Dida Raffia Dance Skirt

Somebody cut windows into the waistband, and they appear to know what they were doing.

This dance skirt is from the Dida peoples of Ivory Coast, 20th century, in dyed raffia. Dida cloth was bound and dyed so that patterns formed in the spaces the dye could not reach, then worn for dance and public celebration. A checkerboard of rust and pale gold covers most of the length, with dark seams of tied cloth between the squares. Two open slits interrupt the top, and thick twisted black strands hang down from the lower edge. Forty-seven inches long and ten wide.

It hangs beautifully and has nothing further to add.