Sudanese Immigrants

Between the vast Sahara Desert and Costal Nubian Desert lies the Republic of Sudan, a diverse country full of dynamic cultural groups and religious beliefs. This region of Africa has had a tumultuous existence, beginning with British colonialism that lasted until 1956, civil wars, floods, and the more recent genocide in Darfur. Today, millions of citizens are displaced, not only within the country but also around the world. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have migrated into the United States. In order to maintain a connection to their Sudanese heritage and a feeling of community, many families have traveled together, clustering in new cities and states. Using dress as a medium, many Sudanese immigrants continue to express their heritage outside their country’s borders through continuation of traditional textiles and dress. The connection to traditional textiles helps keep the culture alive and vibrant, much like the colors contained in their textile work.
Sudanese Textiles
Using textile production as the common thread, researchers have followed the connections between community and dress across the regions of Sudan. From the historic processes of crafting kanga to the religious thawbs of northern Arab women, this country’s textile spectrum explodes in motifs and meanings. The diverse populations still share textiles and dress as a common link, as well as a medium through which Sudanese people can express their beliefs, practice their traditions, and communicate with the world at large. From the Kanga cloth of the Swahili group to the Islamic tobes, these colorful textiles reflect the diversity of the Sudan. As the political unrest of the nation continues to shift, the Diaspora of Sudanese people increases. Emigrants of the Sudan find themselves in far away places, yet still practice and preserve their heritage in new countries and cities, in Europe and also in the United States.

One specific textile piece that expresses the connection between cultural beliefs and dress, as well as the diversity of fabric production in northeast Africa, is the kanga cloth. From the northern sectors of the Red Sea to the southern tip of Africa, the Swahili Diaspora influenced the transmigration of this versatile textile. Primary documents show written records of the kanga at least a century ago, yet oral histories solidifies its importance much earlier.

In 1907, Ethel Younghusband wrote one of the first modern observations of the textile: “The women in East Africa simply wear two cloths or ‘kangas’; one tied under both arms, the other thrown over their necks and arms. But in Zanzibar they copy the Arab dress more closely, and often have one kanga made into a little tight dress to their knees, the other flung artistically over their shoulders.”

The modern definition of kanga, translated from Omani Arabic as “piece of cloth,” is two cloths with borders joined together as one piece. There are three key elements to each kanga cloth: the first name (or jina) which is the generic name assigned given the geometric design on the cloth, the four borders with the same design, and traditionally each cloth has a large center motif.