AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF ADIRE CLOTH MAKING AMONG THE YORUBA PEOPLE; A CASE STUDY OF KEMTA LAND, ABEOKUTA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OGUN STATE, NIGERIA.

 

 

Ethnography uses different method particularly anthropology, to study and understand human cultures and societies. It involves immersing oneself in a particular cultural group or community to observe, document, and interpret their customs, behaviors, beliefs, and social interactions. Ethnography refers to the study and recording of cultural, social relationships and life ways of the people. These life ways include; political systems, ideas, morals, technology and craft (Cabtree and Campana, 2001:243). Ethnography is a qualitative research method employed in various disciplines, including anthropology and sociology, to systematically study and describe the customs, behaviors, and social dynamics of a particular group, community, or culture. It involves immersive fieldwork, participant observation, interviews, and the collection of detailed, context-rich data to gain a deep understanding of the studied group's way of life, beliefs, and practices. 

Adire cloth making is a traditional textile art form that originated from the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria, particularly in the city of Abeokuta. Adire, which means "tie and dye" in the Yoruba language, involves creating unique and vibrant patterns on fabric through a resist-dyeing technique. In recent years, Adire cloth making has gained international recognition and popularity as a form of art and fashion, with contemporary designers incorporating Adire fabric into their collections, both in Nigeria and beyond. The art form continues to be cherished for its cultural significance and the skillful craftsmanship involved in its creation. This craft is majorly carried out by men and women of different age groups in the city of Abeokuta even till date.

The people of Kemta are part of the larger Yoruba ethnic group, which is one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria, particularly in the southwestern region. Kemta is specifically associated with the city of Abeokuta, which is the capital of Ogun State in Nigeria. Abeokuta, including Kemta, has a notable history. It was a center of resistance against British colonial rule in the 19th century and played a significant role in the Yoruba wars. Like many urban areas in Nigeria, Kemta and Abeokuta have experienced modernization and urban development over the years. However, cultural traditions and heritage continue to be an important part of life for its residents.

The people of Kemta, have a diverse religious landscape. Traditional Yoruba religion, which includes belief in deities (or Orishas) and ancestor worship, is still practiced by some. However, many Yoruba people have also embraced Christianity and Islam just like many other Yoruba communities.

The problem of a research has to do with what motivates the researcher to carry out the research. Due to modernization and western influence amongst other factors, the production and usage of Adire in Kemta is on a decline hence the need to effectively study the craft of Adire making in Kemta in order to document its origin, processes and also its importance among the inhabited people. Also, a survey on the adire market shows that dyed fabric has not been exploited extensively in some part of Nigeria. It is believed that if the knowledge and usage of Adire is extended there will be increasing demand for Adire textiles.

The aim of this research is to document the present day Adire production in Kemta Abeokuta south Local Government Area, Ogun State. The aim was achieved through the following objectives:

i. identifying the technologies involved in the practice of Adire making in Kemta. 

ii. Preserving the craft from extinction by documenting processes of Adire making. 

iii. To understand the artistic value of the craft among the indigenous people and Nigeria at large.

iv. The origin and evolution of Adire textile in Kemta, Nigeria.

v. The Economic and cultural Effect of Adire textile to Nigeria at large.

Given these objectives, production of Adire designs with plain fabric as the artistic and creative skills gives symbolic meaning and identity to locally made clothes in the Nigerian market. The philosophical importance of the research is therefore to change the perceptions of dyed fabrics, and their limitations and to encourage the attitude of explorations into the various traditional art practices.

The goal of this research is not to only explore site of Adire making but also to make a significant impact to our knowledge of the craft which will certainly to historical narrative of the people. This research will be of great importance in understanding the technicalities involved in production of Adire cloths, the uses of the wears, as well as providing a wealth of information about the culture and way of life of the Kemta people.  This research would also shed light into the economic value of this craft as well as the cultural value it holds amongst the people.

As a result of the rapid increase in western influence which is resulting in a rapid decline in the patronage of local wears it is expedient to study and document the process involved in Adire making.

This research is limited to ethnographic study of Adire making conducted in Kemta, Abeokuta south Local Government Area in Ogun state. Relevant literatures were reviewed and oral traditions related to the practice of Adire making has been collected and used in the project.

