Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Black strip with pale zigzags and ring motifs, like water caught mid-ripple.

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. 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. Slender length with a dark ground and bold cream chevrons, edged by small circles and dotted outlines. Reddish tints appear in places along the pattern, and the fabric shows faint creases and a gently uneven shape. It is 22 inches wide and 178 long.

A good deal of motion for a thing that hangs still.