Wax fabric: A little piece of History
Share
𝗪𝗮𝘅 𝗳𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁?
The wax fabric is a 100% cotton fabric made in a very specific way with multiple colours and shimmering patterns.
Depending of regions, the fabric also known as “pagne Africain” or “Dutch wax”, goes by numerous names. Like for instance in West Africa they will call it "Ankara", in East Africa "Kitenge" or "Liputa" in Central Africa.
The wax's origin lays in Indonesia. During the colonial period (Dutch-Indonesia), West African soldiers were in awe of the fabrics and they started to import those fabrics into the African continent. In the mid-1800s, the Dutch replicated the fabrics by using modern machines. And today they are one of the main producers of this fabric in Europe.
Nowadays, countries like Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana and many others have their own factories.
Those local factories produces and designs wax fabrics and this since the mid-1900s. By having those factories all over the continent, it gives many people the opportunity to buy 100% African made wax.
Alongside African wax, the continent is home to other well-known textile treasures. Such as "KENTE" (Ghana), "BATIK" (Togo, Nigeria & Cameroon), "BOGOLAN" (Mali), "BAZIN" (Senegal, Mali) and others.