by Joan K. Yanni
Four Kuba textiles—the
first African weavings in the permanent collection—have been acquired by the
Gallery and were unveiled at the opening of Royal Kuba Art.
When the exhibition ends, they will be on view (one at a time) in the African
gallery.
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| Unknown, Shoowa Velvet |
The textiles are
examples of "musese," also called "Shoowa velvet," or
"Kasai velvet," a high-quality, but pile-type of cloth worn by the
Kuba. Musese, like other Kuba textiles, is made of fibers from the raffia
palm, but it is by far the most luxurious. Indeed, the use of raffia for
cloth is unusual; in most of the rest of Africa, wool and cotton fibers are
used for textiles.
The "velvet"
fiber is made up of strips of the outer layer of the young leaves of dried
raffia. The raffia fiber is rubbed by hand or with pieces of wood,
beaten, then divided by a fine-tooth comb until it becomes very soft, supple
and silky—hardly resembling raffia at all. Traditionally the weaving is
done by men, who learn it at an early age. The women do the embroidering.
The raffia cloth which
forms the base of the velvet is dyed yellow, orange, red and sometimes violet
and purple. If it is meant for royalty, it is left in its natural state,
for white is the color of nobility. Vegetable dyes are used except in the
case of green, which is obtained from copper oxide. Work on one
high-quality velvet may last a year or more.
Once the fibers have
been woven into cloth, soft filaments are threaded in a needle, several at a
time, and caught in the fabric. Then, with a special razor, the filaments
are cut to about 1/16 of an inch on both sides of the weft to produce the pile.
The pile design may be surrounded by a back-stitch border. Musese is worn
by both men and women on state occasions, and is a symbol of the status.
It is also used as currency. Motifs embroidered in any Kuba cloth are done
without preliminary sketching, so that though the designs may be similar, no
two are exactly alike. The patterns are geometric and mala-like, often
using diamond or chevron designs. The motifs have names drawn from the
natural world, such as stones, smoke and Lion's paw.
The origin of weaving
among the Kuba has been said to date from the reign of King Shyaam (c.
1600). One story says that the king wanted a wife, and all the Kuba
maidens danced before him. A young girl named Kashasha had secretly
embroidered a skirt with magnificent designs which so dazzled the king that he
made her his queen.
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There are four objects
in the MAG collection, all in the same case that can be related to the Kuba
exhibition. The brass collar or necklace (68.106) is incised with
intricate geometric designs and would be worn by royalty in special
ceremonies. The ivory pendant, or amulet (51.114), would be given to a
young man as a badge of adulthood when he was admitted to the society of
men. The amulet has the stylized marks of large Pende masks:
half-closed eyes, small nose, small mouth. Highly prized, the piece would
be passed on or sold only after the owner's death.
The wooden double cup
(51.112) was used for drinking palm wine during the rituals. Two figures
on each side of the cup represent slaves who carry the cup. Designs
similar to those of the Kuba can be seen on the top of the cup. The mask
(72.54) is typical of Yaka culture from Zaire, and would be worn in ceremonies
to honor a particular spirit or to celebrate a special event.
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