Bògòlanfini
Encyclopedia
Bògòlanfini or bogolan ("mud cloth") is a handmade Mali
an cotton
fabric traditionally dyed with ferment
ed mud. It has an important place in traditional Malian culture and has, more recently, become a symbol of Malian cultural identity
. The cloth is being exported worldwide for use in fashion
, fine art
and decoration.
, the word "bògòlanfini" is a composite of bogo, meaning "earth" or "mud"; lan, meaning "with" or "by means of"; and fini, meaning "cloth".
.
The dyeing (a "strange and cumbersome technique", according to the opinion of J.B. Donne in 1973) begins with a step invisible in the finished product: The cloth is soaked in a dye bath made from mashed and boiled, or soaked, leaves of the n'gallama tree (Anogeissus leiocarpa
). Now yellow, the cloth is sun-dried and then painted with designs using a piece of metal or wood. The paint, carefully and repeatedly applied to outline the intricate motifs, is a special mud, collected from riverbeds and fermented for up to a year in a clay jar. Thanks to a chemical reaction between the mud and the dyed cloth, the brown color remains after the mud is washed off. Finally, the yellow n'gallama dye is removed from the unpainted parts of the cloth by applying soap or bleach
, rendering them white.
After long use, the very dark brown color turns a variety of rich tones of brown, while the unpainted underside of the fabric retains a pale russet
color.
and Djenné
, a simpler method is used by artists considered to be of inferior skill. The cloth is dyed yellow in wolo solution, made from the leaves of Terminalia avicennoides, and then painted over with black designs. The yellow is either removed, producing a stark black and white design, or painted a deep orange with a solution from the bark of M'Peku (Lannea velutina).
Based on these simplified techniques, as of around 2000, large quantities of bògòlanfini are being mass-produced for the tourist and export markets. These fabrics use simpler designs, often applied by stencil, painted in black on a yellow or orange background. With this method, the cloth can be produced about six to seven times faster. The democratic reforms after the overthrow of Moussa Traoré
in 1991 caused many young men to lose their previously guaranteed government jobs and scholarships. This led many to take up bògòlanfini production. Consequently, most cloth is now produced by men rather than women, and the traditional year-long apprenticeships have been replaced by short, informal training sessions.
, as ritual protection and as a badge of status. Women are wrapped in bògòlanfini after their initiation into adulthood (which includes genital cutting
) and immediately after childbirth, as the cloth is believed to have the power to absorb the dangerous forces released under such circumstances.
Bògòlanfini patterns are rich in cultural significance, referring to historical events (such as a famous battle between a Malian warrior and the French), crocodiles (significant in Bambara mythology) or other objects, mythological concepts or proverb
s. Since about 1980, Bògòlanfini has become a symbol of Malian cultural identity and is being promoted as such by the Malian government.
or as a generically "ethnic" decorative cloth.
s).
The Malian fashion designer Chris Seydou
has been credited with popularizing bògòlanfini in international fashion.
by several Malian artists, notably by the Groupe Bogolan Kasobané
, six artists collaborating since 1978. These paintings are produced with vegetable dyes and mud, but often feature designs unrelated to those of traditional fabrics; their newer motifs are also often found on clothing.
Traditional Bògòlanfini designs are also used for on a wide range of commercial products, such as coffee mugs, curtains, towels, sheets, book covers and wrapping paper.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
an cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
fabric traditionally dyed with ferment
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
ed mud. It has an important place in traditional Malian culture and has, more recently, become a symbol of Malian cultural identity
Cultural identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....
. The cloth is being exported worldwide for use in fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
and decoration.
Origins and etymology
The technique is associated with several Malian ethnic groups, but the Bambaran version has become best known outside Mali. In the Bambara languageBambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...
, the word "bògòlanfini" is a composite of bogo, meaning "earth" or "mud"; lan, meaning "with" or "by means of"; and fini, meaning "cloth".
Production
The center of bògòlanfini production, and the source of the highest quality cloth, is the town of SanSan, Mali
San is a town and commune and capital of the Cercle of San in the Ségou Region of Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 26,744.San is the center of bògòlanfini production, a traditional Malian fabric.-References:...
.
Traditional production
In traditional bògòlanfini production, men weave the cloth and women dye it. On narrow looms, strips of cotton fabric about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide are woven and stitched into cloths about 1 metres (3 ft) wide and 1.5 metres (5 ft) long.The dyeing (a "strange and cumbersome technique", according to the opinion of J.B. Donne in 1973) begins with a step invisible in the finished product: The cloth is soaked in a dye bath made from mashed and boiled, or soaked, leaves of the n'gallama tree (Anogeissus leiocarpa
Anogeissus leiocarpus
Anogeissus leiocarpa is a tall evergreen tree native to savannas of Tropical Africa. It is the sole West African species of the genus Anogeissus, a genus otherwise distributed from tropical central and east Africa through tropical Southeast Asia. A...
