Shweshwe Explained

Shweshwe ^[1] is a printed dyed cotton fabric widely used for traditional Southern African clothing.^{[2] [3]} Originally dyed indigo, the fabric is manufactured in a variety of colours and printing designs characterised by intricate geometric patterns.^{[4] [5] [6]} Due to its popularity, shweshwe has been described as the denim,^[6] or tartan, of South Africa.^[7]

Name

The local name shweshwe is derived from the fabric's association with Lesotho's King Moshoeshoe I,^{[8] [9]} also spelled "Moshweshwe". Moshoeshoe I was gifted with the fabric by French missionaries in the 1840s and subsequently popularised it.^{[8] [10] [11]}

It is also known as sejeremane or seshoeshoe in Sotho as well as terantala (derived from Afrikaans tarentaal),^[10] and ujamani in Xhosa, after 19th century German and Swiss settlers who imported the blaudruck ("blue print") fabric for their clothing and helped entrench it in South African and Basotho culture.^{[6] [8] [11] [12] [13]}

Uses

Shweshwe is traditionally used to make dresses, skirts, aprons and wraparound clothing. Shweshwe clothing is traditionally worn by newly married Xhosa women, known as makoti, and married Sotho women.^{[9] [10] [14] [15]} Xhosa women have also incorporated the fabric into their traditional ochre-coloured blanket clothing.^{[7] [16]} Aside from traditional wear, shweshwe is used in contemporary South African fashion design for women and men from all ethnic groups,^{[5] [9] [12]} as well as for making accessories and upholstery.^[17] It is also used in the United States as a quilting fabric.^{[4] [18]}

Production

Shweshwe is manufactured with an acid discharge and roller printing technique on pure cotton calico.^{[4] [5] [9] [19]} It is printed in widths of 90 cm, in all-over patterns and A-shaped skirt panels printed side by side. The fabric is manufactured in various colours including the original indigo, chocolate brown and red, in a large variety of designs including florals, stripes, and diamond, square and circular geometric patterns.^{[7] [11]} The intricate designs are made using picotage, a pinning fabric printing technique rarely used by contemporary fabric manufacturers due to its complexity and expense, although the design effects have been replicated using modern fabric printing techniques.^[4]

Previously imported to Southern Africa from Europe, the trademarked fabric has been manufactured by Da Gama Textiles in the Zwelitsha township outside King William's Town in the Eastern Cape since 1982.^{[8] [9] [10] [11]} In 1992, Da Gama Textiles bought the sole rights to Three Cats, the most popular brand of the fabric made by Spruce Manufacturing Co. Ltd in Manchester, and the original engraved copper rollers were shipped to South Africa.^{[16] [20]} Da Gama Textiles has made shweshwe from cotton imported from Zimbabwe and grown locally in the Eastern Cape.^{[14] [18]}

The local textile industry, including shweshwe production by Da Gama Textiles, has been threatened by competition from cheaper inferior quality imitations made locally and imported from China and Pakistan.^{[9] [11] [14] [21]} The genuine product can be recognised by feel, smell, taste, sound, a solid colour from dyeing and trademark logos on the reverse side of the fabric, a smaller than average 90 cm fabric width and stiffness of the new fabric from traditional starching which washes out.^{[4] [5] [6] [12]} As at November 2013, shweshwe production by Da Gama Textiles had reduced to five million metres per annum.^[6]

In popular culture

• Jill Scott, who portrayed the main character Mma Precious Ramotswe in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency TV series, wore outfits made from shweshwe for the production.^{[2] [22]}

See also

• African waxprints

Further reading

• Book: Ralfe, Liz. Weber. Sandra. Mitchell. Claudia. Love Affair with my Isishweshwe. Not Just Any Dress: Narratives of Memory, Body, and Identity. 2004. Peter Lang. New York. 978-0-8204-6118-2. 211–218.
• M.Sc.. Mabokang Baatshwana. Pheto-Moeti. An Assessment of Seshoeshoe Dress as a Cultural Identity for Basotho Women of Lesotho. University of the Free State. 2005. dead. https://archive.today/20140122120233/http://etd.uovs.ac.za/cgi-bin/ETD-browse/view_etd?URN=etd-09012006-074550. 22 January 2014. dmy-all.
• M.A.. Shonisani. Maphangwa. From Colonial to Post-Colonial: Shifts in Cultural Meanings in Dutch Lace and Shweshwe Fabric. University of Johannesburg. 2010. dead. https://archive.today/20140122115150/https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za/handle/10210/4516. 22 January 2014. dmy-all.
• Book: Moletsane. Relebohile. Mitchell. Claudia. Smith. Ann. Was it Something I Wore?: Dress, Identity, Materiality. Dress Identity Materiality. 2012. HSRC Press. Cape Town. 978-0-7969-2362-2.
• News: Rossouw. Mandy. Londen oorrompel deur SA se modes. af. London taken over by SA's fashions . 22 January 2014. Beeld. 23 September 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20140122144516/http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2006/09/23/B1/3/mrmode.html. 22 January 2014. live.
• News: Lamprecht. Bettie. Ikoniese materiaal wat geen grense ken. af. Iconic material without borders. 22 January 2014. Beeld. 5 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140122102357/http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2013/03/05/B1/10/lapstorie-142.html. 22 January 2014. live.
• Book: Leeb-Du Toit, Juliette. isiShweshwe: A History of the Indigenisation of Blueprint in South Africa. 2017. University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. Pietermaritzburg. 9781869143145.

