Typically a woman will wear 2 kitenge cloths of the same colour/design at a time – one around her waist and / or body and one around her head. She will usually wear these over her normal clothing – or around her waist with a t-shirt. They are also almost always used as baby slings, with women traditionally carrying their babies on their backs, strapped closely to them in a kitenge as they go about their daily duties, and the baby is then rather deftly swung around to the front of the woman’s body and hidden under the kitenge for breastfeeding.
I use this kitenge cloth as a chair cover in our office - so that the dogs don't get the chair cushions dirty when they jump up for a quick nap !I’ve noticed that women tend to have ‘everyday’ kitenge (which are sometimes a bit old and not as bright) which they wear for everyday use as they go about their cooking, cleaning and livestock tending and then their ‘smart’ kitenge (which are bright, bold & always look new) which they wear for special occasions such as going to Church, weddings & Christenings.
I do know that often their husbands will buy them new kitenge as a special gift, in much the same way as we might expect a bunch of roses on Valentine’s day ! When any of my waiters (in the safari camps we used to run here) would get a good tip from a customer and wanted to buy his wife something special, he would always tell me “Mama Lynda, I am going to buy my wife a beautiful new kitenge when I next get to the market” (as they are typically sold in our local food/livestock markets here).
My Mum bought this kitenge tablecloth & napkin set for me in the curio shop of a guest house on a Tanzanian coffee farm, when we were on a safari to the Serengeti National Park, about 6 years go
Kitenge cloths are mostly found in striking patterns and bright colours like yellows, reds, navy blues, deep purples, oranges and greens and many of them have short messages or sayings printed onto them along the edges - usually messages relating to love or friendship. (There must be hundreds of different designs out there because I must say that you hardly ever see the same 2 twice !)
I think that in many African countries there are different versions of traditional cloths which are worn by local women, and I have heard many different names for them such as Kanga, Kikoy and Sarong.
These are bread baskets made from kitenge - I like using them for serving scones & muffins at breakfast time. I bought the brown/yellow one at a Christmas craft fair in Nairobi, Kenya and the red/black one was made in Tanzania by a local tailor who I sometimes use to make clothing for my husband
The Kitenge which we get here are all made in Tanzania and although they are not typically worn here my “Western” women, they are used for all sorts of things like tablecloths, chair covers, food covers and beach throws and the brightly coloured fabric is also used to make items like bread baskets, handbags, placemats, napkins, sunglass cases and even tea cosy’s. (I like wearing mine on the beach !)
Kitenge make great gifts and are light and easy to pack when you are traveling – I think that over the years each one of my far flung family members and friends across the globe have at some stage, been given Kitenge by me as a gift, and no two have ever been alike, which is how unique they are.
