An examination of handwoven mortuary textiles and ritual fabrics across lifecycle transitions among the Bùnú Yorùbá, focusing on the five aṣọ ìpò prestige cloths, gendered loom technologies, and ancestral transformation.
Bùnú Yorùbá mortuary cloths are specialized handwoven textiles produced and deployed in the hills of north-eastern Yorùbáland to mark chieftaincy status, negotiate relations between the living and the spirit world, and transform deceased elders into ancestors . Woven primarily by women on vertical single-heddle frame looms, and in rare esoteric instances by specialist male weavers working in seclusion, these fabrics feature dense supplementary-weft geometric patterns executed in red, tan, and natural unbleached cotton . Rather than serving as everyday tailored garments, the most prestigious category of these textiles, known collectively as aṣọ ìpò, functions as architectural hangings draped over the rooftops and verandahs of deceased titleholders during multi-stage commemorative funerals . Across the entire life course, from birthing and marriage to title taking and post-mortem masquerades, distinct cloth forms structure social obligations and materialize the enduring continuity of lineage ties .
The Bùnú (also spelled Abunu or Bunu) inhabit the rugged upland terrain of the Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area within present-day Kogi State, Nigeria, located in the pivotal ecotone of the Niger-Benue confluence . Linguistically and culturally, the Bùnú form a core constituent of the Okun Yorùbá dialect cluster, which includes the Ìyàgbà, Ìjùmú, Owé, and Ọwọrọ subgroups .
[ NIGER-BENUE CONFLUENCE REGION ]
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+----------------------+----------------------+
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[ OKUN YORÙBÁ CLUSTER ] [ NEIGHBORING POLITIES ]
(Bùnú, Owé, Ìjùmú, Ìyàgbà, Ọwọrọ) (Nupe, Ebira, Igala, Okpella)
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Vertical Loom Weaving Textile Trade & Masquerade
(Aṣọ Ìpò / Arígidí / Aṣọ Funfun) (Olimi / Eku Mortuary Cults)
Geographically positioned at the northernmost frontier of the Yorùbá world, Bùnú society developed within an intense crossroads of intercultural exchange, trade, and military pressure involving the Nupe to the north, the Ebira to the east and southeast, the Igala across the Niger River, and southern Edo-speaking groups like the Okpella . This geographical location fostered a distinctive textile complex that shares technical structures with neighbouring confluence traditions while maintaining deeply specific Yorùbá cosmological frameworks .
Unlike the centralized monarchies of central and western Yorùbáland, such as Ọ̀yọ́ or Ìjẹ̀bú, classical Bùnú society was organized into autonomous, federated village settlements led by councils of titled chiefs (olú and subordinate titleholders) and age-grade cohorts . In this sociopolitical architecture, chieftaincy titles were achieved and ratified through competitive distributions of resources, communal feastings, and ritual display, mechanisms in which handwoven textiles served as the primary physical currency and status marker .
The material production of Bùnú textiles rests upon a strictly organized sexual division of labor, specific botanical and animal materials, and an ancient loom technology that distinguishes north-eastern Yorùbá textile traditions from the male-dominated horizontal treadle loom systems of the central Yorùbá towns .
[ BÙNÚ TEXTILE MATERIAL PATHWAYS ]
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+-------------------------+-------------------------+
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[ WARP / GROUND WEFT ] [ SUPPLEMENTARY WEFT ]
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Locally Cultivated Cotton Red / Tan Color Sourcing:
(*Gossypium herbaceum*) 1. Sorghum dye (*púpuyin*)
| 2. Unravelled wool flannel
Hand-cleaned & Spun by Girls 3. Imported trade blankets
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Warped on Upright Loom (*Òpó*) Dense Inlay Patterning
(Single-heddle broadloom frame) (Thick supplementary floats)
The foundational apparatus of Bùnú weaving is the vertical single-heddle frame loom, known locally as òpó . The loom consists of two heavy vertical wooden posts lashed together with top and bottom crossbeams, propped upright against the interior or exterior wall of a domestic compound .
