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Wandon fari mai zina (white trousers with zina embroidery)

ca. 1980s

Private pants of prestige

Only two to three inches of these pants would ever be seen when they were worn under a long gown-the fourteen-foot waistband had to be gathered together by a drawstring. Rulers like the Emir of Kano in Northern Nigeria wore such pants on a regular basis. They commissioned malamai, or learned men, to embroider symbolic designs such as the "wise man's knot" all over the voluminous trousers, as a form of protection. After use, the royal leaders often gave elaborately embroidered clothes to their court retainers. This impressive pair was acquired in northern Nigeria in 1990, from the secretary to the Emir of Kano, under unusual circumstances: Having not been granted permission to enter the palace of the Emir, a fortuitous accidental meeting with him as he was leaving his Mercedes to attend a hotel conference enabled the contact with the secretary to be made.

Cotton cloth with embroidery of imported wool

84 in. (213.36 cm)

L.: 40 1/2 in.

Gift of Marshall and Helen Hatch

90.50

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Untold Story, November 14, 2003 - November 14, 2004

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