Female Tradition in a New Context: The Case of the Khanga

This article examines the Khanga which originated from East Africa. It is a rectangle piece of pure cotton cloth with a border that is usually printed in bold designs and bright colors. It is as long as your outstretched arm and wide enough to cover you from either neck to knee or breast to toe. The khangas are a symbol of proper African womanhood and are used for many different things. 

For example, after a girl reaches puberty she receives the khangas as gifts from her family. They are used in weddings, in which the mother of the bride receives them from friends and family to thank her for raising her daughter and as reassurance that when he daughter leaves with her husband she will have loved ones to help her cope with her loss. The khangas are also used after marriage where the bride gets a set of khangas from her husband that represent a sign of belonging and intimacy and every time the husband receives a salary he is expected to buy his wife a new khanga. However many khangas a women has indicated her husband wealth and his appreciation at the same time. We related the khanga wedding aspect to American culture and how Americans traditionally wear either white or off white dresses, throw the bouquet, or catch the garter. Whereas in Tanzania they use the khangas and the colors they wear are bright and bold. 

We related it to the chapter by relating it to status and dress because in some parts of the world female status begins when a girl reaches puberty and in Tanzania, the girls are given the khanga which represents womanhood and is also an example of the power of dress to express status. In addition we related it to socialism because before socialism the khanga included community sayings and proverbs and wearing them showed the different status of women. However after socialism the khangas began to include political messages and expressed their status in political issues.