Tailoring Modernity and Wrapping Tradition: Chitenge [African Print Fabric] Class and Culture in Zambia

Abstract

This study delves into the historical and contemporary significance of African print fabric known as chitenge in Zambian dress practices, critically scrutinizing sartorial choices and developments. We explore and unravel chitenge’s multifaceted meanings for contemporary Zambians, in terms of gender, class, religion, and urbanity vs. rurality through a critical cultural hybridity approach with oral history, ethnographic, and digital qualitative methods. Our research reveals conflicting perceptions—from being labeled as backward to its proud representation as national dress during special occasions, chitenge in Zambia reflects wider global trends of local dress positioned as “traditional” contrasting with Western styles perceived as “modern.” Chitenge is desirable when tailored into Western-style attire customized for individual use, highlighting its role as a sign of conspicuous consumption, instead of its more versatile wrapped form that could be worn in multiple ways, shared, and repurposed into various other uses ranging from a baby carrier to household décor. Beyond our findings, this study also contributes to epistemic justice as one of the first studies on sartorial practices in Zambia by a Zambian scholar.

Keywords:

• chitenge
• African print
• Zambia
• modernity

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Introduction

The song “Never Forget” featured in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie trailer is performed by Zambian singer Sampa the Great, featuring Zambian singers Chef 187, Tio Nason, and Mwanjé (Sampa The Great 2022). “Never Forget” celebrates African contributions to humanity and showcases Black, African, and Zambian pride, emphatically devoid of colonialism. Sampa the Great received presidential recognition on Zambia Independence Day in 2023 for her contributions to the music world and showcasing the beauty of Zambian culture on a global platform (Open Zambia 2023). The song launches with “Who took fabric, made that sh*t classic, that sh*t ain’t average, we did.” Significantly, none of the artists wear the most quintessential fabric, chitenge, the “icon of Zambian fashion” (Hansen 2019, 4). Chitenge, African print fabric, only appears in the music video when Zambia’s first president Kenneth Kaunda (1964–1991) is featured in a nostalgic clip, wearing a white t-shirt and a chitenge wrap, proclaiming, “This is Zambia…. progress cannot wait.” (1:31)¹. There are several other video clips throughout Never Forget of old television broadcasts of a modernizing Zambia, in which musicians, workers, and children wear Western clothing—a visual remnant of colonialism and recent developments spurred by Western overconsumption and neoliberalism. This is how insidious cultural hegemony is: even as the musicians powerfully portray and celebrate being Zambian and African, albeit culturally hybrid (Western and Afrofuturistic), their attire, devoid of chitenge, effaces chitenge’s place in Zambian and African culture, and even historic clips generally feature Zambians in Western clothing, which Zambians have been wearing for only a little more than a century.

Conversely, African print has been inextricably linked with African identity and everyday life since the 19th century when wax-resist batiks with ancient origins in the then-Dutch colony Java “caught the eye” (Gott et al. 2017, 43) of Dutch colonizers who manufactured imitations in Europe that were imported to Africa (Luchen 2021). Eventually, European manufacturers—who also copied from each other (Rabine 2002)—would also appropriate African objects and symbols for use in chitenge designs localized to countries throughout the continent (Gott et al. 2017). African prints designs feature motifs inspired by local poems, proverbs, and stories, although contemporary objects such as phones, electric fans, radios, and cameras also increasingly adorn them (Adeloye 2022), according to anticipated consumer preferences. For example, in her study about Senegalese African print, Rabine (2002) found that whereas designs for American consumers were of a symbolic mask, drum, or cowry shell, designs bound for Senegal featured flowers, birds, or abstract figures. Beyond mere aesthetic, African print fabric can signify various demographic characteristics of the wearers, such as age, marital status, and tribe (Adeloye 2022). African print’s temporal and geographic travels propelled through colonialism and capitalism deem it a global hybrid, “an amalgam of various artistic cultures, namely Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, Arab, Dutch and European” (Akinwumi 2010, 304), with lingering questions of authenticity (Akinwumi 2010; Rabine 2002). Termed chitenge in Zambia, there are many words for African print throughout the continent, reflecting diverse linguistic and cultural nuances, and ultimately, its deep significance to more than one billion people in various contexts. For example, the textile is known as ma zambia in Zimbabwe, kitenge in Kenya, aso ebi and ankara in Nigeria, le wax in Senegal and Mali, and ntoma or ntama in Ghana, and pagne in Togo, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire (Gott et al. 2017). Since this study is about Zambia, in this study, we refer to African print as chitenge. The majority of the chitenges sold in Zambia today are imported from West Africa, India, and China.

Chitenge holds an indelible place in Zambian traditions and culture, albeit one with a clear evolution of the geopolitical, economic, and social changes in Zambia. Chitenge’s historic importance has led to its reverence as a symbol and ideal for upholding high morals, values, and national identity in Zambian society. Zambia is composed of multiple ethnically and linguistically diverse tribes that hold chitenge central to their Zambian identity. Although Zambians predominantly speak Bemba, Silozi, Tonga, and Nyanja, there are 68 other spoken languages in Zambia and all tribes have different traditions and ceremonies (Marten and Kula 2008). The only universal cultural element in Zambia among the tribes is chitenge, as illustrated with a photo of chitenge street vendors on the cover of Culture and Customs of Zambia (Taylor 2006). A widespread belief among the various tribes is that chitenge is a symbol of modesty and high moral standards (Luchen 2021). It is predominantly worn by women and used in a plethora of other ways, such as wrapped around the waist, covering the head, and tailored into dresses or accessories depending on socioeconomic status and occasion, as we explore in depth in this study.

Chitenge is a versatile fabric with practices and meanings that extend far beyond the sartorial. In the home, Zambians use chitenge as bedspreads, curtains, doormats, and other home accessories. In cold weather, they are used as shawls and baby blankets. Chitenges are also used as baby slings, to tie goods or luggage on one’s back, and as head support (known commonly as nkata) for women who carry bundles of goods or bucket of water on top of their heads. Zambians also gift chitenge on special occasions, as a souvenir from their travels, and as a coming of age gift to girls. It is also considered benevolent to buy chitenge for the elderly, to show appreciation and elicit blessings.

