(AFRICA--TEXTILES.) KUBA PEOPLE. Kuba "skirt." 147 inches long by roughly 30 inches wide, made of woven natural fiber, dyed red with numerous appliqué "quilted" designs sewn on; with little woven balls along the edges. The width varies slightly due to the different pieces incorporated into this long skirt. Congo (Zaire, PRC), 1950s
Kuba skirts, or Tcaka, are long cloths made from woven raffia, from 8 feet to as long as 25 feet. They come from the Ngeende, Bushoong and Ngongo peoples of the Congo and can incorporate any number of appliqued "patches," embroidered shapes and patterns, openwork, tie-dye, and sometimes cowrie shells, barkcloth and other elements. Their applique techniques are considered to be among the early ancestors of quilting in America. These appliqued "patches" were originally repairs to holes, but then developed into a traditional design motif itself . Most skirts are covered with geometric symbols but also can incorporate hands or feet, faces and other natural forms like the present example. These long skirts are worn bunched up and wrapped around the body multiple times.