Warping is continuous, forming a continuous circular loop of warp yarn that revolves around the upper and lower crossbeams . The weaver sits directly on the ground or on a low stool before the loom face . To create the shed and countershed, the weaver manipulates a single fixed heddle rod fitted with string loops (ọmú) that encircle alternate warp threads, combined with a broad wooden shed stick and a polished wooden sword-beater (apasa) used to beat down the weft picks with substantial manual force .
Because the warp moves around the frame as the cloth progresses, the weaver produces a rectangular textile panel whose width is constrained by the crossbeam span (typically 40 to 80 centimeters) and whose length is limited by the circumference of the loop . To construct large ceremonial cloths or funeral shrouds, multiple separately woven panels are sewn together along their selvedges using decorative whip-stitching and cross-stitch joinery .
The raw materials for Bùnú cloth were historically sourced from locally cultivated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum, termed òwú) . While men held land tenure over the cotton fields and performed the harvesting, the processing of raw cotton was assigned entirely to women and young girls :
MALE REALM FEMALE REALM
+------------------+ +-------------------+
| Cotton farming | - (Raw Bolls) -> | Ginning & Bowing |
| Land clearance | | Hand-spinning yarn |
| Sorghum harvest | | Upright weaving |
| Title patronage | | Funerary dressing |
+------------------+ +-------------------+
^ |
| v
Esoteric Male Weaving Standard Ritual Cloths
(Aponuponyin in bush) (Ebe, Ifale, Oja, Abata)
The visual signature of Bùnú mortuary and title cloths is the heavy, raised supplementary-weft patterning executed in rich red and rust-tan hues against a natural creamy-white plain-weave cotton ground . Historically, this intense red coloration was produced through the indigenous extraction of dye from the leaf sheaths and stalks of red sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, known locally as bàbà púpuyin or ẹrọkọ) .
The dried sorghum sheaths were crushed in large wooden mortars, boiled with alkaline lye leached from hardwood ash, and mordanted with local vegetal tannins to create a lightfast red-brown dye bath . When trans-Saharan and Atlantic trade routes penetrated the middle Niger basin in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bùnú weavers augmented this botanical red by unravelling imported red wool flannel (ododo) and trade blankets, re-spinning the vibrant crimson wool into heavy supplementary wefts .
The term aṣọ ìpò (literally: cloth of post, rank, or station; derived from aṣọ, cloth, and ìpò, status or office) refers to a tightly codified corpus of five prestige cloths woven with supplementary-weft floats . These five cloths form a cumulative visual ladder of chieftaincy titles and mortuary honors . They are not worn as tailored attire in daily life; their primary function is architectural and mortuary exhibition .
THE FIVE AṢỌ ÌPÒ TEXTILE HIERARCHY
[ TOP RANK: KINGS & PARAMOUNT SOVEREIGNS (OLÚ) ]
========================================================================
5. APONUPONYIN (Dual-Faced Red Cloth)
- Two-sided supplementary weft; red on both surfaces
- Woven exclusively by spiritually fortified men in the deep forest
- Surrounded by strict prohibitions; dangerous to uninitiated eyes
========================================================================
4. ABÁTÁ (Eleven-Panel Great Mortuary Cloth)
- Composed of 11 vertical panels sewn together (approx. 210 x 200 cm)
- Single-faced pattern; reserved for chiefs holding two major titles
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3. Ọ̀JÁ (The Long Sash Cloth)
- Single, exceptionally long strip (up to 250 cm or more)
- Hung from roof apex; reserved for senior council chiefs
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2. ÌFÁLẸ̀ (Seven-Panel Title Cloth)
- Composed of 7 vertical panels sewn together (approx. 140 x 180 cm)
- Displayed for single-titled male chiefs and eminent titled women
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1. EBE (The Base Mortuary Strip)
- Single narrow panel (approx. 20 cm wide) woven on the burial day
- Displayed at the commemorative funerals of all titleholders
========================================================================
The ebe is the fundamental unit of the aṣọ ìpò series . It consists of a single short panel, approximately 20 centimeters wide and under a meter in length, woven on the day of an elder's death or during the immediate opening stages of the commemorative funeral . Because it represents the baseline marker of title holding, an ebe is displayed at the mortuary ceremonies of all chiefs regardless of their rank within the village hierarchy . In later mortuary exchanges, strips of ebe were frequently sold or traded southward to Ebira and Okpella communities, who integrated them into ancestral masquerade headpieces .
