In a world where unity and diversity coalesce into a harmonious tapestry, the continent of Africa has embraced the power of fabric to bridge cultures, nations and histories.
Experience this visionary journey into a future where Africa stands as one nation, and fabric plays a pivotal role in this unification.
Imazghanitoko
Year 2055
Intermarriage between the Bakanga and the Tuaregs due to the close relations and treaties between their two kings has led to the birth of this fabric, sown following the weaving techniques of the spider web.
It is utilized for everyday use such as dress, especially for maintaining distinctions between members of royalty and commoners, as well as gender distinctions, and for storing valuable objects.
Zusammen Umoja
Year 2076
Borrowing from the form of the 'leso' of the Tanzanian people, the Khoekhoe of Central & South-west Africa forged a piece of fabric, containing the 'Sankofa' symbol meaning learning from the past. It was also heavy on African fractals, revealing the set up of African communities.
Tetu Shani
Year 3000
The sun has always been one of, if not the most important elements of the African people; so when one day darkness prevailed and the sun was fully covered, the people knew that they had to appease the ancestors in order to have it restored.
A few weeks after this incident, the people of central and western Africa, borrowing from the khanga of East Africa created the ‘Tetu Shani’, dedicated to the sun, and to remember the efforts that went into salvaging the situation, the day the sun wouldn’t shine.
The Duafe
Year 2093
After a terrible accident met the senior-most Xhosa king from South Africa, he had to be treated and cared for by the women of the Tifinagh tribe.
Upon his full recovery, he travelled back home, to honor the Northern African tribe that had restored their king’s health, the Xhosa people fashioned this fabric inspired by their own, the Samakaka, adding elements of the Tifinagh people. The cloth is now worn by the Tifinagh women in the medical field, remembering the king they had nursed to health.
The Mshale
Year 2084
Africa one of the most dreadful wars after the inevitable attempt at reclaiming it by the Western countries after its closing. The army used guerilla warfare in a way that hadn’t been experienced before. One of the soldiers took back with him the general’s formation strategies and since he was from Sierra Leone, the women from Sierra Leone took those formation drawings and turned them into a beautiful pattern that would soon be added to the soldiers’ uniform.
The Maramma~fini
Year 2051
The trades between the people of the Malian tribe and the West African superpower providences ie, the Ghanian and Nigerian states, emerged after a bitter battle for the very fertile valley of Tsisika, that existed right between their trade routes.
After mediation by the great Prime Minister, Wangari Thiong’o. The Maramma~fini was created, merging the mud fabric techniques that the Malian people applied and the weaving techniques of the Akwete people symbolizing the agreement between the providences.
