#Chitenge

[joeturpinart]

Chitenge Commemoration I, II & III (2024) – 1600mm x 1000mm each, dutch wax print.

Collections of Lechwe Arts Trust & Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre.

My idea was since in 20th century African commemorations, statesmen, leaders, presidents and politicians were sometimes portrayed and printed with dutch wax prints, in a heraldic manner. In my own home, and in museum collections around the world, such fabrics are collected and considered valuable. Did one of Simon Zukas exist? The white, Jewish anti-colonial hero of Zambia? If it did, I wanted to locate it. If it didn't, I wanted to create it. I couldn't find any existing Chitenges, as they are known in Zambia, with his face and name on it. It is likely they are made for presidential candidates only, when election time comes around, although many exist emblazoned with the face of Kenneth Kuanda.

I produced these Chitenge's in honour of Simon Zukas, and his contribution to the anti-colonial, anti-federation movements in Zambia. His late wife Cynthia got to see them, and one was collected by Lechwe Arts Trust, one by Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre, and one is in my own collection.

Exhibited at 'Striking Roots', Lusaka Contemporary Art Centre (August - September 2024).

[african-international-magazine]

Tell Them, Lady

Tell them I asked you to tell them, sweetheart,

That he who made your beauty forgot to add an expiry date,

For in your eyes, the Zambezi flows, endless and deep,

Reflecting a thousand sunsets that never fade.

Tell them I asked you to remind them, darling,

That the rains may come and go, washing the dust from our feet,

But your radiance stays, like the green of the Copperbelt,

Untouched by time, richer with every passing day.

Tell them, lady, that your smile is like the first taste of nshima,

Comforting, familiar, yet never losing its charm.

Your laughter, like the chitenge patterns, bright and bold,

Wrapping hearts in warmth, in colors that never dim.

Tell them I asked you to say, Musimbi,

That your beauty, like the baobab tree, stands strong and true,

Rooted deep in the earth, yet reaching for the skies.

You are the reason the stars hang in the night,

Jealous of a light that never dies.

Tell them, with all the grace you wear so well,

That you are the melody of a kalindula song,

Echoing through the hills and valleys of hearts,

A tune that will never fade, never be forgotten,

Because He who made your beauty knew better than to let it end.

Composition by Ollus Ndomu

[haunting-of]

Samyaza pictures and picrews!

Height: 6'4" EDIT: Pronouns should be He/They/She. No wrong answers sort of pronouns.

Samyaza is the former leader of the Watchers. He is a fallen angel and a Demon, but not a particularly powerful one. His domain is cosmetics (Tattoos, hairdye, and false lashes, but not cosmetic surgeries).

He was imprisoned for 20,000 years, give or take, and has reason to resent the other Demons for giving him the short end of the stick; They were all able to leave the pits of Damnation sometimes. Samyaza couldn't.

He tries to bring about the end of the world once, but like... He made some really good points. On why the world should end.

Likes:

-Pineapple

-Tiktok

-Makeup Tutorials

-Crystals and Genstones

-Chitenge

Dislikes:

-Old Places (Stonehenge ect. He feels lonely)

-Mustard

-Awkward Conversations

-People who take things for granted

-Mustard

Okay:

-Costume changes. Dress her up, there's no style I think wouldn't look good

-Hair changes. They have super long hair because of demon reasons, but any cuts or different styles would look good!

-Time period changes. Between modern day and the dawn of humanity, he doesn't get out much, so seeing him in a samurai movie or a western would be fun I think. He'd do numbers in bollywood dramas.

[pauls4all-zambia-trip-2023]

Day 3 - Goodbye Nsobe

We woke up bright and early to take a visit to the snake house where we saw a number of reptiles held by the Nsobe game camp. Amongst gerbils and rabbits (as pets, not food for the reptiles), we saw a number of snakes; including the black mamba, the most dangerous, but thankfully shy, snake in Africa, the infant green spotted snake which we were able to hold, and a 2 metres long python which we were able to feel. These were all caught by one of the two guides, Mr Lazarus. Finally, we were lucky enough to see a captive crocodile. Its impressive power was showcased when Ringo bravely alerted the animal with a stick, and it snapped out of the water

As we returned to the camp for lunch, many of us sat down and played games with each other, including wavelength and wink murderer, a favourite from our childhood drama lessons. Mr Roberts was also kind enough to lend us his binoculars to see a pair of Kingfishers across the lake and spot a number of different bird species.

