dashiki

A group of drummers wearing dashikis and kufis in Accra, Ghana.

The dashiki is a colorful men's garment widely worn in West Africa that covers the top half of the body. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. Traditional female attire is called a caftan, or kaftan. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar, and tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines.

Etymology

Dashiki is a Yoruba word that means shirt. The cap worn with a dashiki is call a kufi, and is named after the city of Kufi, Nigeria. The word kufi means crown. Sokoto are the pants worn with a dashiki, and are named after the city of Sokoto, in Nigeria.

The dashiki in the West

The dashiki found a market in America during the Black cultural and political struggles in the 1960s. A prototype was developed in 1967 by Jason Benning, Milton Clarke, Howard Davis, and William Smith. These young professionals formed a company called New Breed to produce dashikis. It was located in a 2-room clothing store at 147th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in the Harlem section of Manhattan.

The dashiki was featured in the movies Putney Swope (1969), and the weekly television series Soul Train (1971). Articles on New Breed appeared in Ebony Magazine and the New York Times (4/20/69). Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bill Russell were among the well-known Black athletes and entertainers who wore the dashiki on talk shows.

The term dashiki begins appearing in print at least as early as mid-1968: an article by Faith Berry in the New York Times Magazine includes it, on July 7, 1968. Reporting on the 1967 Newark riots in the Amsterdam News on July 22, 1967, George Barner refers to a new African garment called a "danshiki." "Dashiki" first appeared in the Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1st College Edition 1970/72.

Former District of Columbia mayor and current councilmember Marion Barry is famous for wearing the dashiki at various times, particularly in the time period leading up to elections. More recently he has donned a modified dashiki that combines the traditional form with a Western-style button-down shirt.^{[citation needed]}

Dashiki versions

Two politicians wearing Senegalese kaftans and kufi caps in Dakar, Senegal.

The informal version is a traditional print or embroidered dashiki. Three formal versions exist. The first type, popular among Christians, Muslims, and followers of African traditional religion, consists of a dashiki, and matching kufi and sokoto, or hat and drawstring pants. This style is called a dashiki suit or dashiki pant set and it is the attire worn by most grooms during wedding ceremonies. The second version is worn by all religious faiths and consists of an ankle length shirt, matching kufi, and sokoto. The second style is called a robe or Senegalese kaftan. The third type, is usually only worn by Tribal chiefs, Nigerians, or Muslims, and it consists of a dashiki, and matching pants. A flowing gown is worn over these. This type is called a Grand boubou in various Francophone countries. In the English speaking world, it is called an Agbada, see the Grand boubou article for further information.

There are several different styles of dashiki suits available from African clothing stores. The type of shirt included in the set determines the name. The traditional dashiki suit includes a thigh length shirt. The short sleeve, traditional style is preferred by purists. A long dashiki suit includes a shirt that is knee length or longer. However, if the shirt reaches the ankles, it is called a robe or Senegalese kaftan. Finally, the lace dashiki suit includes a shirt made of lace.

Formal equivalents

The following chart gives a type of formal wear on the left and lists the African equivalent on the right. Some merchants distribute similar charts to their customers with equivalent men's and women's styles listed. In the trade, they are referred to as African Attire Equivalency Charts. This type of chart is only used in the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, and the United States of America. In West Africa, a man's tribal affiliation governs his mode of dress. When wearing African attire to a formal event, any color is acceptable. However, many men prefer to wear black with gold embroidery, or dark blue with gold embroidery, to blend in with the dark tuxedos. In Latin American countries, white is the norm, see Abadá.

• Suit - dashiki shirt with matching kufi, and black dress pants. This style of attire is equivalent to a suit and may be worn by men of any nationality, race, or background. It is best for informal weddings, and beach weddings. In South Africa, the dashiki or madiba shirt and black dress pants are the national costume. This attire is the African version of the Jamaican bush jacket.
• Morning dress - dashiki suit, Senegalese kaftan, or Grand boubou. All three of these suits are acceptable attire for functions that require morning dress.
• Black tie - dashiki suit, Senegalese kaftan, or Grand boubou. All of these styles are worn to black tie events. Unscrupulous merchants will attempt to persuade customers to purchase a grand boubou in order to make a profit. Although it is called a suit, a dashiki pant set is equivalent to the tuxedo. A dashiki suit is perfectly suitable for any black tie event. In popular culture, Anthony Anderson wore a dashiki suit to a black tie event in the film Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.
• White tie - Senegalese kaftan, or Grand boubou. The dashiki suit is informal and out of place at white tie events. White tie events require an African robe or gown.

