how I got my smock from U/W/R!

Once upon a time, long time ago, a Reverend Sister by name Sis. Pazel from Burkina Faso visited a town called Nandom in the Upper West Region of Ghana.  This Reverend Sister did not just visit Nandom empty handed. Can you guess what she brought? Well, She brought along a skill! A skill in WEAVING! At that time, many of the young women in Nandom were not attending school, so Sis. Pazel and other Reverend sisters in Nandom would mobilise these young ladies together and teach them how to weave cloths. The reason for teaching the young ladies this vocation was to help them earn income and improve their livelihood.

Through that, some of the young ladies also became Reverend sisters and others also got married. To weave the cloths, cotton was spun into thread like they still do in Daboya and some parts of the Upper East and Northern Regions. Cloths were woven in plain white only, if they wanted to weave in different colours, then they had to dye the white thead into their drsired colours.  The woven cloths were made into smocks which were worn by men whilst the ladies used the cloths to design slit and kaba. They wore these to wedding ceremonies, funeral ceremonies, naming ceremonies, parties and other important ceremonies. Usually, the smock of elderly men and chiefs could not be worn by any ordinary person because they were believed to contain some special powers.

With time, more and more young ladies became interested in weaving and the sister formalised their training. With time, young ladies had to meet a requirement to be absorbed into the training, that is, they had to go through basic education before they could be allowed to train as weavers. The Sisters also included other programmes like dressmaking and catering.

To weave,you need are a warping mill, a loom,  a shuttle, a winder,  spinner, a pair of scissors,  a tape measure, office pins, a pair of harnesses , pen holders and thread. You also need a lot of patience and perseverance to be able to weave. And oh! I forgot that you should also be able to do some basic calculations to be able to weave very well. 

Cloths woven have different names and the different cloths have meanings. For example, black and white cloth woven into very tiny stripes is called “kpank))long” which literally means the feathers of the guinea fowl. Wearing black and white or white signifies celebration. Red and black signifies mourning.

With modernisation and social change however, coloured threads were introduced. These coloured threads  are manufactured by factories in Accra and Kumasi which the modern day weavers used. These do not fade like those which were dyed in the olden days. The threads come in  so many different colours such as red, green, blue, yellow, pink, purple, black, orange, wine, indigo, brown, and what have you. Today, young ladies don’t have to travel to Nandom to learn how to weave as there are many people in almost every community in the region who know how to weave and accept to train young ladies through apprenticeship. Those who weave these cloths have organised themselves into an association called Modern Traditional Weavers Association. The association certifies any lady who has finished her training and gives her permission to operate and also train others. 

The clothes are woven in different colours and patterns as desired by the wearer.  Unlike those day where smocks were solely associated with male, a lot of female do wear smocks today. Apart from smocks and slit and kaba, the cloths are designed in so many styles today for both men and women. They are also used for making table cloths, pillow cases, bedspreads, ribbons, bags, handkerchiefs and many more. In fact, it has become the latest fashion in Ghana. I believe a time will come when people will wear undergarments made from the woven cloth! It is very common and usual to find many young men and ladies dressed in their beautiful designed smocks in lecture halls, in a vehicle travelling, to the beach and where have you. 

Next time you pick your smock to wear, remember Sis. Pazel and wear it proudly. And don’t forget to share this beautiful story with  those who haven’t heard it yet. The story is as beautiful as the cloths and the designs they are made into. When you buy a woven cloth from Northern Ghana, remember you’re helping to improve someone’s livelihood and probably more.