Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Cells of red, cream and symbols stack neatly like a small parade of postage stamps.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa. It is applique raffia. The cloth is made from raffia palm leaves, which are gathered, dried, softened, dyed and stripped into fibers before being woven into panels and then embroidered. Long narrow textile made from rows of square cells in red-brown and cream, each cell holding a small stitched-looking motif, such as crosses, diamonds and hooks in dark and purple tones. The edges are fairly straight. It is 32 inches wide and 178 long.

Each tiny square has its own speech to make.