Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ)

20th century

Àdìrẹ is a Yorùbá textile whose patterns are made through resist dyeing. The àdìrẹ technique used to make this wrapper is àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ, wherein female artists paint cassava flour paste on fabric, preventing certain areas from soaking in blue indigo dye. This cloth’s name is Olókun, identifiable in part by the motif of a circular “stool” surrounded by “leaves.” As goddess of the sea, Olókun’s domain is the source of wealth, lending the cloth the associated meaning “life is sweet.” Other àdìrẹ employ tie-and-dye techniques (àdìrẹ oníko), where raffia ties hold small stones or seeds in place to cover areas of the fabric during dyeing, resulting in àdìrẹ eléso patterns. One such àdìrẹ oníko was incorporated underneath a panel in the featured egúngún (see photograph).