Since the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1991, political parties also gift chitenge adorned with political messaging and images of leading politicians and candidates to garner votes (Taylor 2006; Imbuwa, forthcoming). Aside from the floral or African symbols that predominate chitenge designs, in recent years, chitenge has been printed in Zambian flag colors with symbols of national identity. These chitenges are designed for the national day anniversary and are generally worn during the independence celebration week as a sign of patriotism. Chitenge is also used in entertainment content such as television series and advertisements to add a “Zambian touch," an element that signifies Zambian culture, tradition, or norms (e.g. Zambezi Magic, 2019).

Despite its indelible place in Zambian society, there are no published academic studies about chitenge by Zambian scholars². In fact, there is very little published work about chitenge in Zambia, all of which is by anthropologist Karen Tranberg Hansen. Although her work centered on salaula [secondhand clothing] in Zambia for several decades (e.g., Hansen 2000), chitenge’s prominent place in Zambian society has compelled her to write about it as well (Hansen 2019, 2020). Without Hansen’s contributions, the academic discourse on sartorial practices in Zambia would be virtually non-existent. While we deeply appreciate, acknowledge, and cite her work, it is crucial to address certain limitations.

Hansen emphasizes that “African print” is a misnomer, arguing that it is Dutch (Hansen 2019), in reference to Vlisco, the Dutch manufacturer that appropriated and continues to capitalize on Indonesian batik. She also credits Europe and the West with “dress[ing] African bodies” (Hansen 2023, viii). Hansen neglects to address colonial practices that appropriated Indonesian methods and Indian cotton, the imposition of dress practices on Africans by missionaries, and the exploitation of millions for the enrichment of the Global North (Comaroff and Comaroff 1997; Geczy 2013; Rodney, 1972/2018; Wills 2009). Instead, in underscoring global trade links, she writes that “When women in Zambia tell you that their colorful chitenge outfits are traditional, they are talking about an invented tradition…” (Hansen 2019, 4; 2023, 163), as if all traditions are not invented. Like many other globally circulating commodities and ideas adopted and adapted far beyond their roots, African print is an integral part of the identity of people in sub-Saharan Africa, deeply embedded in their respective cultures and traditions—and should be respected as such.

Hansen also notes that Zambians, enthusiasts of Western secondhand clothing, are “well known for dressing smart and fashionably” (Hansen 2019, 8) insinuating that wearing Western clothing is synonymous with being fashionable. She concludes that “Rather than being in opposition to one another, European/Western style clothing conventions and local/traditional ways of dress” (Hansen 2019, 12) intermingle based on context. Ostensibly with an intent to highlight vibrant cultural hybridity, Hansen does not critically question developments in fashion and juxtaposes “European/Western” with “local/traditional” clothing, thus equating the “European/Western” with modernity, fashion, and “dressing smart.” Finally, even though Hansen continues to publish work, including her recently published Dress Cultures in Zambia: Interwoven Histories, Global Exchanges, and Everyday Life (2023), her work remains primarily grounded in fieldwork conducted several decades ago.

In this study, we cast a critical, updated eye, on Zambians’ everyday sartorial choices and developments in fashion. Who wears chitenge, when, and for what purpose? What does chitenge mean for Zambians today? What do Zambian sartorial practices reveal about class, culture, and globalization? These are the questions that we undertake through a critical cultural hybridity approach (Kraidy 2005). Critical cultural hybridity is central to our understanding of Zambian sartorial practices because it is a welcome departure from simplistic dichotomies such as celebratory cultural pluralism and overpowering cultural imperialism. Drawing on Kraidy’s (2005) framework of critical transculturalism, we engage with the complexities of Zambian cultural identity acknowledging the interplay of various cultural influences within Zambia, which encompass indigenous, colonial, and global elements and cultural practices that are not static but are dynamically shaped by power relations.

By adopting a critical purview on power dynamics, our approach unveils how power structures influence Zambian sartorial decisions. This includes examining the ways in which power calibrates the significance attributed to different cultural elements and shapes individuals’ choices regarding when to eschew or embrace attire like chitenge. Thus, critical cultural hybridity serves as a lens through which we analyze the negotiation of identity and agency within Zambia’s cultural landscape, shedding light on the intricate interplay between culture, globalization, and power dynamics. In the following section, we detail the methodology employed to address the research questions.

Methodology

To answer the research questions, we deployed ethnographic and digital qualitative research methods in English, Nyanja, Tonga and Bemba. Author 1, In’utu Imbuwa’s positionality as a Zambian woman enabled this research and afforded a plethora of data. Imbuwa completed fieldwork in two cities of Zambia: the bustling capital Lusaka and the tourism capital, Livingstone. Between May and July, in 2022 and 2023, Imbuwa observed and detailed chitenge use in the public, everyday lives of Zambians, such as shopping for chitenges, church functions, and early market errands.

We complemented this fieldwork by analyzing 19 Zambian music videos³ sampled according to their popularity based on YouTube viewership and comments, and temporal distribution, ranging from the earliest available in the 1980s to present day, to afford visual evidence for the use of chitenge over time. Our selection of music videos as a metric for discerning fashion trends within Zambian society is underpinned by several factors. The widespread popularity of these music videos demonstrates their resonance within the cultural milieu of Zambia. Music videos serve as a visual medium through which prevailing societal norms and values, including fashion preferences, are reflected and perpetuated. By virtue of their widespread consumption and appreciation, these videos offer a nuanced portrayal of the intersection between music, fashion, and cultural identity within Zambia. The visual representation of fashion within these music videos not only serves as a reflection of societal norms but also contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding cultural authenticity and identity within the Zambian context, offering a temporal tour of prevailing cultural norms and values, with attire ranging from traditional wrapped chitenge to tailored chitenge and Western styles.

