The Cloth That Eats Money: Ṣeghoṣen as a Symbol of Prestige

| african arts AUTUMN 2023 VOL. 56, NO. 3 In August 2019, Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye was installed as Ogunoye III, the 32nd Olọ́wọ ̀ of Ọ̀wọ ̀ and Paramount Ruler of Ọ̀wọ ̀Kingdom.1 The steps leading to his coronation involved numerous ceremonies and ritual acts that transpired over more than two weeks. Several variations of attire were required over the period of intense ritual activity. On the day of his investiture (September 8, 2019, seventeen days after his installation), Ogunoye was crowned with the coral bead ade (crown) selected for the occasion from the collection of royal headwear in the palace (Fig. 1). The crown was topped by the urere oken, the tail feather of the bird associated with royalty among many Yoruba groups, perhaps the African Paradise Flycatcher, a tiny forest bird with long white tail feathers (okin in Yoruba but oken in Ọ̀ghọ)̀. Beads of office around his neck, wrists, and ankles were noticeable as he danced before the joyous people of Ọ̀wọ.̀2 Two elaborate ape (dancing swords) made for the occasion bore his name along with the lion and unicorn emblem in cutout designs. Two large cloths called ipanmeta3 (each made of three panels of locally woven, blue-striped fabric) crossed over each other, one tied on the left shoulder, the other on the right. The crossed panels covered an elaborate ensemble of a tunic or gown (ewu egha) over trousers (efa), also crafted from panels of local women’s weave in the pattern known as ṣeghoṣen. Neither of the textiles here, the blue-striped cloths or the elaborate ṣeghoṣen, are considered “royal,” but each carries deep meaning. The indigo-striped panels are significant to Ọ̀wọ ̀history and to the textile industry of Ọ̀wọ.̀ Similar striped fabrics have been used over time as uro (wrappers), drapes such as ipanmeta (three-panel cloths worn as togas) and ugbero (cloths woven to mark the Ero celebrations marking the retirement of a man from public responsibilities), gele (head tie), and uborun (stole). Historically, almost all cloths of ritual significance are woven by women. It is the ṣeghoṣen cloth used here for the Olọ́wọ’̀s ewu egha and efa that is the focus of this article. The textile has been referred to as senwonsen by Yoruba researchers not attuned to the Ọ̀wọ ̀(or Ọ̀ghọ)̀ language (Akinwunmi 2005; Asakitikpi 2005; Lamb and Holmes 1980).4 Ṣeghoṣen is the most admired and the most expensive of cloths produced by women in Ọ̀wọ.̀ Ṣeghoṣen has been esteemed for countless years, and in spite of the availability of imported fabrics, its value as a cultural icon continues into the twenty-first century. Over the last half century, changes in its manufacture and in its use as prestige clothing have taken place. In the 1970s and earlier, ṣeghoṣen (or any cloth woven by women) was never cut and tailored. It was used whole as wrappers, head ties, or stoles by women or wrapped toga-like by men. Today it is sometimes cut and used as fabric for sewn and constructed garments, and it has even been used in the construction of purses, handbags, briefcases, backpacks, and shoes. It is not just the use of ṣeghoṣen that has expanded, but the visual appearance and process of production have changed as well. A greater range of color combinations has been introduced, and the manufacture of cloth is no longer limited to older Ọ̀wọ ̀women as it was in the past, since younger women and those of other ethnicities have been allowed to weave cloths previously considered out of bounds for young weavers. While ṣeghoṣen continues to be the textile of choice to indicate wealth and position, it has also become a symbol of Ọ̀wọ ̀ identity for those in the Ọ̀wọ ̀diaspora, whether they have moved elsewhere in Nigeria or live abroad. In the process, the name for the cloth has changed as well—from ṣeghoṣen to keghojo, as will be explained.