The presence of indigo cloth in South Africa has a long and complex history. Its roots probably extend as far back as early Phoenician and Arab trade along the eastern seaboard before 2400BC.

However, it is known that indigo cloth did arrive in South Africa after the 1652 establishment of a sea port at the Cape of Good Hope. Slaves, soldiers, Khoi-San and Voortrekker women were clothed in indigo and there is also evidence of  floral printed indigo. Much of the early indigo cloth in the Cape was from India and Holland. Natural indigo dye was obtained from the Leguminous Genus, Indigofera plant.

During the 18th - 19th centuries European textile manufacturers developed a block and discharge printing style on indigo cotton fabric. In 1862 a German chemist developed a synthetic indigo. In the 18th century discharge printed indigo was manufactured and printed in Czechoslovakia and Hungary by Gustav Deutsch and much of this cloth entered the South African market. In the 1930's he emigrated to Britain and established a factory in Lancashire. This factory, machinery and expertise was later purchased by Blue Printers Ltd in Wigan.

Such was the demand for the fabric that eventually there were four companies producing this print style, the largest being Spruce Manufacturing, who produced the most popular brand name, Three Cats, which was exported to South Africa.

In the early 1840's French missionaries presented Moshoeshoe 1st with a gift of indigo printed cloth establishing a cloth preference that grew during the 19th century and still prevails today, hence the term shoeshoe or isishweshwe. German settlers to the Eastern Cape in 1858 often elected to wear the Blue Print that was widely available as a trade cloth and echoed the Blaudruk that they were familiar with in Germany. Xhosa women gradually added what they termed Ujamani to their red blanket clothing. These mission-educated African women absorbed European clothing styles enjoying the blue hue that the indigo gave their skin.

The production of Indigo Discharge Printed Fabric in South Africa started in 1982 when Tootal (a UK based company) invested in Da Gama Textiles. Blue Print was then produced under the trademark of Three Leopards , the South African version of the Three Cats trademark. Tootal also introduced a range named Toto, as well as two new colour ways - a rich chocolate brown and a vibrant red. In 1992 Da Gama purchased the sole rights to own and print the branded Three Cats range of designs and had all the copper rollers shipped out from England to the Zwelitsha plant in the Eastern Cape.

Da Gama still produces the original 'German Print', 'Ujamani' or 'Shweshwe' at the Zwelitsha factory. The process is still done traditionally where the fabric is passed under copper rollers which have the patterns etched on the surface allowing the transfer of a weak discharge solution onto the fabric. Subsequent unique finishing processes create the distinctively intricate all-over prints and beautiful panels.

The Three Cats range is sourced from a closed library of designs whereas the Three Leopards range introduces new designs on a regular basis. The common trademarks or brands, Three Cats, Three Leopards and Toto 6 Star are authenticated by a backstamp on the fabric. Users are skilled at verifying the fabric's authenticity by touch, smell and taste to ensure that they are purchasing the genuine fabric and not reproduction or fake cloth.

The indigo also fades with washing in a similar manner to denim. Isishweshwe has a distinctive prewash stiffness and smell: this is inherent in its production and history, when during the long sea voyage from England to to South Africa, starch was used to preserve the fabric from the elements and gave it its characteristic stiffness. After washing, the stiffness disappears to leave behind a beautiful soft cotton fabric.

Typical use in South Africa has been for traditional ceremonies in rural areas, ensuring a constant demand for Shweshwe. In certain cases, special designs are produced for imporatnt ocasions such as royal birthdays and national festivals. Today this fabric has become fashionable beyond its traditional usage and praise must go to young South African designers for their renewed interest in this traditional national heritage.

 

(With thanks to Da gama Textiles for this brief history)

______________________________________ 

Shweswe is a popular subject as it becomes known around the world. But no more so than in the Eastern Cape where the following article is from.

Cottoning on to Shweshwe chic

Claire Fulton

23 November 2006

Shweshwe - the ethnic-print "indigo cloth" synonymous with traditional black South African dress - has slaves, German settlers, Basotho King Moshoeshoe and the catwalks of New York woven into its story.

Now, emerging Eastern Cape farmers and a cotton initiative have moved this "national heritage item" into the development arena.

 Shweshwe is manufactured by Da Gama Textiles at Zwelitsha outside King William's Town - the only known producer of traditional indigo dyed discharge printed fabric in the world.

With its intricate indigo, white, chocolate or red African prints, it peaked as a fashion fabric in 2003, but has remained in steady demand for traditional clothing, tourism products and, surprisingly, American quilting, says marketer Helen Bester.

Homegrown cotton
Now it is the use of the Eastern Cape's first commercially grown cotton in about 50 years in the production of shweshwe that is stirring excitement.

Some 1 000 hectares of cotton on farms in Addo, Keiskammahoek, Tyefu, Middledrift, Kat River, Qamata and the Karoo were harvested this year, largely escaping the August floods, says cotton gin director Adam Van der Westhuizen.

It was grown by 340 farmers (of which 320 are emerging farmers) as part of a cotton growing project initiated by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation in conjunction with Da Gama Textiles.

It is an ambitious expansion project that could see the province become a leading cotton producer in the country and up to 6 000 jobs created.

"The tourism industry has embraced shweshwe, using it for items like cushions, book covers, lampshades, placemats and even dog blankets," says Bester. "In the fashion world it has been elevated by South African designers like Amanda Laird Cherry, Bongiwe Walaza and Marion Fassler."

Walaza has shown shweshwe in Paris and in her Spring 2001 New York fashion collection. "All my work is rooted in the Transkei," says Walaza. "It's one of the reasons why I work so effectively with shweshwe."

History of shweshwe
It is the history of shweshwe that stamps it on South African hearts.

It has been said that shweshwe derived its isiXhosa name from the swishing sound it makes when the wearer walks.

But Da Gama Textiles' history attributes the name to the fact that French missionaries presented King Moshoeshoe I with a gift of indigo printed cloth in the 1940s. By association with the king, the cloth was called shoeshoe - and ultimately ishweshwe.

According to Da Gama Textiles' records, indigo cloth arrived in 1652 with the establishment of a sea port at the Cape. Slaves, Khoisan and Voortrekker women wore indigo cloth from India and Holland and later from Lancashire in the 1930s.

The King Moshoeshoe I connection and the German settlers' preference for the cloth - similar to their Blaudruk - further entrenched the fabric, and Xhosa women added what they called ujamani to their red blanket clothing.

UK investment
Production of shweshwe in South Africa began in 1982 when UK company Tootal invested in Da Gama Textiles.

The Blue Print was trademarked Three Leopards (the South African version of Three Cats) and a range called Toto introduced.

Beware of imitations! To identify real shweshwe, look for a backstamp on the fabric of the Three Cats, Three Leopards or Toto 6 Star brands.

In 1992, Da Gama purchased the sole rights to own and print the Three Cats ranges, and the copper rollers were shipped out to South Africa.

Today the printing process is still done by feeding fabric through these copper rollers, etched with intricate patterns.

Shweshwe is typically stiff when new. This is because starch was historically used to preserve the fabric on long sea voyages from the UK to South Africa. After washing, the stiffness disappears, leaving a soft cotton feel.

This article was first published in Eastern Cape Madiba Action, summer 2006/07 edition. Republished here with kind permission of the author.