Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Nested hexagons in reds and darks, stacked up the strip like the cells of a very formal hive.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is dyed & woven raffia. Typical woven panels measure about 26 by 28 inches and are sewn together into the great length of a wrap-around skirt, which can at times reach beyond twenty feet. Thin band in deep burgundy and black, filled with repeated nested diamond and elongated hexagon outlines. Patches of lighter rust mark the interior of some shapes, and a slightly worn texture runs along the full length. It is 24 inches wide and 197 long.

A lot of geometry for something so narrow.