Shoowa-Kuba - Kongo

Using the leaf of the raffia tree, the Kuba people of the Congo first hand cut, and then weave the strips of leaf to make pieces of fabric, often called raffia cloth. There are several different subgroups of the Kuba people, and each group has different and unique ways to make the fabric – contributing to the wide variety of styles you’ll find in this fabric. Some make it thicker, longer, shorter, or with different patches and/or colors. Each patch is symbolic, and many times a piece has multiple meanings. When Kuba cloth originated, it is thought that there were probably no patches used, but because the cloth is brittle, it tears easily, and it’s likely that patches were used to repair the frequent tears. Later, each patch developed a meaning, and different patterns were uniquely arranged to tell a story.