ISSN: Journal of Print - 2277 - 078X Humanities, Social Online - 2315 - 747X Sciences and Creative © FUNAAB 2016 Arts STYLISTIC FEATURES OF CONTEMPORARY ADIRE IN NIGERIAN TEXTILE PRACTICE O. O. BRAIDE Department of Home Science and Management, College of Food Science and Human Ecology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Corresponding Author: [email protected] Tel.: +2348035616698 ABSTRACT With the whole lot of innovation the adire textile is going through, the indigenous craft still maintained and re- tained its cultural values among its various users most especially the Yoruba people. The paper therefore exam- ines the styles and forms of contemporary adire in Nigeria, its distribution and entrepreneurship. Of further interest is the wide gamut of other product which Kampala technique images have been adapted. From clothing to post- card and house hold decoration items. Examination of contemporary adire and its mellowed design, ease of pro- duction and recent acceptance as wearable fashion material and other uses, indicate the diverse direction that traditional art forms may take as it enters the international market, The paper deduced that the different innova- tions that have taken place in the traditional textile craft is as a result of the formal education been acquired by the very few 7.4% of new generation producers of adire and this innovations has in one way or the other improve the patronage of adire and the calibre of its users. It has also transformed adire into ceremonial attire, other than the usual knockabout. It highlights the differences in the patterning methods of the cloth and also the preference choice of users. The study discovered that adire can play a dual role of a commodity and a gift because of its new variety of uses among the customers, from dress to house hold materials and souvenir. Keywords. Indigenous adire, Contemporary adire, Modernisation, Decorative symbols, tourist market, Social arena INTRODUCTION decorative. Areo and Kalilu substantiated The Yoruba of South-western Nigeria are this that it may be due to the fact that they well known for their artistic prowess. The are deep religious people, and their thinking contribution of the Yoruba people to the is influenced by history and deep observa- world culture through art cannot be over- tions of their natural environment from emphasized. Though, they have different which most of the traditional decorative artistic tradition such as: sculpture, painting, symbols are been drawn. bead making, mating, carving, basketry etc. But cloth patterning and dyeing seem to Adire has been defined by scholars in differ- have stood the test of time and till date in ent ways based on their exposure either as a spite of modernisation; the industry of patron, collector, and observer or as a re- adire in South-west Nigeria is waxing searcher. Carr (2001), Vol (1987), Perani, stronger. Areo and Kalilu (2013) expressed Fred and Smith (1998), Torntore (2001), that of all the artistic traditions, the textile Aronson (1999) defined adire in the same art of adire still remain perhaps the most light of an accidental discovery, that it points J. Hum. Soc. Sci. & Crtv. Arts 2016, 11 (1 & 2): 104 - 116 104 O. O. BRAIDE to the origin of the cloth and that it relates mila, the Yoruba deity of wisdom and divi- to a specific ethnic people who are produc- nation and Ifa exponent, who was divinely ers of the cloth. While some felt that it is a inspired to produce patterned dyed cloths facilitator of a spoken word. Areo and Ka- using the material technology of certain lilu (2013) define adire from the etymology boards, Agbe, Aluko, Odidere, Lekeleke and of the word as a name coined from two Agbufon. Though the Ifa verse was not spe- Yoruba words ‘ adi’ meaning to tie and ‘ re’ cific about where and when Orunmila did which means to dye. Adire is therefore a the first production, nonetheless tradition creative and artistic form and creative pat- avers that it was a conscious attempt made terned dyed cloths. when life on earth was relatively young with creative enterprise intention. This statement Adire is a local handcrafted textile practiced is in line with the claims of Allman (1978) in Nigeria mostly among women with very that originally, adire production was meant to special tie to the Yoruba people of South be a means of economic sustenance. Re- West. Adire means tie and dye and have dif- search and scholarship have variously and ferent production techniques from knotting consistently proven the reliability of Ifa lit- with raffia to hand marking with feathers erature as a reliable form of oral tradition in and pap. With the lots of innovation in historical reconstruction of the pre – literate adire production, there still remain a fact eras of Yoruba history (Abimbola 1973: 41 – that the creativity and the design in adire 62). A good number of people in Yoruba that made it significant both as process and land engage in adire making business espe- object of communication in the Emergence cially in large cities like