Furthermore, Author 1 (Imbuwa) analyzed the presence of chitenge in Zambian visual media such as locally produced television shows and commercials produced by Multichoice, a southern African media company, and conglomerate Trade Kings Groups, Zambia’s largest manufacturing company for household goods. The content they produce is distributed across southern Africa, representing Zambians’ way of life—and the use of chitenge—for both local and regional viewers. The representation of chitenge in Zambian digital media provided an additional outlet for the study of its uses and meanings in everyday life.

Oral history complemented our fieldwork and digital ethnographic methods. In the absence of in-depth credible publications about the sartorial history of Zambia, Author 1 (Imbuwa) elicited oral history from several elderly Zambians for a historical overview of sartorial practices in Zambia leading to chitenge’s contemporary status. Through this data, we compiled a short sartorial history of Zambia. For this research, we relied primarily on oral history passed down by Zambian women in Imbuwa’s community. The women are over 45 years old and in formal or informal employment, housewives, or retired. The most valuable contributions were from Mary Simabolyo, a 78-year-old Tonga woman. Simabolyo shared her experiences and observations, and accounts imparted by her grandmother of clothing practices in Zambia prior to Simabolyo’s birth. After losing both parents at a very young age, she was raised by her grandmother in a village around Gwembe valley in southern Zambia. Simabolyo lived in Lusaka after the colonial era in the late 1960s, later moving between Livingstone and Lusaka, until she permanently settled in Livingstone in the early 2000s. She did not receive any formal education yet has functional comprehension of English from her experience living in the estate of a White couple during the post-colonial era in Lusaka, where her husband was a gardener. The White couple provided Western clothes to their workers and their family and that is how Simabolyo initially came to own Western clothes.

Finally, we looked to public discourse data, including Zambian news websites, blog posts, and reader comments about chitenge. Our thematic analysis of this data afforded a general overview of chitenge’s place in Zambia, against which we triangulated fieldwork data. In the next section we provide a brief historical outline of sartorial practices in Zambia, leading to chitenge and contemporary practices, focusing on chitenge’s ideological and material places in Zambian culture and society today.

A brief sartorial history of Zambia

Clothing and fashion in Zambia have evolved drastically since the pre-colonial era. The people living in the territory of present-day Zambia wore clothes styled according to their tribes. The first settlers in Zambia were the Batonga people (Bwalya 2022). They wore clothes called mashamba (in Tonga), made from sisal. Clothes were also made from animal skin, usually goat skin (Kapambwe 2018). The clothes they wore mainly covered sensitive parts of the male or female body and were worn by adults while children were mostly in the nude. Before the colonial era, a girl was considered to come of age at 12 and was then expected to cover her body like the adults.

In the early 1850s, Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone’s visit to Zambia was widely reported in London, and eventually, “commercial, political, and religious interests often combined in the larger imperial project of establishing British domination” in southern Africa (Taylor 2006, 11). The arrival of the British, and especially the missionaries, instigated covering most parts of the body. The Batonga people in Zambia, for instance, adopted the wearing of patched clothes and accessorizing with beads known as buulungu (Chitonga dialect). However, these clothes were considered backward and indecent by the White missionaries, prompting them to distribute plain black fabrics known as silika. The Batonga people of Southern Zambia adopted this fabric as their new form of clothing. Women wore silika knotting it on one shoulder while the other part of the material hung loosely under the arm, covering down to below their knees, in the manner that the Eswatini wear their lihiya, a type of African print. They also designed munsinsi skirts with silika fabric and big thorns known as mamvwa in Chitonga that they would use as needles or used beads as skirts with a short layer of the silika fabric. Men tied silika into a form of loose pants. Occasionally, missionaries and other White men and women would give their extra clothes so that Zambians would dress according to what Europeans regarded as modest, but some people rejected European clothes because they were foreign and diverged from their customs.

As trade in the region increased and more Europeans and Indians were inhabiting the land which British capitalist and colonizer Cecil John Rhodes had named Northern Rhodesia, there was an increasing supply of fabrics and importation of sewing machines. During the colonial period, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) was under British rule from the late 19th century until its independence in 1964. The influx of Europeans and Indians into the region was primarily driven by economic interests, including the exploitation of natural resources such as copper and the establishment of trading networks (Seekings and Tembo 2022). The presence of Indian communities in particular can be traced back to the indentured labor system employed by the British Empire, which brought Indian workers to various colonies, including Northern Rhodesia, to work on plantations and in other industries, though Indians also arrived as skilled artisans and commercially driven opportunity-seekers (Haig 2007). This demographic shift not only influenced the social dynamics of the region but also contributed to the diversification of goods and services available, such as the introduction of new textiles and technologies like sewing machines. Hansen (2023) notes that “In the late nineteenth century and first quarter of the twentieth century some sewing machines made the long overland journey from ports in South Africa, where Singer had a subsidiary, to Northern Rhodesia” (27). The sewing machines were owned by White missionaries or traders who taught some Northern Rhodesian men how to sew and employed them as tailors. People would buy fabric from Indians and have tailors sew it according to their liking. At the time, chitenge was just starting to gain traction among Zambians. Chitenge resembled silika, but instead of plain black, it was designed with vibrant printed geometric shapes of nature. At first reserved for special occasions such as initiation ceremonies and funerals, chitenge swiftly replaced silika and was adopted as national wear. Chitenge in Zambia was initially only worn wrapped, and eventually made into tailored clothing, like elsewhere in Africa (Gott et al. 2017). The inaugural first lady of Zambia Betty Kaunda, in a letter to the editor of the Times of Zambia entitled “Dress Decently,” deemed chitenge as authentically Zambian, “good and decent” attire (Kaunda 1985 cited in Hansen 2023). She usually wore tailored chitenge.

