This 'adire eleko' cloth, patterned with the 'Ibadandun' (Ibadun is a pleasant place) design, was produced by a female Yoruba indigo-dyer during the 1950s or 1960s. Many high quality 'adire eleko' cloths are produced in Ibadun and the Ibadandun design, which is the most complex design, consists of a chequerboard pattern, in this cloth four rectangles across by seven down giving 28 sections in all; each rectangle is differently patterned, most with geometric designs of plants, animals and everyday objects.

Cloths like this were worn by either men or women, wrapped around the body and secured by twisting the ends of the cloth together. This is still the most common method of wearing adire cloths today. Since 1960 however, when Nigeria gained independence, the popularity of adire cloth has increased enormously. It is now also used for European-style clothing and head-ties, while special cloths are made for religious celebrations. This particular example may have been created for personal use or to sell at the market.

'Adire' refers to a cloth that has been patterned by the technique of resist dyeing with indigo. Yoruba women extract dye from the 'elu' (lonchocarpus cyanescens) vine. After collecting the vine leaves, the women pound them into a pulp, and form fist-sized balls. The process of dyeing that follows is lengthy, but essentially involves extracting the dye stuff from the 'elu' leaves as described, mixing them with a mordant (metallic salt dye fixative) extracted from ash, and then dyeing the cloth. The technique is taught to their daughters from a very young age by Yoruba mothers. During the dyeing, the women regularly make offerings to the Goddess Iya Mapo, who assists them throughout the process.

'Eleko' refers to the resist dye technique that involves the application of cassava paste to the surface of imported cotton cloth. The paste is made from cassava flour (or lafun) which is boiled with alum to form a thick starch. The design is hand painted, the paste being applied to the cloth wiith either a brush or a feather quill. During dyeing, the areas covered with dried starch paste resist the absorption of the indigo dye. When dyeing is complete, generally requiring several dips in the dye vat, the starch is scraped off leaving the cloth slightly stiff. The dry cloth is then placed over a flat log, and beaten with a wooden mallet which produces a high sheen on the cloth from the large amounts of indigo dye used.

The cloth is part of a collection of West African textiles, spindles, hand spun yarn and a thorn carving collected in West Africa by Dr C Marion Petrie. Dr Petrie was an employee of the British Colonial Service in Nigeria and Ghana between 1957 and 1966.

Yoruba indigo-dyed 'adire' cloth in 'Ibadandun' (pleasant place) design. This particular effect is achieved by using a hand-painted starch-resist technique. The cloth consists of two cloths in the same design, that have been sewn together. The design on each separate cloth is composed of 28 squares (7 squares long by 4 wide).

'Adire' refers to a cloth that has been patterned by the technique of resist dyeing with indigo. Yoruba women extract dye from the 'elu' (lonchocarpus cyanescens) vine. After collecting the vine leaves, the women pounded the them into a pulp, and formed a fist-sized balls. The process of dyeing that followed was lengthy, but essentially involved extracting the dye stuff from the 'elu' leaves in this way, mixing it with a mordant (metallic salt dye fixative) extracted from ash, and then dyeing the cloth. This process was taught to their daughters from a very young age by Yoruba mothers. During the dyeing, women regularly made offerings to the Goddess Iya Mapo, who assisted them throughout the process.

The 'adire eleko' patterns were achieved by applying cassava paste to the surface of imported cotton cloth. The paste was made from cassava flour (or lafun), which was boiled with alum to form a thick starch. As the design is hand painted, the paste would have then been applied to the cloth with either a brush or a feather quill. During the dyeing process, the areas covered with the now dried starch prevented the absorption of the indigo dye. After the dyeing process was completed, generally requiring several dips in the dye vat, the starch was scraped off leaving the cloth slightly stiff. After the cloth was dried, it was placed over a flat log, and beaten with a wooden mallet which produced a high sheen on the cloth from the large amounts of indigo dye used.

This 'adire eleko' cloth is patterned with the 'Ibadandun' design, which roughly translates as 'Ibadan is a pleasant place', or 'Ibadan is sweet or pleasant'. Many high quality 'adire eleko' cloths are produced in Ibadan and the Ibadandun pattern is the most complex of all 'adire' resist-dye patterns. The design on this cloth consists of four rows of seven squares or rectangles, 28 sections in all. Although each rectangle is differently patterned, most have geometric designs of plants, animals and everyday objects.

One recurring feature of the Ibadun pattern since 1945 is a pattern known as 'oke mapo' which shows the pillars of Mapo Hall, alternating with of spoons. This design features in the top left hand corner and depicts the Greek pillars of Mapo Hall, the town hall of Ibadan on Mapo hill. The number of pillar-spoon patterns is an indicator of quality; this cloth has four, making it medium quality.

The design second from the left is known as 'elye', or bird, and the design third from the left is known as 'aburanda', which is the Yoruba version of 'umbrella'. Fourth from the left is 'pele oyo', which is a facial mark common in areas of Oyo. On the second row, third from the left, is the pattern known as 'gilasi', which is the Yoruba translation of 'glass'. In the third row, first on the left, is the 'apamowo' design, or 'handbag' design. Second design to the left in the fifth row is the 'ibo' design, which is a name given to embroidery found on some men's gowns. The sixth row, first from the left, is the 'ogede were', or 'small banana' design. And finally, fourth from the left in the seventh row is the 'igi', or 'tree' design.

This 'adire eleko' cloth in the 'Ibadandun' design was produced by a female Yoruba indigo-dyer during the 1950s or 1960s. Cloths like this were worn by either men or women, wrapped around the body and secured by twisting the ends of the cloth together. This is still the most common method of wearing adire cloths today. Since 1960 however, when Nigeria gained independence, the popularity of adire cloth has increased enormously. It is now also used for European style clothing and head-ties, while special cloths are made for religious celebrations. This particular example may have been created for personal use or to sell at the market.

The cloth is part of a collection of 33 objects, consisting of West African textiles, spindles, hand spun yarn and a thorn carving, which were collected in West Africa between 1957 and 1966 by Dr C Marion Petrie. Dr Petrie was employed by the British Colonial Service in government and university posts in various towns in Nigeria and Ghana. She collected textiles and other items for her own enjoyment in markets and from traders and subsequently donated them to the National Textile Museum in Adelaide. When the National Textile Museum closed in 1999, this collection was transferred to the Powerhouse Museum.

Wrapper (adire eleko), Ibadandun design, cotton, hand-painted starch resist and indigo-dyed by a Yoruba woman, Western Nigeria, 1950-1966

An indigo-dyed 'adire eleko' cloth patterned with the 'Ibadandun' (pleasant place) design. This particular resist dye effect is achieved by using a hand-painted starch-resist technique. The cloth is composed of two lengths of Ibadandun design patterned fabric, sewn together leNgthways. The pattern on each separate length is composed of 28 squares (7 squares long by 4 wide), each filled with a variety of floral and geometric patterns.

Made: 1950 - 1966

2008/59/20

1950 - 1966