African Mud Cloths
Bogolan Fini, or mud painting, is an intricate and labour-intensive art unique to women in the Segou area of Mali. Cotton is first handwoven by the men. It is then laid on the ground where women paint the characteristic abstract designs using a fermented dye from "wolo" bark and leaves of the "n'golama". After drying in the sun, the cloth is washed and coated three times with mud from the banks of the Niger river, resulting in the intense earthy tones.
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