left
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Girl’s Blouse
Unidentified Maker, Fulani Wodaabe culture
20th century
Sahel Region, probably Niger
Cotton, indigo
14 ½ x 14 in. (36.83 x 35.56 cm)
Gift of Leslie Grace, 2022-044-049
This blouse and wrap-skirt were made for a Fulani Wodaabe girl. The Fulani Wodaabe are a pastoralist group living in the Sahel region of West Africa, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert. Both women’s and men’s clothing are made from indigo-dyed strips, mostly from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, or Mali. The Fulani embroider dark blue clothing with colorful thread, and the garments are accompanied by elaborate jewelry and other forms of body adornment. Blue is an important part of Fulani identity, and traditional tattoos, while not from indigo, add additional blue patterns to the skin.
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Pagne (Wrap Skirt)
Unidentified Maker, Fulani Wodaabe culture
20th century
Sahel Region, probably Niger
Cloth, indigo
38 ½ x 110 in. (97.79 x 279.4 cm)
Gift of Leslie Grace, 2022-044-052
right
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Agbada (Ceremonial Robe)
Unidentified Maker, Nupe, Yoruba, or Hausa culture
20th Century
Nigeria
Cotton, silk, indigo
52 x 100 in. (132 x 254 cm)
Gift of Leslie Grace, 2022-044-042a
behind
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Baba Riga (Indigo Robe)
Unidentified Maker, Hausa culture
About 1940
Nigeria
Cotton, passementerie stich embroidered, indigo
51 in. x 105 in. (129.54 cm x 266.7 cm)
Museum purchase, 2008-03-001
The Hausa word for indigo is baba, and riga means robe. Indigo dyeing was and remains an important industry among the Hausa people of Northern Nigeria and is thought to have been introduced by North African traders many centuries ago. Robes such as this are considered prestige textiles and are worn by Hausa men.