The ìfálẹ̀ is a large mortuary blanket constructed by sewing together seven long woven panels . Measuring approximately 137 centimeters in width and 178 centimeters in length, the ìfálẹ̀ exhibits extensive supplementary-weft geometric patterns on its front surface while retaining a plain white appearance on the reverse . This cloth is displayed at the commemorative funerals of chiefs who hold a single major title . Unlike the higher-ranking cloths, the ìfálẹ̀ is uniquely significant in gender terms: it is the highest cloth permitted to be displayed at the mortuary celebrations of wealthy, influential titled women .
The ọ̀já consists of a single, continuous, extraordinarily long woven strip that can exceed 250 centimeters in length . Characterized by dense, repeated geometric inlays across its length, the ọ̀já is displayed exclusively at the funerals of high-ranking senior chiefs . In mortuary architecture, it is suspended vertically from the highest ridge-pole of the deceased chief's compound down to the ground, visually anchoring the status of the household .
The àbátá is a massive, exceptionally heavy mortuary blanket made from eleven woven panels sewn together along their selvedges, yielding a finished cloth measuring roughly 211 centimeters wide by 198 centimeters long . The supplementary weft is so dense and thick that early museum ethnographers described its surface as resembling stiff carpet or basketry . The àbátá is reserved for senior chiefs who have attained at least two major chieftaincy titles . It is draped across the front roof thatch or verandah wall during the second-burial festivities, signalling to visiting delegations that an elite elder is entering ancestorhood .
The apex of Bùnú textile hierarchy is aponuponyin (literally: "one side is red, the other side is red"; from apa, side, onú, one, and púpọ̀/púpuyin, red) . Reserved strictly for the paramount village sovereign (olú) or the highest supreme titleholders, aponuponyin departs completely from the standard structural rules of aṣọ ìpò .
While ebe, ìfálẹ̀, ọ̀já, and àbátá are all single-faced textiles whose reverse shows the unadorned white plain weave, aponuponyin is woven with supplementary-weft patterning on both the front and the back surfaces simultaneously . The entire structural core of white handspun cotton is concealed beneath double-sided red and rust geometric motifs .
Because of its double-sided red construction, Bùnú cosmological thought regards aponuponyin as an intensely volatile, spiritually dangerous substance . Bùnú tradition states that the cloth possesses its own vital breath, capable of "humming and crying out for blood" if mishandled . Consequently, its production was governed by severe esoteric protocols :
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| STRUCTURAL COMPARISON: AṢỌ ÌPÒ |
+-------------------+----------------+-------------------+---------------------+
| Cloth Name | Number of Panels| Surface Pattern | Eligible Title |
+-------------------+----------------+-------------------+---------------------+
| Ebe | 1 short strip | Single-sided Red | All Titleholders |
| Ìfálẹ̀ | 7 panels | Single-sided Red | Single-Title / Women|
| Ọ̀já | 1 long strip | Single-sided Red | Senior Council Chiefs|
| Àbátá | 11 panels | Single-sided Red | Two-Title Chiefs |
| Aponuponyin | Multi-panel | Double-sided Red | Paramount King (Olú)|
+-------------------+----------------+-------------------+---------------------+
Beyond the elite corpus of aṣọ ìpò, Bùnú women wove an extensive range of white, indigo, and striped fabrics that fulfilled domestic, commercial, and ritual functions across the Niger-Benue region .
[ NON-ÌPÒ BÙNÚ TEXTILE FORMS ]
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+----------------------+----------------------+
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[ ARÍGIDÍ ] [ AṢỌ FUNFUN ] [ AṢỌ AWO / OBÌNRIN ]
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- Two narrow panels - Plain unbleached - Marriage wrappers
- Handspun white - Herbal infusions - Protective belly bands
- Major export cloth - Spirit appease- - Ritual maidenhood
- Traded to Onitsha ment & shrines transitions
Arígidí was the commercial workhorse of the Bùnú women's weaving economy . Consisting of two narrow panels of heavy, loosely spun white cotton sewn together, arígidí was produced in large quantities for regional export . Middlemen purchased arígidí in local markets such as Odogi, Kabba, and Egga along the Niger River, shipping bales southward via canoe down the Niger to the great commercial emporium of Onitsha .