London suit

The London suit is a style of attire worn in the United Kingdom, and is named after the city of London, England. The suit consists of a pair of black dress pants, men's dress shirt, and tie. The Agbada gown (also called a Grand boubou, which means big robe in French) is worn on top of the shirt and tie in place of the Western suit jacket. A kufi cap that matches the gown completes the suit. The suit originated among members of the Black British community who wanted to wear heirloom gowns for christenings, weddings, funerals, and Easter or Christmas dinners in the home. The dashiki suit worn under the Agbada (gown) wears out quickly, but a well maintained Agbada will last a lifetime. Old gowns do not have the corresponding dashiki suit. Use of the London suit has spread throughout the African diaspora. In some families, it is a tradition for a son to wear his father's or grandfather's Agbada gown for wedding ceremonies with a shirt and tie, or tuxedo shirt and bow tie. Although it is a tradition, the London suit is not true African attire but a blend of Africa and the West. As a result, the London suit should not be worn at the court of any African monarch, British monarch, or Buckingham Palace. Furthermore, London suits are not appropriate for African ceremonies including the conferring of chieftaincy titles and traditional African religious rituals. For these events, authentic African formal wear is required. Formal wear includes the dashiki suit, Senegalese kaftan, or Agbada.

A traditional Agbada or Grand boubou consists of a dashiki (shirt), sokoto (drawstring pants), and the Agbada or Grand boubou (gown) is worn on top of these with a kufi (cap). ^[1] Men who wish to wear heirloom gowns should invest in a long sleeve, white, dashiki suit. A white dashiki suit can be worn under an Agbada of any colour. For men who are members of a tribe, tribal dress is allowed at court. For instance, men who belong to the Ashanti tribe wear kente cloth at court. In popular culture, the London suit was featured on an episode of the BBC series Brotherly Love. The late Member of Parliament, Bernie Grant wore the Agbada to the opening of Parliament with HRH Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in attendance.^[2]

Wedding colors

Amadou & Mariam of Mali. Mariam is wearing a kaftan. Amadou is wearing a Senegalese kaftan.

White is the traditional color for West African weddings.^[3] Most grooms wear white dashiki suits during wedding ceremonies. For Christians, white represents purity and salvation. For Muslims, white represents purity and equality among believers or ummah. The bride's attire is a woman's kaftan or a blouse and skirt set that is the same color as the groom's dashiki. A traditional African-American wedding was shown in the blaxploitation film Five on the Black Hand Side. Some couples wear non-traditional colors. The most common non-traditional colors are purple and blue.

• Purple and lavender: the color of African royalty. ^[4]
• Blue: blue is the color of love, peace, and harmony.

European style

European style is a colloquial term for a wedding in which the bride and groom wear light and dark shades of the same color. In Europe the bride wears a white wedding dress and the groom wears a black tuxedo. Some African and African-American couples prefer this light and dark color scheme. Popular European style wedding schemes include:

• European style blue: the groom wears navy or royal blue, the bride wears light or sky blue.
• European style purple: the groom wears purple, the bride wears lilac or lavender.

Funeral colors

It is taboo for couples to wear funeral colors during weddings. Black and red are the colors of mourning.

• Red: honors the blood shed by slaves during captivity, and political struggle, see Pan-African flag. Red garments are worn during Vodun and other traditional African religious rituals, because red is the color of Shango. ^[5][6]
• Black: black garments represent death and communion with the ancestors.

Kwanzaa

Many African-Americans are of West African ancestry ^[7] and dashikis of all colors and styles can be seen during Kwanzaa celebrations in the United States.

The dashiki today

Formal and festival dashiki styles are often seen on special occasions in West Africa. Perhaps due to immigration, the formal dashiki is also in common use in large Western cities. Many dashikis can be seen at houses of worship during holidays, for example, at the end of Ramadan at New York's 92nd Street mosque, during services at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, and the dashiki is frequently worn at weddings, graduations, and other special occasions.

References

See also

• National costume
• African textiles
• Jumping the broom

Further reading

• Anyiam, Thony C. (2007), Jumping the Broom in Style, Authorhouse, ISBN 1425986382.
• Cole, Harriette (2004), Jumping the Broom: The African-American Wedding Planner, 2nd Ed., Owl Books, pg. 117, ISBN 0805073299.
• Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane (1994), Celebrating Kwanzaa, Holiday House, ISBN 0823411303.