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Kanga (African garment)
 
 
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The kanga (sometimes khanga, meaning "guinea hen" in Swahili, for its brilliant colors) is a colourful garment similar to kitenge
Kitenge

Kitenge or chitenge is an African garment similar to sarong, often worn by women wrapped around the chest or waist, over the head as a headscarf, or as a baby sling....
, worn by women and occasionally by men throughout Eastern Africa
East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN subregion, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. It is a piece of printed cotton
Cotton

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa....
 fabric
Textile

A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by Spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn....
, about 1,5m by 1m, often with a border along all four sides (called pindo in Swahili
Swahili language

Swahili is the first language of the Swahili people , who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands....
, the East African lingua franca
Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
), and a central part (mji) which differs in design from the borders.






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Kanga
The kanga (sometimes khanga, meaning "guinea hen" in Swahili, for its brilliant colors) is a colourful garment similar to kitenge
Kitenge

Kitenge or chitenge is an African garment similar to sarong, often worn by women wrapped around the chest or waist, over the head as a headscarf, or as a baby sling....
, worn by women and occasionally by men throughout Eastern Africa
East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN subregion, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. It is a piece of printed cotton
Cotton

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa....
 fabric
Textile

A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by Spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands known as yarn....
, about 1,5m by 1m, often with a border along all four sides (called pindo in Swahili
Swahili language

Swahili is the first language of the Swahili people , who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands....
, the East African lingua franca
Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
), and a central part (mji) which differs in design from the borders. Kangas are usually very colorful.

Origins

Kangas Drying in Zanzibar
Kangas were inspired on Portuguese traders' "lenço" (handkerchief) which is still the name.The Indian traders in Mombasa and Zanzibar used to cut up rolls of scarves in the size of a Kanga and it seems that they got the idea of having designs made in this size. The first Kangas would have been without any writing, but it is thought that the words may have been added to the design around 1910. Kangas are sometimes referred to in East Africa. The kanga was in the past confined to coastal communities (e.g. Zanzibar
Zanzibar

Zanzibar is part of the East African republic of Tanzania. It consists of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25?50 km off the coast of the mainland....
). Nowadays it is worn throughout Tanzania
Tanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country in East Africa that is bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south....
 and other parts of East Africa. Madagascar also has Kangas, with the writing in the Malgache language.

Communication vehicle

One of the longer edges of the mji features a strip which contains a message in Swahili, or less commonly in Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
 or Comorian
Comorian language

Comorian is the most widely used language on the Comoros and Mayotte. It is a close relative of Swahili with a very strong Arabic language influence....
. Other countries which produce their own Kangas write the Kanga messages / names in their main languages - in Madagascar
Madagascar

Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the List of islands by area, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are Endemism to Madagascar....
 (Malagasy Republic) they are written in Malagasy
Malagasy language

This article is about the Malagasy language. For the Malagasy ethnic group, see Malagasy people. For the residents or citizens of Madagascar, see Demographics of Madagascar...
; they are also produced in Zambia
Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
 and Malawi
Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west....
. This message is called the jina (literally 'name') of the kanga. Messages are often in the form of riddles or proverbs. Some examples:
  • Wema hauozi — Kindness is never wasted
  • Kawia ufike — Better late than never
  • Riziki Ya Mtu Hupangwa Na Mungu — One's fortunes are planned by God
    God

    God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
     
  • Mimi Na Wangu Wewe Na Wako Chuki Ya Nini — I have mine and you have yours -- why the fuss?
  • Sisi Sote Abiria Dereva Ni Mungu — In this world we are all passengers, God is the driver
  • Fimbo La Mnyonge Halina Nguvu — Might is right
  • Liya Na Tabia Yako Usilaumu Wenzako — Do not blame others for problems you have created yourself
  • Naogopa Simba
    Simba

    Simba is a lion character and the protagonist of one of The Walt Disney Company most famous animated feature films, The Lion King. He is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi, nephew of Scar , mate of Nala and father of Kopa and Kiara ....
     Na Meno Yake, Siogopi Mtu Kwa Maneno Yake     — I fear the lion for its jaws, I do not fear man for his words


See also

  • Sarong
    Sarong

    A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of textile, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands....
  • Lungi
    Lungi

    The lungi is a garment worn around the waist in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar . While its origin is found in India culture, it is worn by diverse communities across Southern Asia....


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