Kuba Skirt #4A

Old Kuba skirt made using checkerboard piecing technique
The Kuba people of Zaire weave a wide variety of cloth made from rafia, a natural fiber from palm leaves. The material is stripped into very fine threads, soaked and pounded to make them flexible, and dyed in vegetal or mineral pigments to create a variety of colors. The Kuba employ a variety of weaving and decoration techniques. This skirt uses small pieces sewn together to achieve the desired geometric designs.

This old Kuba skirt is woven of natural rafia fiber, and is believed to date from about 1960. I bought it from a large collection of garments collected by a man who lived in Zaire in the 1980s.

Dimensions are about 26 inches wide and 104 inches long. It was made from multiple approximately square pieces of equal size, joined at the edges using natural rafia thread. A border of narrow strips with an attached fringe was then attached by hand using rafia thread. Two of the light-colored squares contain a name written in magic marker, possibly that of the weaver -- "DEB IRO" in one and "DEB" in the other.

Overall condition is Very Good, with no large flaws apparent, with only some light wear and slight soil possible. With the photos below, the first two photos are of the different halves of the garment, the final photo a close-up showing the weaving technique.