WHAT IS HANDICRAFT?

HANDICRAFT
SOMETHING YOU MAKE WITH YOUR OWN HANDS, ESPECIALLY AN ORNAMENT OR DECORATION, IS
A HANDICRAFT. YOU MIGHT BUY SOME LOCAL HANDICRAFTS ON YOUR TRIP TO MEXICO, LIKE WOVEN
BAGS OR HANDMADE TOYS, AS GIFTS FOR YOUR FAMILY.

AFRICA
WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ART FORMS IN AFRICA?
MASQUERADE, METALWORK, SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE, FIBER ART, AND DANCE ARE IMPORTANT ART
FORMS ACROSS AFRICA AND MAY BE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY OF AFRICAN ART.
 AFRICAN CRAFT
IMMEDIATELY, WITH THE PHRASE 'AFRICAN CRAFT' ONE ENTERS INTO
THE REALM OF: 
WHAT CONSTITUTES 'ART ' AND WHAT IS 'CRAFT' ?
CRAFT  IS ESSENTIALLY THE PRODUCTION OF AN ITEM THAT REQUIRES SKILL TO PRODUCE IT. THIS
MAKES MOST 'ART' CRAFT......DOES IT MAKE CRAFT 'ART'? 

A NEVER-ENDING DISCOURSE THAT WILL, ONE SUSPECTS, CONTINUE TO BE HEATEDLY DEBATED FOR ALL
TIME!

A LOT OF THE ARGUMENT ARISES BECAUSE, IN THE INITIAL DIALOGUE, WESTERNERS DECIDED THAT
AFRICA HAD NO 'ART' AS THEY KNEW IT WHICH WAS PRIMARILY BASED UPON PAINTING AND
REPRESENTATIONAL ART.
The following represent the major forms of
African craft...
•Pottery/Ceramics
•Beadwork
•Basketry
•Dolls
•Metalware
•Masquerade
•Sculpture
 AFRICAN POTTERY/CERAMIC
Pottery making is a very ancient craft in Africa, as some of the oldest pottery
remains known in the world were discovered on this continent. Dating from
around 10,000 BCE – i.e., one or two millennia after the inception of the Jomon
pottery in Japan – they were excavated in the Aïr Region of Niger (
West Africa) (Haour 2003).
Ceramic container, Mangbetu tribe, Zaire, Pottery traces the very thread of
existence of Africa's inhabitants. Pots are like data, they provide insight into
the cultural interchanges of African societies; the life they led, the paths they
trod, the needs they had and the skills they possessed.
AFRICAN BEADWORK
Beads are among the most intriguing and important symbols in African
culture, past and present.

The materials used in making beads/beadwork are of the largest variety,

from bone to glass. The colours and sizes, the significance of the materials
chosen, the placement of beads (on the body, clothing or articles) among
other uses, and of course the “subjectivity” of the person using beads
denote perspective, experience, feelings, beliefs, desires, and/or power.
Basket making in Africa is an ancient skill that has survived to this day.
Not only does it continue to play an integral part in modern community life but in some countries it has
evolved to a highly expressive contemporary art form. 
African basketry is a dynamic craft, altered by social changes and shaped by both environmental and
economic factors. Traditionally, shapes and weaves were determined largely by the uses for what the
baskets were intended.
Nowadays, while the methods of basket making are still held in regard, the materials have significantly
changed from natural fibers to include man-made creations like plastic, wire and recycled products.

The production processes of basket making include:

•coiling,  in which thin strips are wrapped around coils of grass
and sewn together in a spiral fashion          
•plaiting
•twining
•cross or chequerboard weaving techniques
 AFRICAN DOLLS
African dolls across the continent are created for young girls to play with and as a
charm to ensure fertility in women. Their shape and costume vary according to region
and custom. Frequently dolls are handed down from mother to daughter. Western dolls
are popular in Africa and are often dressed with traditional garb.

When the doll concept is considered in the context of African culture, they are usually
not children's playthings, but rather objects that are laden with ritual and religious
associations within the community. African dolls are used to teach, and entertain. They
are supernatural intermediaries and they are manipulated for ritual purposes. Each of
these dolls is unique because they are handmade and are traditionally handed down
through generations.
AFRICAN METALWORK
In Africa jewelry was fashioned from gold and silver as well as from nonprecious metals;
heavy neck rings, anklets, and bracelets, for example, were made of forged iron or cast
brass. Except for iron, metals were usually associated with prestige and/or leadership.

