Batik in The Gambia

After seeing the exquisite rozome of Japan, the intricate batiks of Indonesia and the fine-art batik paintings in the UK, it is difficult not to look down on the simplicity of batiks made here in Africa. Introduced by the Dutch colonialists in the 1950’s who  brought it over from Indonesia, batiks are a relatively  new phenomenon and artists here simply don’t have the expertise, materials or tools of their counterparts around the world. Even so, batik is a very serious profession and a means of survival for many people in The Gambia. In most high schools, batiks and tie-dye are taught as a valuable life skills - as important as any other subject they study.

Buba Drammeh, took his role as my teacher very seriously and was adamant that there is only one way of producing a batik – his way. My sense of superiority made it difficult to take him seriously and I couldn’t help but see how crude and “inferior”  his technique was to the others I have seen. These feeling quickly changed to amazement and admiration the day I tried to create my own batik.  After wasting an hour and an entire box of matches trying to melt my wax, lugging gallons of water over from the water pump half a mile away, working on a completely uneven table and standing under the hot sun, I am humbled by Buba’s skill compared to my own incompetence.

 Once I stepped off my high horse, I came to see just how much I could learn from the batik artists here in Gambia.

I learned:

 How to build a fire and maintain a consistent temperature. The day I accomplished this with a single matchstick was one of the proudest days of my life and I felt as if I had just graduated from “life skills 101.”

How to dye fabric with as little water as possible - one jug maximum. When I think now of how much water I “wasted” in Indonesia and Japan, I almost feel faint!

Look for and gather natural beeswax from the wild.

 Accept the many cracks that result from using cheap candlewax.

Recycle old wax from batiks to be used again.

 Use African tjanting tools made of stick and wire and even how to make my own. I was actually amazed by how well they held the wax without all of the annoying drips of Indonesian tjantings.

 Use wax crayons to draw my design first.

Make two batiks at once by folding the fabric in half first. More batiks, more money!

 How to use tie-dye as a quick alternative to wax resist.

How to use the chemical Indanthren dyes from Germany which uses sodium hydrosulphite and caustic soda.

Basically, I learned how to make as many batiks with as little time an materials as possible. Most artists don’t see even try to make their designs unique but rather rely on a set of “patterns or templates” which they reuse over and over again. Unlike the UK, most artists here are men since most women are simply too busy in the field or taking care of their many children. Women do often help with the tie-dye however which is much easier and faster.

Most interesting of all are the “African wax print” batiks which are ubiquitous here. I wonder how many people know that they actually come straight from England and are a statement to the effects of colonialism. It is hard to imagine what Africa looked like before the arrival of these colorful and bright textiles.