How 1,000-Year-Old Tie-Dye Designs Are Made in Gambia | Still Standing | Insider Business

Natural dyes from kola nuts and indigo have been used to make tie-dye in Gambia for generations. But more and more artisans have been replacing these traditional ingredients with imported chemical dyes. Today, Musa Jaiteh is the last artisan in his town in Gambia still using only natural dyes and traditional techniques.

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How Fabrics Made for ‘The Woman King’ Were Made in Gambia The Traditional Way | Insider Business

[E]

I can’t overstate to anyone watching who isn’t familiar with fiber arts how insanely insanely difficult that pleating he’s doing is the way he’s doing it. For reference, for a lot of projects that use small pleats- especially for a piece of fabric that large- you’d use loosely sewn threads to tug it into folds, or even a hand-cranked machine. Doing it so perfectly that quickly by hand is absolute masterwork

[Ekow_TheStoryTeller]

This is truly authentic. Originally African and proudly Gambian. Appreciation to Woman King for saving this business and giving it a global exposure

[pawanjyoti]

The last part made me happy when his daughter said that they’ll take over and keep the craft alive 😊

[phranerphamily]

Thank you to insider for not just highlighting these individual crafts people across the world but including their website so that those of us that can, can purchase from them to keep their art alive

[donovanb]

I personally feel that stuff like this should be immortalized into text, just as the masters of the craft describe it, so that this gorgeous art is preserved for future generations.
Forgetting beautiful techniques like this does a disservice to the generations of people that came before.
This stuff is so cool that I, eventually, would like to learn this skill myself.

[ebubeawachie]

The last scene with his daughter saying she’ll continue the business and then him with the baby made me tear up.
Such a lovely man.

[aminatacham]

As a Gambian myself, I feel so proud of our culture and I pray it doesn’t die out

[Ooweeeooo]

Smart man to use traditional techniques. Keep the local ways alive.

[aaron]

Fun fact, in Java, Indonesia, where the Batik technique was devised, is still extremely popular to this day. The Batik market in Yogyakarta is worth a visit. It's amazing stuff. The word dervies from the Javanese 'Mbat titik' meaning 'throwing dots'.

[stephanieyee]

I love Muse's work. What a fantastic turn of fate for him to be asked to make the costumes for a Hollywood movie! Especially as his pieces are all hand crafted.

It's good to hear that he is sticking with making his dyes naturally rather than going the chemical route.

Good luck to Musa and his family.

[dadarmwn]

It is wonderful to see the younger generation like uncle Musa's children that are willing to continue the tradition. And I appreciate uncle Musa for keep on using natural coloring because he knows the side effect of using the chemical one. I hope there will be more people like uncle Musa and his children in any part of this world to preserve the tradition that they have.

[AnimeShinigami]

After seeing this I felt inspired to mix up a quick batch of rooibos tea dye in a canning jar. Rooibos tea bags, alum and cream of tartar, stuff these in a quart jar along with your yarn and fiber and then fill with hot water. You can use this for a number of things in the kitchen and some will even change color with PH. For example I turned tumeric into a gold color, and with baking soda that gold color turned rust orange/red. I made a cloudy dark blue/grey from the hulls of sunflower seeds (make sure they're ONLY the hulls that are black, the ones with striped hulls won't work. Rudbekia (also called Black eyed susan) creates a dull yellow on cotton but if you use it on wool it creates an army green. And more recently I made dried, fairly dusty geraniums into a magenta dye that turns slowly purple over time. I clicked on this video looking for more inspiration and to learn about the natural colors made overseas.

[maisiefreeman]

I watched The Woman King just a few days ago, and was immediately struck by the beauty of the fabrics used. As a white westerner, we never get the chance to see that side of Africa's history, and it was incredible. I'm so pleased this tradition is going to be passed on.

[GamMusicPromo]

I have been watching this channel for a while now and now you guys came to my country, The Gambia. Thank you insider 🤝🤝🤝

[sophroniel]

Wow, these are so beautiful! Such a talented man. I wish I could learn from him!

For those interested, ash + water creates lye (the beginning chemical for saponification, the process of making soap), and different plants make different levels of caustic strength due to their innate chemical makeup. It can also affect colour, from just intensifying the colour without changing the mordant to creating a completely different colour. That Mr Jaiteh was able to discover this using plants nearby without scientific textbooks and that sort of thing is incredibly impressive, and shows not only how smart he is but shows someone who uses the resources at hand, reminding us all that hat for those who have the desire to make something, no fancy equipments are needed to make true art!! I cannot afford his products myself but I wish I could afford to support his work, it's one of those rare beauties you see only every now and then.

[safaiaryu]

These eyes are incredibly vibrant. Why even bother with chemicals dyes? Also, the tie-dye this dude makes is beautiful. I love how intricate it is. The batik is gorgeous, too, but I've never seen tie-dye that looks so carefully made.

[poojakarkala]

This is the most beautiful video in this channel. The amount of hardwork he’s putting is insane!! I hope the art stays on for generations…

[JesseJohnson-ev]

Thank you to insider for not just highlighting these individual crafts people across the world but including their website so that those of us that can, can purchase from them to keep their art alive

[ugochukwuharbor]

Inspiring story. Very happy the world gets to share in his story!

[nellieken]

I love this and i hope you explore more west African and African crafts as a whole.