Àdìrẹ is an indigo-dyed cloth traditionally produced by Yoruba women in south-western Nigeria. A range of resist-dye techniques are used to create àdìrẹ patterns, sometimes incorporating more than one technique in a single cloth. The ground-cloth of cotton is folded, stitched, tied or otherwise worked-upon in preparation for dyeing; these areas resist the dye, creating the cloth’s distinctive blue and white patterns. The precise origins of àdìrẹ are unknown, though indigo-dyeing has been in evidence across West Africa for centuries. Àdìrẹ has an enduring presence in the region, becoming a popular, everyday cloth, with many women dyeing àdìrẹ of their own design within the home. Once dyed, àdìrẹ cloth can be wrapped or stitched to create garments, such as a woman’s ìró (wrapped skirt). From the 20th century onwards, factory-woven cloth began to be used; this cloth accepted the dye more easily, creating a finer clarity of design. Whist factories are now able to mass-produce imitation àdìrẹ, the popularity of the traditional hand-worked cloth remains, made by local artisans in historic dyeing centres such as Ibadan.

Àdìrẹ is subcategorised according to the method of resist-dyeing used. This cloth is an example of àdìrẹ eleko, which uses a cassava starch paste as the resist. This can be applied to the cloth either using a stencil, or freehand painted using brushes or natural tools such as chicken feathers, the mid rib of a palm leaf, or a matchstick to produce different thicknesses of line. The base cotton cloth of this àdìrẹ has been freehand painted before being hand dyed. This particular pattern is known as Olokun , ‘goddess of the sea’ in Yoruba. The goddess is also associated with wealth. The cloth is divided into four rows of five squares with a series of smaller rectangles around the edge which are then filled in with a variety of patterns. As with many example of àdìrẹ, it is composed of two panels stitched together along the long edges creating one whole piece. This would be worn by women wrapped around the waist with the seam running horizontally, forming an ìró (wrapped skirt). This cloth has been signed on the underside with a symbol of a bird, but it has not been possible to associate a name with this maker.