CHAPTER 62
ANCIENT DRESSING
From the beginning, Basoga dressed in animal skins and goat skins. A man wore two skins one of which was worn around the waist and the other hung around his neck. A woman also used to wear two skins, both of which she tied around her waist, one in front and the other behind.
Later, barkcloth was introduced into the country and it became the national dress for Basoga. The introduction of barkcloth or how it was invented is not known. The men wore the bark cloth in many ways. Some joined three or four together, tying two ends into a very big knot and passing under his left hand and head under it, leaving the knot hanging on his left shoulder. Then he tied it around his waist with a cow skin belt, after which he put on a goat skin or another smaller barkcloth which hung in front from the waist. The other end of the skin was passed through his thighs to hang again behind his waist in order to form a kind of loincloth known as ‘Endoobe’ or ‘Enfungo’ if he was going to fight.
The skin was cleaned very nicely so that it became as soft as a cloth. When it was worn in the way that it passed between the thighs and the ends tied to the belt in front and at the back of his body, it was called ‘Enfungo’ meaning a loincloth, which is now known as shorts.
A woman wore one or two bark cloths, one tied at the waist so that it served as a shirt. If she was an adult, she wore the second barkclothtied under her armpits, covering her breasts, and down to the ankles. Among the men, some higher ranking chiefs dressed in barkcloths which were skillfully sewn and decorated. These chief’s cloths were very expensive and for that reason could only be worn by higher ranking chiefs and notables as well as princes and respectful clan leaders (‘Abataka’). Such dresses were known as ‘Luka’ and the big knot on them used to be made in a matter and knitted way very skillfully. This knot was permanent and could not be untied nor loosened until the cloth wore out.
The wearing of barkcloth was not carried out in only one fashion but many. It could be worn slanting sideways or the knot could be at the back or front of the neck instead of being on one of the shoulders (normally left). The fashion of having the knot in front or at the back of the neck made the cloth look in a way like present ceremonial gowns. There were also many other fashions. Barkcloth could be decorated or coloured by anyone who wanted to do so simply by dipping it in any colour which he could prepare himself out of certain tree leaves which were boiled until the water turned into the required colour; then the cloth was dipped into it, after which it would be spread in the sun to dry. When it was dry it was taken to a swamp and soaked in black mud, then washed in clean water. It was then spread in a shady place to dry by the heat of the sun, not the sun itself. When it was dry it was a black bark cloth.
When another colour known as ‘Bumya’ (grey) was wanted, the bark cloth was taken to a swamp where the soil was greyish to soak and rubbed hard. After washing it in clean water, it was spread out in the sun to dry, after which it turned into a grey cloth. In this grey colouring no other dye was used.
Barkcloth for both men and women used to be dyed in that way; sometimes they were coloured or decorated by means of burning while they were still raw on trees so that when they were removed to be turned or beaten into a cloth, they were whiteish. If one wanted, a bark cloth could be patched with other materials of bark cloth using a needle, or else it could be decorated by means of colours obtained by boiling leaves of certain trees. Barkcloth was also used as bedding as well as for wrapping dead bodies in for burial, as well as to make or form rooms by using them as curtains. Barkcloth was used for dressing after skins were abandoned and even to - day it is still used by old people who are familiar with it, and by people who cannot afford to buy the modern cloth. On the whole, however, it is mostly used as bedding and, of course, for wrapping dead bodies in.