IDNO

N.101814.MF

Description

The Rest house staff. A group of five men, one woman and a child pose in front of a circular adobe building (rest house) with open windows and a thatched roof. Two of the men wear ‘European style’ jackets and trousers, and two men standing wear traditional hand-woven cotton striped smocks and cotton caps. The man seated on a chair beside the woman has a medal pinned to his chest, and is wearing a cotton hat with a shirt and trousers. The woman is wearing a long patterned cotton skirt, a loose top, off at one shoulder, and a headscarf. The child on her knee is wearing trousers and top. [AF 7/5/2008]

Place

W Africa; Ghana; Upper East Region [Gold Coast; Northern Territories]

Cultural Affliation

Tallensi

Named Person

Photographer

?Fortes, Meyer

Collector / Expedition

Fortes, Meyer

Date

January 1934 - April 1937

Collection Name

Fortes Collection

Source

Drucker-Brown, Susan

Format

Glass Negative Halfplate

Primary Documentation

Other Information

N.101811.MF - N.101821.MF were kept in the box now numbered C545/.

The inscription on the metal box numbered C545/ does not fully correspond with the contents. [Jocelyne Dudding 10/4/2007]

Publication: Similar images of the men’s smocks/tunics are found in Smith, 1982, Figure 9, p.38; similar images of women’s dress are also found in Figures 7 and 8. [Alicia Fentiman 15/4/2008]

Context: Fortes observed during his fieldwork in the 1930’s that, “ The Mossi cloth used in former days is still a favourite. especially for loin cloths and caps, and tunics for special wear. The bulk of it is still imported from French territory, but there are some Mossi weavers at Bolga (Bolgatanga) and Zuarangu who add to the supply (Fortes, 1945:11, n. 1)”. [ED 3/12/2007]

Context: Smith discusses the changes in FraFra dress in the last century. He notes the shift from skin to cloth, “Frafra men now wear commercially produced slacks or shorts and various kinds of cotton smocks. By the 1970’s Fortes noted that “many [men] have two or three garments -a cloth and a tunic, for instance, while well-to-do men have considerable wardrobes” (1945: 11, n.1). These smocks or tunics are tailored from strips of cloth woven by non-Frafra men on a horizontal loom. The Frafra themselves do not weave.

In relation to female dress, Smith writes, “Today when Frafra women leave the privacy of their own compound - especially if they are travelling to town - they usually wear a blouse, an ankle-length, untailored wraparound skirt, and a head tie. Many women, including those who must transport a baby or young child on their back, wear an additional piece of cloth over the wrapper. (Smith, 1982, p.38) [Alicia Fentiman 15/4/2008]

Context: Certain styles in men’s smocks denote certain status: “In addition, the cut of the narrowband smock reflects status and social importance. The most widespread and ordinary type is the danseka, a sleeveless smock (Fig. 9). This type, which can be worn by any adult, is the typical male garment of northern Ghana. ... According to a Frafra tailor, “Anyone can wear a danseka, even a chief” (interview at Zuarangu, February 1973). Except for the danseka which is usually purchased in the market, a smock of any importance is commissioned from a “reputable” tailor, especially one who handcrafts his product. The second type of Frafra smock is the bana’a is associated with relative success and well being. The jampa, which indicates high status and/or minor chieftaincy, has sleeves that extend to the wrist. The fourth and most significant type is the kparikoto. which has long, full sleeves assicated with chieftaincy and paramount chiefs.(Smith, 1982, p.39) [Alicia Fentiman 15/4/2008].

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1945. Dynamics of Clanship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1949. The Web of Kinship Among the Tallensi (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Fortes, Meyer, 1987. Religion, Morality and the Person: Essays on Tallensi Religion (London: Oxford University Press).

Bibliographical Reference: Smith, F. 1982. “FraFra Dress”, African Arts, Vol. 15, No.3, pp.36-42+92.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Jocelyne Dudding 10/4/2007] [Alicia Fentiman 15/4/2008]