Going back to their roots

Ugandans revive ancient barkcloth craft

BARKCLOTH is a cherished ancient fabric among the Bantu people in western, southern and central Uganda.

Among the Baganda people in central Uganda, the fabric was made for the royal family. It came in various shades of brown and the royals wore it in different ways to show their status.

Some community members wore it to special functions like a coronation, or cultural or spiritual event.

The fabric is a traded commodity within neighbouring kingdoms and chiefdoms in present-day Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

It’s made from the inner bark of a tree species called Ficus natalensis, or more commonly known as a mutuba tree. Processing barkcloth is a special craft and people who carry it out are from particular families among the Baganda people. It is a delicate and laborious exercise.

Paul Bukenya Katamila, 65, has been harvesting it since he was 5. He learnt the skill from his father who learnt it from his ancestors.

Harvesting starts with the removal of the outer bark of the tree. The process is done by six men headed by their master, in this case Bukenya. The harvesting and processing is a preserve for men, according to tradition.

After the outer layer is removed, Katamila takes the lead in removing the inner bark using tender banana tree stalks and a sharp knife. This takes 15 minutes or so.

The bark is folded by one of the assistants and taken to the processing area, usually under a shed, where it is boiled for two to three minutes to make it softer.

Back at the tree, Katamila and his assistants wrap the tree stem with yellowing banana leaves to protect it from getting damaged.

“After six days, we remove the leaves and let the bark grow again. After a year, the tree can be harvested again,” Katamila said, adding that the bark can be harvested from a tree for more than 40 years.

After it’s boiled, Katamila and his assistants hit the bark with wooden mallets until they get the desired size and texture.

The introduction of cotton cloth by Arab caravan traders in the 19th century, threatened the use of barkcloth. Locals resorted to using cotton cloth, limiting the bark-cloth to cultural and spiritual uses. It was mainly used for burial purposes.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) declared it a “masterpiece of oral and intangible cultural heritage” and, in 2008, added it to its World Heritage list.

Unesco said the process of making barkcloth existed before weaving was invented, making it one of the oldest textiles in history. The declaration gave a new impetus to the movement aimed at reviving the industry.

Fred Kato Mutebi, an artist, is one of the people championing the industry’s revival.

He started a community association to promote the planting of mutuba tree and use of the barkcloth.

Bukomansimbi Organic Tree Farmers Association (Bofta) has more than 900 members. Members meet regularly to plan ways of conserving the tree and promote the benefits of the tree to the community. The association also has a nursery bed for the mutuba seedlings which farmers buy.

“The hope is that we are going to have an unconventional canopy in Uganda and in the region and therefore we would have tackled the environmental issue and given jobs to people,” Mutebi said. “There was a time when it (mutuba) had spread in the entire region, as far as Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania. We want to follow up the pattern.”

In the capital Kampala, the perception about barkcloth is changing. The ancient fabric has found new uses.

Mutebi said he used it as canvas instead of the conventional paper imported into the country.

His intention is to inspire African artists to start using African materials from renewable sources.

Mutebi inspired Edward Waddimba, a Ugandan sculptor, to move from using tree stumps to using barkcloth for sculptures.

Waddimba said he hoped other sculptors would be inspired to use it instead cutting down trees.

At several tourist gift shops in Kampala, barkcloth is a major highlight. Craftsmen make bags, bangles, rugs and other gifts out of it.

Mutebi said Bofta supplied barkcloth to some fashion designers in Europe.

Mutebi and community members have started a school that will give practical lessons on how to process barkcloth and ensure the craft doesn’t die out with the remaining 70 craftsmen, most of them elderly. |