Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My First Kanga

Since I've come to Dar es Salaam, I've realized the great importance of having some sort of creative outlet for myself. Without taking photos as often as I would like, I feel completely unbalanced. Though this weekend I did manage to take some photos at the beach, it hasn't been enough. I need more. So I've been on a mission to find an art supply store (no luck yet) because I've always wanted to take up painting, but out of fear haven't yet. Therefore, until I can start painting and taking more photos, I've decided to design my own dresses.

This weekend I went to Uhuru Street in the centre of Dar es Salaam and bought my first Kanga. A kanga is a traditional Tanzanian garment consisting of 2 brightly painted pieces of cloth. You can either wear the kanga as a 'doti' (a borrowed Hindi word) or get it tailored into a two piece dress. It's about the wide as your arms outstretched and as long your neck to your knees. The interesting thing about kangas is that they each have a Swahili proverb printed at the bottom. Check out
this site for common sayings and the full history of the kanga. While I was shopping for one I found 2 REALLY interesting kangas. One was an outright political statement supporting the ruling party and the other had a huge picture of guess who....OBAMA! hahaha it cracked me up. I have yet to see a woman wearing it, but the minute I do I will surely try to get that picture.

I picture this as a knee length dress.

My kanga doesn't have Obama, but the Swahili proverb roughly translates to 'God is a shelter in moments of hardship'. I initially had gone to the stores with certain proverbs in mind, but of course I left it at the house so I just bought the one with a pattern and color I liked. Now I'm not the most religious person, but I find this saying quite fitting for my time here in Dar es Salaam. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something.


I think I'll cut that brown diamond in half and make it a neckline and the bottom brown bit the border at the bottom of the dress. Can't you see it?!?!

After I bought this Kanga, I found a man selling batik (tie-dye) fabric. I like the batik fabric much more, it has a natural feel to it. Kangas mostly have huge prints of flowers and leaves that can be a bit overwhelming.

Anyway, I decided that I would make a dress, but not in the style that the women here wear. Though the women look great, I don't think I would wear them much. Once I find a good tailor, I'll have 2 new dresses. Stay tuned for the results.




1 comment:

  1. Are you kidding me? An Obama Kanga print?! BUY THAT SHIT UP! Or at least humor me and send me a picture. For the love...who am I kidding? I'll send you Obama money and you can convert it to Tanzanian shillings and then when you return, we'll make the dress of my dreams! Saynora, Anthropologie...

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