Sunday, December 12, 2010

Mud Cloth And Dogon Doors

Mud cloths for sale displayed on walls


Before we were taken for lunch at the one Dogon village, we were taken to another where they dyed the famous Malian mud cloth. This was done in vats of dye made from local plants and was extremely labour intensive. Malian mud cloth is made from cotton grown in Mali which is then laboriously spun and woven into strips. They are then sewn together and dyed in wonderful patterns. The final cloths are heavy and works of real beauty.

Vats of dye for the mud cloth, made
from local plants

Mud cloths, in various stages of the dying
process, drying in the sun

We were, of course, taken to inevitable area of the village where they were selling curios, most notably the famous Dogon doors, but firmly resisted buying anything as we'd already bought such a lot and the doors were really too heavy to take on the plane. Smaller versions of these doors are also used as window shutters.

A carved Dogon window shutter

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