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Kanga, kangas wrapping cloth, leso, lesso
***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity
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Explanation
The colour orange is very popular in Kenyan textiles, particularly among the Kikuyus and Maasais. Traditional wraparound cloths, called kanga, often use yellow and orange patters in the ever changing designs.
There is a famous book called "100 uses for a kanga" -- and there are at least that many, probably many more!
Text and photo : Isabelle Prondzynski
. More photos of kanga .
Similar cloths are the kikoi and the kitenge.
. . . . .
The words lesso and kanga or khanga have now been officially accepted as English words, and now they can be found in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 8th Edition page 819.
Patrick Wafula
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quote
History of Kanga
Kangas originated on the coast of East Africa in the mid 19th century. As the story goes, some stylish ladies in Zanzibar got the idea of buying printed kerchiefs in lengths of six, from the bolt of cotton cloth from which kerchiefs were usually cut off and sold singly. They then cut the six into two lengths of three, and sewed these together along one side to make 3-by-2 sheet; or bought different kinds of kerchiefs and sewed them back together to form very individualistic designs.
The new design was called "leso" after the kerchief squares that had originally been brought to Africa by Portuguese traders. The leso quickly became popular than the other kind of patterned cloth available. Before long, enterprising coastal shopkeepers sent away for special designs, printed like the six-together leso pieces, but as a single unit of cloth.
These early designs probably had a border and a pattern of white spots on a dark background. The buyers (or more likely, their menfolk !) quickly came to call these cloths "KANGA" after the noisy, sociable guinea-fowl with its elegant spotty plumage.
Early this century, Swahili sayings were added to kangas. Supposedly this fashion was started by a locally famous trader in Mombasa, Kaderdina Hajee Essak, also known as "Abdulla". His many kanga designs, formerly distinguished by the mark "K.H.E. - Mali ya Abdulla", often included a proverb. At first, the sayings, aphorisms or slogans were printed in Arabic script, later in Roman letters. Many of them have the added charm (or frustration!) of being obscure or ambiguous in their meaning. If you find a motto that you can't figure out, ask several different Swahili speakers. You will get an equal number of different explanations! Some typical kanga sayings are listed on the following page, for your edification and enjoyment.
source : www.glcom.com/hassan / Swahili language and culture
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Worldwide use
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Things found on the way
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HAIKU
cold July evening --
market women wrap kangas
round their necks
Patrick Wafula, Kenya, 2009
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quick nap-
she burns her kanga
on a jiko
joseph nzilili
September 2010
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Sunday afternoon-
she carries her child
in a leso
Sibiko Yamame
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cold breeze-
mother covers her child
with a khanga
Mercy Amunze
June 2012
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Related words
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