Kitenge

A kitenge or chitenge (pl. vitenge Swahili; zitenge in Tonga) is an East African, West African and Central African piece of fabric similar to a sarong, often worn by women and wrapped around the chest or waist, over the head as a headscarf, or as a baby sling. Kitenges are made of colorful fabric that contains a variety of patterns and designs. In coastal areas of Kenya and in Tanzania, kitenges often have Swahili sayings written on them. There seems to be confusion with the Kangas, which carry text, unlike kitenges, which typically do not carry text. Kitenges are similar to kangas and kikoi, but are of a thicker cloth and have an edging on only a long side. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo are some of the African countries where the kitenge is worn. In Malawi, the garment is known as a chitenje, while in Namibia and some parts of Zambia, it is called a chitenge. They are sometimes worn by men around the waist in hot weather. In Malawi, men traditionally did not wear kitenges, but this changed recently when the president encouraged civil servants to support Malawian products by wearing a kitenge on Fridays. A kitenge serves as an inexpensive, informal piece of clothing that is often decorated with a wide variety of colors, patterns and even political slogans. The printing on the cloth is done by an industrialised version of the traditional batik technique, which originated in Indonesia. These are known as wax prints, and the design is just as bright and detailed on the obverse side of the fabric. Today, wax prints are commercially produced and are mostly roller printed, with less color bleeding through to the obverse side. Many of the designs...