The Origin Of The African Wax And How It Is Finding Its Way Into South Africa

In town there is a small textiles shop, Jacksons, one of the few suppliers in East London of our traditional South African ShweShwe fabric, but also of the in South Africa becoming increasingly popular African Wax. 

Whilst browsing the shelves, we saw a dedicated, small in stature but strong in mind looking South African lady coming into the shop. She asked for "African fabric" and the very helpful salesman Simon directed her straight away to the ShweShwe corner.

But No! Nope!

"Not that one", she said, "I want the shiny one with beautiful patterns", 

The Wax?

"Yes, that one" she said.

We have our own traditional fabrics how did the Dutch Wax capture the hearts of South African women

It was a rare sight a couple of years back, seeing a South African Woman dressing up like in West Africa. Today it is not. Seeing exotically patterned cotton wax and sky high head wraps on our urban streets of South Africa is a fairly common sight nowadays.

So how has the African Wax found the way into the heart of the South African women? We have our own fabrics, that have a great historical meaning. We will come back to that question a little later.

What is commonly known as “African wax” has been given a multitude of names: Dutch wax print, Real English Wax, Veritable Java Print, Guaranteed Dutch Java, Veritable Dutch Hollandais - The Veritable Wax.

Cornelia Wearing "African Wax"

Beautiful, isn't she? Beautiful and natural! We were commissioned a couple of months ago to do a cover shoot for a well known magazine celebrating African Wax. Our picture did not make it, but there is no doubt she is beautiful and so are the fabrics.

 

Originally, the wax resist dyed fabrics came from Indonesia and were then exported to the Gold Coast and spread over West Africa into Central Africa. They became extremely popular and over time the Africans customized and personalized the designs. Nowadays African wax textiles are primarily made in Ghana and have strong cultural, social and economic importance. That is the short version. But since we are a magazine, that is interested in context and how the things that happened in the past influence our lives today, we are delivering the long version now.

Wax and non-wax prints in Ghana can be traced back to the famous Javanese batiks, that came to West Africa through European traders, particularly the Dutch from the 17th century onwards. 

West African men fighting colonialists battles brought fabrics back from Java

But West African soldiers, who served in Indonesia between 1810 and 1862 for the Dutch played an important role as well in the process of making the wax resist dyed fabrics "indigenous" to West Africa. African men, who had been recruited by the Dutch colonialists to fight their battles for them in Java brought back with  them Javanese wax batik fabrics.

Today the African Wax is globally recognized as a symbol of West African culture.

The textiles are now produced in factories in Europe, Japan and several West African countries. Even though the wax and non-wax prints are machine-made, they have evolved from the indigenous hand-made textile industry of West Africa. 

A beautiful head wrap made from Ghana Wax

The colorful fabrics have distinctive designs, that have symbolic meaning. But few people take time to examine the symbolic significance of the fabrics. The wax prints function as language or as a facilitator of the spoken or written word. The messages one conveys in the print cloth one wears are likely to say something about one's identity, beliefs, or set of values.

Explosive colors and repetitive patterns, bold and bright makes the African Wax one of the most beautiful textiles in the world

 

The wax print cloths are also used to acknowledge religious themes, renowned individuals, historical occasions, popular songs and religious hymns, and everyday situations. They are also used to state proverbs and metaphors.

Some wax  prints combine written proverbs with images to express certain beliefs, values, and social relations. Sometimes it is simply the visual form on the cloth that elicits the spoken proverb. 

A symbol of cultural consciousness and a commitment to African roots

  

The patterns tell stories of relevance to the wearer, such as proverbs, poems and traditional African fables. The colours also hold significance as they can represent social standing, age, tribal orientation and marital status. 

The real Dutch wax fabrics are produced by a company named Vlisco in the Netherlands. The Dutch established bases on their way to the Dutch Indies along the West African coast. It is said that a Dutch trader family on their way back from Java in the mid 1800's started selling Javanese batik fabrics to the locals. Soon a production was started.

The company boats docked on the West African coast in what is today Ghana. The textiles were loved and bought buy the local population. Over decades they became extremely popular and today they are an expression of West African culture.

At the beginning of the 19th. century the batiks from Java were the in-thing and the height of fashion. Vlisco in Holland and other companies in Belgium recognized this potential and created "African designs and patterns". Flowers, local icons and emblems, portraits of local dignitaries were printed on the fabrics.

