Wrapper

A group of women wearing buba and wrapper sets with head ties.

The wrapper is a colorful women's garment widely worn in West Africa. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored ensembles. The formality of the wrapper depends on the fabric used to create it. The wrapper is called an Iro in the Yoruba language, pronounced E-roo. The wrapper is usually worn with a matching headscarf or head tie that is called a gele in Yoruba, pronounced geh-lay ^[1]. A full wrapper ensemble consists of three garments. First, a blouse, called a buba, pronounced boo-bah. Second, a wrap skirt called a wrapper in English or an iro in Yoruba. Third, a headscarf which is called a head tie in English and a gele in Yoruba. Traditional male attire is called a dashiki.

A wrapper takes metres of quality fabric. White wrapper sets are worn during wedding ceremonies.

The wrapper gained popularity in the West following the black pride movement of the 1960s. It is enjoying a resurgence thanks to African immigration, and the formal wrapper is frequently worn at weddings, graduations and other special occasions.

In the UK and North America, a wrapper is also an older term for an informal house garment. Today, words such as housecoat and bathrobe (US) or dressing gown (UK) are usually employed instead.

The wrapper is most common in Nigeria. In other countries, the kaftan, also called a boubou is the formal female attire, see National costume.

Kaftan (Boubou)

In West Africa, a kaftan or caftan is a pull-over woman's robe. ^[2] In French, this robe 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 the kaftan depends upon the fabric used to create it.

Informal fabrics

A woman wearing a tie-dye kaftan and a head tie.

• 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 Europe, India, and West Africa. The most popular fancy print is known as the traditional print.

• Kente -- woven by tribal members. 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 ^[3] are known for their George wrappers. ^[4]

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

• Linen -- linen kaftans are a formal style.

• Satin -- satin fabrics are suitable for formal wear. ^[5]

• 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. Famous manufacturers are Vlisco in Holland and ABC Wax in Manchester, England.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, first female President of Liberia, wearing a buba and skirt set, with a head tie.

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. ^[6] The most popular non-traditional color is purple or lavender, the color of African royalty. ^[7] Blue, the color of love, is also a common non-traditional color. ^[8] Most women wear black kaftans to funerals. ^[9] 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 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. ^[10]

Popular culture

African women's attire was featured in a wedding scene in the 1973 blaxploitation film, Five on the Black Hand Side. The bride wears a white, traditional print kaftan at the end of this movie. In Africa, the wrapper was featured in the Nollywood comedy Osuofia in London. In this film, Nkem Owoh is an Igbo villager who travels to London, England.

Buba

A buba (pronounced boo-bah) is a woman's blouse. Buba is a Yoruba word that means blouse. The buba can be worn informally with pants or a fancy print wrapper. When worn as formal wear, the buba is paired with a skirt or wrapper made of formal fabrics. The informal dashiki or men's shirt, is unisex and is also worn by women. The dashiki and buba differ in that the dashiki is boxy and baggy with a straight bottom, whereas, the buba is fitted with a curved bottom, or baggy with a V shaped bottom. Like the dashiki, the buba comes in long, and short sleeve versions. The buba and skirt set or buba and wrapper set is the national costume of many West African countries.

References

See also

• National costume
• Ethiopian coffee dress
• Kanga (African garment) -- This wrapper is worn by women in East Africa
• Headscarf
• Head tie
• Dashiki
• Ghanaian smock
• Senegalese kaftan
• Kufi

Further reading

• 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).