Metals were also used for utilitarian objects such as Asante cast-brass weights (for
weighing gold dust), which depict humans, other animals, vegetables, and geometric
forms. The Nupe were excellent metalworkers, manufacturing a variety of vessels
decorated with embossed designs.
Masquerades are a very important part of African culture. Initially, in some African cultures,
these masquerades formed part of religious ceremonies. When Africans emigrated to other
parts of the world, they carried this aspect of culture with them.

Some examples of the retention of masquerades in the African diaspora include Egungun
masquerades; Jonkonnu in the Bahamas; Crop Over in Barbados; Carnival in Trinidad and
Tobago, other parts of the Caribbean, and Brazil; Caribana and Cariwest in Canada; and the
Notting Hill Carnival in England. In this module, you will learn about the Egungun
masquerades, Jonkonnu, and Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have
not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are
found from a number of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many
peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized. 

There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin depending on
the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is most common among
"groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers" in West
Africa.
African textiles were often made of animal hair and woven. ... They are made of wool
or fine animal hair in a weft-faced plain weave pattern. Some fragments have also
survived from the thirteenth century Benin City in Nigeria. Historically textiles were
used as a form of money in West Africa and Central Africa.

Some parts of African Textile

 Weaving
 Dyeing
 Embroidery
 Printing
 AFRICAN WEAVING
Stripweaving a centuries-old textile manufacturing technique of creating cloth by weaving strips together, is
characteristic of weaving in West Africa, who credit Mande weavers and in particular the Tellem people as the first to
master the art of weaving complex weft patterns into strips.

Stripwoven cloths are made up of narrow strips that are cut into desired lengths and sewn together. From Mali, the
technique spread across West Africa to Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria. Raphia fiber from dried stripped leaves of
raphia palm was commonly used in West Africa and Central Africa since it is widely available in countries with
grasslands like Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Over time most of these fibers were replaced with cotton. Textiles were woven on horizontal or vertical looms with
variations depending on the region.
Horizontal looms: include single heddle looms, double heddle frame looms with foot treadles,
and horizontal pit-treadle looms. However there are many variations, for example, the Yoruba.
[6] In Nigeria use single heddle looms with extra string heddles but Kuba raphia weavers set the
heddles at 45 degrees. Double heddle frames are used by Asante silk weavers, Ewe and
Cameroonian cotton weavers, and the Djerma weavers in Niger and Burkina Faso. While the
Amhara in Ethiopia use double headle pit-treadle looms, where the weaver sits on the edge of a
small pit dug in the ground.

Vertical looms: Berbers in North Africa and the Yoruba in Nigeria used broad, upright vertical
looms to weave cotton cloth while single heddle vertical looms are used in Cameroon and the
Congo. Portable tripod looms used by Mande weavers are today unique to Sierra Leone and
Liberia.
 AFRICAN
DYEING
Dyeing is the main method of coloring cloth. From the Tuareg nomads of the Sahara to Cameroon, clothes dyed with indigo,
the most common dye in West Africa, signified wealth and abundance.
The Yoruba of Nigeria and the Mandinka of Mali are recognized as experts in indigo dyeing.
Natural dyes such as vegetable and mineral dyes were widely used including blue from indigo which is obtained from a
stream that runs from the Senegal River down to the Cameron border rich in Lonchocarpus cyanescens, the main plant for
indigo dyeing.
Other natural dyes include Morinda brimstone tree for yellow, white from kaolin clay, black from charcoal or black clay,
brown from mud, and red from Camwood. Some dyes like camwood need to be heated before use.
The camwood is grated into a powder, then boiled before adding the fiber to be dyed. However, other dyes like the Kola nut
do not need heat. Resist techniques such as tie-dye, stitched and folded resist, wax batik, and starch resist are typical dyeing
methods used to introduce patterns and color on the cloth.

Mud dye
 AFRICAN EMBROIDERY
Embroidery was used for both decorative and functional purposes.
The embroidery techniques, such as buttonhole stitch and cut-pile embroidery, are often simple, but their intricate effects are a
result of the skill-level and final pattern design used.

