Máirín Duffy a écrit : > - I think the pattern is very interesting - I am not sure I fully > understand the cultural context behind these patterns though. Can you > explain their meaning / connotations a bit more? There are a variation of meaning depending the complexity of the pattern. They are based on natural element such as footprint, animal shape to name a few. There is 150 different patterns, each with their own name. > What is the cloth used for? Decoration, ceremony, funeral ritual, gift and money. Note that shoowa is also a velvet. > Who makes it? Both men and women (woven and embroiled with no visible stitches respectively) Women from Kuba people including the sub group with the same name (Shoowa) from Democratic of Congo. Henri Matisse design was also inspired from the Kuba. > Do the patterns symbolized anything? They symbolize the rank of the makers depending the complexity of the patterns. > What is the cloth made out of? A shoowa is made of fiber of raffia palm as the basis. Coloured versions use plant dye while royal version has additional small shells. > Do any of these have implications that relate to > Fedora? > It represents the diversity of skills, balance and rhythm from the community balance and rhythm. The ideas are to create a variety of geometrical pattern corresponding to the days of week. It does not have to be overly complicate hence the reason to use basic shape instead. More information is available on www.shoowa.com and there is series of images of shoowa velvet displaying various patterns. http://www.hamillgallery.com/KUBA/KUBAShoowa/KubaS.html Luya _______________________________________________ Fedora-art-list mailing list Fedora-art-list@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-art-list
