Get to know kanga as a powerful communication tool

By Emilie Authier

Dar es Salaam. Most African countries are recognised by the dressing codes, the same is true of kanga worn in most East African Countries especially Tanzania.

Kanga is an iconic fabric and the traditional Swahili garment with a rectangular shape, vibrant in colour and usually adorned with messages addressing different topics including those embodying the voice of women in the Swahili society.

Kanga, or the guinea fowl in English comes from the initial appearance of these fabrics, which evoked the plumage of the bird.

Since then, Kanga patterns have continually evolved, giving way to varied, abstract, or more elaborate designs, where often vibrant colours intertwine in harmonious symbiosis.

Although the origins of the Kanga are still uncertain to date, it is commonly accepted that this fabric appeared in the mid-19th century on the island of Zanzibar.

At that time, women from the coastal regions of Tanzania and Kenya began dyeing pieces of cloth called "lesso" in Portuguese and assembling them to create new garments.

A few years later, traders from Zanzibar started importing fabrics from India, Europe, and the Indian Ocean. Thus, the kanga comes from a cultural "co-production," with patterns sometimes inspired by Persian carpets, English books, as well as objects or African ceremonial garments.

Some people assert that kanga also became particularly popular in Zanzibar in the early 20th century during the abolition of the slave trade, as former detainees sought to redefine themselves as "fashionable" individuals.

The first inscriptions on kangas date back to the 1920s when they were initiated by Kaderdina Hajee Essak, a merchant from Mombasa. The earliest inscriptions on Kangas were in Arabic. Swahili or English phrases in Roman script then appeared in the 1960s.

Today, the message on the Kanga is often extracted from famous poems or popular proverbs and is chosen according to the person for whom the kanga is intended and respective occasions such as religion, love, education, money, and greetings, among others.

The significant meaning of the Kanga in East Africa is what initially motivated Delphine Blast, a French photographer, who works on various social issues with a focus on women’s roles and their emancipation all over the world, to create the project titled 'Kanga Tales, Women Stories,' highlighting Swahili culture through the portraits of 27 women, dressed in kangas.

The opening of her exhibition took place on June 19, 2024, at the French Alliance in Dar es Salaam. This opening was preceded by a conference entitled “Unveiling the Stories: The Cultural and Social Significance of Kanga in Tanzania and Zanzibar."

These portraits were framed with passe-partout mounts featuring oval openings decorated with kanga patterns and messages in Swahili, typical of the fabric's use in the region. The entire collection is presented in carved wooden frames from Zanzibar, which Delphine Blast has enhanced with bright colors.

However, more than just a passion for photography, Ms Blast says she is dedicated to the significance of the fabric, having devoted the past two years to it. "Through my experiences, I realised the correlation between traditional clothing and women's freedom of speech.”

“It is often a tool for communication and expression, almost exclusively used by women in patriarchal societies. I like fashion when it has meaning, I like to use form to serve the content, using aesthetics to convey a message,” she said.

"In my project, Kanga Tales Women Stories, photography is a real bridge between the local people and me, but it is also a bridge between these locals and those who discover my work,” she added.

Furthermore, she said very few people know about the culture of others, so photography allows her to talk about it.

With passion, admiration, and emotion, Ms. Blast concluded, “Clothes carry a cultural identity, and I find it wonderful that women continue to wear these clothes in the face of the growing Western influence due to globalization. This photo work also gives me the feeling, in my humble capacity, of anchoring these traditions in time.”