Meanwhile, missionaries continued to live in Zambia and donate/impose their clothes. However, some Zambians started to sell donated European clothes to each other, gradually starting what is today known as salaula, meaning “to search in a huge pile” in Bemba. Salaula expanded even more after independence and especially after 1991 when a change of government heightened trade in the country through new policies. Today, depending on their socioeconomic status, Zambians buy their clothes from salaula, Chinese-made clothes boutiques, or import Western clothes. These clothes are often matched with chitenges. For most Zambians, shopping from salaula is a luxury; for Zambian elites it is a pastime (Hansen 2020). While Zambian women from the lower socioeconomic realm may pair chitenge wrappers with a T-shirt bought from salaula, women from the middle class may pair tailored chitenge with good quality salaula or Chinese-made clothes. On the other hand, elites wear Western clothing in their everyday lives, reserving designer chitenge attire for special occasions. That is, chitenge, like the sañse⁴ in Senegal, “forges a link between having and being, displaying both wealth and social identity" (Heath 1992, 20). Where and how do Zambians buy and style chitenge? This is the focus of the following section.

Buying and styling chitenge

The Lusaka Kamwala shopping district, predominantly owned by individuals of Arabic and Indian descent, serves as the primary hub for acquiring chitenge. Chitenges neatly hang from the top part of the wall to nearly the bottom of the wall all around the shops, while others are layered on tables, and more are in bales labeled “Made in China” or “Made in India” waiting to be unpacked. Zambian male workers cut the chitenge from the wearable two meters to the largest piece of six meters, while proprietors facilitate the monetary transactions. Customers prefer to touch the fabric to inspect its composition to determine its quality. Chitenge is made from cotton, wax print, a combination of wax and cotton, or nylon/polyester, locally called telela meaning slippery. Telela designs tend to be more visually appealing and lustrous than the others but telela is deemed “imitation chitenge” because it is not durable, it is lighter, and more slippery than cotton or wax print, frequently slipping off if wrapped around the waist. Thus, most Zambians prefer chitenge made from cotton or wax print, if they can afford them. Chitenge crafted from cotton has a soft texture with no lustrous finish, rendering it resistant to color fading. Conversely, wax print chitenge is characterized by an initial stiffness and a persistent shiny surface layer, fading at an accelerated rate with repeated use, compared to cotton chitenge.

The majority of chitenge buyers are women. Men who purchase chitenge tend to be tailors who buy chitenge to display and advertise outfits, or men shopping for gifts for their significant others. Apart from individual buyers who shop for personal use, small-scale traders are also buyers of chitenges in Kamwala stores, buying in bulk to resell them in stalls along the streets, markets, or various other cities in Zambia. Men may also be found buying chitenge for their church choir or ushering group. Religious chitenge shops specialize in the retail of chitenges affiliated with specific religious denominations⁵. Church chitenges often bear the names, logos, or color schemes emblematic of the respective churches. For example, the Roman Catholic Church, the New Apostolic Church, the United Church of Zambia (founded by the country’s inaugural president, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda), and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, among others, each offer church themed chitenges, designed in line with their unique religious affiliations. Protestant churches, while also offering their own chitenges, typically present designs of a more understated nature, characterized by solid colors and bearing the church’s name and symbol. Notably, most churches offering these specialized chitenges are the traditional churches, denoting churches with longstanding roots in the country, often blending indigenous tradition with religious practice. Given the considerable female demographic within these congregations, chitenges assume significance as attire for women’s groups, church function uniforms, and choir ensembles. The diversity of color options available in these chitenges enables members to select appropriate attire for specific occasions. Religious chitenge shops serve as essential suppliers, catering to the fabric needs of church members, particularly in cases where such items are not readily available at local church stores or by offering them at discounted rates.

Chitenge are styled into a plethora of designs by local tailors and fashion designers. Tailors tend to be men, and designers tend to be women (Hansen 2020). The popularity of Nigerian ankara [African print] fashion, has inspired local Zambian tailors to adorn their shops with posters featuring Nigerian ankara designs, offering customers a wider range of choices. Recently, tailors have also innovatively equipped their services by offering customers iPads with images showcasing their previously crafted chitenge outfits. As designs become more intricate, their cost tends to increase. Tailors are limited in their skills and offer services to average Zambians while fashion designers like Mainga Sanderson of Vitenge Nivatu [Chitenge is Ours] design for the elite. Sanderson is reputed with showcasing his chitenge designs at the Plitzs New York Fashion Week and winning the best local fashion designer award in 2022. Chitenge are also readily designed as uniforms for special occasions, as we explore in the following section.

Matching chitenge

Chitenge holds a special allure for Zambian women for fostering uniformity during social occasions such as weddings, political party rallies, church events, and gatherings like the Zambian Airforce’s Air Power Ladies Association. This practice echoes the Nigerian tradition of wearing aso ebi as a form of unity during events such as weddings, birthdays, and housewarming ceremonies (Nwafor 2021). The act of donning matching chitenges at these events promotes inclusivity, camaraderie, and visually affirms solidarity and support for shared occasions or causes. On the other hand, on some occasions, not wearing a required chitenge can lead to a fine.

In events like kitchen parties⁶ and political rallies, women adorned in the uniform chitenges often receive gifts, while those without the uniform may leave empty-handed—also parallel with the aso ebi tradition among Nigerian women (Nwafor 2021). Uniform chitenge-donning women receive a gift, because they contribute pool funds to collectively purchase the uniform chitenge from the same vendor, ensuring a discounted rate and uniformity in quality and print. A record is maintained of contributors, and those in matching chitenges receive small gifts from the organizing committee as a token of appreciation for their support. Wearing the uniform chitenge at kitchen parties signifies solidarity with the couple as well as financial stability, as it suggests an ability to afford and stylize the garment to personal liking. The desire to be part of the group and receive gifts motivates women to purchase the uniform chitenge for special occasions. However, not every woman can contribute because of the high cost of uniform chitenges. Although purchased with a slight discount from buying in bulk, uniform chitenge is priced higher by organizers to allay the cost of event expenses. On the other hand, at events like political party rallies, women can avail themselves of free chitenges, although wearing chitenge with political messaging does not necessarily indicate loyalty to a particular political party (Imbuwa, forthcoming).

