Kuba Bushoong Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Twenty-one feet of checkerboard. The Bushoong were the Kuba’s ruling group, and they did not do things by halves.

The Kuba Kingdom was created in the 17th century when nineteen separate ethnic groups were united under one king. Long raffia skirts like this tcaka were wrapped around the body for dances and state occasions. This one, 20th century, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is worked in a crisp checkerboard of dark brown and natural cream squares, bordered on both long sides by a band of rust red.

Small irregularities in the squares reveal the hand of the maker. The colors remain clear and graphic.

Sharp, even now.