Girl's wrapper

Object Details

Madame Krisy

Betsimisaraka artist

Label Text

Raffia--a fiber obtained from the leaf of the raffia palm--was the primary textile fiber for groups living in the entire northeastern half of the island of Madagascar. It remains popular in some regions, particularly in along the east coast of Madagascar, where women make short raffia wrappers for themselves and smocks for their husbands. The men of this region continue to wear proudly the raffia smocks woven by their wives as a sign of love. Made of the finest leaves and woven so tightly they are water-resistant, raffia smocks are suitable for men's work in rice fields and forest.

Preparing raffia fiber for weaving is arduous work for women. The youngest palm leave are selected and cut. The leaves are then scraped lengthwise and combed into fine strips. Meter-long strips are knotted end-to-end to create a continuous yarn. Threads are dyed with natural and chemical pigments and woven. Raffia cloths's characteristic striped designs were achieved by weaving fibers dyed with natural and chemical pigments.

Raffia textiles remain popular in Madagascar where it continues to be used for wrappers, tailored clothing, and as fashion accessories such as hats and handbags. During the nineteenth century, coastal-grown raffia was traded in great quantities to the central highlands where textile fibers were in short supply. The highlanders spun, dyed and wove the raffia into a cloth so fine that it served as tribute to the sovereign.

Provenance

Purchased in Beforona village, Madagascar, 2000

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Credit Line

Museum purchase

2000

Object number

2000-13-48

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Textile and Fiber Arts

Medium

Raffia, dye

Dimensions

L x W: 70.6 x 64.1 cm (279 3/8 x 25 1/4 in.)

Geography

Beforona village, Madagascar

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

male

Record ID

nmafa_2000-13-48

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7d4fbcf7e-cbb9-4e9a-bbcc-bd4365733bfa