Textiles have always been an important item of trade in West Africa. The markets of Senegal and Mali are bursting with materials of every sort of quality, pattern and colour. Among other things one finds displayed here are synthetic materials imported from Asia, shiny cotton damask of top quality produced in Germany, and rough bogolan materials that are woven and dyed by local craftworkers in Mali. The quantity of textiles for sale attests to the fact that even though clothes produced in the West are popular, a great number of people go to the tailor with their material when they want a new outfit. Local, deeply rooted styles coexist with western fashions and contribute to keeping alive the many tailors who have their workshops in the vicinity of the markets.
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| Women traders with a rich variety of materials |
The ability to dress oneself properly is a highly developed art among the people of Mali and Senegal and is a way of communicating morals and status. Both women and men know a great deal about the prices and qualities of various textiles, and can easily identify an outfit and determine whether or not it is made from the finest six-star damask with silk embroidery, or from a cheaper material. The way one dresses also says much about whether one is a "respectable" person or not. Women who hardly have the wherewithal to afford salt for their food, do their best to look elegant when they set out for the market. The markets have a textile selection in every price and quality class and have something to offer every consumer.
Perhaps the most recognizable materials perhaps are those called "wax print", "fancy" or "Lagos", and their per-metre price is dependent upon the quality of the dyeing process. This is a factory-produced cotton textile printed in strong colours and large patterns for the West African market. Women use these materials for everyday use as dresses, or as simple skirts tied around their waists. For men it is usual to have a many-piece suit made up. Today these textiles and patterns are identified as "typically West African", even though they have their origin in Javanese batiks. Production of these materials was started up by merchants in the Netherlands and Great Britain, but by the 1950s, many countries in West Africa had started their own production of such materials. Most of the patterned cotton textiles that are for sale in the markets of Dakar and Bamako are designed and produced in the region. These materials are often given names like "Paris", "Washington", "Broken Heart", "Single Boy", or "Mobile Telephone".
Source: Heath, Deborah. 1992. Fashion, anti-fashion, and heteroglossia in urbn Senegal. American Ethnologist 19(2):19-33).
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