Celebrating Independence

The decade of independence in Africa—the 1960s, when many African countries were gaining independence from European colonial rule—was characterized by ambitious post-colonial heads of state vying to share their idealism with the newly-enfranchised voting populace. Rallies and parades were often accompanied by occasion-specific textiles with inspirational slogans and colours representing national and Pan-African identity.

This category consists of two textiles, 1988.8.8 and 2014.11.1, that celebrate independence from colonial rule in Malawi and Ghana. The euphoric, idealistic motifs of these fabrics were intended to convey a sense of progress, economic prosperity, and social unity, as well as represent the people and symbols most important to their countries.

The other purpose of these eye-catching textiles is a to create a unified aesthetic for political events, which were often artistically co-ordinated with choreographed dancers and supporters dressed in matching outfits. These raw, unhemmed lengths of cloth could be worn unaltered as wrap dresses, skirts, or headwraps or tailored into more western-influenced garments.

Screen printed cotton fabric with vibrant red, green, yellow, blue, and purple design. Motifs depict clasped hands in a yellow medallion with black text reading ‘UMODZI NYONGA YATHU’. Central repeating motif is a black and white portrait of a Black man wearing a suit and tie over a coastal scene framed by a lion on a mountain and Malawi flags. Green plants with white flowers frame this motif, and banners with script read MALAWI INDEPENDENCE DAY 6th JULY 1964. A map of Malawi in red is marked with the nation’s then-capital Zomba. Additional scattered text reads ‘UFULU,’ ‘KWACHA,’ ‘MTENDERE,’ ‘KUONA,’ and ‘DZIKO NDI MANJA ATHU.’

Malawi Independence Day commemorative cloth; 1964

Cotton, commercially printed; 90 cm x 39 cm

Anne Lambert Clothing and Textiles Collection, 1988.8.8

Donated by Dr. Lila Engberg

MALAWI INDEPENDENCE DAY COMMEMORATIVE CLOTH

Made by an unidentified manufacturer, this textile is a segment of wrapper cloth made to commemorate the first Malawi Independence Day on July 6, 1964. Under Prime Minister Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the country gained its independence when Banda’s Malawi Congress Party dissolved the Central African Federation (CAF), a British colonial construct formed in 1953 that arbitrarily joined together the territories of Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe (1). After the dissolution of the CAF in 1963, Nyasaland was renamed Malawi after the indigenous Chewa population.

The text around the clasped hands,"UMODZI NYONGA YATHU," reads, "Our unity and our strength," in Chichewa (2). The central repeating motif, a portrait of Banda, is imposed over an illustration of Lake Malawi and flanked by the black, red, and green flag of Malawi. A map of the country is marked with its then-capital, Zomba. Another prominent phrase, "DZIKO NDI MANJA ATHU," translates to, "The world is in our hands," in Chichewa.

Donor Lila Engberg purchased this cloth at a shop in Blantyre, Malawi. During the Independence Day celebrations on July 6, 1964, she was present to watch the colonial British flag get lowered at midnight and the subsequent raising of the Malawi flag (3).

  1. Kalinga, O. J. M. (1998). The production of history in Malawi in the 1960s: The legacy of Sir Harry Johnston, the influence of the society of Malawi and the role of Dr. Kamuzu Banda and his Malawi Congress Party. African Affairs 97(389), 523–549. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007969

  2. An identical piece can be viewed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States: https://learninglab.si.edu/resources/view/24246

  3. Smith, J. (1989). [Interview/information provided by Dr. Engberg]. Anne Lambert Clothing and Textiles Collection.

Plain weave cotton textile screen printed in bright yellow, red, and green colours. Repeating motifs are black stars against colorful dots over a herringbone striped background of alternating primary colours. Small repeating text reads ‘GHANA 40yrs.’

Ghana Forty Years commemorative cloth; 1997

Cotton, commercially printed; 168.5 cm x 110.5 cm

Anne Lambert Clothing and Textiles Collection, 2014.11.1

Donated by Marie Dunn

GHANA FORTY YEARS COMMEMORATIVE CLOTH

This printed wrap cloth, manufactured by Akosombo Textiles Limited in Accra, Ghana, was made to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ghana's independence from British colonial rule on March 6, 1957. This date marks the unification of the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland under the independent dominion of Ghana after centuries of African resistance and a decade-long campaign for self-governance under Kwame Nkrumah's Convention People's Party. Nkrumah would later become Ghana's first President on Republic Day, July 1, 1960 (1).

The vivid green, gold, and red colours printed onto this textile are representative of the Ghanaian flag designed by Theodosia Okoh and inspired by both the country and the global African diaspora (1). Green represents the vibrant coastal shrublands and tropical forests that characterize the region; gold represents the wealth of industrial minerals mined in the country; and red symbolizes the bloodshed and lives lost to the struggle against European colonization.

Another component of the Ghanaian flag, the black star, also features prominently into this piece. The five-pointed black star is a reference to Marcus Garvey's Black Star Line, a steamship corporation founded in 1919 to enable people of African descent to have fair economic representation in the trade of goods (2). In Pan-African motifs, the black star is a symbol of African emancipation and is also used on the flag to represent the Ghanaian people.

  1. Commander, M. D. (2007). Ghana at fifty: Moving toward Kwame Nkrumah's Pan-African dream. American Quarterly, 59(2), 421-441. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40068469

  2. Foster, H. (2014, March 9). Black Star Line (1919-1923). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-star-line-1919-1923/