Description: The design of this indigo cloth is known as ‘Sun Bebe’, recalling the sound and movement of the waist beads worn by women when dancing. The pattern is created using the adire eleko technique on two pieces of white fabric that have been sewn into a square. Adire is an indigo cloth produced through diverse resist dye methods by Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria. The eleko technique uses casseva starch paste to create freehand or stenciled designs on fabric before it is dyed. Areas where the paste is applied resist the indigo dye. Collected as part of the ‘Fashioning Africa’ project.
Creator: unknown
Place: Nigeria, West Africa, Africa
Date: c 1970