). Now yellow, the cloth is sun-dried and then painted with designs using a piece of metal or wood. The paint, carefully and repeatedly applied to outline the intricate motifs, is a special mud, collected from riverbeds and fermented for up to a year in a clay jar. Thanks to a chemical reaction between the mud and the dyed cloth, the brown color remains after the mud is washed off. Finally, the yellow n'gallama dye is removed from the unpainted parts of the cloth by applying soap or bleach
Bleach
Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
, rendering them white.
After long use, the very dark brown color turns a variety of rich tones of brown, while the unpainted underside of the fabric retains a pale russet
Russet (color)
Russet is a dark brown color with a reddish-orange tinge.The first recorded use of russet as a color name in English was in 1562.The source of this color is the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names --Color dictionary used by stamp collectors to identify the colors of stampsThe name of the color...
color.
Variants and modern production
Around MoptiMopti
Mopti is a city at the confluence of the Niger and the Bani in Mali, between Timbuktu and Ségou. The city lies on three islands linked by dykes: the New Town, the Old Town and Medina Coura. As a result it is sometimes known as the "Venice of Mali".-History:The city of Mopti derives its name from...
and Djenné
Djenné
Djenné is an Urban Commune and town in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 32,944. Administratively it is part of the Mopti Region....
, a simpler method is used by artists considered to be of inferior skill. The cloth is dyed yellow in wolo solution, made from the leaves of Terminalia avicennoides, and then painted over with black designs. The yellow is either removed, producing a stark black and white design, or painted a deep orange with a solution from the bark of M'Peku (Lannea velutina).
Based on these simplified techniques, as of around 2000, large quantities of bògòlanfini are being mass-produced for the tourist and export markets. These fabrics use simpler designs, often applied by stencil, painted in black on a yellow or orange background. With this method, the cloth can be produced about six to seven times faster. The democratic reforms after the overthrow of Moussa Traoré
Moussa Traoré
General Moussa Traoré is a Malian soldier and politician. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ouster of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he served as Head of State from 1968-1979, and President of Mali from 1979 to 1991, when he was overthrown by popular protests and military coup...
in 1991 caused many young men to lose their previously guaranteed government jobs and scholarships. This led many to take up bògòlanfini production. Consequently, most cloth is now produced by men rather than women, and the traditional year-long apprenticeships have been replaced by short, informal training sessions.
Cultural significance
In traditional Malian culture, bògòlanfini is worn by hunters, serving as camouflageCamouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
, as ritual protection and as a badge of status. Women are wrapped in bògòlanfini after their initiation into adulthood (which includes genital cutting
Female genital cutting
Female genital mutilation , also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."FGM...
) and immediately after childbirth, as the cloth is believed to have the power to absorb the dangerous forces released under such circumstances.
Bògòlanfini patterns are rich in cultural significance, referring to historical events (such as a famous battle between a Malian warrior and the French), crocodiles (significant in Bambara mythology) or other objects, mythological concepts or proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
s. Since about 1980, Bògòlanfini has become a symbol of Malian cultural identity and is being promoted as such by the Malian government.
Uses
Bògòlanfini has become a popular Malian export, notably to the United States. There, it is marketed as "mud cloth", either as a symbol of African American cultureAfrican American culture
African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans of African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in...
or as a generically "ethnic" decorative cloth.
In fashion
In Mali, the cloth is worn by people of all ethnicities, including prominently in Malian cinema and by Malian musicians, either as an expression of national or ethnic identity or as a fashion statement. Particularly popular among young people, Bògòlanfini is made into a wide range of clothes, Western miniskirts and jackets as well as traditional flowing robes (boubouBoubou (clothing)
The Grand Boubou/Bubu is one of the names for a flowing wide sleeved robe worn by men in much of West Africa, and to a lesser extent in North Africa, related to the Dashiki suit...
s).
The Malian fashion designer Chris Seydou
Chris Seydou
Seydou Nourou Doumbia, known as Chris Seydou , was a Malian fashion designer known for his use of traditional Malian fabrics, particularly bògòlanfini ....
has been credited with popularizing bògòlanfini in international fashion.
In art
Bògòlanfini is also produced as fine artFine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
by several Malian artists, notably by the Groupe Bogolan Kasobané
Groupe Bogolan Kasobané
Groupe Bogolan Kasobané is an artist collective from Mali, West Africa with a studio and shop in Bamako and a gallery in Ségou. Innovators and pioneers in the bogolan fine arts movement, the Groupe traveled throughout Mali, researching the bogolan traditions and practices, including the symbolic...
, six artists collaborating since 1978. These paintings are produced with vegetable dyes and mud, but often feature designs unrelated to those of traditional fabrics; their newer motifs are also often found on clothing.
Traditional Bògòlanfini designs are also used for on a wide range of commercial products, such as coffee mugs, curtains, towels, sheets, book covers and wrapping paper.