Kanga (African garment)

This article is about the African garment. For other uses, see Kanga.
Not to be confused with the Kangha, a small comb used by Sikhs
Kanga (Tanzania, 2011)
A simplified illustration of a kanga. (1) pindo; (2) mji; (3) jina. The jina of this kanga is Bahati ni upepo sasa upo kwangu, which can be translated as "Luck is like the (blowing of the) wind, now it is on my side"

The kanga (or khanga; from the old Bantu (Kiswahili) verb ku-kanga, to wrap or close), is a colourful garment similar to kitenge, worn by women and occasionally by men throughout the African Great Lakes region. It is a piece of printed cotton fabric, about 1.5 m by 1 m, often with a border along all four sides (called pindo in Swahili), and a central part (mji) which differs in design from the borders.

Origins

A woman wearing kanga in Siyu on Pate Island, Kenya.

Kangas have for as long as is known been a traditional type of dress amongst women in the African Great Lakes region. Toward the eastern part of the region, phrases in Kiswahili are traditional, while in central areas phrases in both Kiswahili and Lingala are popular. Kangas are also often referred to as lesos.

Communication vehicle

Kangas drying on a line in Paje, Zanzibar, Tanzania

One of the longer edges of the mji features a strip which contains a message in Swahili, or less commonly in Arabic or Comorian. Other countries which produce their own Kangas write the Kanga messages/names in their main languages: in Madagascar (Malagasy Republic) where they are known as lambas, they feature ohabolana, traditional proverbs written in Malagasy; they are also produced in Zambia and Malawi. This message is called the jina (literally 'name') of the kanga. Messages are often in the form of riddles or proverbs. Some examples:

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Alphabetical List of Inscriptions and Their Translations: Kanga & Kitenge: Cloth and Culture in East Africa" (PDF). Erie Art Museum. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  2. ↑ Howden, Daniel (14 November 2009). "Kangalicious: Let your dress do the talking". The Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2009. Anyone wearing a kanga with the proverb Fimbo La Mnyonge Halina Nguvu" (Might is Right) may know something about the darker side of the garment's journey from the coast into the interior.

References

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