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Textile Production in Dendi: an Ethnographic and Historical Study of a Chain of Production

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Textile Production in Dendi: an Ethnographic and Historical Study of a Chain of Production Chapter 10 Textile Production in Dendi: An Ethnographic and Historical Study of a Chain of Production Lucie Smolderen Recent research into textile production in Dendi has 1.1 The Supply of Cotton provided new information on its scope and timing 1.1.1 Historical and Geopolitical Context (Smolderen 2013). From the end of the nineteenth cen- From the end of the nineteenth century, in most of West tury and during the major part of the twentieth century, Africa, cotton was of great importance to colonial matters hand-woven textiles were produced in Dendi. Cotton was (Roberts 1996; Levrat 2008) as Great Britain, France and cultivated and its fibres were the raw material on which Germany all wished to free themselves from the American the whole chain of production was based. Spinning was monopoly on cotton supplies (Duval 1864: 5; François one of the many daily chores undertaken by every woman. 1906: 162). For these imperial colonial states, their overseas Weavers, however, were specialised workers belonging to territories, and particularly West African ones, seemed to the servile group of society. They were either locals or mi- offer the ideal solution (Duval 1864; Zimmerman 1904: grants from neighbouring regions. During the last quarter 90–91). During the first quarter of the twentieth century, of the twentieth century, the weavers gradually stopped scientific expeditions were led to estimate the viability working on their looms, the spinners put down their spin- of cotton plantations in colonial territories. Experiments dles, and cotton became a cash crop sold to the state. In were undertaken to find the varieties that offered the the 1980s, the textile production came to an end. best performance, and to this end allogenic seeds from During fieldwork between 2012 and 2015, the team met America and Asia were brought to the African continent with former weavers and spinners (aged from 60 to 95 (e.g. Henry 1906 [1904]; Forbes 1926). years old) who kindly let researchers access their knowl- In Benin (Dahomey at the time), the first mission edge and memories of their past activities. Through these dedicated to cotton was led by the French agronomist interviews the team was able to reconstruct what the Dr. Y. Henry. If the Dahomean territories as a whole seemed hand-woven textile chain of production was like during promising, Dendi did not present favourable enough eco- the century before its disappearance. Giving a voice to logical conditions to grow cotton on an industrial scale groups of people usually kept aside from oral tradition – (Henry 1906 [1904]: 199–201). Others believed the Haut- slaves, craftsmen, women – offers a specific point of view Dahomey (north of 10° latitude) showed potential but on Dendi history, which supplements the existing narra- deplored the lack of lines of communication (François tives. In this way, the textile chain of production can be 1906: 170). Thus, for ecological or logistical reasons, Dendi used as a point of entry to another story (Olivier de Sardan was never perceived as a serious candidate for these agri- 1976: 23). cultural developments, so no large colonial programmes were implemented. However, these factors do not seem to be the sole 1 The Three Stages of Handcraft Textile explanation for the French disregard towards Dendi. Production Rather, it is symptomatic of the way the colonial power perceived the region. Considered a remote area, Dendi Handcraft textile production was composed of three stag- was annexed to ensure access to the Niger River and a es, each undertaken by a different group of people. The connection between the Dahomean Atlantic coast and first stage consisted of getting a sufficient supply of cotton French Sudan (Mali) (François 1906: 20). Moreover, by and the second and third stages transformed this raw ma- signing protectorate treaties with the local chiefs, the terial into a product, first by spinning the fibres into yarn French were also trying to stop the British and German and subsequently weaving the yarn into cloth. armies advancing towards the Borgou region (François 1906: 20). Apart from these imperial aspirations, the French showed very little interest in the Dendi region and © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���9 | doi:��.