Alaro: Indigo and the Power of Women in Yorubaland
One cannot overstate the role of indigo in West Africa. The ubiquity of its use and the exploitation of numerous species of indigo-producing plants have placed indigo-dyed cloth at the heart of textile traditions from Mauritania to Cameroon. The laborious process necessary to extract the dyes and its richness, permanence, and depth of color intimately link indigo to deities, diviners, sorcerers, and other powerful and otherworldly forces. Among the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin Republic, indigo dyeing was the domain of industrious women. Historically Yoruba women were some of the most prodigious producers of indigo textiles on the continent. Iya Alaro or head dyer’s role is not only a position of economic and social power among those in the living world but also a profession of deities (orisa) and other powerful feminine entities. This essay explores the spiritual, social, and commercial significance of indigo dyeing industries and the indigo cloth itself as a manifestation of women's power and ritual life among the Yoruba nations. I first provide an analysis of the technical processes relating to indigo dyeing in Yorubaland. Ultimately, this essay demonstrates how indigo dyers have played crucial roles in Yoruba history and are often an integral part of women's histories in Africa’s pre-colonial and colonial eras.
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Alaro: Indigo and the Power of Women in Yorubaland: By Stephen Hamilton