Home / Living Traditions / Africa: Sahel, West and Central
Playable heritage gameKuba cloth pattern puzzle
Also known as Kuba raffia cloth
Kuba cloth is made from the fibre of the raffia palm in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Men weave the plain cloth and women decorate it with stitched lines, cut-pile embroidery and sewn-on patches, in bold geometric designs whose lines break off and start again just out of step.
How to play
- Pick a thread colour and a shape from the tray under the cloth.
- Touch a square to place that shape: it also appears on the opposite square, as if the cloth were turned half way round.
- Copy the small cloth shown above, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
- The cloth is turned half way round on itself, so each shape you place is copied to the square opposite it.
- Shapes turn with the half turn, so a fret that runs one way answers with one running the other way.
- A square counts only when its shape and colour both match the target; three stars need a nearly perfect copy.
About the tradition
Kuba cloth comes from the Kuba kingdom region of the Kasai in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cloths are often made in groups, with several women stitching the blocks of one large skirt, so no two are alike.
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
- Pattern design: World Heritage Games (original, in the style of the tradition)
- Photo: Rhodapenmarck, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
- Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.
Sources
Get the app
Kuba cloth pattern puzzle is one of 20 paper and paint crafts in the Paper & Paint 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.
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