A cotton cloth coloured with a dyeing technique mainly used among the Yoruba people: the Adire. Fabrics made according to the original dyeing methods still resist today in the country’s markets, despite the textile industry being put in crisis by the cheaper ones imported from China.
Adire cloth is made by Nigerian women using the tie-and-dye technique. It involves folding the fabric, tying it and sewing it by hand in specific ways and places before dipping it in coloured, usually natural dyes. The result is patterns of different workmanship, simpler or more complex.
Each sign is not random but contains stories, symbols or concepts related to the spiritual dimension. Among the traditional methods is the tying of raffia around the fabric, a process known as àdìrẹ oniko. This tying is then responsible for a huge variety of patterns. Other methods also consist of tying small stones or seeds into the fabric to make small circles.
The fabric is used to make traditional clothes that Nigerians wear for special occasions, weddings and parties. The term àdìrẹ means “tie and dye” in Yoruba and was first used in the early 20th century. Usually, two pieces of fabric were sewn together to create clothing for women.
Traditionally entrusted to women, the process of making adire fabric involves two dyers called “alaro” who take care of the production and marketing of the fabric and decorators called “aladire”. The basic techniques are used to create white lines and designs that emerge on a saturated indigo blue background.
The southwestern city of Abeokuta is still called the capital of Adire, a point of reference and home to nearly 2,000 traders and producers. But in recent years, producers and traders of this fabric have been in crisis. The main problem seems to be Chinese competition, which produces large quantities of fabrics with the help of machines, without following the traditional handmade method. A step that local weavers refuse: “It would damage the tradition and originality of the products,” explains Amosa, an adire trader.
But it is not only competition that puts a spoke in the wheels of traditional production. People are buying less traditional fabrics and preferring cheaper ones because of the cost of living that has struck Nigeria in recent years. (Photo: Yoruba women wearing adire clothing.CC BY-SA 4.0/Durati) – (Claudia Volonterio/Africa)
