The women of Akwete, an Igbo village in southeastern Nigeria, weave textiles based on traditional geometric designs. The distinctive style originated in the late 19th century with a weaver named Dada Nwankata. According to lore, Nwankata received the designs in a dream and used enchantments to keep them secret until her death.
The culture of secrecy endures in Akwete today. Most women are professional weavers, but each one usually works alone, closely guarding her original designs for cloths, which are often sold to other Igbo groups. Akwete weavers know dozens of patterns and create new ones for commissions or based on dreams or current events.
This cotton example features Akwete patterns in colorful rayon threads. The designs in green and yellow are derived from the tortoise pattern (“ikaki”), a symbol of power originally reserved for the royal family. Small green and white motifs representing drinking cups (“ebe”) are believed to protect warriors and pregnant women.
To make this textile, the weaver used an upright loom, about four feet wide, and a circular, uncut warp that required her to continuously pull the cloth in a circular fashion over the top and bottom beams. When she ran out of space to weave, she cut the cloth so the loose warp ends became a fringe.
Akwete cloth is worn by Igbo men and women for religious and ceremonial occasions, or used to decorate homes. Women weavers often make two identical cloths at a time, which are worn wrapped around the waist in layers.
A woman weaving Akwete cloth. Photo by Ekekeh Ubadire Obioma. CC BY-SA 4.0.
