Kirdi (N.Cameroon/S.Chad)

Beaded Woman’s Aprons

Early 20th century

Glass trade beads, cowrie shells, cotton string

Tang Art Collection Gift of Mr. & Mrs. William Simmons

        The Kirdi are one of a number of small farming communities living in the Northern Cameroon and southern Chad area.  They are known for their arts of personal adornment, including beaded aprons.  Among this group women would wear only these aprons around the waist area.  Westerners call them "Cache Sexes," a French term that literally means "to hide the sex."  The aprons were originally made of iron strips held in place by a belt of fiber (see accompanying photo). However, since the beginning of the 20th century beads have been introduced to the N.Cameroon/S.Chad area and the Kirdi have taken to making the aprons with beads. The different styles of these aprons denote age, female circumcision, widowhood, tribal origin, and the elevated status of mature married women in Kirdi society.

         Yet there is limited information written about the specific connections of the designs and their purposes. They generally have a range of bright colors and geometric patterns that most likely come from an influence of neighboring tribes and possibly even the landscape they are surrounded by.  The cowrie shells, hanging from the bottom, which were formerly used as money could represent prestige or a symbol of higher status in the community. In the 1960s governmental restrictions required women to be fully clothed: This prohibition explains the recent influx of the aprons in the international art market, thus explaining how the Tang acquired them.

Bay Danforth '04