Emir of Zayla
𝕹𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝕻𝖔𝖊𝖙𝖘
Home to some of Africa's oldest states, this region is also the place with some of the earliest attested African textiles. Restricting our observation to the post-neolithic era; the A-Group, C-group and Kerma kingdom Nubians living in the 4th/3rd millennium BC wore dyed linen loincloths and skirts (similar to Egyptian loincloths) and a leather caps (that would later became a staple Nubian wardrobe), during the Kushite era (800 BC -300 AD) this attire was then complemented with a shoulder-fastened wrap-over (similar to a coat) and a sash tied around the right shoulder (similar to a shawl) both of which were elaborated embroidered. Aksumites wore linen loincloths, as well as cloak and embroidered tunic shirts, while medieval Ethiopians wore shirts, tunics, cloaks all of which could be loose or tight fitting and buttoned, white or vibrantly colored, plain or embroidered as well as full-length cotton skirts for women, other attire included headwraps or turbans, stockings and a netela scarf for women, in Somalia common apparel included wrapped clothing such as tunics, cloaks and turbans or leather caps for men and a full length dress for women, most of these clothes were bleached, some were dyed and embroidered.
In ancient Nubia, cloth was weaved using warp-weighed looms and it was done from the top downwards producing thick cotton cloth and woolen cloth as well, medieval weavers in Sudan would later use in pit treadle looms. In Ethiopia and Somalia, weaving was done over pit-treadle looms; a weaver sat on the edge of the pit above which the loom is mounted and in which he operates the treadles with his feet, in the Benadir region of Somalia, spinning wheels were also employed to speed up the production of yarn, as many as 1,000 weaving households in Mogadishu were employed in the 1840s and as much as 360,000 pieces of cloth that were sent into the interior annually in the mid 19th century.
Dyeing in Nubia was done using indigo, weld and madder to achieve blue and red shades, and embroidery threads often used dyed yarn. While Somali weavers at times unwrapped imported silk threads and incorporated them into local clothing to create colorful embroidery typically applied on the corners of the cloth using several kinds of foliate and floral motifs in various colors the most striking of which were gold, yellow, and red.
Source: https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/cloth-in-african-history-the-manufacture
In ancient Nubia, cloth was weaved using warp-weighed looms and it was done from the top downwards producing thick cotton cloth and woolen cloth as well, medieval weavers in Sudan would later use in pit treadle looms. In Ethiopia and Somalia, weaving was done over pit-treadle looms; a weaver sat on the edge of the pit above which the loom is mounted and in which he operates the treadles with his feet, in the Benadir region of Somalia, spinning wheels were also employed to speed up the production of yarn, as many as 1,000 weaving households in Mogadishu were employed in the 1840s and as much as 360,000 pieces of cloth that were sent into the interior annually in the mid 19th century.
Dyeing in Nubia was done using indigo, weld and madder to achieve blue and red shades, and embroidery threads often used dyed yarn. While Somali weavers at times unwrapped imported silk threads and incorporated them into local clothing to create colorful embroidery typically applied on the corners of the cloth using several kinds of foliate and floral motifs in various colors the most striking of which were gold, yellow, and red.
Source: https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/cloth-in-african-history-the-manufacture
