Minneapolis Institute of Art

Skirt

Côte d’Ivoire

Date

early 20th century

Medium

Palm raffia cloth, oblique interlacing, resist tie-dye

Department

Arts of Global Africa

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Raffia cloth is a very labor-intensive textile to produce, because of the lengthy process to prepare the fibers from raffia palm leaves. Dida garments are exceptional for their technique, which requires the interlacing of three sets of raffia threads. The threads are kept in tension by a loop of fiber held by the weaver's foot - no loom is used. This technique produces a tube-shaped cloth, which is adorned using a tie and dye technique. The yellow and red colors are obtained from plant roots, and black is made from combining minerals and leaves. The crinkled texture is left unsmoothed, perhaps to complement the wearer's scarification. Among the Dida people, raffia cloth was associated with status, wealth, and power, whereas common people used to dress in beaten barkcloth. Côte d'Ivoire, Africa

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