For example, hemmed appliqué is a simple technique still used today where raphia cloth pieces are cut into designs and sewn
onto the base fabric.

The decorative pattern depends on the region and the imagination of the embroiderer. The Asante in Ghana use non-figurative
patterns representing proverbs while the Ewes use figurative weft patterns also representing proverbs.
The Yorubas introduce rows of holes lengthwise in the woven cloth strip. Beadwork is common in East Africa and Southern
Africa although it is still used in other parts of Africa including Nigeria and Ethiopia.
African wax prints, also known as Ankara and Dutch wax prints, are omnipresent and common materials for clothing in Africa,
especially West Africa. They are industrially produced colorful cotton cloths with batik-inspired printing.[1] One feature of
these materials is the lack of difference in the color intensity of the front and back sides. The wax fabric can be sorted into
categories of quality due to the processes of manufacturing.
Normally, the fabrics are sold in lengths of 12 yards (11 m) as "full piece" or 6 yards (5.5 m) as "half piece". The colors
comply with local preferences of the customers. Typically, clothing for celebrations is made from this fabric.
Wax prints are a type of nonverbal communication among African women, and thereby carry their messages out into the
world. Some wax prints are named after personalities, cities, buildings, sayings, or occasions. The producer, name of the
product, and registration number of the design is printed on the selvage, thus protecting the design and attesting to the quality
of
Waxthefabrics
fabric.constitute capital goods for African women, and are therefore often retained based on their perceived market
value.

WAX PRINTING
 Some examples of African textiles are the
 following
Akwete cloth –: woven by Igbo people
 Ukara – dyed indigo cloth by Igbo people
 Aso oke fabric – woven by Yoruba people
 Adire – tie-dye produced by Yoruba people
 Kente cloth – woven by Ashanti and Ewe people
 Barkcloth – produced by the Buganda tribe
 Mudcloth – produced by the Bambara tribe
 Kanga – produced in Tanzania
 Kitenge – produced in Tanzania and other regions of East Africa
 Chitenge – produced in Zambia
 Shweshwe – produced in South Africa
 Ankara or African Wax Prints – produced in Nederland.
 Some examples of AFRICAN TEXTILE
1. AKWETE CLOTH
Akwete cloth is a unique hand woven textile produced in Igboland for which the town of Akwete in Abia state, Nigeria is
famous. The traditional Igbo weaving as demonstrated in Akwete processes sisal, hemp, raffia, cotton or other fibres into
finished products.
While the coarse raffia materials are used by masquerades and in the past as head gear for warriors among other uses, the
hemp material was used to weave towels, ropes and handbags. The more comfortable and colorful spun cotton is used to
weave cloth for everyday wearing.

TECHNIQUE
Weaving is done on a loom, There are two types of loom.
• The horizontal loom used by men.
• And the vertical loom used by women. Traditionally most of the weaving is done by women.

A continuous warp thread gives a solid color background for the motifs. A two color warp background is also used
which produces a blended color effect. An iridescent color effect can also be produced when the warp is one color
and the base weft (as opposed to decorative motive weft) another.
Fabrics are woven to be single faced or double faced, that is the motifs show on both sides.
Cotton and rayon combinations give a multicolored, brocaded look. Earth colors seem to
predominate traditionally, but the contemporary access to imported dyes and colored cotton
thread has broadened the spectrum.
2. ADIRE TYE DIE
Adire (Yoruba: tie and dye) textile is the indigo-dyed cloth made in southwestern Nigeria by Yoruba women, using a variety of
resist-dyeing techniques.

TECHNIQUE
Today, there are three primary resist techniques used in Nigeria:

Onikan: this process involves tying raffia around hundreds of individual corn kernels or
pebbles to produce small white circles on a blue background. The fabric can also be twisted
and tied on itself or folded into stripes.

Alabere: Stitching raffia onto the fabric in a pattern prior to dyeing. The raffia palm is
stripped, and the spine sewn into the fabric. After dyeing the raffia is usually ripped out,
although some choose to leave it in and let wear and tear on the garment slowly reveal the
design.

Eleko: Resist dyeing with cassava paste painted onto the fabric. Traditionally done with
different size chicken feathers, calabash carved into different designs are also used, in a
manner similar to block printing. Since the early twentieth century, metal stencils cut from the
sheets of tin that lined tea chests have also been used.
THANKYOU