11. Spindle and spindle whorl, 1982
- Description:
- A spindle (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra) and a spindle whorl (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) used to make cotton thread. A black camera lens cap shows scale. For much of the 20th century, spinning was a routine activity for women. Some of the spun cotton thread was dyed blue. The blue thread was woven together with white thread to make durable strip-woven cloths that were highly valued. The rounded spindle whorl is made from fired clay and painted with white and red designs. The spindle whorl's decoration inspired the Nafaanra proverb: "Chlͻ were nyu na gԑndԑ yi" (The woman is as beautiful as the spindle whorl." Archaeologists have found spindle whorls on Banda-area archaeological sites dating to the late 18th and early 19th century. Before that time it seems that spinning cotton was not a routine household activity and that cloth was made in market centers. The spindle whorl is laying on a courtyard floor, with an eroding plaster layer visible in the background. Gbao, September, 1982.
- Rights:
- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
- Publisher:
- University of Victoria Libraries
- Relation:
- https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16831 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17202
- Location(s) Facet:
- Gbao
- Subjects:
- Cotton thread
- Subjects Facet:
- Handicraft; Spindle whorls; West African strip weaving; Spinning
- Identifier:
- 28
- Creator:
- Dr. Ann B. Stahl
- Contributors:
- Dr. Ann B. Stahl
- Date searchable:
- 1982
- Date searchable:
- 1982-09
- Genre:
- 35 mm slide
- Genre Facet:
- 35 mm slide
- Location(s):
- Gbao;8.147021, -2.362744
- Date Digitized:
- 2016
- People Facet:
- Dr. Ann B. Stahl
- Commentary:
- Slide scanned by Veronique Plante
- Geographic Coordinates:
- 8.147021, -2.362744