After lunch we said goodbye to Ringo, Fiona and others, and made our way to the bus for a gruelling 2.5 hour bus journey through rough roads and many bumps, though some of us managed to sleep through it. We then arrived at Mist Garden, where we re-met Dan and Daniel from Beyond Ourselves, who we’d previously seen at the airport. They introduced us to the site, alongside other Beyond Ourselves staff, Matthews and Hannah. We were taught some  more respectful greetings and given some more information about the way of life in Zambia and they also introduced us to Ba-Helen - Ba being a prefix used to denote respect - who was a seamstress. She took our measurements for those of us who wanted chitenge trousers (chitenge is traditional Zambia material), offering us a wide range of colourful patterns to choose from.

As it got dark, we headed to dinner, and some of us talked further to Matthews, who we learnt was an Arsenal supporter, along with playing 2 truths 1 lie with him over dinner. After the tasty meal, we then played a game called ‘Empires’, led by Mr Roberts. Paul R would later win this in a tense and climactic moment, snatching the victory from Mr Goldup. After that, it was time for bed, and we each headed to our rooms where we prepared for a day of hard work on Friday.

[manahegy]

24 Latest Kitenge Dresses for Plus Size Ladies - Best for 2025

The bold, vibrant, and culturally rich Kitenge fabric, also known as Chitenge, has taken the fashion world by storm. Originating from Africa, Kitenge is known for its stunning prints and versatility. Today, Kitenge dresses for plus size ladies are celebrated as a stylish way to showcase curves while embracing comfort and individuality. Whether you’re dressing for work, a wedding, or a casual day…

[yangesstories]

I am worried about my wife. Things haven't been OK with us at home since the beginning of this year— to even think that we have made it this far together is nothing short of a miracle, our family has gone through a bad storm since January and I think Mwangala's fragile mental state is on the verge of collapsing.

It all began after we found Liseli, our five-year-old daughter under the mango tree in our back yard, suspended off the ground, the tips of her toes barely touching the dirt and hángíng by the neck from my wife's chitenge in our back yard. Circumstances leading to our daughter's death still remain unknown but the police ruled it out as accidental suícīde— and that was the most painful thing for me to take in. Accidental suīcíde.

Initially, Mwangala, her side of the family and my side of the family came together to mourn my daughter and the two families helped us to be strong and to get over the grief— though to be honest with you, we never really got over Liseli's death, how could we? As so often happens, time went on, life got busy and the divide ensued.

Mwangala craved constant emotional support, but it became overwhelming for me to bare or to express myself at the same emotional threshold as her— am just not good with all the emotional labour. My mother-in-law was staying with us at the time and she was always tired, of course she was also grieving internally at the loss of her granddaughter but she was also human and got exhausted and Mwangala's daily breakdowns became too much to handle. My wife began cutting herself and threatening to commit sūícīde as a last ditched effort to win her mother’s love and affection, but it was futile. With the promotion she got at her workplace, Mwangala's mother moved across province.

Mwangala went into a complete tailspin after her mother's promotion. She stopped cooking food, she stopped cleaning the house, she stopped bathing and she even stopped talking anymore. There was no intimacy between us in the bedroom area that married couples were to enjoy either, everything was just horrible. Mwangala and I lived in a house of deafening silence until the night time when I could hear her howls of heartbreak echo throughout the house— it was the most painful thing to hear. No mother should ever be exposed to such pain. I love Mwangala so much, but I knew it wasn’t healthy for me to stay in this situation with her.

The morning after another sleepless night I told her that I wanted to go and live with my side of the family, at least until she pulled herself back together and got over our daughter's loss. For the first time in months Mwangala spoke to me, but it was the same rhetoric she had used with her own mother. She told me that if I leave her alone she would have nothing left to live for and that she would surely kíll herself. I told her she had stopped living awhile ago, she was only surviving at this point— an empty shell of the woman she once was. I told her she needed serious help and went outside the door, but I changed my mind and I never reached my family's house.

When I arrived back home that day an eerie feeling crept up all over me. The house was pitch black and Mwangala was nowhere to be seen. I investigated the dining room, which is on the left side of the living room, and I found nothing. I checked for her in our bedroom as well as the bathroom, but they were all clear. I walked down the hallway to our daughter's bedroom and peeped in— I saw a dimly lit candle on Liseli's dresser flickering to a gentle breeze coming in through an open window overlooking our back yard. The orange glow of the candle was illuminating a note.

I went over and began reading the note and an icy cold chill crept up my spine like a giant worm after reading the first few words— though I couldn't physically look at the words, like trying to read in my dream and the words kept jumping into each other, I understood each line though. This wasn’t just any ordinary note, it was a suícíde letter. My chest was pounding and I began to feel a tight knot in the pit of my stomach. With each dancing line on the paper my heart sank deeper, and my stomach felt hot to the point that I leaned forward and clutched my left hand around my belly trying to relieve some of the hot white pain. That was until I reached the bottom of the letter. When I reached the final four words I became frozen with fear and the letter slipped from my moist grip.