Notably, organizations that once embraced uniform chitenges, such as church choirs, are shifting toward wearing matching Western clothes for cost-effectiveness. For example, church choir members may opt for white shirts and black bottoms instead of a uniform chitenge. In the last decade, the chitenge has transformed from being a staple, wrapped garment to a special, tailored garment, reserved for special occasions or a shunned garment. As the quest for modernity and conformity with Western fashion grows, even tailored chitenge is gradually making way for Western attire, often made in China or obtained from salaula. Wrapped chitenge is increasingly shunned, as we examine in the next section.

Chitenge gender and generation

Chitenge in Zambia is a unisex fabric, although both historically and in recent times, it is predominantly worn by women⁷ and used for a range of other purposes. The primary purpose of the chitenge is to promote modesty, a value cherished by Zambians across traditions and socioeconomic classes. The unifying element in public-deemed clothing for Zambian women is its inherent modesty, with a particular emphasis on avoiding attire that exposes areas above the knees. If a woman wears clothes that breach this norm in public spaces, a chitenge is used as an additional layer as a cover. Hansen (2020) highlighted the cultural expectation in Zambia for women to cover their thighs, making considerations such as dress length, tightness, and fabric transparency significant factors in interactions with men and elders at home and in public. This commitment to modesty is deeply rooted in Zambian culture, influenced by conservative Christian values introduced by White missionaries, and sealed with Zambia’s declaration of Christianity as the official religion in 1991 (Phiri 2003).

Chitenge is not only a symbol of modesty but also obligatory attire for church attendance. If a woman arrives in mid-length Western clothing, she is provided with a chitenge to cover her legs. Some churches offer women chitenge customized according to denomination (see “Buying and Styling Chitenge” section). In Protestant churches, women are encouraged to wrap a chitenge around their waist during church services, and if forgotten, they can ask ushers for one. Should women choose not to request a chitenge and their attire is deemed inappropriate for church, ushers proactively offer them chitenges.

Beyond religious contexts, chitenge is integral to daily life. Women are expected to wear it while doing household chores, running errands, or selling in the market. When engaged in housework, women wear chitenge over their Western clothes to prevent them from soiling. Chitenge also facilitates easier movement than fitted Western clothes. Special occasions, including funerals, kitchen parties⁸, Chilanga Mulilo⁹, and national day celebrations, also warrant the use of chitenge. Visual media, including commercials by Trade Kings Zambia¹⁰, reflects the cultural significance of chitenge, showcasing its diverse applications in everyday life, such as wrapped around the waist, head, or as a tailored skirt, and sometimes as loose-fitting shirts for men (Trade Kings Group 2017).

In the post-colonial era, men wore the chitenge in a manner reminiscent of how women tied the silika, often paired with a t-shirt underneath. This style, as seen in Kenneth Kaunda’s appearance in the Sampa the Great music video mentioned in the introduction, has also become a common feature in contemporary music videos aiming to capture the essence of Zambian men’s dress code in chitenge, especially when not tailored into a complete outfit. In contemporary Zambia, albeit men’s fashion in everyday life is “unambiguously Western at all income levels and across all subcultures” (Taylor 2006, 90) men don chitenge attire for special occasions such as Independence Anniversary Week or during kitchen parties. Men showcase their chitenge style through tailored shirts, blazers, trousers, or shorts. This trend has extended to everyday wear, with men and children now embracing tailored chitenge clothing more frequently than before.

Until recently, it was uncommon to see children under the age of 12 wearing chitenges. Growing up in a matriarchal household, I (Imbuwa) expressed my desire to own a chitenge, like my older sisters did. However, my mother explained that children wearing chitenges were perceived as acting older than their age, and this perception would contribute to aging faster. Consequently, waiting until age 12 or older was considered the most appropriate time for girls to own a chitenge. Also, schools organized career day events where students were encouraged to dress according to their aspired careers, which were typically white-collar jobs. No students wore chitenges in schools, because chitenge was deemed inferior, informal, and traditional. This perspective mirrored the reality of the Zambian formal work environment, where chitenge-wearing was considered unprofessional. This parallels the discrimination faced by Africans with natural hair in office spaces, where such hairstyles were considered unprofessional, reflecting a stand against Eurocentric beauty standards (Matjila 2020).

However, a subtle shift in the perception of what constitutes modern wear over the years has transformed people’s attitudes toward chitenge. This shift has allowed individuals to incorporate chitenge into their work attire if it is tailored and styled according to current fashion trends. Some women occasionally choose to wrap it as a skirt at work, especially on special days, as part of their uniform. However, there is still resistance to younger girls to wrapping chitenge as skirts. Chitenge remains a favorite among elderly women, who view it as a garment that embodies modesty and reflects traditional Zambian women’s dress. In fact, Zambian elderly women advocate for women to carry a chitenge in their bags wherever they go and cover up as necessary, associating covering with chitenge with self-respect and consideration for those around them. Related, many Zambian women consider it decent to have a chitenge wrapped around their waists, flowing to the ankles like a skirt, as also observed by Hansen (2019).

Conversely, young women may find it unconventional when friends opt for chitenge instead of ripped skinny jeans or mom jeans, whether at home, in the market, or in the city center. Young women tend to concur with elite Zambian women in wearing chitenge only if it falls within modern parameters of a tailored outfit or if budgets restrict, by incorporating patches of chitenge into jeans. On national days, young people may wear chitenge only if a school event requires it; otherwise, they often prefer carrying bags made with trending African prints like Dashiki or wearing a chitenge headwrap while donning Western clothes.

The increased availability of moderately priced Chinese-made clothes in cities like Lusaka and Livingstone has contributed to a decline in the wearing of chitenge, as more women can now afford lower-quality modern wear, resembling the Western style embraced by elite Zambian women whom they wish to emulate. Additionally, as high-quality secondhand clothes from the Global North become more affordable through salaula markets, more people choose to buy and revamp these clothes, gradually replacing chitenge with what they consider more modern clothes, influenced by the upper strata of Zambian society, as we explore in the following section.