In Igbo communities of southeastern Nigeria, Bùnú arígidí was prized for its extraordinary absorbency and physical durability, where it was utilized by palm wine tappers and fishermen as durable loincloths, everyday towels, and sturdy chair slings .
Plain, unpatterned white cotton cloth (aṣọ funfun, derived from aṣọ, cloth, and funfun, white) constitutes the sacred foundation of Bùnú ritual healing and devotional life . Woven on vertical looms from unbleached handspun yarn, aṣọ funfun represents cool clarity, ancestral purity, and the foundational medium of communication with water and nature spirits (ẹbọra) . Diviners (obiro or babalawo) frequently prescribe specific lengths of aṣọ funfun to be soaked in herbal infusions, wrapped around sick patients, or offered at outdoor rock and river shrines to neutralize spiritual discord .
Secret society textiles (aṣọ awo) and bridal cloths (aṣọ ìyàwó) structure gender-specific stages of initiation . Women suffering from infertility or reproductive afflictions were commissioned dedicated wrappers woven by elder female post-menopausal weavers, which were ritually tied over the abdomen after protective incantations to anchor the womb and fend off malevolent spiritual agents .
In Bùnú ontology, human social existence is conceptualized as an ongoing cycle of cloth wrapping, unwrapping, and transformation . Handwoven textiles do not merely represent social transitions; they execute the ontological shift from one life stage to the next .
LIFECYCLE CLOTH PROGRESSION IN BÙNÚ
[ BIRTH & INFANCY ]
- Newborn received into plain white unspun lint or soft woven remnants
- Secured to the mother's back with the patterned child-carrier (*ọ̀já*)
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v
[ PUBERTY & INITIATION ]
- Young men initiated into hunting and age grades wearing striped tunics
- Young women presented with handspun wrappers marking lineage identity
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v
[ BRIDAL TRANSITION ]
- Bride draped in dark/indigo handwoven cloth (*aṣọ dúdú*)
- Signifies marital separation, uterine containment, and moral modesty
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v
[ ELDERSHIP & TITLE TAKING ]
- Investiture with patterned prestige fabrics and ceremonial shawls
- Entitlement to commission and display *aṣọ ìpò* mortuary panels
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v
[ FIRST BURIAL: ÌSÌNKÚ ]
- Corpse bathed, purified, and wrapped in multiple layers of *aṣọ funfun*
- Immediate grave interment within the domestic compound
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v
[ SECOND BURIAL: ÒKÚ-ṢÍṢE ]
- Architectural exhibition of *aṣọ ìpò* on roof thatch and walls
- Physical cloth transformed into *Egúngún* ancestral spirit embodiment
At the entry point of human existence, the newborn child is wiped clean and received into a pad of raw, unspun cotton lint, visually linking the fragile infant to the primal source of cloth . As the infant grows, the mother secures the baby to her back using a specially woven carrying strap, also termed ọ̀já, decorated with tufts of fringe and symbolic warp stripes believed to protect the child from wandering spirits .
The marriage ceremonial cycle (ìgbéyàwó) marks a critical juncture in Bùnú social life, requiring extensive exchanges of cloth between affinal lineages . A central feature of traditional Bùnú weddings was the bride's ceremonial seclusion and emergence wrapped in dark indigo or black handwoven cloth (aṣọ dúdú) .
While central Yorùbá brides often favored brilliant red or imported silk textiles, the Bùnú bride's donning of dark, somber cloth materialized the solemn social reality of leaving her natal compound, the containment of female reproductive power, and the modesty required when entering the husband's patrilineage . The bride's mother and matrilateral kin presented the groom's lineage with bundles of handspun white wrappers, sealing the marriage alliance through durable material debt .
