THE DYERS OF DAR ES SALAAM

A renowned textile centre, Bouaké attracts wholesalers from all over Côte d'Ivoire to stock up on a variety of fabrics, including bazin and indigo loincloths, which are very much a part of the Ivorians' clothing habits. Know-how imported from Mali, vegetable dyeing with indigo - this intense blue tending towards purple - gave its name to the Tuaregs of the Sahara desert, nicknamed the "blue men". In Côte d'Ivoire, it is the prerogative of Malinke women who officiate in the Dar es Salam and Djambrou districts of Bouaké. Watching them at work is a fascinating spectacle. The process is carried out in several stages. Once picked, the leaves of the indigo tree are macerated and then oxygenated in the open air to extract the indican, the precursor of indigotine, the main molecule of the indigo dye characterized by its intense and deep blue. The indigo pigment obtained is then mixed with boiling water to which potash has been added so that the dye sets well (the powdered potash enhances the colour and the granular potash maintains it), and is left to rest again to allow the fermentation process to take place. Depending on the intensity of colour desired, the fabric is then immersed in boiling water for varying lengths of time - an operation that can be repeated several times if necessary - then rinsed, dried and beaten by "tappers" using wooden mallets. A good opportunity to shop for this handmade fabric.