Gambian bride and bridesmaids dressed in traditional Wolof attire

The below image supports a short story submitted by writer Ya Mallen Jagn for Design Indaba’s collaborative project with Google Arts & Culture titled colours of Africa</in>. Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For Colours of Africa, we asked 60 African creatives from 54 African countries and territories to capture the unique spirit of their home in a particular shade.
The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.
Explore the continent through the eyes of the inspired.

colour: Sky Blue

Country: Gambia

Artwork Rationale

I selected the colour sky-blue for its persistent occurrence in significant aspects of Gambian culture. This shade is present in the traditional clothing of almost all the Gambian ethnicities, especially in women’s clothing, often accompanied by indigo.

The shade varies slightly depending on the ethnicity. For example, the Fula ethnicity is known for its sky blue and indigo striped fabric, which they refer to as “lehpi”.

The Mandika have fabrics of varying colour, intended for varying occasions, but the Mandinka bride is known for her sky-blue and indigo traditional attire – typically more checkered than striped, the indigo colour almost smothering the sky-blue.

The Wolof are known for their sky-blue grand mbubu gowns, tied at the waist to keep the material from trailing and to reveal the many layers of fabric.

In addition to these traditional clothes, Gambia is a coastal country and fishing is an integral aspect of its culture. Several fishing ports speckle its beaches, and these beaches are perforated with the presence of fishing canoes, which are mostly painted sky-blue, and decorated with bright colours. It is not known exactly how our fishing canoes came to be painted sky-blue but a fisherman mentioned that it may be an emulation of the sea.

I bring the colour sky-blue to life through my medium, creative writing, by imagining a connection between the sky-blue found on the traditional clothing donned by Gambian women to the sky-blue of the fishing canoes found on the shores of The Gambia. The prose hones in on Wolof tradition, providing modest insight into their music, food, belief system, and social norms.

I chose Wolof traditions for their more extensive use of the colour sky-blue, and my greater familiarity with Wolof culture, being of Wolof ethnicity myself.

What it means to be African

To be African is to spend the morning in awe at the beauty contained in the most mundane of things; to spend the afternoon in exasperation at all that is twisted and wrong; and to lay down at night bursting with hope at the thought of all that could be.

Biography

Ya Mallen Jagne is a 23-year-old creative writer living in The Gambia. She runs a blog called YÉMU: a collection of her written poetry and short prose of diverse genres inspired by her Gambian childhood, Gambian folktale and myth and the beauty and happenings of everyday existence. She is fascinated with African history and art forms, believing in art not only as a phenomenon to be appreciated in the present but also as a time capsule of sorts—a medium for the very deliberate preservation of the culture at the time and place of its creation.

Her written and narrated stories were recently featured in Bristol Old Vic Theatre’s 2020 Ferment Take Over.