PATRILATERAL LINEAGE MATRILATERAL LINEAGE
+----------------------+ +----------------------+
| Provides title rites | | Provides handspun |
| Secures ancestral | <== (Textile) ===> | marriage cloths |
| burial grounds | (Exchange) | Weaves funeral |
| Displays Aṣọ Ìpò | | shrouds & wrappers |
+----------------------+ +----------------------+
Mortuary rituals among the Bùnú are strictly divided into two distinct chronological phases: the initial physical interment (ìsìnkú) and the commemorative second burial (òkú-ṣíṣe) .
Initial Interment (Ìsìnkú): Upon biological death, the corpse of an elder is washed with water and native sponge by lineage members of the same sex . The corpse is then wrapped in numerous yards of unbleached plain white cloth (aṣọ funfun) . No red cloth (aṣọ ìpò) may touch the fresh corpse directly; red at this stage is considered dangerously volatile, capable of severing the soul's peaceful journey . The wrapped body is lowered into a subterranean shaft grave dug within the room or compound verandah .
The Second Burial (Òkú-Ṣíṣe): Months or years after the physical interment, once the family has amassed substantial financial resources and commissioned the necessary textiles, the commemorative second burial is staged . This multi-day performance marks the formal transformation of the deceased elder into an active, protective ancestor .
ARCHITECTURAL DISPLAY OF AṢỌ ÌPÒ
/\ <- Apex: Ọ̀já hung from top ridge
/ \
/ \ <- Thatched Roof: Àbátá & Ìfálẹ̀ draped
/______\ over roof surface
| __ |
| | | | <- Verandah: Ebe strip displayed
| |__| | near compound entrance
During òkú-ṣíṣe, the deceased chief's compound is transformed into a public visual theater . The family mounts the deceased's aṣọ ìpò cloths directly onto the exterior architecture :
This architectural display broadcasts the exact political and spiritual rank of the deceased to all visiting lineages, affirming the family's social credit and ensuring the ancestor's elevated seat in the spirit world .
Bùnú mortuary textile practice operates within the pan-Yorùbá chromatic triad of funfun (white), pupa (red/tan), and dúdú (dark/black/indigo), but articulates this triad through a unique spatial and structural dualism .
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| THE BÙNÚ CHROMATIC TRIAD |
+---------------+---------------------+-------------------+---------------------+
| Color Group | Material Sources | Symbolic Domain | Ritual Use |
+---------------+---------------------+-------------------+---------------------+
| Funfun | Unbleached hand- | Purity, coolness, | Shrouds, spirit |
| (White) | spun cotton | ancestral peace, | healing, initial |
| | | spiritual clarity | grave burial |
+---------------+---------------------+-------------------+---------------------+
| Pupa | Red sorghum dye, | Heat, danger, | Mortuary display, |
| (Red / Rust) | unravelled wool, | chieftaincy power,| second burial, |
| | trade flannel | martial vitality | ancestral kingship |
+---------------+---------------------+-------------------+---------------------+
| Dúdú | Natural fermented | Seclusion, weight,| Bridal wrappers, |
| (Black / Dark)| indigo liquor | containment, | nighttime dances, |
| | | affinal gravity | hunting garments |
+---------------+---------------------+-------------------+---------------------+
In Bùnú philosophy, cloth embodies the structure of the cosmos itself . The universe is split into two complementary realms: the visible everyday world of living humans (ayé) and the invisible, occult world of spirits, witches, and ancestors (ọ̀run) .
Single-faced aṣọ ìpò (ebe, ìfálẹ̀, àbátá) directly reflect this split . The exterior face, patterned with intricate red geometric designs, faces outward toward the public domain of the living . The interior face, left plain and unpatterned in pristine white cotton, rests against the domestic wall or ceiling, facing the unseen interior realm .
Only the King's cloth, aponuponyin, is red on both surfaces . By eliminating the white interior, aponuponyin signifies absolute, totalizing spiritual power: a sovereign who sees both sides of reality simultaneously and commands forces in both the visible and occult worlds .
