Kaftan (boubou)

In West Africa, a kaftan or caftan is a pull-over woman's dress. In French, this dress is called a boubou, pronounced "boo-boo". The boubou is the traditional female attire in many West African countries including Senegal, Mali, and Ghana. In Nigeria, the wrapper is most common. The boubou can be formal or informal attire. The formality of this dress depends upon the fabric used to create it, see external links for photos.

Informal fabrics

*Batik -- created with hot wax and dye.

*Fancy print -- created by printing patterns on cloth. Unlike expensive wax prints, the design is printed on one side of the cotton fabric. Fancy prints are made in both Europe and West Africa. The most popular fancy print is known as the "traditional print".

*Kente -- woven by men. Kente is an informal fabric for anyone who is not a member of the Ashanti or Ewe tribes. For tribal members, kente is a formal cloth.

*Mudcloth -- created by making mud drawings on cotton.

*Tie-dye -- made by resist tying cotton then dipping in dye. In Nigeria, tie-dye is known as "adire" cloth.

Formal fabrics

*Aso Oke fabric -- Woven by men, see Yoruba people.

*Cotton brocade -- most brocade is produced in Guinea. Brocade is a shiny and polished cotton fabric.

*George cloth -- George cloth originated in India, where it was used to make saris. The fabric became popular among African royal and noble families. The Ijaw people are known for their George wrappers.

*Lace -- also known as "shain-shain aso oke" or "air conditioner aso oke".

*Linen -- linen kaftans are a formal style.

*Wax print -- Wax prints are made in Europe, usually in Holland or England. In a wax print, the pattern or design is printed on both sides of the cotton fabric. Wax prints are more expensive than fancy prints. One famous manufacturer is ABC Wax in Manchester, England.

Wedding attire

The kaftan is always worn with a headscarf or head tie. During a wedding ceremony, the bride's kaftan is the same color as the groom's dashiki. The traditional color for West African weddings is white. The most popular non-traditional color is purple or lavender, the color of African royalty. Blue, the color of love, is also a common non-traditional color. Most women wear black kaftans to funerals. However, in some parts of Ghana and the United States, some women wear black and white prints, or black and red. The kaftan is the most popular attire for women of African descent throughout the African diaspora. African and African-American women also wear a wide variety of dresses, and skirt sets made out of formal fabrics as formal wear. However, the kaftan and wrapper are the two traditional choices. It must be noted, that it is not uncommon for a woman to wear a white wedding dress when the groom wears African attire. In the United States, African-American women wear the boubou for special occasions. The kaftan or boubou is worn at weddings; funerals; graduations; and Kwanzaa celebrations.

The men's robe is also called a boubou, see Senegalese kaftan for further information.

Popular culture

African women's attire was featured in a wedding scene in the 1973 blaxploitation film, "Five on the Black Hand Side".

ee also

*Ethiopian coffee dress
*Wrapper (clothing)
*Kanga (African garment) -- This wrapper is worn by women in East Africa
*Headscarf
*Head tie
*Dashiki
*Senegalese kaftan
*Kufi

External links

*You Tube Video of the wedding in "Five on the Black Hand Side" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH1FzDpq3KY]
*Photos of Senegalese women's attire [http://www.senegalview.com/WomensAttire.html]
*Photos of an engagement in Ghana [http://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/sets/182344/with/7308736/] Click on each photo for a larger view.
*Photo of the bride and groom [http://www.flickr.com/photos/koranteng/7308043/in/set-182344/] In this photo, the bride is wearing a white kaftan. The groom is wearing a white, long sleeve, dashiki suit.
*Photos of a funeral in Ghana [http://www.nas.com/africa/ghanafuneral.html]
*An informal kaftan [http://www.africaimports.com/itemMatrix.asp?CartId={47A49DE1-4590-41F7-8795-9EFA8EVERESTEC623DB}&GroupCode=C%2DWF304&eq=Topten2&MatrixType=1]
*A formal kaftan [http://www.africaimports.com/itemMatrix.asp?CartId={47A49DE1-4590-41F7-8795-9EFA8EVERESTEC623DB}&GroupCode=C%2DW952&eq=&MatrixType=1]
*Kaftan examples [http://dupsies.com/Dstore/caftanboubou-c-40.html]
*Photos of matching sets for the bride and groom [http://dupsies.com/Dstore/couples-brocade-c-71_73.html] Click on couples to see more wedding sets.

References

*Ronke Luke-Boone, "African Fabrics" (Krause Publications 2001).
*Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, "Celebrating Kwanzaa" (Holiday House 1993).
*Judith Perani and Norma Wolff, "Cloth, Dress, and Art Patronage in Africa" (Berg 1999).