Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Dances, festivals, funerals. A skirt for all of them, and fourteen feet of it.

The Kuba Kingdom was created in the 17th century when nineteen ethnic groups were united under one king, and its court became famous for raffia textiles. This tcaka, a long wrapped skirt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, dates to the 20th century. Nearly fourteen feet long and just under two feet wide, it is assembled from joined sections of natural raffia. Dark appliqued bands trace maze-like meanders, interlocking hooks and squared spirals down its length.

The pattern shifts from one section to the next. Follow it from the top. You may lose your place. That is the idea.