Adele Dejak brings authentic mud cloths straight from Malian designer Boubacar to Kenya.
The tradition of making beautifully patterned out mud cloths, or bogolanfini, is strongly linked to the Bamana people of Mali. Bògòlanfini is a term in the Bambara language made up of three words. “Bogo” refers to “mud,” “Lan” means “with,” and “Fini” means “cloth.” Hence, the term Bògòlanfini is Bambara for ‘mud cloth.’
Every design on the Malian mud cloth has a unique story to its intricate pattern. They can be standardized patterns, but each pattern has a unique twist to its origin.
Bògòlanfini designs are typically abstract or semi-abstract symbolism of ordinary objects, which in turn epitomize a historical event or memorialize a local hero.