The African wax represents the West African culture and identity like hardly any other product. The textiles are not only loved for their beauty. If an educated African woman living abroad wears proudly a dress made of African wax in a city like Paris, Berlin or London it is at the same time a symbol of culture consciousness and a commitment to her African roots.

When you touch them, it is like you feel Africa. The song, the dance, the love, the rhythm and Africa's heartbeat are captured in the patterns. When you were them you feel different. You feel like a queen.

But lately an influx of low cost African wax copies has been seen flooding many West African countries. Factories in China, Pakistan and Indonesia are copying the designs, sending tons of fabrics to West Africa. The cheap copies lose their color and their texture after one or two times washing.

The value and quality of the "real wax" is known and appreciated by West African women - they often can identify it by the feel of it - how should we not, they will tell you, we grew up with it -  and are able to distinguish cheap copies from the real quality cloth. But Dutch Wax has became a victim of globalization and open markets like many other unique products as well.

Is it the real one or not? African Wax or Chinese Wax?

Over the years more local looking designs were developed and preferences vary from region to region. For over a hundred years there has been no rival to the African wax fabric on the textiles market.

Does it really matter to discover, that what was though to be a "true African product" has been created and produced by foreign countries?
It does not, because the value added to this product by West Africa and its evolution over time into an African product with its distinct image and meaning can not be overlooked.

Colors and symbols of Africa

And how did the African Wax find its way into the heart of culturally proud South African women and girls?

South Africa, at the tip of the African horn is considered the richest country on the continent amongst other African Nations. With the global recession, political instability and high unemployment rates thousands of African migratory workers are flooding into South Africa, bringing new costumes, cultures and traditions to Mzansi.

Vuyiswa, the energetic lady we met int the textiles store, when asked why she was looking specifically for African Wax  said: 

"Well, I was married to a man from Ghana and he introduced me to this type of fabric. I have two beautiful sons and we are divorced now but I love this fabric."  

you can feel africa when you touch it

"Will you help me choose which colors are best for my complexion," Vuyiswa asked

"Of course," I said

' Wait, I just want to phone my Ghanaian tailor to ask how much I need of it"

In the end we decided on a fabric with earthy tones, that matched Vuyiswa's beautiful complexion

Where The Mdantsane Doctors (and many others) Shop - Ma's Traditional Pharmacy

A traditional doctor has to buy the supplies for his practice like any other doctor. Many of the plants and herbs used for the traditional remedies come from the remote, rural areas of Southern Africa. People who know about the areas where the plants grow, collect and sell them to suppliers or pharmacies, that in turn serve as wholesalers for the traditional practitioners.

The location of the plants is often kept a secret.

 

A traditional pharmacy in North End, East London owned by the same family for two decades

One pharmacy, that has a long standing reputation for selling a wide range of traditional supplies is situated in an area called "North End" in East London. 

The North End is also the home of a vibrant, colorful shopping complex, the Indian Plaza and it is the place said to be the location, where the first inhabitants of Mdantsane were removed from to be settled in NU 1 in Mdantsane in the 1960's. 

Come inside

Come inside! The pharmacy sells to individuals as well as to herbalists and sangomas. A look through the wide open doors tells you, that you are likely to find your potion here. 

Many holistic healers from Mdantsane come to this pharmacy, that has been handed down from father to daughter, to buy their supplies.

Every condition is treatable if you know the right remedy - an old painting crowns the wall in Ma's traditional pharmacy

When entering the pharmacy your eyes are drawn to an old painting of a sad looking young black boy on the wall. It is rather dim inside the shop and the light reflects on the many glass jars.

Holistic healing has gained much attention during the last decade. Basically in every country of this world, there are doctors who have trained at a formal university and have a classical medical education based on scientific principles, but they are turning now to holistic healing, be it by either partly integrating certain methods and cures into their practice or by adopting a completely new philosophy.

Potions, powders and lotions, that do not only treat the body but the soul and mind as well

If you look around and you understand the Xhosa language, you will be able to understand in a very graphical way how many evils are plaguing humanity and the human soul since centuries. Each jar is labeled with an evil, that is treatable.