Chitenge and class

Socioeconomic status is closely tied to the prevalence and style that chitenge is donned in Zambia. As one’s socioeconomic status rises, the frequency of chitenge wear tends to fall. In rural areas and low-income households, wrapped chitenge is a staple of everyday life. Oppositely, in urban areas mostly inhabited by middle to high-income citizens, tailored chitenge is reserved for special occasions.

The accessibility of the fabric in varying qualities and prices makes it affordable to Zambians from all social classes. For low-income women, chitenge is a practical choice due to its ease of wear, typically wrapped around the waist like a skirt and paired with a T-shirt, occasionally complemented by a headscarf. This attire is common for daily activities and special occasions alike. These women often designate chitenges to be worn at home and those for special events. When a special chitenge becomes worn out, it may either be repurposed as a home accessory or worn exclusively at home. Contrary to urban perceptions, low-income Zambian women in villages and suburban areas do not consider wrapping chitenge around their waist old-fashioned. This is not a stylistic choice but rather a practical one, driven by the financial constraints that limit their ability to purchase Western clothes from boutiques or acquire good quality secondhand clothes. To complement their chitenges, low-income women often buy T-shirts and blouses from affordable secondhand clothing stalls or Chinese shops, reflecting a common trend in their fashion choices.

In middle-income households, the practice of wearing chitenge is typically confined to the home, and during church services or funerals. Chitenge is deemed public worthy only if incorporated into simple tailor-made outfits inspired by Western fashion, such as pencil skirts, blazers, and dresses. Common ensembles for middle-income women include pencil skirts paired with tailor-made chitenge shirts or gathered chitenge skirts complemented by off-shoulder shirts. Middle-income women frequently patronize salaula [secondhand clothing] stalls, preferring good quality items over Chinese-made clothes. Moreover, the middle class constitutes a significant customer base for local tailors in their search for attire proximate to designer clothing. Local tailors often recreate Western-style garments using chitenge, crafting items like chitenge jumpsuits. This allows the middle class to stay in tune with current fashion trends, as the chitenge versions are more affordable compared to their Western counterparts.

Upper-class Zambian women, often married to politicians, affluent businessmen, or holding high-ranking positions in various sectors, embody a distinct fashion culture. This elite group includes lawyers, politicians, and young entrepreneurs who have studied or lived abroad, exemplified by individuals like Chishimba and Monde Nyambe, the sister-duo of the public relations firm PR Girl Media¹¹. These women wear chitenge in elaborate designs crafted by renowned fashion designers such as Fay Designs and Mainga Sanderson of Vitenge ni Vatu. Locally referred to as the apamwambas [the ones at the very top], these high-income individuals in society seldom incorporate chitenge into their daily wear, reserving it for special events. Their preference leans toward what is considered modern by Western standards, to indicate their elevated social status both in Zambia and abroad.

Contrary to Hansen’s (2019) argument that “…because chitenge fabric is multi-purpose and worn in both town and country, it is unlikely to be replaced by Western-styled garments” (p. 7), evidence suggests a different reality among the elites. Elites predominantly opt for Western fashion in their daily lives. Chitenge is reserved for special occasions, when elites demonstrate their Zambian pride and culture by wearing designer custom-made chitenge tailored into Western styles.

Elite women often even disregard the tradition of wearing chitenge in church, opting to wear Western clothing even for religious services. On a visit to my (Imbuwa) local church, a woman wearing a pencil skirt above the knees, black heels, and a linen white shirt was provided a chitenge by the ushers. She took it, but instead of wearing it, she placed it on her chair. No one approached her again to remind her to wear it or at least cover her legs. I (Imbuwa) later learned that she was a lawyer and businesswoman. If she were not part of the elite, there would be social pressure in the form of stares and whispers from people around her, which would likely compel her to acquiesce, lest she be deemed immoral.

Sartorial choices reflect social status. From the quality, quantity, and style of chitenge, to choosing between Chinese-made replicas of fashionable clothing, salaula, or imported designer styles, sartorial choices in Zambia communicate socio-economic status, gender, and age. Notably, hegemonic Western modernity warrants Western clothing or a cut-and-sewn chitenge. Meanwhile, wrapped chitenge, in its uncut form, has come to signify backwardness, as we discuss in the following section.

Modern chitenge

As evident in this study, Zambians have a complicated relationship with chitenge. The way Zambians wear chitenge reflects and reinforces class dynamics, while also evoking sentimental, traditional, and moral values. That is, paradoxically, like shalwar in Turkey (Celikkol 2022), chitenge is simultaneously national pride and national shame. While cherished as emblems of tradition and identity on national holidays, in contemporary everyday life, both shalwar and wrapped chitenge are associated with rural, poor, and conservative communities, highlighting socioeconomic and cultural divides within the Zambian and Turkish societies.

Chitenge’s shifting cultural significance over the years is visually discernable in Zambian music videos. Chitenge, the epitome of decency at least since Zambian independence in 1964, was the norm in everyday life, reflected in older music videos like those of the Amayenge band. Similarly, singers like Angela Nyirenda (e.g. Chalo Chuwama Nawako) and groups like Shatel (e.g. Gentelemani) celebrated Zambian culture through their music and attire, donned in chitenge and attempting to preserve traditional sartorial elements. However, as trends shifted toward Western styles, chitenge became less common in music videos, reflecting broader societal changes influenced by globalization and Western modernity. Chitenge’s absence in music videos of popular songs like Sampa the Great’s Never Forget and Roberto’s AmaRulah, reflects these wider trends. Despite this shift, chitenge remains prominent in gospel and political choir songs (e.g. Nalekumfwafye, Tembwe Wa Ng’oma, Abwelelepo) symbolizing its connection to traditional values and national identity. It is also minimally present in music videos that feature weddings (e.g. Fweba Ku Chaume, Sangalala). In Yo Maps Yo’s Pick it Up, a group of young women dressed in western-style clothing snicker at another young woman who wears chitenge wrapped around her waist. Thus, besides the traditional and political domains, chitenge is scarce in contemporary mainstream music videos, reflecting a broader cultural transition influenced by globalization and the allure of Western modernity. Zambian industrialization, West-calibrated modernity radiating from televisions and social media that galvanized Zambians’ mimetic desire (Girard and Williams 1996) along with readily available salaula, reduced chitenge’s visibility in music videos, reflecting the sartorial shifts of everyday life in Zambia. By the 2010s, it was shameful, as reflected in Muchitenge [in a chitenge] (ZedBeatsOfficial 2012), a popular song in which a young man cajoles a young woman to meet him outside “olo uli muchitenge” [“even if you are in a chitenge”], perhaps inspired by its growing image as backward or association with older women and low socio-economic status, and thus for coverage and utility, instead of adornment and beauty (Rabine 1997). In 2022, the chitenge is nearly invisible in music videos, even those that hail Zambian and African greatness, as evident in Sampa The Great (2022). Yet, no special occasion or national holiday would be marked without chitenge.

