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, each of which carries its own history and produces its own recognisable effect. This particular cloth is an example of àdìrẹ oniko, which specifically uses raffia to create the resist. The pattern has been created by folding the cloth from corner to corner like a concertina and then binding it very tightly at various points with raffia. It would then have been dyed in large earthenware dye pots partially sunk into the ground. Both the tying and the dyeing would have been done by women.

The cotton cloth of this àdìrẹ was factory-woven, before being hand dyed. It was bought for the museum in Ibadan, south-western Nigeria in 1964. Àdìrẹ was generally used by women as ìró (a wraparound skirt) but during the 1960s it was also made into tailored items such as men’s shirts. Àdìrẹ was extremely popular in the 1960s partly because they were inexpensive and could be made quickly in response to changing fashions. Patterns would fall in and out of favour; this particular cloth was referred to by the woman who bought it for the museum as ‘cloth of the year’ in 1964 because it was so popular.