Holistic healing is based on the principle, that every evil, be it physical or spiritual can be cured. For this, the help of the ancestors is necessary. The traditional healers and diviners can establish this connection with your ancestors for you

Like many Eastern philosophies, holistic healing in the African tradition recognizes the unity of mind, spirit and body. If one of the three is not well, the other two are affected as well.

Neatly aligned glasses with all sorts of remedies in the shelves

There is a great number of glass jars, neatly aligned on the shelves, some of them containing ingredients, that might scare westerners and shake their perception of treating the ill.

There is a "Tokoloshe Salt"on the shelf and Ma, the owner of the shop can explain you all about it.

Tokoloshe or Hili (from the Xhosa word utyreeci ukujamaal) are dwarf-like water creatures or spirits. 

It is considered a mischievous and evil spirit, that can become invisible by swallowing a pebble. Tokoloshes are called upon by malevolent people to cause trouble for others. 

At its least harmful a tokoloshe can be used to scare children, but its power extends to causing illness and even death upon the victim. The way to get rid of him is to call in the n’anga (witch doctor), who has the power to banish him from the area.

"Ma" with her coffee and newspaper in her shop

I must just call her Ma, she says, like all her costumers.

Ma started helping her father about ten years ago in the pharmacy. She likes to have her coffee close to the window from where she can observe the busy street.

I took over from my father, it's a family business and you have to know the local languages

"We come originally from the Transkei, she says, it is a family business and I got involved about a decade ago when my father was aging and I started to help him out. Then I learned all about the plants and herbs".

Skins are used in traditional healing as much as any other product

"You have to know the local language, not only one of them but more is to your advantage. You can not do this without speaking the language because everything is about traditional, local secret knowledge".

We are down in stock, Ma says, we are waiting for new supply

"Our supplies come from the remote, rural areas and we can only wait. We are very down in stock now. I have to turn people away. We order with our suppliers, but even we, who have been involved in this business for such a long time, we do not know all the areas where the plants come from, Ma explains."

For each and every evil a remedy

"We mix our own lotions and remedies and some of them are very popular. People with cancer have been healed, just by drinking our medicine. But you also have to believe in that you will receive help by drinking our potions".

A painting of a Xhosa woman in the shop - of unknown origin

When she is saying this, it becomes clear again, that this is the crucial factor in every kind of treatment and healing process. Have faith, that you will be healed!

Plastic bowls with  "Ma's" handmade mixture

Large plastic bowls are filled with things, that the untrained eye really cannot identify.

Different colors for different reasons

And while we are in the pharmacy we realize there is one costumer after the other, coming in, speaking to Ma's helpers, leaving again with something. There is this quiet, but steady flow of movement in the shop.

A mixture of many different things

A mounted baboon skull watching over the shop

There are skins and plants hanging from the roof, there is the smell of soap and something not so good, there are old radios and trophies, there are skulls and worms and substances, that can not be identified anymore. But there are also old paintings and artefacts, that belong rather in an antiques shop.

One of  Ma's helpers is waiting for costumers

"The business goes well now, she says, costumers know us, but like with any other business it takes time. You have to get a name first and people have to get to know and trust you. There is no secret to this. If you are not willing to work for a business, there is no remedy for that".

Part of an animal waiting for a costumer

Things are sitting next to each other on the shelves that have no real connection in life

Ma is taking over this important costumer

And people not only from Mdantsane but from further away come to buy at Ma's shop. 

A Sangoma from King Williams town just came through the door and he hands Ma his list. She is the only on who knows everything, her helper says. And she takes over now this costumer because the list is long and complicated.

Watching Ma

Horns and Skulls are used in Healing

A sangoma from King Williams Towns travels 60 km one way to get his supplies

Willing to give us a short interview

He said he came to town to do photos for his identification document.
There are changes now and traditional healers have to be registered in South Africa.

Newly taken photos of him in his traditional attire for his certification document, that all traditional healers have to have now in South Africa

A Perfectly Beautiful, Organic And Sustainable Piece Of Xhosa Jewelry And The Story Of Its Origin

If You Cross The River Bring A Bangle Back For Me

A Photographic Story By Chocolat

When the waters do not want to marry.....

There are times, when the waters do not want to marry! Like some people do not want to be together.

What happened here? What is going on here, you might ask me when you look at the two colors of the sea? The razor sharp line, that separates them seems a tiny little bit unreal. You have never seen such a clear and straight line between waters, you say to me!

