Cloth in West African History: : African Archaeology Series Colleen E. Kriger AltaMira Press

Cloth in West African History

Description

In this holistic approach to the study of textiles and their makers, Colleen Kriger charts the role cotton has played in commercial, community, and labor settings in West Africa. By paying close attention to the details of how people made, exchanged, and wore cotton cloth from before industrialization in Europe to the twentieth century, she is able to demonstrate some of the cultural effects of Africa's long involvement in trading contacts with Muslim societies and with Europe. Cloth in West African History thus offers a fresh perspective on the history of the region and on the local, regional, and global processes that shaped it. A variety of readers will find its account and insights into the African past and culture valuable, and will appreciate the connections made between the local concerns of small-scale weavers in African villages, the emergence of an indigenous textile industry, and its integration into international networks.

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Foreword
Chapter 3 Glossary of Technical Terms
Chapter 4 Chapter 1: Introduction: Cloth in History
Chapter 5 Chapter 2: From Kings and Priests to Brides
Chapter 6 Chapter 3: Muslim Garments and the Morality of Dress
Chapter 7 Chapter 4: The Worlds of Indigo Blue
Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Concluions: Textiles, Culture, and Historical Change
Chapter 9 References

Product details

Published	Jun 08 2006
Format	Hardback
Edition	1st
Extent	240
ISBN	9780759104211
Imprint	AltaMira Press
Dimensions	9 x 7 inches
Series	African Archaeology Series
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Recommended. All levels/libraries.

Choice Reviews
This book is a 'must read' for scholars and students fascinated by African textiles as well as anyone who wants to learn more about West Africa. Cloth was and continues to be highly prized by West African peoples, and this study provides evidence that weaving, dyeing, and sewing pre-dated contact with Europeans. Kriger brings to her research a background mix of being trained both as an artist as well as a historian. I much admire her work.

Joanne B. Eicher, University of Minnesota; editor of Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion
This book will definitely satisy historians of technology; it offers a state-of-the-art view of what we know about the history of cloth in West Africa, always explained in outstanding technical detail... <Cloth in West African History sets a new very high standard for the study of textiles in Africa-or really for any part of the world....

Heather Marie Akou, Technology and Culture
By focusing on the appearance and production of three West African textiles, Kriger also clarifies connections between embellished cloth and politics, which vividly show how textiles articulate with general historical trends and events in the Niger basin area.

E.P. Renne, University of Michigan, Choice Reviews
This is an outstanding work that turns textile production into textile narratives, a seamless weaving together of the evidence on looms and dyeing to create a brilliant history of textiles as a beautiful garment of a book. Rich analyses embroider a compelling presentation that reveals the author's power to thread together the extensive region of the Lower Niger and the Guinea Coast. As textiles become words of wisdom, we learn about the garments of kings and priests, brides and bridegrooms, and what attire can teach us about Islam and morality, trade and ideas, history and culture.

Toyin Falola
This book will definitely satisy historians of technology; it offers a state-of-the-art view of what we know about the history of cloth in West Africa, always explained in outstanding technical detail... sets a new very high standard for the study of textiles in Africa-or really for any part of the world.

Heather Marie Akou, Technology and Culture