Among the Wodaabe, embroidery is used to decorate amulets, bags, containers, as well as men and women’s garments. In particular, there are several embroidered garments worn at the Gerewol. These garments are: (1) a hip wrap worn by men, (2) a long tunic (sometimes described as a dress, but the sides are left open), which is worn by men, (3) a short, sleeveless top worn by women and (4) a multi-functional cloth that is used by women either as a hip wrap or as a head covering.
The older versions of these garments are usually made of narrow strips of cotton cloth in black, blue, white (often with stripes), which are sewn together to form larger pieces of cloth. Indigo was a widely used dye for these textiles and garments. By the end of the twentieth century, many of these garments were made of a single piece of imported black cloth.
The embroidery is normally carried out by women, although sometimes men will also hand embroider various garments, using a thickish cotton yarn in predominantly orange, red, yellow and white colours. The main stitch used for the embroidery is chain stitch, worked with a needle. Many of the designs produced are symbolic and reflect objects from real life and have names such as 'calf rope', 'cow’s eyes', 'road', 'sleeping children' and 'stars'.
Sources:
- BOVIN, Mette (2001). Nomads who Cultivate Beauty: Wodaabe Dances and Visual Arts in Niger, Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, p. 18.
- https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/women-artisans-in-niger/updates/?subid=33357 (retrieved 30th March 2016)
- http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.nl/2014/02/wodaabe-mbororo-people-nomadic-fulani.html (retrieved 30th March 2016)
British Museum online catalogue (retrieved 8th June 2016).
GVE