I ran across this fablous site the other day. http://www.hypertextile.net/afevo/index.htm
Make sure that you check out the catalog, it has a listing of the different types of cloth that the weavers weave. They wave using a dragloom which is an interesting arrangement but uses the friction caused by the wieght of a stone dragged on the ground as a tension device hence the name dragloom, There are pictures on the site of the foot-operated looms in use. I found it interesting that they make their larger cloths by sewing the thinner pieces together.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hupUPCP2SjQ/SxMkKNnyz9I/AAAAAAAAAYo/Eu1Mi9ULyn...
Picture - bookbag as drag for winding on rigid heddle
I learned the drag is very helpful. I actually use it to help me warp my rigid heddle loom.
I wanted to make one of the tripod looms like the Mende use but I need to make heddle frames and a reed/beater.
We had a discussion on this in 2009? Check out this message thread: http://weavolution.com/forum/weaving/wanted-stripweaving-info
Thanks for bringing this up. It is on my fiber adventure list.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
very interesting - thank you for posting it.
Carol Ventura has a very nice page on Kente cloth on her site here with many more references at the bottom of the page.
Check out my website as well: http://www.tienchiu.com/travels/ghana/ke... I spent five days studying Kente weaving in Ghana with an Ewe weaver named Kwame. It was tremendous fun, and I learned a lot!
With just a little surfing I can see there is more info on the internet on kente weaving than when I last searched back in 2009.
Fascinating.
Have a good day!
I'm curious about this, in that every picture I have thus far seen of African weavers, they seem to all be male. Is this actually the case? Do the women not weave?
weavers - I think in large part it depends upon the type of weaving as well as where in Africa the weaving is done. The following link is to an article that talks a bit about women weaving in Nigeria and surrounding areas http://www.adireafricantextiles.com/nigeriaintro.htm. There is currently an exhibit at the textile museum in Washington, D. C. of textiles and other woven art from the Kuba people of Central Africa - much of which was done by women. So. . . I guess the answer is it depends!
In Ghana weavers are almost always male (according to the people I asked). I don't know why, though.
In the Kuba raffia work the raffia base cloth is woven by men and the textured raffia that forms the patterns is inserted after by women. The women also do the embroidery. So, both the men and women have a hand in the final product...I like that.
In Western culture, European and North American (US and Canada) historically the weaving was done by men and the spinning by women. There appears to be no particular reason I can find it was just so.
Regards, Charles
Kente cloth is a ceremonial robe woven by men on the narrow strip loom. "Women's cloth" is woven by women for daily textiles and wrap garments on wider looms of a different design. I think, if I remember correctly, it's a continuous warp vertical loom.
Kente is a ceremonial cloth. I haven't found much on the looms used by the women to weave "women's cloth" but in this reference http://kente.midwesttradegroup.com/history.html there appears to be some wearing of the Kente cloth by women of appropriate stature. You present a very interesting distinction and it would be very interesting to see what kind of looms are used by the women. I also like the fact that in some of the finished Kente cloth there is a collaborative effort between men and women. Thank you sequel!
Best regards, Charles
which references the strip looms of certain tribes of African men vs the looms of the women. while the monograph appears to most ly cover the weaving of the Yoruba cultures which seem very similar to those in Ghana. http://www.njas.helsinki.fi/pdf-files/vol16num1/asakitipki_aretha.pdf Very interesting reading from the Nordic Journal of African Studies, I just wish they had included pictures or a more detailed description of the looms.
Besst regards, Charles
Speaking of Ghana have you seen the work of fabric sculptor El Anatsui? http://www.google.com/search?q=el+anatsui&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=IGsKT-rhJsGqsQKgn5GRCg&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1138&bih=664 Just absolutely fabulous! Currently on exhibit in the Blanton Museum in Austin Tx. While El Anatsui works in multi-media many of his works are considered to cross the line between ceramics, metals and fabrics and have a very fabric-like motion billowing the wind. The tapestries are made with liquor bottle caps and are manipulated to represent fabrics when assembled with thousands of like materials..
Regards, Charles
your link doesn't seem to be working.