Woven into the fabric of Zambian life, from everyday wear to special occasions and cultural festivities, chitenge resonates deeply within Zambia, albeit in varied ways, because far from being simply a fabric, chitenge is intimately connected to Zambian cultural roots and collective identity. However, the role of chitenge in Zambians’ lives has been redefined and restyled. Until recently, for most Zambians, chitenge was primarily associated with modesty, traditional values, and womanhood. Depending on the norms and structure of a family, chitenge was expected to be draped around by women when around the house doing chores, in public places like the market, and visiting in-laws. However, exposure to Western media has recontextualized it as modern only when cut and sewn—not wrapped—and chitenge use has been on the decline as more Zambians strive to look like elites who have limited chitenge-wearing to special occasions such as matrimonial events (e.g. Chilanga Mulilo, kitchen parties), funerals, and national holiday events. However, irrespective of one’s status in Zambian society—and not unlike veils in Turkey and certain religious groups such as Orthodox Christians—wearing chitenge is a must for women attending funerals and religious gatherings. If a woman does not wear a chitenge, she is offered one, and on some occasions, fined.

Whereas missionaries and capitalists hand-delivered and imposed Western clothing in the past (Comaroff and Comaroff 1997), recent hegemonic influences are less forceful, but nonetheless activate potent mimetic desire (Girard and Williams 1996). Mimetic desire, as articulated by René Girard, posits that individuals imitate the desires of others, engendering a collective pursuit of specific objects or attributes within social groups, thus shaping dynamics of emulation, competition, and conflict within societies—and in the case of sartorial influences, on a global scale. Zambians, like others from the Global South (Celikkol 2022; Geczy 2013) aspire to emulate Western fashion, the uniforms of modernity (Celikkol 2022), and visually subscribe to this “sign of superior development” (Geczy 2013, 9) as imposed by the local yet cosmopolitan elite, and seen on social media, television, and cultural influencers such as PR Girl Media. Whereas wearing chitenge was construed as dressing decently in the past, recently, decent dress is no longer a central consideration in wider Zambian society, where simply wearing any clothes that cover up the body are deemed acceptable.

In contemporary Zambia, the chitenge in its most basic, uncultivated, untailored form, wrapped around as a body cover and with an abundance of other uses, is deemed backward and low class. Inextricable from everyday life in Zambia several decades ago, unsewn chitenge is shunned and relegated to markets, domicile, and church. Only when cut and sewn, tailored and tamed, and its use restricted to only one domain or manner of wear and thus transformed into conspicuous consumption (Veblen, 1899/1967) is it accepted as modern and accepted in elite domains such as malls or restaurants.

To be accepted in the realm of the modern, chitenge requires Western endorsement or special events to justify its wear among the middle to upper strata in Zambian society, parallel to shalwar in Turkey (Celikkol 2022). Western endorsement appears in various forms—most potently as cutting and sewing of the chitenge. That is, restricting the fabric’s versatility and cutting and sewing it toward a gendered single-purpose clothing item that cannot be repurposed, which not only “tames” the fabric out of its “wild” unrestricted use, but also cultivates it as an object for conspicuous consumption (Veblen, 1899/1967). That is, once chitenge is cut and sewn into a particular garment style, it loses its versatility—its freedom—to be anything from a headwrap to a skirt to a repurposed household item. It can only be used for the purpose for which it was made (clothing, household accessory, etc.). Unisex as a wrap, when tailored, chitenge use is restricted to the designated gender for which it was styled, and to the person for whom it was styled. This explains why elites opt to wear it tailored and it is an indelible uniform of celebrations and cultural and religious rituals. Its most versatile form simply cannot provide this level of ostentation.

Further, once its tailored, freedom of movement is restricted. As Veblen (1899/1967) theorized about restrictive women’s dresses that implied high status and wealth because their tight and heavy dresses rendered them useless, so the tailored chitenge signals elite status because it is often tight and limits physical movement. Thus, women who wear tailored chitenge signal that they either do not work or work in office environments that require no physical labor. On the other hand, the wrapped chitenge is demeaned as a low class, provincial, and/or household attire because of the freedom of movement that it affords, like shalwar (Celikkol 2022), enabling physical labor. Additionally, women in the lower classes wrap chitenge over their Western-style clothes while they do housework, because Western clothes are deemed desirable and worth protecting—because they are more expensive than chitenge and function as uniforms of modernity (Celikkol 2022). That is, “morality and utility are joined together in clothing as coverage, while beauty and sexuality are joined in clothing as adornment. The purpose of coverage is fundamentally at war with the purpose of adornment.” (Rabine 1997, 158; emphasis ours). Chitenge as used in everyday life is used for coverage and morality; Western clothing, as adornment, beauty, and “tied to real material gain and palpable comfort and security” (Geczy 2013, 8). This is evident in Zambia, as young women who emerge from their homes wearing chitenge remove it when beyond the sight of older family and relatives, revealing their mini-skirts and shorts in public (Mutenge 2021) to display not coverage but adornment, and thus what was imposed on them as a “more forward, Western way of thinking” (Geczy 2013, 9).

