DETAILS:

The Bengala lumbar pillow celebrates West African culture in a very bold way and can make a statement wherever it’s placed. This one-of-a-kind throw pillow was made with four types of hand-spun cotton mud cloth I collected while in Bolgatanga, Ghana. Originally made in Mali, high-quality mud cloth is now made in several other West African countries.

• 15.5” x 25”

• Front – cotton

• Back – linen, in black

• Zipper closure

• Duck down insert

• Fabric origins: Ghana

THE STORY:

I have long been fascinated with the African textiles known as “mud cloth.” Every piece of this cloth is unique and has a story to tell. Originally, mud cloth was from Mali in West Africa. Mud cloth is also called “bogolanfini” and consists of three words: bogo, lan, and fini. Bogo means “earth” or “mud,” lan means “with,” and fini means “cloth.” Each symbol painted on the cloth has special meaning and can tell the history of a village, a person’s occupation, social status, or proverbs. Some symbols remain a mystery.

Traditionally, men weave narrow 4 ½” cotton strips of fabric that are pieced together to form a larger rectangular cloth. Women then dye the cloth by first soaking the fabric in ground leaves creating a yellowish color. After that, it is then dried and covered with fermented mud to achieve patterns in black, brown, and white. The first two steps can be repeated many times to achieve the desired patterns and colors.

This decorative pillow, made from four different pieces of mud cloth, is woven using hand-spun natural organic cotton. Each piece has its own unique patterns and symbols. I purchased the mud cloths in a large market in Bolgatanga, Ghana. I was working with basket weavers who were part of a women’s development project within Trade Aid Integrated, a fair trade organization that markets the baskets.