"bogolanfini" - Bamana mud cloth

The use, symbolism, and appearance of patterned bogolanfini ("mud cloth") by Senegambia's Bamana (also spelled Bambara) has changed dramatically since the years when enslaved Bamana were brought to the US. Early bogolanfini have delicate, subtly shaded monochromatic negative designs; modern examples have large, high-contrast positive multicolor designs. 

For centuries, Bamana (also spelled Bambara) women in Senegambia have used a unique, complex process to create patterns on cloth. Panels of plain cotton strip-woven fabric, woven by men, are first treated with a solution of wood ash, Anogeissus leiocarpus and Combretum glutinosum, both of which have a number of other medicinal uses. The solution incidentally dyes the cloth yellow, but its purpose is to react with the iron-rich mud which is then painted on the cloth, producing a dark brown dye that is almost black.  The mud is carefully reapplied over the designs, allowed to dry, and then washed out; the yellow areas are then returned to their undyed state using an alkaline soap.  The result is a negative, creamy-white design on a black cloth whose visual effect is not unlike black lace.  Old bogolanfini's regular patterning, symmetrical geometric motifs, and subtle monochromatic color scheme are comparable to the embroideries on Kongo and early Bushoong raffia cloth. Considerable care and planning had to be used to produce these meticulously-arranged designs.

The Bamana say the first mud cloths were solid black or striped, and were worn by blacksmiths because their work was so dirty; other Bamana wore unpatterned yellow cloth. Patterned mudcloth came later, and was worn only by hunters, women after childbirth, and pubescent girls who had undergone female circumcision; it was also used as burial shrouds for women who had borne children.  Many of the motifs referenced objects or experiences unique to women, and typically are symmetrical in one or both two directions.  However, because a bogolanfini cloth was worn as a body wrapper, the borders had a specific orientation, with different ones intended for the top, bottom, and inside and outside edges, the latter of which might be fringed.  

Late 19th century (left) and mid-20th century (right) bogolanfini in black and creamy white, 

showing delicate "shadows" in black areas around white negative motifs. 

Although mud is still used to produce black, other differences between bogolanfini used by the Bamana brought to the US as slaves and its modern successors are so numerous and significant a chart is required to list them all.  Even the cloth made by the woman regarded as Mali's leading contemporary bogolanfini artist bears only a superficial resemblance to early examples.  The delicate, lacy designs and subtle monochromatic effect that enslaved Bamana would have recalled in bogolanfini have replaced by larger, bold motifs in a variety of colors, and the color black - once treated as the background - is now used as a foreground color.

Bogolanfini before the 1960s	Modern bogolanfini
Worn as a body wrapper only by certain people in special circumstances, and used as shroud for mothers	Made to be sewn up into fashion garments for anyone, and for sale as tablecloths and bedspreads to tourists
Made by women after long apprenticeship	Made by men and women after short training
Cloths produced by local women as they are needed	Cloths produced by the hundreds, assembly-line fashion, in commercial workshops
Drawn freehand with spatula-like stick	Drawn freehand with various tools including toothbrushes, or stenciled
Black and white	Yellow, rust-brown and even green colors often used in same cloth along with black and white; sometimes indigo instead of mud ("galafini")
Negative image (white motifs on black)	Positive image (black motifs on white)
Geometric motifs	Geometric and representational motifs
Space left between strokes of black, creating "shadow" effect	No "shadow" effect; black areas completely filled in, creating high contrast
Yellow areas reversed to original soft ivory color by washing with alkalai soap made of shea butter, potash, and peanuts	Yellow areas left in, or bleached to bright white using chlorine bleach paste
Large variety of small, carefully drawn motifs requiring careful planning; total effect like black lace on white cloth	Small number of larger motifs quickly drawn to maximize production; may be stamped or stenciled; spatters, incomplete motifs, and fuzzy lines commonplace
Directional orientation of overall design, with borders intended for top, bottom, inside and outside when worn	Design oriented any way the maker chooses, with or without borders
Standardized motifs with clearly discernible meanings, often relating to women	New designs and enlarged, simplified versions of old motifs to meet tourist expectations and for best visual effect in sewn garments (here, in a boubou tunic). Motifs' meaning regarded by Bamana  as "nonsense" Photos in this chart courtesy Judi A. Dominic.  For more excellent images of the contemporary bogolanfini process, see her photo album.

Many Bamana were brought to the US as slaves, and the orange clay soil found in much of the Deep South is loaded with iron, which in past generations has been used by blacks and whites alike to dye cloth various shades of rust and orange.  However, there is no record of bogolanfini dyeing techiques or its unusual, lacy motifs being used in the US.