A cloth that speaks

Now let’s try to combine all the different elements of our kanga to find out what the woman wearing this kanga was trying to say.

The predominant colors are red and black which symbolize anger, as mentioned earlier. The writing, Mtenda akitendwa huwaje, asks “If a leader is led by someone, how can he/she be a leader?” And lastly, the corn symbolizes a connection to the colonial government.

My personal guess is therefore that this specific kanga is a criticism of a specific local leader who cooperated with colonial authorities. But this is but one of countless possible interpretations. In her own way, the woman wearing this kanga got involved in the political issues of her time and spoke her mind about the state of affairs. However, nobody can know for sure which leader was being referred to and why the woman wanted to criticize them. This is exactly why kangas were and are a very popular way of communicating difficult issues. As the meaning of the kanga is so specific and can be interpreted in so many ways, women can overcome speech barriers while keeping their politeness and conformity towards society.

Before you leave, there are a few remarks below about the important role kangas have played (and still do) in women’s lives. Some women own up to 200 of them - just imagine all the different messages they convey!