The lifecycle of a Bùnú mortuary cloth does not end with the funeral . Once displayed, the cloths enter networks of inter-regional exchange and spiritual repurposing that extend far beyond the Bùnú hills .
[ BÙNÚ WEAVERS: APAA, AKUTUPA, KIRI ]
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(Weaving of Aṣọ Ìpò / Ebe / Ìfálẹ̀)
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+---------------------+---------------------+
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[ BÙNÚ VILLAGES ] [ REGIONAL TRADE ]
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Commemorative Second Downstream River Trade
Burial Rooftop Display (Via Middlemen & Canoe)
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Transformation into Sold to Ebira & Okpella
*Egúngún* Masquerade (Ebira Confluence Basin)
Ancestral Cult Ensembles |
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v v
Local Lineage Continuity *Olimi* & *Eku* Masquerades
(Ancestral Regeneration) (Spirit Headpieces & Robes)
Following the conclusion of the second burial, certain aṣọ ìpò panels are repurposed by lineage elders into the sacred dance costumes of Egúngún (ancestral masquerades) . Cut into strips and integrated into the multi-layered textile assemblages (ẹkú) of masqueraders, the cloth that previously hung over the chief's house now physically covers the body of the spirit dancer . Through the swirl of the cloth during the dance, the deceased ancestor is literally re-embodied among the living .
Bùnú weavers maintained trade partnerships with non-Yorùbá neighbors to the south, particularly the Ebira of Okene and the Okpella of northern Edo State . Because of the sacred reputation of Bùnú weaving, Ebira and Okpella elders purchased ebe and àbátá cloths at high prices to serve as prestige shrouds and mortuary hangings in their own title funerals .
In Okpella Olimi ancestral masquerade performances, senior maskers affixed small strips of Bùnú ebe cloth to the topknots of wooden masks . Although local Okpella traditions occasionally attributed the cloth to Ebira middlemen, technical textile analysis confirms that these highly valued red supplementary-weft fabrics originated on Bùnú women's vertical looms .
The history of Bùnú mortuary textiles demonstrates how a specialized upland weaving culture navigated centuries of imperial conquest, Islamic expansion, European commodity trade, and colonial pacification .
CHRONOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
15th - 18th Century Deep antiquity of Niger-Benue confluence vertical loom weaving;
Early trade of plain and sorghum-dyed textiles with Edo & Igala [S6][S8].
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19th Century Nupe Caliphate Incursions (c. 1830s-1897);
(Nupe Wars) Devastating raids under Masaba and Umaru Majigi;
Heavy tribute levied in raw cotton, weavers, and cloths [S1][S6][S23].
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1860s - 1890s European Explorations & Merchant Contact;
T. V. Robins records Bunu weaving; trade wool enters motifs [S8][S24].
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1900 - 1960 British Colonial Rule & Indirect Rule;
(Colonial Period) Introduction of American cotton seed, cash taxes, court divorce laws;
Decline of commercial weaving; rise of heirloom retention [S1][S10].
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Post-1960 - Present Post-Colonial Transformation & Modern Diaspora;
Cessation of broadloom weaving; preserved antique cloths (*aṣọ ìpò*)
rented or inherited as sacred relics for titleholder funerals [S1][S2].
Archaeological and linguistic evidence indicates that vertical single-heddle frame loom weaving possesses great antiquity across the Niger-Benue confluence basin, with textile fragments from sites like Igbo-Ukwu demonstrating related plain-weave structures by the ninth century CE . The Bùnú developed their distinctive supplementary-weft technique in dialogue with neighboring confluence populations, producing durable cotton fabrics dyed with local indigo (ẹlu) and red sorghum (púpuyin) centuries before sustained European coastal contact .
Unlike the southern and western Yorùbá polities, the Okun Yorùbá lived largely outside the direct administrative apparatus of the Old Ọ̀yọ́ Empire (Ọ̀yọ́ Ilé) . While Ọ̀yọ́ popularized narrow-strip male loom weaving (aṣọ òkè) across its provinces, the Bùnú retained their women's vertical broadloom traditions as both everyday dress and ritual markers, maintaining an autonomous upland political order rooted in clan titles rather than centralized divine kingship .
