Creating culturally based bridal adornments from selected Ankole motifs

Abstract

The Banyankole have kept okuhingira (the giveaway ceremony) as an important function, yet body adornments used during okuhingira do not clearly depict the Kinyankole culture. Since the ancient times, personal adornment has always played a vital role in every part of the world. However, creating body adornments rooted in the individual and specific cultures, and integrating them in contemporary designs that come with global fashion of attires and body adornments which are influenced by the Western designers has remained the greatest design challenge of African artists. Whereas the indigenous motifs are embedded with meaning intended for that particular community, are colorful and can be a symbol of identity, Africans are tom between the local (usually considered as for the poor) and the imported- "already made" (usually considered high quality and trendy for the rich). This study therefore aimed at developing bridal adornments inspired by traditional exterior decoration motifs of Banyankole in South Western Uganda that can serve both traditional and contemporary interests. The study, which was qualitative and descriptive, targeted the Banyankole brides and the bridal entourage. Ten respondents were purposively selected and interviewed. More so, observation, photography and secondary sources were employed to enrich the data. The collected data were interpreted using studio practice such as sketching and drawing to develop designs from the selected motifs which resulted into three sets of bridal adonunents for the bride, the matron and the maid. The products were tested on five brides to be and one bridal shop to establish their readiness for use. The study recommends the use of indigenous designs such as traditional motifs in the contemporary bridal adonunents for posterity as well as unique beautiful designs.