Black Mudcloth Textile Mali 61x33 Inch

Bogolan or Bogolanfini is a Malian name for the traditional African mud cloth made in Mali. In the Bamana language, the term "Bogolan" or "Bogolanfini" means Mud cloth in English. The same term is also applied to the process of making these cloths. "Bogo," means earth or mud, lan means with or by means of and fini means cloth. To make this cloth the artist uses a hand-spun and hand-woven cloth on which he/she adds designs of his/her choice. The process of producing these textiles is very long and involves both men and women. The cloth is handspun and handwoven by men who use local cotton and small strip looms. The strips produced are sewn together to make a large cloth. Almost ten strips are needed in order to get a normal wrapper-size cloth. Each strip is around 5 to 6 inches wide. In traditional practice, the sewer joins the strips using needle and thread, and in more recent times the artist works with a hand-operated sewing machine. The finished cloth is then washed off and dried in