Zambian culture is hybrid and dynamic, where like elsewhere, the hierarchy of sartorial styles are calibrated by the elite, not only in terms of the strong cultural currents of the West but also Afromodernity. For contemporary Zambians, the chitenge serves as a platform for negotiating Zambian modernity, sustaining not only a connection to cultural heritage but also an opportunity to explore a diverse range of Afro-designs and Western styles in African print. That is, the material and ideological transformations that chitenge has undergone over the years have made it adaptable to Afromodernity and to the “changing realities of urban cosmopolitanism" (Nwafor 2021). Through this process, chitenge remains also a symbol of national identity and a shared history of moral values and modesty of Zambians. Thus, even as its everyday use is restricted to the lower strata of Zambian society and older Zambians, it remains the centerpiece of special occasions and national holidays, like local attire elsewhere. That is, chitenge is cut and redesigned into intricate designs of a Zambian Afromodernity, “implicit in signs and practices, dispositions and discourses, esthetic values and indigenous ways of knowing… wrought in an ongoing, geopolitically situated engagement with the unfolding history of the present” (Comaroff and Comaroff 2012, 9).

From colonial times until present day, Zambia continues to suffer the consequences of injustice, oppression, and destruction, alongside knowledge production about Zambia that is produced by scholars from elsewhere. The first author brings a valuable local perspective as one of the first Zambians who has studied sartorial practices in Zambia, with cultural, linguistic, and historical insight that allows for a nuanced examination and enhancement of the existing scholarly work on chitenge. Thus, besides delineating chitenge’s historic to contemporary communicative and cultural role in Zambian society, this study contributes to epistemologies of the South (de Sousa Santos 2018), “the production and validation of knowledges anchored in the experiences of resistance of all those social groups that have systematically suffered injustice, oppression, and destruction caused by capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy” (de Sousa Santos 2018, 1). Thus, like Sampa the Great’s Never Forget, our study advances epistemic justice by offering a more grounded perspective that addresses misrepresentations and gaps in knowledge about Zambia and Africa.

Acknowledgements

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1362704X.2024.2372934)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

In’utu Imbuwa

In'utu Imbuwa is a Journalism and Strategic Communication senior at Northwestern University in Qatar. In 2023, Imbuwa was awarded a Global Undergraduate Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Global South (#IAS_NUQ) to conduct research on watermelon politics in Zambian political communication. In 2024, she was a research intern at FINN Partners in New York. With a profound interest in the cultural and political dynamics in the Global South, she regularly showcases her work at the International Communication Association (ICA). Imbuwa is multilingual (Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi, etc.)

Yasemin Y. Celikkol

Yasemin Y. Celikkol is an Assistant Professor in Residence in Northwestern University in Qatar, with a joint appointment in the Communication and Liberal Arts programs. She is affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South (#IAS_NUQ), where she also served as the inaugural Global Postdoctoral Scholar. Celikkol is a scholar of global communication at the nexus of popular culture, media, and geopolitics. Her recent work pertains to the geopolitics of globalized Turkish TV series in Bulgaria and Russia, as well as shalwar and fashion hegemony, published in Critical Studies in Media Communication, International Journal of Communication, and the International Journal of Cultural Studies, respectively. Celikkol is Reviews Editor for the Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication. She pursued her education in Bulgaria, the US, and Japan and holds a BA in Politics from New York University; an MA in Language Education from International Christian University in Tokyo; an MS in Intercultural Communication, and an MA and PhD in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Celikkol is multilingual (Bulgarian, Turkish, Japanese, Russian, etc.). She tweets @yaseminyusufoff.

Notes

1 Kaunda usually wore safari suits that came to be known for this reason as kaunda: a bush jacket and trousers (Hansen 2020)—material, visual remnants of British colonialism.

2 Luchen’s master’s thesis (Luchen 2021) is the only study about dress practices in Zambia by a Zambian scholar that we could locate.

3 Aphiri, Gentelemani, Muchitenge, Chalo Chuwama Nawako, Emma, Chungwa, AmaRulah, Lituation, African Woman, Pick it Up, Sangalala, Champions and National Anthem Remix, Never Forget, Fweba Ku Chaume, Nalekumfwafye, Tembwe Wa Ng’oma, Abwelelepo, Abwelelepo 2.

4 Sañse is a term in the Wolof language which roughly means “dressing up” or “dressing well” (Heath, 1992, 19). Only the most affluent Senegalese women can afford to purchase the luxurious garments, headdresses, and gold jewelry that amalgamate to create sañse, just like only elite women in Zambia can afford the best quality chitenge designed and tailored by expert designers. This is how beyond mere utility, sañse and high quality chitenge signifying high socioeconomic status.

5 Designs with religious motifs and shops that sell them are not unique to Zambia. They can also be found in Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries where African print is commonly used.

6 A kitchen party is a pre-nuptial ceremony held for the bride attended by the bride’s female friends and relatives, all of whom contribute household necessities through the gifts they bring to the party. The groom, his close friends, and male relatives also attend the event, in which the groom performs a ceremonial unveiling of the bride who is usually covered in a long trail of chitenge. Following this ritual, the groom and his male companions depart the event after the bride’s customary gestures of respect and gratitude.

7 Men are forbidden from wearing it in Malawi and several other countries (Nartey 2022).

8 The bride’s friends and relatives wear matching chitenges and t-shirts throughout that day.

9 The first ceremony held before a Bemba wedding.

10 Trade kings Zambia is the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturing company and is among the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was established in 1995 and is private owned. Trade Kings Zambia has a range of advertisements for their products, and the majority of their advertisements depict the way of life from rural to urban Zambia, because of this, Trade Kings products and advertisements are a favorite of many Zambians due to the nostalgia and relatability of the advertisements evoke.

11 PR Girl Media organizes some of the most lavish events in the country. Their prestigious events such as Lusaka July are only for the rich and famous, and occasionally boasting the presence of celebrities from neighboring southern African countries. Owing to its esteemed standing, PR Girl Media exerts an influence on the dress culture of women, particularly in the upper echelons of Zambian society.