian tombs."
The earliest cultivation of cotton discovered thus far in the Americas occurred in Mexico, some 5,000 years ago. The indigenous species was Gossypium hirsutum which is today the most widely planted species of cotton in the world, constituting about 90% of all production worldwide. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa.[6]
In Peru, cultivation of the indigenous cotton species Gossypium barbadense was the backbone of the development of coastal cultures such as the Norte Chico, Moche and Nazca. Cotton was grown upriver, made into nets and traded with fishing villages along the coast for large supplies of fish. The Spanish who came to Mexico in the early 1500s found the people growing cotton and wearing clothing made of it.
During the late medieval period, cotton became known as an imported fiber in northern Europe, without any knowledge of how it was derived, other than that it was a plant; noting its similarities to wool, people in the region could only imagine that cotton must be produced by plant-borne sheep. John Mandeville, writing in 1350, stated as fact the now-preposterous belief: "There grew there [India] a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the endes of its branches. These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are hungrie [sic]." (See Vegetable Lamb of Tartary.) This aspect is retained in the name for cotton in many European languages, such as German Baumwolle, which translates as "tree wool" (Baum means "tree"; Wolle means "wool"). By the end of the 16th century, cotton was cultivated throughout the warmer regions in Asia and the Americas.
quote: It embraces plain twilled cloth known as jean, and cut fabrics similar to velvet, known as velveteen, moleskin, corduroy etc. The original medieval fustian was a stout but respectable cloth with a cotton weft and a linen warp, possibly derived from El-Fustat, the name of a suburb of Cairo where cloth was manufactured.[1][2] The term seems to have quickly become less precise, and was applied to a coarse cloth made of wool and flax or wool and linen, and in the reign of Edward III of England, the name was given to a woollen fabric. By the early 20th century, fustians were usually of cotton dyed various colors.
In a petition to Parliament during the reign of Mary I "fustian of Naples" is mentioned. In the 13th and 14th centuries priests' robes and women's dresses were made of fustian, but though dresses are still made from some kinds, the chief use is for labourers' clothes.
Dimity (Dim-' I-Ty). [Supposed by early authorities to have been derived from Damietta, Egypt, where the fabric was once manufactured of fine linen. This is now known to be erroneous. The term is from the Greek word dimita, meaning two threads. The Greeks coined many names for their fabrics from the different combinations of the threads, as "amita," "dimita," "trimita," "exhimita," etc] A variety of white goods distinguished by raised threads or cords extending the length of the fabric. It is sometimes printed with various figures, but oftener finished plain white.
However, keep in mind that Egypt was THE source of fine linen in the ancient world (pre-dating the greeks) and that under the Muslims Damietta was famous for its textiles. So dimity could indeed have been a reference to such items from Egypt.
The FUNNIEST thing is that the LAST people to become aware of and cultivate cotton are the MOST identified with it because of their use of cotton production and slavery hundreds of years later....
Posts: 8889 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Its a shame that psychotic racialists like Djehuti have declared that half the people posted like the guy who is second from the left and the woman who is second from the right are mixed because he deems their skin color as "lighter" than the others.
What a sick fucker.
Posts: 3085 | Registered: Jan 2008
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Also try to get your hands on "Keita! L’heritage du griot", as there are a lot of authentic reenactments provided in the film (aside from the fact that it's an awesome piece of cinema).
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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I think that we should expand this thread to include other Africans as well (I was about to create a separate thread but decided to just bump this one).
The Benin Bronzes are an obvious example of what people wore, even though they likely mostly depicted the warrior class.
So the Yoruba, at least the Oba and warrior classes, seemed to dress quite elaborately. We can make out slight differences in style, such as skirt wear to the cuffed legs in the top picture (can't tell if they are pants or cuffs adjoining a skirt or some type of shorts). The shirts seem to be finely threaded and the regalia is simply beautiful.
Here's a modern Oba dressed more or less the same way:
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I didn't see mentioned in this thread, not even from those who claim to be from the continent, is the wide use, all the way to Congo, of pounded bark cloth which is still made and sold on the continent to this day. It's a little stiff, but the designs and embroidery work on most of it is 2nd to none. Even the ones made of a solid color.
Posts: 455 | From: Tharsis Montes | Registered: Jan 2009
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^Mud Cloth, particular among the Bambara was incorporated into popular fashion trend among many African-Americans during the early-mid 90s.
Posts: 4021 | From: Bay Area, CA | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
^^I'm almost certain that the outfit Djeneba Seck and the majority of these ladies are wearing is made from that material (bark fiber)...for those interested in what it looks like. It stands to reason it would have also been in use during the time period referenced.
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