The final words were simply 'yours truly— ' and my names 'Muyange Nsefu.'

In that moment, while leaned over and still clutching at my stomach and the burning pain hotter by the second, I felt a cold breeze come through the opened window— the candle went out and the room went dark, the curtain kept swaying and I saw Mwangala in the back yard.

She was under the mango tree, suspended off the ground, a chair knocked off at her feet, hángíng by a noose around her neck— looking directly at me with two bloodshot eyes, glaring a bone chilling, empty stare at me.

© 2014-2023 Yange Stories

[superbeautifulcitymeposts]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 1PC Beautiful African Zambian Chitenge Crossbody Bag.

[seeafricatoday]

chitenge dresses 2021

chitenge dresses 2021

https://seeafricatoday.com/amp/culture/african-fashion/the-kaba-and-slit-fashion-dresses-in-ghana/

[mwapefundanga]

I one day dream of creating a wedding gown collection that centers around chitenge material (african material in my country)  and certain traditional wedding gown elements. Here are some initial ideas. What do you guys think? Is this something you would consider rather than your traditional white gown. .

[murkthebuddha]

Glow Green – Crane Jazz Band with special guest Wéye

Please share this with your friends

[megajennyyang0301]

6 Yards Golden Mitex Wax Print/ African Fabrics Kitenge/Pagnes/Tissues Africain/ Lapa/Chitenge

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001773490151.html?spm=2114.12010615.8148356.25.63ce304dxzyZO7

[pauls4all-zambia-trip-2023]

Day 9 - Goodbye Limapela

Today we started the day with breakfast at 7:30. Surprisingly we found that we had pancakes today alongside a hard boiled egg and a sausage. We all thoroughly enjoyed the delicious and sweet pancakes which we had not enjoyed on other days. At 8:25 we reconvened full of energy for the day to come. After our short bus ride we were met with an unexpected yet thrilling goodbye assembly from the students at Limapela. In this the choir began with the Zambian national anthem and some soothing songs. After this a group of pupils, with chitenge wrapped around their waist, performed a dance for us to multiple different songs. Finally we were met with a short comedy skit about  governance and corruption where pupils acted as displeased citizens whose voices and opinions were not implemented. It was refreshing to see that schools were able to educate about the issues of poor governance. After this we were told to perform our own dance which took us by surprise as we had nothing prepared. With the help of Matthews we performed the LeLo energiser which he had taught us in previous sessions which went down well and then we followed that with a rendition ‘Today is my Miracle Day’ led by Kavin and Kian which was well appreciated by the pupils.

We finished off our morning with Maths naughts and crosses in our groups and built on some of the Maths games that we did with some of the older students over the last couple of days. Some of us were then asked by the Social Studies teacher to give a session on British life to do with culture, geography and governance, answering lots of questions about life in the UK. After some Nshima for lunch, we watched our Jolly Phonics videos alongside our brilliant actors. It was amazing to see all of the videos and pleasing to think that these will now be used as a learning resource for teachers teaching Jolly Phonics. Soon after we said our goodbyes and it was sad after spending some many wonderful days with the teachers and students.

We then spent the afternoon at Lifesong Farm where we learnt about their efforts to provide quality education and resources to orphans and disadvantaged children. We learnt how they funded this through sponsors from the US and Canada as well as income from their surrounding farms. We then drove to a very modern berry farm where we learnt about the different ways in which they efficiently farm berries. They use hydroponics on a large scale to produce strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and gooseberries and these are then sold to local supermarkets and also local people who will then sell them at the side of the street, so it helps to provide an income for a range of people. We even had a chance to try some fresh strawberries and some of us also bought some fresh jam from the farm.

We then drove to Lifesong lodge where we finished the day with some delicious chicken burgers and we came back for some evening reflections before retiring to our rooms in preparation for our final full day in Zambia.

[gimmethoseclothes]

Kamogelo www.camwithlove.com Shot by me Gallery at www.akinyiamayo.wordpress.com

[almaclara]

Dutch Wax earrings. Matching mask also available. $25 . DM for info! #dutchwax #africanprints #ankara #ankarafashion #fashion #jewelry #accessories #makers #ooak #handmade #africanfashion #waxprints #pagne #chitenge https://www.instagram.com/p/B_pnLbAlFh1/?igshid=h2w9lwcw99fh

[youthunknown]

Baba yute (2017)

[superbeautifulcitymeposts]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 1PC Beautiful African Zambian Chitenge Crossbody Bag.