Yoruba Adire Oniko Indigo Textile

A vibrant and beautifully irregular pattern covers this indigo textile by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Hand-dyed by women, this style of tie-resist indigo cloth is known as adire oniko and is achieved by tightly tying up portions of the strip-woven fabric using raffia before applying an indigo dye. Shielded from the intense color, the tied sections are then exposed to reveal abstract designs of light blue against a dark indigo background. With saturated color and an exuberant display of pattern, this textile is a stunning example of a traditional craft.