But alas like everywhere else, fashion is never just fashion. We learned that the colorful fabrics we admire so much are very often chosen for reasons other than aesthetics...
Kangas are widely worn by the women in Tanzania and in other parts of Africa. They’re basically two identical pieces of boldly patterned fabric with a set of printed words on one side. One piece of the fabric wraps around the waist like a skirt (that's sketi in Kiswahili) and the other piece is made into a top or head dress of some sort.
We’ve been warned to be careful when buying kangas at the market because the messages on them can be...snarky to say the least. For example, this one says something to the effect of:
"Better ask me than spying on me."
Our teachers told us that too often, women choose kangas based on what kind of nasty message they want to send to their rivals or to their sketchy, cheating husbands.
Is it not grievous, this broken world we live in, with such messed up relationships?
This one says:
"Don't just love me in good times, don't abandon me in bad times."At least they're not all loaded in bad ways. One of our friends bought one that says, "God is the one I trust."
interesting! i had no idea. although, i bought 2 of them (liking the pattern/color) thinking that i could use it as a tablecloth/picnic blanket. i will check to see if there are words on it! while in marangu, i saw some w/obama's portrait. :P
ReplyDeletehey bk! yes there is obama EVERYTHING, just about EVERYWHERE here.
ReplyDeletehmm...you may have bought a kitenge which is like the same thing without the words (i'll probably stick with those!) =)