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Dashiki
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The dashiki is a colorful men's garment widely worn in West Africa that covers the top half of the body. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. Traditional female attire is called a caftan, or kaftan. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar, and tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines.
dashiki found a market in America during the Black cultural and political struggles in the 1960s.
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Encyclopedia
The dashiki is a colorful men's garment widely worn in West Africa that covers the top half of the body. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored suits. Traditional female attire is called a caftan, or kaftan. A common form is a loose-fitting pullover garment, with an ornate V-shaped collar, and tailored and embroidered neck and sleeve lines.
The dashiki in the West
The dashiki found a market in America during the Black cultural and political struggles in the 1960s. A prototype was developed in 1967 by Jason Benning, Milton Clarke, Howard Davis, and William Smith. These young professionals formed a company called New Breed to produce dashikis. It was located in a 2-room clothing store at 147th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in the Harlem section of Manhattan.
The dashiki was featured in the movie Putney Swope (1969) and the weekly television series Soul Train (1971). Articles on New Breed appeared in Ebony Magazine and the New York Times (4/20/69). Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bill Russell were among the well-known Black athletes and entertainers who wore the dashiki on talk shows.
The term dashiki begins appearing in print at least as early as mid-1968: an article by Faith Berry in the New York Times Magazine includes it, on July 7, 1968. Reporting on the 1967 Newark riots in the Amsterdam News on July 22, 1967, George Barner refers to a new African garment called a "danshiki." "Dashiki" first appeared in the Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1st College Edition 1970/72.
Former District of Columbia mayor and current councilmember Marion Barry is famous for wearing the dashiki at various times, particularly in the time period leading up to elections. More recently he has donned a modified dashiki that combines the traditional form with a Western-style button-down shirt.
Dashiki versions
The informal version is a traditional print or embroidered dashiki. Two formal versions exist. The first type, popular among Christians, Muslims, and followers of African traditional religion, consists of a dashiki, matching hat (see kufi), and matching drawstring pants (spelled sokoto, pronounced show-cowtow). Normally called a dashiki suit or dashiki pant set, it is worn by grooms at weddings. The second type, popular among Nigerians and Muslims, consists of a dashiki, and matching pants. A flowing robe is worn over these. This type is called a Grand Boubou in various Francophone countries. In the English speaking world, it is called an Agbada, see the Grand boubou article for further information.
There are several different styles of dashiki suits available from African clothing stores. The type of shirt included in the set determines the name. The traditional dashiki suit includes a thigh length shirt. The short sleeve, traditional style is preferred by purists. A long dashiki suit includes a shirt that is knee length or longer. However, if the shirt reaches the ankles, it is called a robe or Senegalese kaftan. Finally, the lace dashiki suit includes a shirt made of lace.
Wedding colors
White is the traditional color for West African weddings. Most grooms wear white dashiki suits during wedding ceremonies. For Christians, white represents purity and salvation. A passage in the Christian Bible, Revelation 7:9-17, equates white garments with salvation. For Muslims, white represents purity and equality among believers, see ummah. The bride's attire is a woman's kaftan, or buba (blouse) and skirt set, see wrapper, that is the same color as the groom's dashiki. Some couples wear non-traditional colors. The most common non-traditional colors are purple and blue.
- Purple and lavender: the color of African royalty
- Blue: blue is the color of love, peace, and harmony
Funeral colors
It is taboo for couples to wear funeral colors during weddings. Black and red are the colors of mourning.
- Red: honors the blood shed by slaves during captivity, and political struggle
- Black: black garments represent death and communion with the ancestors
Kwanzaa
African-Americans wear any color and style of dashiki during Kwanzaa celebrations. Many African-Americans are of West African ancestry, (see Atlantic slave trade).
Etymology
Dashiki is a Yoruba word that means shirt. The cap worn with a dashiki is named after the city of Kufi, pronounced coo-FEE, Nigeria. The word kufi means crown. The name for the pants worn with a dashiki is also derived from a city in Nigeria, namely Sokoto.
The dashiki today
Formal and festival dashiki styles are often seen on special occasions in West Africa (see Grand boubou). Perhaps due to immigration, the formal dashiki is also in common use in large Western cities. Many dashikis can be seen at houses of worship during holidays, for example, at the end of Ramadan at New York's 92nd Street mosque, and the dashiki is frequently worn at weddings, graduations, and other special occasions.
See also
External links
- A wedding in Liberia Click "next" to see more photos
- A wedding photo from Nigeria In this photo, the groom is wearing a lace dashiki. The bride is wearing a lace Buba (blouse).
- A wedding photo from Zimbabwe
- African wedding photo
- Photos of a funeral in Ghana, West Africa
- African wedding customs
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