One of the things I love about Nigeria, my country, is how our traditional clothing goes beyond just a cloth we put on, nah, before you say a word, the cloth itself would have spoken volumes. That is how powerful, amazing, elegant, and beautiful it is. It immediately tells you where we come from and who we are.
While growing up, my mum would always bring out certain clothes which she had neatly folded for us to wear from her own wardrobe. Even though the clothes are ours, she won't allow us keep them with us, and anytime it's being brought out, we know a celebration or something very important is around the corner. It could be anything...a wedding celebration, a naming ceremony, a festival, a thanksgiving celebration or even a burial ceremony of an elder. Because on days like that, everyone wants to look their best.
Back then, I cared less, what I'm always after is if the clothes fit perfectly in a way I could be able to play and run around in it, I didn't know or pay attention to any other meaning it might have. I just wonder how people make such a big deal about it, while I on my part cared less. But now I can see and tell that every occasion and traditional clothes has not just its own style but also the beauty behind it.
In my part of Nigeria you will see men dressed in long traditional outfits with a cap to match, the same way you will see women dressed in beautiful wrappers or blouses with scarfs or head ties to match. That's what we call it here, "to match." When you see someone dressed in a complete way and every single thing in them complement and match each other, you say they are wearing, "to match."
Now let's talk about something I love to see, it is called "aso ebi." Aso ebi is when family members and friends pick and sew the same cloth, though in different styles. Just imagine how colorful and amazing such an event will look like. You step into a wedding hall and all you can see on everyone is the same outfit sown in different styles. At times it might be two different clothes that will complement such events. Let's say the family of the groom picks a particular cloth and the family of the bride picks another, and you as the family of the bride who has come to grace the occasion stepped in in your own clothe as well, I can tell you will know where to go and those to talk to. You can't mistake one family for the other. Because you can easily tell which clothes and group of people belongs to the bride and which belongs to the groom. That way, you can see how what I said earlier is possible, "before you say a word, the cloth itself would have spoken volumes."
And when we talk about traditional clothing, we are not talking about everyday wear, they are the type of clothes that you get to wear only on special occasions, they are the type of cloth you keep and that itself makes it very special. When you see a man you've always been seeing going to work in a suit dress differently on a certain day or on a weekend, you don't need to be told he's going somewhere very important.
Another special and interesting part about traditional clothing is that each and every tribe has their own style. And even though those styles are all unique and different in their own ways, they still carry the same meaning and message; pride in our culture. I'm an adult now and I've come to appreciate our traditional attire, I now see them beyond what I feel back then when I'm still young. Just yesterday my small bro sent me a picture of the cloth we used for one of our elder brother's wedding ceremony and immediately it reminded me of home, of that particular event, of family gatherings, of love shared and of different memories.
Even though times are changing and people are wearing more of Western clothings, I still love the way I see a lot of us wearing our traditional outfits, including those who are even in the diaspora. And I can tell you that our native wear won't and can't go out of style, that is why you also see how some now combine traditional fabrics with modern designs, it shows they still very much remember their roots.
You can as well check out @samostically post here where he talked about the meaning of our traditional attires. I promise you will love it. It is one I got my inspiration from as well.
As our traditional clothings carries our story, our identity, and our culture. And anytime you see us wearing it, then you can tell what we are doing, we are telling the world, "we remember our roots and this is who we are."
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Images are AI generated.
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