Adire is a traditional textile dyeing technique practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, including those in Kemta, a town in Ogun State. This art form has a rich history and cultural significance. Adire involves using various resist-dyeing methods, including tie-dye and hand-painted designs, to create vibrant patterns on fabric. The word “Adire” itself means “tie and dye” in English. The tradition of Adire cloth making dates back centuries and is closely tied to Yoruba cultural identity and storytelling. Adire textiles often feature symbolic patterns and motifs that convey specific meanings, making them an essential part of Yoruba visual language and heritage. The process of creating Adire involves various stages, including selecting the base fabric, creating resist patterns using starch or wax, and applying dyes in multiple layers. It’s a labor-intensive and highly skilled craft that has been passed down through generations. Several scholars and researchers have explored the history, cultural significance, and artistic aspects of Adire cloth making, providing valuable insights into this traditional craft. 

Research methods are specific procedures for collecting and analyzing data. 

The following are the methods employed for this research which includes; Oral tradition, consultation of written sources and ethnography. 

Oral tradition as a term applies to a process of transmission of facts from one individual to the other through oral messages which are based on previous information (Dike 1976). Oral traditions are a body of social, economic, political, religious and demographic experiences of a human group, preserved and transmitted from generation to generation by word of mouth (Ogundele 2006). It can also be seen as information collected from an informant in order to address issues about the historical antecedents of the community and provide data for the study of the past.

Oral traditions are generally stories about the past that local population stored and produced orally as a means of preserving their own history and past (Cooper, 2005)This is method is important and its used by archaeologist to collect data about past people.

In the course of this research, oral tradition was used in achieving the set aim. Two

(2) Individuals which both were Women in their fifties were interviewed. Structured and unstructured forms of interview were adopted during the course of the research. Structured interview was used whereby a list of questions served as a standard and guide to ask straightforward questions while unstructured method was used inform of a discussion with informant(s), questions asked here are usually as a result of the previous statement made by the person been interviewed. The above methods were deployed in the collection of oral tradition about the history of kemta, its past inhabitants and their ways of life.

Ethnography has been defined as "the work of describing a culture", ethnography means learning from the people. Ethnographers start their work from living people that is to say, they work within a single framework that is the "present" (Aliyu 2006). By this definition, it could be deduced that both ethnography and archaeology study human culture. Culture by this definition is the expression of the total life ways of a people. Ethnography is a branch of anthropology which is concerned with description of ethnic groups. Ethnography is the science of describing a particular society or distinct group of people from their materials culture. This is the documentation and analysis of a particular culture through interviews and other methods. The ethnographic methods used for the compilation of this research work were observation and interview as well as photograph documentation of the processes involved in the craft. The structured and unstructured format of Interview was carried out when finding historical event of the people and observation was adopted during the ADIRE cloth making. The knowledge derived from such studies brings to lime light, the rich and valuable heritage pertaining the craft industries in Nigeria.

This is a method in ethnographic field research which entails the researcher closely seeing, learning, reading meaning to and understanding the various activities or single aspect of the activities of the people whose culture or way of life is under study or research. The researcher closely observed every process involved in the production of Adire, ranging from the point of processing the raw material to the point of production. As the researcher carefully observe the processes, the researcher also made effort certain questions and answers were given by the interviewee. During the process of observation, the researcher also took note of the processes, materials and instruments used for Adire using a pen and a notebook. The researcher did not participate in any processes of Adire making as such; the only method used was observation. The researcher observed every processes and procedures involved in Adire making.

Interview is another field method adopted in ethnographic research. Interview in this sense involves data gathering through the researcher's verbal interaction, discussion with a selected respondents or group of respondents. Interview is described as an in-depth conversation between two or more persons. When conducting oral interview, two (2) types of question formats are been taken into consideration;

•Structured interview: The structured interview is an intense and quantitative research method. A structured interview also standardizes the order in which questions are asked of survey respondents, so the questions are always answered within the same context.

• Unstructured interview: unstructured interview is an interview in which questions are not prearranged. These non-direct interviews are considered to be the opposite of a structured interview which offers a set amount of standardized questions. They tend to be more informal and freer flowing than a structured interview. This can be seen as an open-ended interview where interactions can take any form. This nature of conversation allows for impromptu questions and for questions to develop during the course of the interview, which are based on the interviewees' responses.

Written sources are books that a researcher uses on to aid him/her in compilation of his research. They are written documents that appear in form of textbook, pamphlets, journals, diaries and maps. Several literatures published and unpublished, relevant to the research work were consulted. Written materials were consulted from libraries, which include; Archaeology Departmental Reference Library. Ahmadu Bello University and the Department of History Reference Library, Ahmadu Bello University. Zaria. Undergraduate projects and Post-graduate research projects were also consulted. Other useful materials were sourced from the internet all of which were properly cited of which were of great importance to this research.