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The textile traditions of African peoples are less popularthan their customs and traditions. This can be largely due to the fact thathistorians have focused on documenting other aspects of African Americanculture such as folk art, music, dance, or dialects. However, what is known canbe traced back to the influence of four specific civilizations of Central and West Africa. These are the Mande-speaking peoples (who can be found in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and Burkino Faso); the Yoruba and Fon peoples (in the Republic of Benin and Nigeria); the Ejagham peoples (in Nigeria and Cameroons); and the Kongo peoples (in Zaire and Angola).
As was with the slave trade so too their textiles, weretraded heavily throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and the Southern United States. This inevitably led to the fusion of traditions of distinctregions. Thus by the time that early African American quilting became atradition, it was already a combination of several different textiletraditions.
Originally in Africa most of the textiles were made by men.However, with the slave trade, the men were not able to uphold thesetraditions. Thus the African American slave women took over the tradition. Mostof the patterns on these quilts are representative of a significant part ofAfrican tradition. For example, in Africa, there was an essential need torecognize people from far distances as this would serve as a crucial warningfor tribes. Thus textile tradition of using large shapes and bright color wascarried on.
The ability to recreate and change old patterns was ofintegral importance to many African tribes. A break in a pattern would mean arebirth in the ancestral power of the creator or wearer. In addition, a breakin a pattern also helped keep evil spirits away. Africans believe that eviltravels in straight lines and a break in a pattern or line can confuse thespirits and slows them down. This tradition is highly recognizable in AfricanAmerican improvisation of European American patterns.
Quite popular in African textile tradition is the use of adiamond pattern. To them the diamond is symbolic of the cycles of life. Eachpoint represents a stage in life: birth, life, death, and rebirth. The circleshape is also representative of this cycle. Also used in African textiles isscript, often times either in native language or symbol, and more recently inEnglish. The words and symbols are sewn into the patterns in a sacred and protective way such that they convey the knowledge, power, and intelligence of the quilt creatorand wearer.
Quilts were often used during slavery years by members ofthe Underground Railroad as a method to convey messages. Log Cabin quilts madewith black cloth were hung to mark a safe house of refuge. Some quilts markedescape routes that slaves could use to get out of a plantation or county. Whilemany others marked the stars that would act as a night-time map through thecountry to freedom.
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