Morning Chaios!
When I tell you I was mind blown finding out that Ankara print wasn't curated in Africa... Sis...
I said, noooo! This CANNOT be true!! Issa lie! But nope, it's true. The Ankara print that we ALL know and LOVE was curated in the Netherlands by Pieter Fentener van Vlissingen. He is also the founder of the @vlisco group. Pieter heard from his uncle that there was a pressing need for affordable fabrics in West Africa.
Thankfully, roller printing made it possible to create the batik look faster than the local craftsmen. 🤓😯
I did some research, and I discovered that they originally tried to sell the print in Indonesia and Europe to no avail because the people there weren't interested...
However, the fabrics were then used for bartering during stopovers in Western Africa. Since the Dutch had been dealing in European luxury goods with West Africans since the late Middle Ages, it seemed super smart to move selling activities to that region. Another reason that ankara fabric became popular is because of the Belanda Hitam, Ghanaian soldiers who served in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army who returned home between 1837 and 1872 and brought the fabrics with them.
Once the soldiers returned back to Ghana, Vlisco Designs and Fabrics exponentially grew in popularity, and ankara has become an essential part of African style and culture across all social classes and can be worn on any occasion.
Today, Vlisco Fabrics are mass produced in Ghana and in the Ivory Coast.
I personally don't care that my beloved Ankara print isn't African. Yes, I was a little disappointed, but issok...
Do you have ankara print? Were you just as SHOOKETH as I was? Talk to me gyal...
Recently, it has been brought to my attention that ANKARA print is INDEED African. Chale, the way my head was spinning when I read the article that one of my lovely subscribers sent me. Basically, here's the tea...
Vlisco intentionally implanted themselves in Togo, West Africa way back in 1846. If that's true, then why are Africans always depicted as naked and primitive when in fact we were ALWAYS clothed? The New York Times LIED to us saying that Ankara was entirely Dutch when that couldn't be FURTHER from the truth. Yeah, I know my head hurts too sis...
Back in the 1300s, Africa had a rich textile industry called Kankan Moussa. This industry clothed the African king Mansa Musa in cotton woven with golden threads during his pilgrimage to the Mecca.
Have you heard of the Kanembu clothing tradition? Me neither. Basically, it's from the Kanem-Bornu Empire linking to ancient Chad, Libya, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria which dates back to the 800s.
If all this is written in history, then my question is: why were we made to believe that Wax Hollandais is the only fabric worn by Africans, when it has also been recorded that the Bogolan (cloth pictured below) can be traced to weavers in Mali, and my beloved Kente cloth has been apart of my home country Ghana for centuries?
Why would media outlets like The New York Times and BBC depict Africans as naked uncivilized human beings when in fact, we are VERY civilized, highly intelligent, and intellectual beings?
My head hurts y'all... This is too much for me. I encourage you to ALWAYS do your googles, read as much as possible, and most importantly, FACT CHECK in all that you do. Not saying that what I previously shared was inaccurate information, it just wasn't complete.
How did this make you feel? I'm a bit upset, but we move. In fact, I'm calling the police. (Too soon? Yeah, you right.)
Later,
Ama x
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Here's some #stylespiration sis. ENJOY!
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