One of the charms of Ghanian women is their brightly colored clothing - usually made of batik prints. I love watching the women in their dress. They are over-whelmingly modest - long skirts and tops that have sleeves. The women are very beautifully dressed.
I recently went to the Batik Factory here in Ghana. The process is done the same as it has been done for hundreds of years. White fabric is marked with wax and then died with dies made of plants (but I think today they use commercial dyes). Then more wax is applied and then more dyes. The results are beautifully color fabrics that are made into dresses, skirts with matching tops, and housecoats or mumu type dresses to wear in the house - I don't know what they call them here. Skirts for little girls here are called skits (they cannot or do not pronounce the "r's". The batik material is also used to make men's shirts. I love the Ghanian clothes, yet I watch the youth and they are more and more adopting the "American or Western" style of clothing. It's sad because they are loosing their Ghanian identity by doing this.
The first picture you see here is of the men laying the finished fabric on the rocks to dry. Next you will see a plain piece of white fabric that is stamped with it's first wax impression. The next picture is a lady preparing the dyes. Another is of a man stirring the fabric in the dye and then stirring the fabric in very hot water to melt the wax. Next a man who is stamping the next wax pattern on a piece of material that has already been dyed once.
It is amazing to see this done and realize the process and the materials have not changed for a very long time. I love looking at fabric and have bought several pieces, and hopefully soon I will become an adopted Ghanian!
1 comment:
I LOVE batik fabric. I seriously think I would enjoy ditching all of the western clothing for some of that garb, at least for a few months. I might miss wearing jeans occasionally . . . Be on the lookout for a beautiful purple print!
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