The nineteenth century brought profound upheaval to Bùnú communities . Beginning in the 1830s and escalating through the 1870s and 1880s, the expanding Nupe Emirate of Bida, operating under the military leadership of Masaba and later Umaru Majigi, launched relentless slave-raiding campaigns across the Okun territory .
Bùnú villages were fortified on inaccessible granite hilltops to resist Nupe cavalry . The Nupe conquerors imposed crushing annual tributes, demanding payment in large quantities of handwoven cloth, raw cotton, foodstuffs, and enslaved youth . Bùnú women were forced to weave continuously to meet tributary quotas, and many skilled female weavers were captured and relocated to royal workshops in Bida . Despite this violent extraction, the cultural authority of aṣọ ìpò deepened: titleholders and resistance leaders utilized the red mortuary cloths to bind village alliances and honor fallen warriors .
During the mid-to-late nineteenth century, European explorers and Christian missionaries began penetrating the Niger-Benue confluence . In 1864, the explorer and artist T. Valentine Robins visited the confluence region and documented the exceptional quality of Bùnú weaving in early records for the Royal Geographical Society and British ethnographic accounts .
By the early twentieth century, the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) and the Church Missionary Society (CMS) established stations across Kabba Province . Christian missionaries actively discouraged traditional mortuary rituals, condemning the second-burial ceremonies (òkú-ṣíṣe) and the sacrificial rites of aponuponyin as heathen practices . Converts were pressured to adopt simple white shrouds and forgo rooftop textile displays .
With the British declaration of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria in 1900, the Bùnú were incorporated into Kabba Province under the system of Indirect Rule . Colonial policies altered local textile economies :
By the 1950s, young women increasingly attended missionary schools or engaged in trade, and the time-consuming practice of hand-spinning and vertical loom weaving declined sharply .
In the decades following Nigerian independence in 1960, the everyday commercial weaving of arígidí ceased entirely . However, the ritual necessity of aṣọ ìpò persisted . Unable to commission newly woven multi-panel cloths due to the scarcity of master weavers, Bùnú lineages transformed existing antique aṣọ ìpò into highly treasured family heirlooms (aṣọ ìran) .
Today, these vintage textiles, often threadbare, faded, and lovingly patched, are carefully preserved inside heavy metal trunks and brought out solely for the commemorative funerals of prominent community elders and traditional chiefs . In modern Nigerian cities (such as Abuja, Lagos, and Lokoja) and across the global Bùnú diaspora in North America and Europe, families finance lavish mortuary programs that incorporate photographic portraits of the deceased framed by images of historical aṣọ ìpò, maintaining the symbolic link between the living lineage and the honored ancestor .
The study of Bùnú textiles occupies a central place in African material culture studies, sparking debates regarding gender, style classification, and semiotics .
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| KEY SCHOLARLY DEBATES IN BÙNÚ TEXTILE STUDIES |
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------------+
| Scholar(s) | Theoretical Position | Counter-Position / Critique |
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------------+
| Elisha P. Renne | Material culture embodies | Rejects rigid structural |
| [S1] | relational social action | models that divorce cloth |
| | and ongoing obligations. | from local micro-history. |
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------------+
| Lamb & Holmes; | Formalist classification; | Critiqued by Renne for |
| Picton [S3][S4] | technical analysis of | treating textiles as static |
| | loom and weave structure. | ethnic artifacts. |
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------------+
| Ade Obayemi | Okun cultures are ancient | Challenges Ifẹ̀-centric |
| [S6] | Confluence autochthons, | migration models for |
| | not mere Ifẹ̀ derivatives. | north-eastern Yorùbá history.|
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------------+
| Aretha Asakitikpi | Women's vertical weaving | Rebuts colonial views of |
| [S10] | was politically and | female weaving as merely |
| | economically foundational. | domestic craft. |
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------------+
Early African art historiography operated under a rigid "one tribe, one style" paradigm, treating ethnic groups as bounded, homogenous artistic isolates . Research by Elisha P. Renne and John Picton on Bùnú and Ebira mortuary textiles dismantled this framework . Renne demonstrated that aṣọ ìpò circulated dynamically across ethnic frontiers, serving as a shared ritual currency connecting Yorùbá, Ebira, and Edo-speaking Okpella communities . The meaning of the cloth was not fixed by ethnic boundaries, but was continually renegotiated through inter-regional trade, political alliance, and spirit masquerades .
