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Adire indigo resist dyeing

Also known as Adire

Adire is blue-and-white cloth made by Yoruba women of south-western Nigeria. Parts of the cloth are tied with raffia, stitched, or covered with cassava paste so that the indigo cannot reach them; when the cloth is washed and opened, pale circles, lines and shapes show on the deep blue ground.

Play the previewAbout this tradition
Adire indigo resist dyeing: photograph by Tunde Akangbe
Photo: Tunde Akangbe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Adire indigo resist dyeing: the game in attract modeLive previewPlay

Runs in your browser, works offline once loaded.

How to play

  1. Pick a shade of indigo and a shape from the tray under the cloth.
  2. Touch a square to place that shape: it is repeated on the squares where the folded cloth would show it again.
  3. Copy the small cloth shown above, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
  • The cloth is treated as if folded in four and then in half, so each shape you place is copied to all its matching squares, up to seven partners.
  • A square counts only when its shape and its shade of indigo both match the target.
  • Three stars need a nearly perfect copy; you can undo or clear as often as you like.

About the tradition

Adire is closely associated with the Egba people of Ogun State and the town of Abeokuta, with important work also in Ibadan and Osogbo. Patterns are named and are often passed from mother to daughter.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of Africa: Sahel, West and Central.

Credits

Sources

Get the app

Adire indigo resist dyeing is one of 17 textile crafts in the Textile Crafts of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 17 textile crafts in the app

In review on theApp StoreIn review on theGoogle Play

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