External links

• Shweshwe in the British Museum collection

Notes and References

1. Web site: shwe-shwe or shweshwe. Collins English Dictionary. 30 January 2014.
2. News: 5 June 2009. Margy. Rochlin. Jo Katsaras: 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'. New York Times. But Ms. Katsaras always keeps the series's central character, the private investigator Precious Ramotswe (Jill Scott, above), the focus of attention with colorful dresses and head scarves made of shweshwe, the traditional South African fabric known for its pulsating motifs.. https://web.archive.org/web/20140124100251/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/arts/television/07kats.html?_r=0. 24 January 2014 . live.
3. News: Grange. Helen. Stylish isishweshwe? Check. 24 January 2014. The Star. 4 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20140124161708/http://www.thepost.co.za/stylish-isishweshwe-check-1.1064242. 24 January 2014. live.
4. deVillemarette. Cynthia. Shweshwe: A True Blue Passion. The Country Register of Tennessee & Kentucky. July–August 2010. The designs are created using a discharge process, unlike modern printed fabrics where color is added to the surface. With Shweshwe, the cotton cloth is first entirely dyed, thoroughly penetrating the fiber. Then, the cloth is passed through copper design rollers, which emit a mild acid solution, removing color with pinpoint accuracy. One of the characteristics of Shweshwe is the intense use of picotage, tiny pin dots that create not only the designs, but also texture and depth. It is because of the difficulty and expense in creating these designs that they fell out of favor with American and European manufacturers, who chose instead to move to printing processes. Da Gama Textiles of South Africa is the only known manufacturer of fabrics still using the discharge process ... The reverse side of the fabric will be a solid color because it was dyed. Da Gama also prints its seal on the back to help you identify it..
5. Book: Rovine, Victoria L.. Dudley. Sandra H.. Museum Objects: Experiencing the Properties of Things. Handmade textiles: global markets and authenticity. 2012. Routledge. Oxon. 9781135721473. 276–277.
6. Web site: Davie. Lucille. Shweshwe, the denim of South Africa. Media Club South Africa. 18 November 2013. 20 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140120212524/http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/land-and-people/3556-shweshwe-the-denim-of-south-africa. 20 January 2014. live.
7. News: A stylish ode to Mama Afrika. 21 January 2014. The Star. 27 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111230183238/http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/style/fashion/a-stylish-ode-to-mama-afrika-1.1145657. 30 December 2011. live.
8. News: Kuper. Jeremy. London shows material interest in Africa's old clothes. 20 January 2014. Mail & Guardian. 19 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130525031602/http://mg.co.za/article/2013-04-19-london-shows-material-interest-in-africas-old-clothes. 25 May 2013. live.
9. News: Holmes. Thalia. The fabric of society needs underpinning. 20 January 2014. Mail & Guardian. 22 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140120141942/http://mg.co.za/article/2013-11-22-00-the-fabric-of-society-needs-underpinning. 20 January 2014. live.
10. Book: Futhwa, Fezekile. Setho: Afrikan Thought and Belief System. 2012. Nalane ka Fezekile Futhwa. 9780620503952. 107–115.
11. News: Joyce. Liam. Swish shweshwe!. 20 January 2014. Daily News. 14 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105185800/http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/lifestyle/fashion/swish-shweshwe-1.1591302. 5 November 2013. live.
12. Web site: The Isishweshwe Story: Material Women?. Iziko Museums. 23 February 2013. 22 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20130329032234/http://www.iziko.org.za/news/entry/the-isishweshwe-story-material-women. 29 March 2013. live.
13. Pheto-Moeti. B. Riekert. D.M.. Pelser. A.J.. 2017. Perceptions of Seshoeshoe fabric, naming and meanings of motifs on fabric. Journal of Consumer Sciences. 2 (2017). 24–39. African Journals Online.
14. News: Miti. Siya. Textile sector threat to fabric of society. 20 January 2014. Daily Dispatch. 11 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131217101058/http://www.dispatch.co.za/news/textile-sector-threat-to-fabric-of-society/. 17 December 2013. live.
15. Web site: Event – Material women? The shweshwe story. Iziko Museums. 20 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140120164029/http://www.iziko.org.za/calendar/event/material-women-the-shweshwe-story. 20 January 2014. live.
16. Bryant. Judy. Transplanted Culture Through Trade. Cape Crafts & Design Institute. June 2012. 21–22. 20 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140121075609/http://www.ccdi.org.za/media-room/newsletter/june-2012-ccdi-newsletter-files/history.pdf. 21 January 2014. live.
17. News: Lewis. Esther. IsiShweshwe: cut from a different cloth. 22 January 2014. Cape Argus. 28 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140202184008/http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/style/fashion/isishweshwe-cut-from-a-different-cloth-1.1493251. 2 February 2014. live.
18. Web site: Fulton. Claire. Cottoning on to Shweshwe chic. 23 November 2006. South Africa.info. 23 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20120114011121/http://www.southafrica.info/business/trends/newbusiness/shweshwe.htm. 14 January 2012. live.
19. Web site: Home Sewing. Da Gama Textiles. 22 January 2014. Some of our recognised brands include ... The Original Shweshwe ethnic printed 3 CATS, 3 LEOPARDS, TOTO and FANCY PRINTS, which are acid discharge prints on cotton calico..
20. Web site: History of Shweshwe. Da Gama Textiles. 21 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20130809184848/http://dagama.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=164. 9 August 2013. live.
21. News: Sparg. Linda. Fabric firm wins with a focus on local flair. 21 January 2014. Business Report. 15 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140121064459/http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/fabric-firm-wins-with-a-focus-on-local-flair-1.1212960. 21 January 2014. live.
22. Web site: Barbieri. Annalisa. All shapes and sizes. New Statesman. 3 April 2008. 24 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20081204150313/http://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2008/04/high-street-designers-film. 4 December 2008. live.