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Bògòlanfini (sometimes bogolan) is a traditional Malian fabric dyed with fermented mud, particularly associated with the Bambara. The name is a Bambara word meaning "earthcloth."
In the creation of bògòlanfini, simple cotton cloth is woven, shrunk, and then soaked in a preparation of leaves from certain trees. An artist then outlines an intricate design with a mud dye, often taking several weeks to cover the entire cloth. Yellowish areas of mud are then treated with a caustic soda, bleaching them back to white for a stark black and white design. Traditionally, a man will do the weaving while a woman will do the dyeing.
In recent years, fashion designers such as Chris Seydou have employed bògòlanfini in international clothing lines, while Malian painter Ishmael Diabate has developed it as a fine art form.
Converse shoes will use Bògòlanfini to make sports shoes under the charitable Product Red brand.
External links
- Introduction to Malian Bogolan Mud Cloth
- Smithsonian flash site on bògòlanfini
- Ndomo Bogolan Association
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