exchanging words of wisdom
The Talking Mats workshop in September 2024 encouraged the two female master weavers Bahati Hassan Ruli and Namkuu Mukaraji to produce a tricolour mkeka, following the example of the historical mats in Berlin. It was celebrated as one of the most important milestones of this international and inter-epistemic endeavour.
The Swahili text in Arabic script woven into this mat is the fourth verse from Kijumwa’s well known praise poem to Lamu women, known as Wanawake wa Kiamu (Lamu women), which he composed for the Sultan of Zanzibar during his stay at the Sultan’s Palace as a court musician between 1902 – 1908. The choice of poem by the workshop participants reflects the community’s recognition of women’s achievements in perpetuating the practice of plaiting mikeka.
Another mat has been produced for the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin. It bears interwoven verses that were composed and exchanged in the course of the Talking Mats collaboration as the mat weavers’ comment on it.
Images: Jasmin Mahazi