Kanga from the Erie Art Museum Collection

1. Kanga from the Erie Art Museum Collection Kanga are wrap garments from East Africa. Most of these samples were screen printed in Tanzanian factories. Kanga are sold in matching pairs. Typically they are worn over clothing and women usually wear one wrapped around their waist and another draped over their head or shoulders. Most kanga have an inscription in Swahili. This allows women to communicate to their neighbors, sweethearts and family sentiments they may not be able to express openly. Men give kanga to their wives, girlfriends, and mothers. They are careful to pick an inscription that communicates their feelings, much like Americans may choose a greeting card. www.erieartmuseum.org

2. “Gossipers will never stop; don’t pay them any attention.”

3. “Receive this gift from my joyful heart.”

4. “Don’t turn into a fish bone and pierce me.” In English this translates, “Watch your mouth!”

5. “If you won’t care about me, I won’t care about you.”

6. “Parents’ blessings bring happiness and peace.”

7. “Sorry for your loss, we hope your heart can find peace.”

8. “Goodness never rots.”

9. “Mother, I have no way to repay you except with my gratitude.”

10. “When two are in love, their enemies can’t harm them.”

11. “This is normal for me, I don’t have any problems with it.”

12. “My son, concentrate on your studies. Don’t fall into the trap of worldly things.”

13. “Where is goodness in this world?”

14. “May it be a blessed X-mas 1999”

15. “He has promised to love me, I won’t let him down.”

16. “You can poison romance with too many words.”

17. “Love is like a cough, it is impossible to hide.”

18. “When a big tree falls, the little birds are in anguish.”This inscription is often worn during the funeral of an important elder.

19. “To the eyes a native; to the heart, a stranger.” She may look like she belongs, but she feels like an outsider.

20. “It is no secret, you are my one and only.”