Hand-painted Gara cloth (Murnane, n.d.)

Item — Box: 18, slide: 36.22.03

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

Slides of Africa from various sources; these slides document a variety of topics such as agriculture, landscapes, city scenes, villages, architecture, industry, transportation, commerce, and people, from throughout Africa during the 20th century.

Dates

Majority of material found within 1960 - 2000

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations. To inquire about access to this collection, please contact the Herskovits Library at africana@northwestern.edu.

Extent

From the Collection: 99 Boxes (99 slide boxes.)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

General

Any cloth dyed locally in Sierra Leone in natural indigo dye or in synthetic dyestuffs is called gara. The term originally referred to the leaves of a leguminous plant from northern Sierra Leone that yields indigo dye, but "gara" has developed a broader meaning, applying to all dyeing done as a small scale industry. The majority of gara produced is tie-dyed through such methods as machine or hand sewing, or binding with cord into gathers or pleats, but Sierra Leonean dyers are also known for resist-dyeing by dripping or stamping candle wax onto fabric, applying cassava starch in a pattern, or lifting areas of the fabric (bunching) and distributing dye on those areas to achieve a marbled effect.