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Start Over Subject(s) handicraft Subject(s) west african strip weaving

1. 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 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

2. Clothing the family. Poster, 2014

Description:
An educational poster with pictures and text focused on how past people in the Banda area clothed their families. It describes how people dressed, how they made cotton cloth, and why cloth is no longer made in Banda. It is one of five posters prepared for a Banda community event held in 2014. Printed versions of the posters are housed in the Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Banda
Subjects:
Community engagement; Poster
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; Spindle whorls; West African strip weaving; Spinning; Dyeing; Weaving; Heritage
Creator:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Contributors:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
1824-2009
Date searchable:
2014-07
Genre Facet:
Poster
Format:
Image
Language Facet:
English
Location(s):
Banda
Date Digitized:
2014
People Facet:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan

3. Banda Cultural Centre painting of spinning and strip-woven cloth, 2016

Description:
In June 2011, Banda Research Project team member Amanda Logan collaborated with local artist Kwame K.B. 2 to develop paintings for the Banda Cultural Centre's courtyard doors. The paintings illustrate crafts practiced in the area for which we have archaeological evidence. This image shows a woman spinning cotton thread (right) and a man wearing a locally made blue-and-white strip-woven cloth (left). Archaeologists find spindle whorls used to make thread on late 18th-and early 19th-century archaeological sites. This shows that households produced their own cloth during recent centuries. Before the 17th century, cotton cloth seems to have been less common and was probably acquired through trade from market centers. Banda Cultural Centre, Ahenkro, June, 2016.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17077 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17078 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17084
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Banda Cultural Centre; Community engagement
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; West African strip weaving; Spinning; Markets
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl; Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2016
Date searchable:
2016-06
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165961, -2.354312
People Facet:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165961, -2.354312

4. Banda Queen Mother showing cloth to local artist, 2011

Description:
Banda Queen Mother Lelԑԑ Akosua Kepefu (center) shows an example of locally made strip-woven cloth to a young painter as a model for a painting on the Banda Cultural Centre doors. Enoch Mensah holds one end of the cloth. To the right, Afua Fofie, Linguist, looks on with artist Kwame K.B. 2. They stand on Ahenkro's main street (view towards the south). Ahenkro, 5 June, 2011.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17079 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-17084
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects:
Queen Mother; Lelee Akosua Kepefu
Subjects Facet:
Handicraft; West African strip weaving; Villages; Streets
Creator:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Contributors:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2011
Date searchable:
2011-06-05
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.164906, -2.355708
People Facet:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Geographic Coordinates:
8.164906, -2.355708

5. Spinning cotton thread, Gbao, 1982

Description:
Ma Fiԑn of Gbao (left) and Abena Wusu of Dompofie (right) spin cotton thread. Their spindles (gԑndԑ in Nafaanra) are weighted by fired clay spindle whorls (gԑndԑ kaan in Nafaanra) which help the spindle to maintain an even spin. Ma Fiԑn uses a calabash bowl as a spinning surface. Abena Wusu uses an enamel-ware bowl placed on a basket. They use their right hand to guide thread onto the spindle as it spins. In their left hand they hold the raw cotton from which the thread is being spun. They control the tension and flow of the cotton by alternately pulling back and easing their left hands. Thread forms as the spindle spins, with the finished product building up in layers toward the spindle's lower end, near the whorl. The baskets on top of which they spin used to store spinning equipment when not in use. Until recent decades, spinning was a routine household activity for women who then gave thread to men skilled in weaving to make cloth for the household. Spindle whorls found on archaeological sites dating to the late 18th and 19th centuries tell us that spinning was also a household activity during those centuries. In the photo's background harvested foods are drying (groundnut, cassava, chili pepper). A large basket and other containers (including a plastic tub) sit next to dried calabash ready to be sent to market. To the right, a clay water pot (chͻkoo in Nafaanra) rests on a metal basin and in the top right is a metal water barrel. Four photos. Gbao, September, 1982.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Relation:
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16830 ; https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/iaff/catalog/17-16831
Location(s) Facet:
Gbao
Subjects:
Plastic containers; Chͻkoo (chokoo); Cotton thread; Techniques; Water barrels; Women's work
Subjects Facet:
Gourd, Calabash; Enameled ware; Handicraft; Spinning; Spindle whorls; West African strip weaving; Baskets; Water
Identifier:
27; 23; 24; 25
Creator:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Contributors:
Dr. Ann B. Stahl
Date searchable:
1982
Date searchable:
1982-09
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

