ASU Museum features new online exhibit, 'Wearing What Cannot Be Spoken'

Feb. 18, 2009 -- The ASU Museum is offering a new online exhibit, "Wearing What Cannot Be Spoken." This exhibition presents kanga--a type of cloth worn by women of Zanzibar in East Africa to assert their claim to Swahili identity and express socially taboo opinions in an acceptable manner.  In Swahili society today, women still find a voice in kanga to challenge social, religious, and political ideals--literally wearing what cannot be spoken. Although the physical exhibition was originally part of ASU's Black History Month celebrations in 2008, the online exhibition allows viewers to explore the culture of East Africa year-round.

Visitors to the website see the colorful kangas collected by Rose Ong’oa during her Heritage Studies PhD research in Zanzibar. A short audio introduction in English and Swahili offers the opportunity to compare the two languages and listen to the poetic rhythm of Swahili. K-5 lesson plans assist teachers in bringing this rich cultural experience to the classroom and include directions for designing a kanga-card. The lessons align with Arkansas Curriculum Frameworks.

Kanga was originally a plain white cloth imported from the United States in the 19th centrury. Worn by slaves in the U.S., it initially served the same purpose on the East African coast.

After the abolition of East African slavery in 1897, women sought to distance themselves from their slave past and align themselves with the freeborn Swahili. Boldly asserting a right to participate in Swahili society, they adopted the Moslem faith, learned Kiswahili (the language of the Swahili people), and began hand-painting their clothing with designs and proverbs long favored by free Swahili women.

For more information, visit the ASU Museum, 110 Cooley Drive, Jonesboro, or visit online at http://museum.astate.edu, or see the exhibition, "Wearing What Cannot Be Spoken," at http://www2.astate.edu/a/museum/wearing-what-cannot-be-spoken-page-1.dot. For information about the museum and its programs, contact Lenore Shoults, ext. 2074, or e-mail her at lshoults@astate.edu.

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Photo: Rose Ong’oa, an Arkansas State University Heritage Studies PhD student researched kanga—a garment worn by women in Zanzibar, East Africa.  The textile has ancient roots as clothing and today serves that purpose and as a means of communication for women.