Care, precision in making barkcloth

Dec 13, 2007

ALTHOUGH many changes have taken place in Buganda Kingdom, the making of barkcloth and its cultural values have not. <br>Kisolo, the head of the otter (ngonge) clan, is in charge of barkcloth production in the kingdom, while Omutaka Peter Ssemwezi Kaboggoza is the chief maker of the Kabaka’s bark

ALTHOUGH many changes have taken place in Buganda Kingdom, the making of barkcloth and its cultural values have not.
Kisolo, the head of the otter (ngonge) clan, is in charge of barkcloth production in the kingdom, while Omutaka Peter Ssemwezi Kaboggoza is the chief maker of the Kabaka’s barkcloth. Katikkiro Jolly Joe Lutaaya, is the administrator and controller of the proceedings and making of barkcloth.

Barkcloth is made from a variety of fig trees species locally known as mutuba, ntawebwa, ntessa, kabindi or butana, nabujji, namweluka, ennembe, ntakile and katana.

“Ntawebwa was the first mutuba species that was discovered and debarked by Wamala, the first chief maker of the Kabaka’s barkcloth. The species was, therefore, recognised as the only tree that produces barkcloth for the Kabaka,” says Kaboggoza.

Species are differentiated according to the tree leaves, strength and colour of their barks. Ntakile barkcloth is stronger than most species.

The skill of making barkcloth involves cutting and removing the outer bark of the tree. The bark is alternatively beaten with grooved mallets to make it thin and flexible.It is then put out to dry to become cloth-like.

Removing the bark is locally referred to as okuyimbula. But the traditional Luganda term is nsoole. Debarking is done during the wet season when the tree branches are fully covered with leaves.

Kaloli Wamala, a relative of Kaboggoza, says during debarking no alcohol is taken. The tree is debarked early in the morning or late in the afternoon to prevent the trunk from drying. A saw-like knife is used to make two cuts near the base of the trunk; about six to 10 feet above the ground or just below the lowest branches.

A straight line is cut downwards to aid debarking. This process is referred to as matalaga. Traditionally, a large crafted piece of iron ore (kyambe) was used.
A two-feet banana leaf sheath (muzingonyo) is used to remove the raw bark, which is about two to four feet wide.

“About four inches at the top, the trunk are removed to avoid fungi contamination and to aid the removal of bark, the next time debarking is done. The damaged trunk is treated with cow dung. Fresh banana leaves are wrapped around the trunk to facilitate faster healing and to avoid moisture loss.

It takes five-days during the rainy season or seven-days during the dry season for the trunk to recover,” explains Wamala.
The raw bark is first soaked in cold water if it has a continuous sap flow. It is then covered with tteete grass that is used to make local brew (mwenge bigere).

After removing the rough external layer, it can also be soaked into 30 litres of hot water for 30 minutes, to soften it.
The ancestors placed dry banana leaves (essanja) on the raw bark and set the leaves on fire to soften the bark.

The raw bark is then taken to the workshop (komagiro), a grass-thatched shelter to protect the bark from drying quickly and to maintain a cool temperature.

A log of the muvule or muzzanvuma tree of up to 18ft with its top smothered, is laid on the ground or slightly embedded into the earth as a working bench (Omukomago) before the craftsmen begin pummelling the raw bark.

Pummelling is traditionally referred to as kusagga or kukomaga. Pummelling the raw bark begins before sunrise. It prevents the bark from developing wrinkles caused by the sun.

The wooden hammers (ensaamu) used to pound the barkcloth, are made from the Nzo tree. They determine the fineness of the cloth.

Three different hammers are used; large, small and medium. The largest is referred to as ensaamu esaaka. The medium and small hammers are known as ensaamu etenga and ensaamu enzituzi, respectively. Pummelling thins the bark and spreads it out by compressing the intertwined fibres.

After the barkcloth has been pounded, it becomes uniformly thin — four to six times thinner than its original width and one-and-half times longer than its original length.

The beating process takes hours. A small piece of bark can be worked on for about five hours. Big barks are worked on by two to three craftsmen for about 12 hours. Thereafter, they are dried in the sun for three days. The sun helps the bark get a redish-brown colour.

Sometimes, the cloth is left outside at night so that moisture partially rehydrates it. Finally, the cloth is stretched, folded and kneaded by hand for several hours until it softens. Holes or tears that may develop in the barkcloth are neatly patched up or sewn with fine banana fibre thread.

The first piece of bark is called ekitetengele. A tree is debarked when it makes five years and is of poor quality.

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