��63/9789004376694_0�� 74 Smolderen its resources. As a consequence and contrary to the rest sential, given that the Dendi weavers needed a sustain- of the country, Dendi cotton, from both a botanical and able source of raw material. Fortunately, in the rest of agricultural point of view, was never directly impacted by the Borgou region and particularly in the neighbouring the French cotton policy until the industrialisation of the regions of Kandi and Banikoara, cotton was plentiful. textile sector, after the Second World War (Levrat 2008: 5, Baatombu merchants travelled from these southern areas 2009: 9). through the forest to sell some of their surplus cotton in Dendi. Situated at the intersection between the fertile 1.1.2 Acquiring Cotton in Dendi lands south and east of the plateau and the drier, left bank Due to a lack of botanical data, it is difficult to give a of the Niger River, Dendi markets served as platforms precise determination of the Gossypium (the scientific where merchants such as Zarma buyers could buy cotton name for the cotton plant) cultivated in the region prior in bulk in order to export it to northern regions.5 to colonisation. As is the case with African cotton history in general, there are still many unanswered questions. 1.2 From Fibres to Yarn While experts recognise the existence of two indigenous Once the cotton had been harvested, the second stage species of Old World cotton in Africa (Gossypium arbo- of the chain of production was the spinning of the fibres reum and Gossypium herbaceum), their patterns of evolu- into yarn. In the whole West African region, spinning fol- tion and diffusion are still unclear (Kriger 2005, 2006: 27; lowed a very homogenous technical sequence, which Levrat 2008: 18). The story becomes even more compli- could be divided into three phases: the preparatory phase, cated from the seventeenth century, as the slave trade and the spinning phase and the winding phase.6 The following colonisation brought New World species to the African is based on accounts and demonstrations from present- continent, among which were G. hirsutum (punctatum day informants. and “Marie Galante”), G. barba dense, and a series of vari- During the first phase, a series of operations enabled eties called “Upland” from America (Schaedler 1987: 10–13; the lint to be collected and prepared for spinning. After Seignobos & Schwendiman 1991: 309; Bassett 2001: 31). a rough cleaning by hand, the cotton was ginned using a Moreover, Gossypium presents a high hybridisation poten- stone and metallic rod (Figure 10.1). Pressed between the tial (Wendel et al. 2010), which results in a large number rod and the stone, in a rotating motion, the seeds were of varieties which further complicates any determination. pushed out of the lint. At the same time, the fibres would In Dendi, our informants described two different kinds undergo a first untangling and the seeds were stored for of cotton.1 The first one, called Dendi habu (“Dendi cot- the next sowing. Because these seeds were difficult to ton”) or Habu sando (‘Hard cotton’) by the informants, was come by in Dendi, storing them was a crucial step of the most probably a variety of Gossypium arboreum. The plant chain of production. Once the ginning was done, the lint looked like a small tree in which children could climb to could be carded. pick the cotton.2 Each plant could be harvested for several Until the 1950s, the spinners used to bow the cotton, years in a row. Around the middle of the twentieth cen- using a type of hand-made bow (bindigi) to fluff the fibres tury, a more competitive variety appeared while the tree- and untangle them. In the second half of the twentieth cotton disappeared progressively. According to former century, hand carders arrived from Niamey.7 Two metallic spinners and cotton growers, this plant of approximately brushes used in a combing motion finished the untangling 1m in height, gave better staples and was easier to spin, process. Once the fibres were carded, the spinning could although it was less resistant to the Sahelian climate.3 It begin. A small quantity of fibres was placed on a distaff, was probably a variety of New World cotton brought by usually made of a simple branch of wood. The fibres on the French as part of the industrialisation of the cotton the distaff were placed in contact with the pointed end of sector.4 Another possible origin of this new plant could be the spindle. The spinner used her saliva to make sure that the uncontrolled hybridisation between endogenous and the cotton stuck to the wood. The spindle was weighted allogenic varieties. by a whorl, made of terracotta, which moved like a spin- In some villages the yield was hardly sufficient to cover ning top. By rotating the spindle slowly at first, the fibres local needs so a second way of acquiring cotton was es- 5 26.01.2013, Karimama; 01.02.2012, Birni Lafia. 1 13.03.2015, Monkassa. 6 For more details on the technical sequence see Smolderen 2013: 2 23.01.2013, Kofounou. 44–55. 3 07.02.2013, Madkali. 7 In other parts of West Africa, the hand carders arrived much earlier 4 13.11.2015, Torozougou. (see for example Roberts 1996: 212)..
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