New
March 25, 2023

INFLUENCES OF ART ON HERITAGE AND IDENTITY

From ancient civilizations to modern-day societies, art has provided a means for people to express their cultural values, beliefs, and traditions, and has served as a way to pass down these traditions from one generation to the next.

THE KUBA CLOTH PATTERN.

(Images of Kuba cloths. Left image source, right imaged sourced from Pinterest)

An end product of a labour-intensive process, the Kuba Cloth has been around since the 17th century. The mechanical aspects of its production were handled by men. They harvested the Raffia palm, wove it on a loom and pounded it to make the cloth soft. The women were in charge of the meticulous part: decoration. (An eerie echo to ‘men build houses, but women make homes’) Stitching coloured thread (still from the Raffia) and applique are some of the methods they used. Freedom of expression was encouraged; the designs and motifs were at the women’s discretion. Generally, however, the best designs were reserved for the king and his royal court. The others were worn by the rest of the folk.

An end product of a labour-intensive process, the Kuba Cloth has been around since the 17th century. The mechanical aspects of its production were handled by men. They harvested the Raffia palm, wove it on a loom and pounded it to make the cloth soft. The women were in charge of the meticulous part: decoration. (An eerie echo to ‘men build houses, but women make homes’) Stitching coloured thread (still from the Raffia) and applique are some of the methods they used. Freedom of expression was encouraged; the designs and motifs were at the women’s discretion. Generally, however, the best designs were reserved for the king and his royal court. The others were worn by the rest of the folk.

(Man from The Kuba tribe weaving the cloth fromraffia palm strips. Image source)

(Kuba women decorating the woven cloth. Source)

It is sometimes said that the patterns tell stories. Yes… and no. They were a way forkings to demonstrate their power and dominance. The bolder and more contrasted(i.e. eye-catching) it was, the more you had to respect the king’s clout. Each king had a uniquely patterned cloth. As a result, whenever spotted, the pattern would remind one of the king’s legacy. From this perspective, the Kuba cloth patterns do tell stories, but only to those who know how to ‘read the language’.

(Kuba king presiding over a dance in hispalace. Source)

   

It should suffice to say that Kuba cloth patterns are symbolic of our connectedness. A beaded wristband with the Kenyan flag colours is just another craft item found at a Maasai Market. But the same wristband given as a discount to a tourist who had an engaging conversation with a vendor at a Maasai Market, is a different story altogether.

There are a variety of pattern styles used by the Kuba people. The one we use often is derived from the maze-looking one. But why is it significant to us as Morianah?

The times we live in seem tumultuous and confusing: a daunting labyrinth. Yet in this age of social media, cancel culture, influencers and mediocre mainstream entertainment, there is an Afro-Renaissance taking place, as told by Sogallo and Native (both Nairobi-based artists) in their book called… well… Afro-Renaissance. African artists, musicians, designers and African folk from different disciplines are ‘adding their flavour’ to the existing channels. Burna Boy is a worldwide sensation, Amapiano tunes have the whole globe making TikToks, Chimamanda Ngozi has been dominant in the writers’ field and Sir David Adjaye is shaking up the architecture scene with his unique designs, just to mention a few.

With an upsurge in the new trend of minimalism, Africa’s often unapologetic loudness contrasts beautifully. There is a constant sense of connection, of ‘togetherness’, of Ubuntu in African art. How do you represent this visually? For us, themaze-like Kuba pattern does the job.

(Esther Mahlangu, a South African traditional muralist from the Ndebele tribe. Image source)

 

This journey we are taking is scary. There is a lot of doubt, nervousness and an unusual number of leaps of faith involved. But that only occurs when, speaking metaphorically, we squint too hard at the pattern and try to understand every single curve, line, space, colour, motif etc. But when we (you as well) step-back and look at the pattern as a whole, it is, for lack of better words, something, isn’t it? Something seems to be trying to engage with you. Or, as Henri Matisse, the 19th-20thcentury French visual artist put it, after staring at the Kuba cloths in his studio, “… waiting for something to come to me out of their instinctive geometry”.

(Image of Henri Matisse in his studio with Kuba cloth hung on the wall. Source)

 

 

Here’s what we hope comes out to you whenever you see the pattern in our website or wherever:

Sh*t happens, man. They came and stole our art

Damn. That’s BS, innit?

But guess what?

They didn’t steal our soul

The art came from us

The art came through us

They stole what our ancestors made;

Not our creativity

Not our spirit

Not our soul

What will we make?

What have me made?

What are we making?

Focus on the soul of it, not the intricacy

What does your soul want you to make?

 

It wasn’t quite in my interest to explain the matter-of-fact history and production process of making the Kuba cloth. I figured it would be more interesting to interpretits esoteric value as an artist. However, if you are interested in the nitty gritties, here are some links for your reading sessions:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/10/20/658101128/a-great-african-kingdom-tells-its-history-in-fabulous-royal-clothes

https://www.contemporary-african-art.com/kuba-cloth.html

https://pavillon54.com/blog/71-kuba-cloths-their-history-and-the-fascinating-technique-to-make/

https://www.ubuntu.life/en-ke/blogs/news/the-significance-of-our-kuba-cloth-print

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a34304694/what-is-kuba-cloth/

 

Felix Attari Omuho,

Creative and Art Director

Morianah Inc.