The Swahili cloth

A kanga is a rectangular, printed cotton cloth which is worn on a daily basis by many women in the East African region, predominantly by women belonging to the Swahili ethnic group in Tanzania and Kenya. The print consists of a patterned frame which surrounds a central motif. On the lower, vertical edge of the cloth there is a short Swahili writing. These writings can be proverbs, riddles, statements or cutting remarks, and are referred to as the name of the kanga. David Parkin, “Textile as commodity, dress as text: Swahili kanga and women’s statements,” in Textiles in Indian Ocean Societies, ed. Ruth Barnes (London: Routledge, 2005), 50

Our printed, colorful cloth was used as a communication tool by the woman who wore it, but this is not easily recognizable at first sight. Women’s language has been, and can still be, rather restricted in the public realm; and kangas serve as a way for women to bypass this. They enable women to address topics that are not approved by society, such as sexuality and jealousy. Besides that, kangas can also simply communicate good wishes and maxims, or address current political issues.

Both the writing and the color of the fabric play a role in this form of communication. A dark blue or black kanga, for instance, symbolizes sadness, while green indicates that one is in love. Red and black show anger, and light colors stand for happiness. On the meaning of the kanga see Rose Marie Beck, “Texts on textiles: proverbiality as characteristic of equivocal communication at the East African coast,” Journal of African Cultural Studies Vol. 17, No. 2 (2005): 134, and Rose Ong’oa-Morara, “One Size Fits All: The Fashionable Kanga of Zanzibari Women,” Fashion Theory Vol. 18 No. 1 (2014): 87

In the long read below, you can learn about the background and history of kangas, but if you can’t wait to learn about the meaning of corn, colors and the other meaningful elements in our kanga, you can proceed to the next step.