Vouwo Mud Dye
New Paper in Coloration Technology About Novel Approach to Researching Sustainable Textile Dyes
Vouwo - mud dye produced by Marka-Dafing master dyer and hunter Adama Séré. Photograph by Salif Sawadogo.
Coloration using soil-based dyes is a fast-growing subject of enquiry in fibres and textile surface design, with pigments and microbes involved in their production being extensively researched. Using this rich natural resource, dyeing techniques have also been integral to long-standing textile traditions worldwide. Grounded in an anthropological study of the dyeing practice of Marka-Dafing hunters in Burkina Faso, West Africa, this paper analyzes the coloration processes in vouwo, or mud dye, used for hunting and ceremonial garments. It highlights complex chemical and microbiological reactions occurring in a dyeing experiment curated by dyers throughout an 18-month-long fermentation process. The authors, Cluster members Laurence Douny, José Ignacio Hernández Lobato, Salif Sawadogo, Peter Fratzl, and Regine Hengge, together with Adama Séré and Shahrouz Amini (MPICI), propose an interdisciplinary approach to the study of vouwo.
This approach combines detailed examination and documentation of craft practice with a materials science-based analysis of the iron ore used and of the resulting brown colour shades, and a microbiological description of the multiple roles of bacteria and their complex interactions with plants such as Acacia nilotica in the dyeing process. By underlining the material, chemical, microbiological, and medicinal properties of vouwo dye, this study of dyeing with soil as a natural colourant calls attention to a potential role of traditional craft knowledge in dialogue with modern science for the future production of more sustainable and health-promoting dyes.
The full paper is available open access in the Wiley Online Library.