I can only tell you, that this land, that belongs to the Xhosa for so long, and that some name the Transkei is a very special one. It is a land of rolling green hills, mighty bulls and clear, clear blue sky. I say clear. It is truly clear and bright like a child's face. It's the land of many rivers.

So, when the rains have been falling for some days and the Xhosa are happy because their hills are getting even greener and their bulls are getting fatter - the rivers from the mountains run into the sea. And sometimes the waters do not want to marry. And that is what you see.

Some of us others - and we are getting more by the day - wish for a cleaner, better and purer life. But we can not find it where we are. So we start to travel!

The Craft And Traditions Of Days Of Old

On my travels I have seen bangles so beautiful, shining and in a way pure, made by female Xhosa hands in the same old way for centuries. They come straight from the earth, entirely woven out of grass. This land of the Xhosa people, I told you about, has a very special type of grass.

The bangles, they last. 

A perfectly beautiful, organic and sustainable piece of Xhosa jewelry

But to have it, you have to cross at least one river. Only once, have I seen someone bringing them to the city. 

It takes a special place to make a special thing.

So, if you have to cross the river, bring a bangle back, just for me.

Finding a place on the ferry at Kei Mouth can sometimes take a while

Your travel, you will share with everyone. And that is nice.

The waters of the Kei River are brown after heavy rains

The river tells you if you are going on or not.

The easiest way to cross the river

Amongst the many others who have all a reason to cross the river, you can find her. There is she.
But she, she goes forth and back on the river. The river is where she works.  

Crossing the river to do business

It seems strange and still makes sense. For her it's what she does - travelling the river with her stuff. All day long.

Bracelets and baskets are handwoven by the Xhosa women in a traditional way in the Transkei since centuries

She has learned this craft form her forefathers and knows to do it as well as her mother and her grandmother. In the Transkei there is no work, so this is what she does.

A serious look - the Transkei has been my home - always

On the ferry, she shows her things to the ones that cross to the other side. The ones who buy are the tourists and she can tell you, there are not really many of them in this region. Christmas and Easter is a good time for her and the other women because she is not the only one doing this.

So she travels from one side to the other, her face protected against the sun like the Xhosa women have always done it.

In the distance the sea

The grasses of the Transkei in the Eastern Cape are used to make handwoven products

 She needs that grass on the other side of the river, to make the things she does.

Handwoven Baskets - Origin Transkei Eastern Cape

Her baskets are really beautiful and some of the tourists say:"Yes they are, but what would I do with it, I really have no need for it".

"Just buy one, I give it cheap for you", she says.

And may be she is lucky. Being on the ferry is to her advantage because she can talk to the tourists and convince them that they need a basket or a bangle until the ferry touches ground the other side.

Then off they drive with dust and noise.

Cheap Chinese import products have found their way into the Transkei

But her bangles and her baskets are not all she sells. 

Lately, she has added things that she knows come from China. Cheap things that are nothing like hers. Things that are made by even cheaper labor than in South Africa. Things that break and do not last like hers. But the young girls buy it.

To live here you have to be strong - and you are born like that

The remotest areas and all the small villages in South Africa have been flooded by cheap Chinese goods. No small village in the rural areas without a Chinese shop, selling dresses and shoes and lotions and potions to the locals. The same dresses you can buy at Woolworths in town, just 30 % more expensive than here.

The boats men

But we have heard that China is Africa's new big friend. Right? China is helping Africa so much and sending all that money!

And The Passengers

So what is a perfectly beautiful, organic and sustainable piece of Xhosa jewelry worth in our global world? Does it count more or as much as goods, that are produced by child labor. 

And the question is: who wants it? Me, I do.

But I am completely irrelevant int this process. 

International Brands Have Given Their Names And Labels To Africa

Some are not so sure about this trip

But many do not know about all that and are just worried about this trip. There is no time to care cause life is really sometimes not easy. It's the century old, courageous story of African people who can not swim, traveling on rough and long rivers to get to where they want to be. Well, this river is small but it is the same.

Don't look and you will be fine!

She comes home....

And for her, at the end of the day she comes home!

Tired but with may be some money.

Too shy but lots of reason to be proud

At first there was shyness.

What more can you ask for?

But then she showed me her pride.

Different Designs of Grass or Reed Bracelets

Detail of different grass bracelets

Delicate and Fine

A time consuming craft