Location(s): dumboli / Subject(s): spindle whorl - Improving African Futures Using Lessons from the Past

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1. Spinning cotton thread, Dumboli, 1994

Description:: A woman in Dumboli spins cotton thread. She holds raw cotton fiber in her left hand. She has attached a strand of fiber to her spindle (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra), and she prepares to set it and the spindle whorl (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) which weights it in motion with her right hand. The whorl spins inside a small white vessel (possibly an animal skull or turtle shell) resting on a basket lid. The woman sits on a low stool. Various containers used in food preparation sit behind her. The basket on which she is spinning is used to store her equipment when not in use. Seeing women spinning in their homes would have been common before the second half of the 20th century. Archaeologists find spindle whorls in houses on sites dating to the later 18th and 19th centuries. In earlier times, however, it appears that thread was primarily made in market centers rather than in households. Two photos. Dumboli, 1994.
Rights:: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:: University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:: Dumboli
Subjects:: Cotton thread; Women's work; Techniques
Subjects Facet:: Handicraft; Spinning; Spindle whorls; Baskets
Identifier:: 18
Creator:: Dr. M. Dores Cruz
Contributors:: Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:: 1994
Date searchable:: 1994
Genre:: 35 mm slide
Genre Facet:: 35 mm slide
Location(s):: Dumboli;8.090342, -2.517137
Date Digitized:: 2016
Commentary:: Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
Geographic Coordinates:: 8.090342, -2.517137

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1. Spinning cotton thread, Dumboli, 1994