Ibadan, Oshogbo, of Adire in Nigerian Textile. and Abeokuta. Abeokuta was mentioned last because dyeing was not originally practiced Emergence of adire in Nigeria textile prac- by women in Abeokuta until some Egba set- tice is obscure, scholarly opinions regarding tlers returned to Abeokuta to introduce the these subject matters varies. Some believed occupation (Akpata 1971). She mentioned that adire is a product of accidental discov- Oshogbo, Ibadan and Abeokuta as three ma- ery. Polakoff (1982), Lenor Lasen (1976), jor dyeing centres in Yoruba land since the Wolff (2001) believed that resist dyeing 19 century. It re – stated the fact that any happened accidentally and the unintentional other dye centres found in those areas may and indefinite patterning has become a ba- be as a result of the collapse of the Oyo sic resist dyeing technique. But the Yoruba empire and the war resulted to mass move- philosophies disregard all their accidental ment of refugees who adopted the dyeing claims. Wolff and Stanfield (1971) believed tradition when moving to safer places. By- that the origin or emergence of it must be field (1993) acknowledge indigo dyeing as sort in context of indigo dyeing and the the foundation of numerous textile tradi- world of the Yoruba women who first cre- tions throughout West Africa. Scholars ated this special cloth over a century ago on claimed that centuries before the introduc- Kigipa, the hand spun and woven cloth of tion of synthetic dyes, the ability to trans- the women upright loom. Be it as it may form common white cotton cloth to a prized Areo and Khalilu (2013) disclosed that Ifa deep blue cloth was a highly valuable skill, divination oral literature credited the origin passed down from generation to generation of patterned dyeing in various hue to Orun- to generation among the Yoruba. J. Hum. Soc. Sci. & Crtv. Arts 2016, 11 (1 & 2): 104 - 116 105 STYLISTIC FEATURES OF CONTEMPORARY ADIRE IN NIGERIAN TEXTILE PRACTICE Styles and forms of adire in Nigeria. are slower than the modern chemicals. This The design and the decorative elements on may account for the factors responsible for the cloth are meaningful part of day to day playing down of the indigenous adire pattern life, adire cloth therefore functions as visual among the present commercial producers. language. This meanings derived from the The contemporary adire with its simplicity in patterns on adire today seem lost, though production had eroded all the above laid adire cloth is still referred to as a product down division of labour by traditional pro- but the fundamental cultural properties of ducers. the pattern on the fabric seem to have been watered down or completely wiped out. The term “Contemporary adire” refers to a Therefore examining the stylistic features broad artistic production based on adire [tie- of contemporary adire in Nigerian textile dye], replaying the indigenous pattern practice should be a welcomed idea. through distortion. Contemporary adire de- Examination of contemporary styles and signers in a subtle manner consciously or forms of adire in recent times indicates the unconsciously had converted indigenous different ways traditional arts forms may adire patterns into the sphere of temporary take as it enters the International market. ‘fine art’. This new concept has re branded With time, lots of changes come up in adire adire and has directly or indirectly affected cloth, new forms and styles of this Nigeria its usage and presentation. textile, whose characteristic pattern is achieved using variety of techniques. Tradi- Contemporary technique are folding ( adire tionally, colour is applied using vegetable kika), knotted ( adire siso), starch resist (adire dye (Elu) indigo and wood ash mordant, eleko), the hand marking process of the in- they are been developed at a slow rate. This digenous producers has been replaced by contemporary version of adire is generally stencil technique application by the contem- referred to by their makers and their con- porary producers. Machine stitch (adire oni sumers as Kampala, a term that indicates machine), needle stitch (adire alabere) that is their connection to the cloth that is their not so prominent in the contemporary era, it inspiration and not tied to any cultural phi- has been taking over by machine stitch. Mar- losophy, religion or environment. While bling (Adire elesun) and discharge (adire clearly distinct from adire, contemporary bibo), that is commonly referred to as koko- adire varieties speculate all of the traditional bilo. ideologies of the indigenous adire cloths that its makers deem valuable, marketable Adire design elements have retained atten- and attractive Braide (2012). Akpata (1971) tion by notable scholars, such as, Drewal described the various division of labour in (1998), Thompson (1973), and Abraham indigenous adire preparation, resisting is (1958) noted that beyond colour, design ele- carried out by aladire (designers), dyeing by ment drew us into the Yoruba creative world alaro (dyers) and finishing by ololu view.