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Traditional garments of Ghana. Ghanaian smock

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:30 pm
by sofiya
Ghanaian smock is one of the traditional Ghanaian garments. It is originated from Northern Ghana. The smock is made from the fabric called “Gonja cloth”.

Gonja cloth – thick striped cotton fabric. The cotton is picked, dyed, and woven by hand. Usually, the pattern on this cloth is blue/black and white stripes. Long narrow pieces of fabric (about 4 inches wide) are woven and then sewn together or sold in rolls.

Ghanaian smock (there are other names, for example, “dansika”, “fugu”, “batakari”, etc.) is a garment that resembles a shirt. It is mostly worn by men but there are female versions. Usually, the neckline and sometimes the front part of the smock is embellished with embroidery. The threads used for the embroidery pattern are white or blue&white. The pattern on the fabric itself is a combination of black and white or blue and white stripes of different width. The smock is worn with a kufi cap (a small round skull-cap widely used in Africa) or a red fez hat.

Here is a photo of an embroidered neckline of the Ghanaian smock:
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