{"id":11776,"date":"2026-08-28T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/?p=11776"},"modified":"2026-08-20T15:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T14:49:11","slug":"dr-congo-kuba-the-fabric-of-illumination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/08\/28\/dr-congo-kuba-the-fabric-of-illumination\/","title":{"rendered":"DR. Congo. Kuba, The Fabric of Illumination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kuba, a fabric produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo for hundreds of years, survives today thanks to the talent and skill of local artisans who keep the tradition alive.<\/em><\/p>\n

Its origins can be traced back to the 17th century, when it began to be made in the then-Kuba kingdom.<\/p>\n

The highly elaborate and complex technique is a collection of secrets passed down from generation to generation. The word “Kuba” means “illumination” and harks back to the blades once used by warriors.<\/p>\n

Weaving is an art of great importance to the Kuba people, and this precious weave, made from a fibre extracted from the raffia palm, was initially intended for ceremonial attire for royalty. Over time, it came to reflect the wearer’s social status and wealth.<\/p>\n

Kuba fabrics are traditionally made by men, who weave the fibres on small handlooms, shaping them into square units. Before being worked on the loom, the raffia fibres are softened and coloured with natural pigments, taking on shades of red, ivory, or blue.<\/p>\n

After weaving, women take over the embroidery. Completing the squares is a lengthy process that can take up to three months and, combined with the decorations, guarantees a result based on geometric or abstract shapes. In addition to being used as ceremonial garments, these ancient fabrics have also served as mats, blankets, headdresses, or trade goods.<\/p>\n

The beauty of these fabrics also comes from the decorations applied in the final stage, such as embroidery, shells, and designs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kente cloth, a World Heritage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kente cloth is the national fabric of Ghana and is very popular among the Akan people throughout West Africa.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Akan call it nwentoma,<\/em> or woven cloth, and it is made by intertwining strips of silk and cotton yarn and sewing them together. The strip weaving technique dates back to the 11th century in West Africa.<\/p>\n

Kente cloth features distinctive multicoloured geometric patterns. It was and still is the fabric of kings, and in the past, gold thread was incorporated to create sumptuous robes for the Ashanti royal family. Hand-woven kente cloth is used for ceremonial wear on special occasions.<\/p>\n

Each design tells a story about a person or event. Some fabrics are named after historical events, such as Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1961, or natural phenomena such as a rainbow or a rising sun.<\/p>\n

Every new kente design is registered and copyrighted. There are over 300 different Kente cloth patterns.<\/p>\n

Colours and patterns also have important meaning. Colours reflect concepts such as wealth (gold), love (blue), or purity (silver). Black represents spiritual energy and ageing, while white reflects purity. Among the Ewe and Ashanti, black-and-white kente cloths are worn at funerals to celebrate life and mourn death.<\/p>\n

Kente cloth has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Pixabay<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kuba, a fabric produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo for hundreds of years, survives today thanks to the talent and skill of local artisans who keep the tradition alive. Its origins can be traced back to the 17th century, when it began to be made in the then-Kuba kingdom. The highly elaborate and complex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11779,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11776\/revisions\/11779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}