The Confluence, Volume 4, Issue 1, Full Issue

In this paper, I will look at textiles throughout West Africa.The majority of these textiles will be a woven fabric.Additionally, I will analyze these textiles across three different time periods: pre-colonial, colonial, and contemporary times.During these time frames, I will show that textiles have changed and evolved.Yet, despite the extensive time period that covers antiquity to contemporary periods, I will show that West African textiles have continued to be a powerful mode of communication for the people.These textiles demonstrate to the modern world how art can serve as a sophisticated form of non-verbal communication while simultaneously preserving cultural heritage.Their enduring influence challenges us to look beyond Eurocentric perspectives on art and communication, showing how visual patterns and symbols can convey complex meanings and cultural values that transcend spoken language. Pre-colonialWest African textiles have a long and thriving history.Innovative methods-like using bark, leather, or flax to create fabrics-have propelled this persistence.In turn, these textiles have laid the foundation for the now widely recognized and popular African patterns and colorations.However, pre-colonial textiles were not always so flamboyant.In fact, ancient textiles have been found to be in natural, muted colors from plant dyes.Browns and blacks are a common color scheme.For example, some of the oldest West African textiles discovered in Burkina Faso and found to be made of wool, fur, and leather (figure 1).These materials naturally lend themselves to a simpler color scheme.However, this does not mean that the textiles were simplistic.Considering that they were painstakingly created by hand, pre-colonial textiles of West Africa are astoundingly complex.Not only was there a range of materials to work with, but there was a whole way of