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Roselyne Sachiti
Features, Health & Society Editor
President Mnangagwa recently launched the National Dress Fabric in Harare.
Encompassing national symbols such as the Zimbabwe Bird, the National Flag and the Chevron pattern, designs of the fabric were showcased at State House.
Speaking after the launch, President Mnangagwa said:
“The fabric plays an important role in the preservation of national values and cultural heritage and helps create unity among our people. I challenge the citizenry to conceptualise our apparel as more than just a form of identity. It must be a bridge, joining communities with the uniqueness of their heritage, more so that this launch is happening two days before our country commemorates Unity Day.”
Indeed, a national fabric carries with it national pride, unity and identity.
Those who have travelled the length and breadth of the world, to represent Zimbabwe at international and regional meetings, and events were people don national dresses, can testify how not having one is like being “naked” and rather embarrassing.
I remember how while in Virginia, United States on a scholarship for Young African Leaders Initiative in 2015, my colleagues from other African countries proudly wore their national attire at various events we had after class.
One of the fellows Nelisiwe Dhlamini of Eswatini (former Swaziland) was so daring. She proudly wore her national fabric to class, a bold statement of how her national identity was important to her.
At one of the events, we were had to raise money for a local charity in Virgina. One of the tasks was to cook traditional meals from our countries with available ingredients. We had to ask shoppers at a vegetable market to sample the food and give us tokens of appreciation, we would forward to the charity. As fellows we all agreed that each person would wear their national dress and stand behind their traditional meals as we explained how the meal was cooked and the ingredients we had used.
Nelisiwe, Hlayisani Nkwashu of South Africa, Oluwatimilehin Paul Olagunju (Timi) from Nigeria, Freddy Kamakei from Kenya, Shamsa Omar of Kenya among others proudly wore their national and traditional dresses made out of their national and traditional fabrics.
I was embarrassed. I had no national attire to identify myself as a Zimbabwean. I wore a t-shirt written Zimbabwe and this is how people got to know my identity.
In the absence of a national fabric, many Zimbabweans like me had resorted to donning clothes with the national flag colours, wearing t-shirts inscribed Zimbabwe and moving around with a flag.
This was a loud cry for an identity, something that the new fabric launched will address.
A national fabric is important in every aspect of society and used in most African communities.
Other countries without a distinct national attire try by every means to find an identity through various means.
For example, Southern African Development countries (SADC) like South Africa and Namibia are two multi-cultural countries which don’t have a national dress.
Instead they have traditional dresses, also known as ethnic or cultural dress.
These are worn during cultural events and festivals.
In neighbouring South African, a visitor can easily spot Zulus, Xhosas, Swazis, Vendas and Sothos from their distinct looks.
The South African people also proudly wear their traditional attires at various events just like how Hlayisani did with his Zulu attire while in Virginia.
In Namibia, too, Wambo, Herero and Damara Nama tribes have their own cultural costumes.
According to an article by Rukee Kaakung in Culture Trip, the Herero dress is symbolic of the tragic history of the Herero people.
“After a genocide carried out by German settlers in the 1900s which saw an estimated 100,000 killed, the Herero have, ironically, made this dress — with its German roots – their own.”
Kaakung further says the Herero added their own touch to this voluminous Victorian-style dress by adding a horn-like headscarf (known as ‘otjikaiva‘) which is usually made with a fabric that matches the dress.
“The horned feature of the headscarf symbolises the Herero’s prized cattle, which are a wealth and status symbol in their communities.”
The dress also carries a huge cultural significance to women and is more than just a garment.
In East Africa, countries like Kenya do not really have a national dress that characterizes traditions, ethnic tastes, culture and rituals of the whole country.
“Mostly that’s because of more than 70 ethnic communities (Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya, Kamba, Kalenjin, Masai etc.) who live in Kenya. They all have some unique traditions in clothing. Though some clothes and fabrics can be called traditional for Kenya,” according to national dress.org.
Kitenge, a cotton fabric heavily embroidered and colored by the method called tie-and-dye is among traditional Kenyan pieces of clothing.
While such an outfit is not considered to be an official Kenyan clothing, it is widely popular in that nation with people wearing it in everyday life, for ceremonies and non-official events, national dress.org adds.
“In general, the traditional dress of Kenya has lots of variants, because almost every tribe has their own idea how the national attire should look. Still, Kenyan national clothing is very bright, colored and heavily decorated.
Another part of Kenyan national dress is “khanga”.
“One of the most well-known in Kenya and around the world tribes called Masai people has its traditional clothing. This dress is also considered to be the national attire of Kenya.”
Dress.org further says the Masaiare dress consists of usually red kanga and a lot of bright decorations: necklaces, bracelets, and bead headdresses.
While in the US Kamakei (mentioned above) a Masai man proudly wore a red-checked Shuka (a classic Masai blanket) and carried a distinctive ball-ended club.
When he wore the Shuka, he proudly jumped for other fellows to show us how high the Masai men can go. He was never apologetic for wearing his national attire and did so whenever he wanted.
Visitors to Kenya often buy the Masai cloth as it is widely known across the globe.
The sooner Zimbabweans accept our national cloth, the better.
This cloth can create business opportunities for women and young people who can design various clothing items, bags, sandals, curtains, table cloths, bed coverings among others which tourists and locals visiting various places around the country can buy.
It can be sold in duty free shops at the country’s airports and other road exit and entry points.
What crucial is the national fabric is not compulsory or an everyday piece of clothing, but can be worn during important national occasions and ceremonies in and out of Zimbabwe.
The national fabric is a matter of choice.
So what Zimbabweans may choose to do with it may differ from one person to the next.
Zimbabweans should wear this fabric out of pride and love for our nation.
As one blogger on zimbabwe-names.blogspot.com rightly put it:
“The freedom to wear a traditional dress means you are not ashamed of your culture, and that you are not afraid of being judged. In the end, you will get respect because people admire people who are proud of their culture. Nobody admires a person of no fixed abode. Why do some Zimbabweans copy and envy the Nigerian Yoruba and Igbo dress? It’s because Nigerians are proud of their culture.”
Online Reporter