6. Bow-shaped tool used to process raw cotton, Ahenkro, 2014

Description:
A bow-shaped tool (klada in Nafaanra) made from flexible wood and taut string rests on a folded handwoven blue-and-white textile called Kyara. Women used the bow to prepare cotton for spinning into thread. After removing seeds from the cotton, they held the bow's string over the fibers. Plucking the string caused cotton fibers to stick to it. By pulling up on the bow, the cotton became fluffed and its fibers aligned, making it easier to spin. The klada and handwoven textiles seen in the picture were among heirloom objects on display as part of a Heritage Day and Olden Times Foods Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. Ahenkro, 2014-07-31.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Creator:
Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2014
Date searchable:
2014-07-31
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Source:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Language Facet:
Nafaanra
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165892, -2.354363
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165892, -2.354363

7. Handwoven textile called Kyara and a spindle with cotton thread, Ahenkro, 2014

Description:
A wooden spindle wrapped with cotton thread rests on top of a folded black-and-white textile made from handwoven cotton strips. Cloth of this design is called Kyara. Hand stiching can be seen along the edges where strips have been sewn together. These were among heirloom objects on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre with sponsorship by Dr. Amanda L. Logan. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft;
Creator:
Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2014
Date searchable:
2014-07-31
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Source:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Language Facet:
Nafaanra
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165892, -2.354363
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165892, -2.354363

8. Handwoven cotton strip textile called Kyekye, Ahenkro, 2014

Description:
A textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. This cloth is called Kyekye and is sewn from strips of similar dark blue-and-white design. Variation in patterning is created by offsetting strips. Sections of solid color created by weaving blue weft over blue warp threads are sewn to strip sections with horizontal stripes created by alternating blue and white weft threads. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Creator:
Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2014
Date searchable:
2014-07-31
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Source:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Language Facet:
Nafaanra
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165892, -2.354363
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165892, -2.354363

9. Handwoven cotton strip textile called Dɔnkɔnfra, Ahenkro, 2014

Description:
Two folded textiles made from handwoven cotton strips, pieced together in a design called Dɔnkɔnfra. They were photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. One cloth rests on top of the other. The lighter colored strips in each cloth have white warp threads woven together with white, red and blue weft threads. Darker strips were woven from blue and white warp and weft threads. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Creator:
Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2014
Date searchable:
2014-07-31
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Source:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Language Facet:
Nafaanra
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165892, -2.354363
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165892, -2.354363

10. Handwoven cotton strip textile called Kakya, Ahenkro, 2014

Description:
A folded textile made of handwoven cotton strips, photographed while on display at a Heritage Day and Olden Times Food Fair held at the Banda Cultural Centre. The name of this cloth design is Kakya. Single strands of blue warp thread create vertical lines against a background of white warp and weft threads. Ahenkro, 31 July, 2014.
Rights:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Publisher:
University of Victoria Libraries
Location(s) Facet:
Ahenkro
Subjects Facet:
Textiles; West African strip weaving; Weaving; Handicraft
Creator:
Amanda L. Logan
Date searchable:
2014
Date searchable:
2014-07-31
Genre Facet:
Digital image
Format:
Image
Source:
Dr. Amanda L. Logan
Language Facet:
Nafaanra
Location(s):
Ahenkro;8.165892, -2.354363
Geographic Coordinates:
8.165892, -2.354363