![]() Dried papyrus is around four times more buoyant than balsa wood, and, while it eventually becomes waterlogged and loses that buoyancy, a boat made from sheaves of plentiful papyrus reeds was easily replaced. “Papyrus stood in for wood in ancient Egyptian boatbuilding, especially for the simple, flat-bottomed punts used for hunting and harvesting in the Nile’s papyrus swamps. The roots of the plane were robust enough to be carved into tools and utensils, and, in the form of charcoal, they burned hot enough to smelt iron and copper, reaching temperatures of 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit (900 degrees Celsius). “In a country that was marshy and arid by turns and conspicuously devoid of trees, papyrus reeds provided a convenient alternative to importing timber. “The inhabitants of the fertile Nile delta cultivated papyrus for papermaking purposes from the fourth millennium BCE onward, though papyrus reeds were adapted to a bewildering array of other uses too. Here, triangular, grasslike stems crowned by sprays of fine leaves grow from submerged roots to reach around ten feet in height. To the south, beyond the country’s borders, the banks of the White Nile and the shores of Lake Victoria, its source, are crowded by stands of papyrus sedge. They produce amazingly beautiful shapes and designs in all colours, both bright and natural.ĭo visit their website to see the full breadth and depth of their collections.“Cyperus papyrus has always been an interloper in Egypt, if a welcome one. ![]() The Baba Tree has its headquaters in Bolgatanga in Ghana's Upper East region and this Co-Operative employs dozens of weavers, sometimes up to the 100's if a special order is required. It has led to some very visually stunning work which allows one to fully appreciate the consideration given to design and patterning. One can argue that this takes away from the authenticity of the product but as it was stated in the beginning of this page, African basketry is a dynamic thing and this is just one of the ways that it has moved forward. Given this wide dispersal of product, bright, colourful commercial dyestuffs have been applied to widen their appeal and make them ‘market-friendly’. Basketry cooperatives bring income to rural areas and keep the craft traditions alive. There are many organized workshops and institutions that help these women successfully market their product. Telephone wire basket with lid, South Africaīasketry is a form of employment for many African women and elevates their status and power base within their social environments. Grass is often used for the core of the coils. For example, in Uganda and Rwanda, baskets are woven from raffia or papyrus wrapped and stitched around a coil of banana leaf stems. Two types of vegetative fiber are normally used to make a coiled basket, one for the inner coil and one for the wrapping of the coils. They include illala palm, sisal leaves and fiber, raffia (African bamboo), fibrous tree and plant roots such as makenge, vines, leaves (banana and fan palm), cane, bark wood and papyrus. Traditional fibers used in basketry reflect the local habitat. Woven basket fibre products include sleeping and eating mats and fish traps, hand bags and carry baskets. Rice storage stacks can form part of a bride’s dowry in places like Guinea and Liberia. They are often decorated or have stepped lids, footed bowls and sometimes are strengthened with leather or bark to ensure longevity of use. ![]() These normally have lids and can be quite complex in design which reflect their significance. Less secular uses for traditional basket containers include money banks, jewelry boxes and divination vessels. "Different African traditional baskets" baskets from Amhara, Bamum, Barotse, Baule, Berber, Chokwe, Kuba, Moors, Ngbandi, Pende, Pygmy, Zulu, Tuareg.
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