Colonial-era ethnographic observers frequently categorized male horizontal narrow-strip weaving (aṣọ òkè) as professional "art" while dismissing women's vertical broadloom weaving as informal, domestic "craft" . Anthropologists such as Aretha O. Asakitikpi and Elisha Renne demonstrated that Bùnú women's weaving was central to regional macro-economies through the massive export of arígidí to Onitsha, and served as the indispensable political underpinning of chieftaincy title taking .
Oral texts collected in Bùnú communities reveal how textiles operate as active conceptual metaphors for human relationships, mortality, and social regeneration .
Aṣọ kì í kú,
Gbígbó ló ń gbó.
Aṣọ (Cloth) kì í (does not ever) kú (die),
Gbígbó (wearing out / growing old / ripening) ló (is what) ń (it is) gbó (wearing out / growing old).
Cloth never dies: it only wears thin with age.
(Translation: Elisha P. Renne)
The saying asserts that while the material fibers of a garment may fray, thin, or lose their surface luster through long handling, the fundamental social relationships, moral debts, and lineage identities embodied in the cloth outlive physical decay and persist across generations .
This prayer and philosophical axiom is spoken during commemorative second burials, title investitures, and elder blessings to console mourners, affirm the immortality of lineage bonds, and validate the continuing presence of ancestral spirits among the living .
During the òkú-ṣíṣe of an aged chief in Apaa-Bunu, when relatives gather to view the faded, patched àbátá cloth draped on the roof, an elder orator recites this phrase to remind the grieving family that although the chief's physical body has perished, the chief's title, memory, and protective power remain as enduring as the lineage cloth .
This axiom encapsulates the core ontological premise of Bùnú material culture: material objects serve as physical repositories of collective memory that outlast human mortal frailty .
In central Yorùbá dialects, a documented cognate appears as:
Aṣọ kì í kú, aṣọ a gbó ni; ènìyàn kì í kú, ènìyàn a re ibi àgbà.
(Cloth does not die, cloth merely wears out; human beings do not die, human beings merely journey to the place of the elders.)
The proverb relies on a delicate tonal play between the verb kú (high tone: to die, extinguish, perish) and gbó (high tone: to wear out, to grow old, to ripen/mature) . The acoustic repetition of the high tones underscores the triumph of mature continuity over permanent extinction .
The Yorùbá verb gbó carries a dual semantic resonance: it means both "to wear thin through usage" when applied to fabrics, and "to grow old, mature, and wise" when applied to human elders . English translation cannot capture both meanings simultaneously in a single word .
Ènìyàn l'aṣọ mi;
Bí mo bá bojú wẹ̀hìn,
Tí mo rí àwọn ènìyàn mi,
Inú mi a dùn, ara mi a yá gágá.
Ènìyàn (People / human beings) l' (are) aṣọ (the cloth / clothing) mi (of me);
Bí (If) mo (I) bá (should) bojú (turn eye / face) wẹ̀hìn (look backwards / to the rear),
Tí (And) mo (I) rí (see) àwọn (the plural) ènìyàn (people) mi (of me),
Inú (Inside / belly) mi (of me) a dùn (shall be sweet / happy), ara (body) mi (of me) a yá (shall be lively / swift) gágá (completely / energetically).
People are my clothing: when I look behind me and see my kin standing there, my heart fills with joy and my whole body surges with strength.
(Translation: Elisha P. Renne and Babatunde Lawal)
A human being stripped of social connections, kinship networks, and communal solidarity is naked and vulnerable, whereas a person surrounded by loyal family and community is fully clothed, protected, and dignified .
Used to rebuke antisocial individualism, to express gratitude to supportive kin during lifecycle ceremonies, and to conclude political deliberations regarding lineage disputes .
A newly installed Bùnú chief, addressing the community following the presentation of the chieftaincy cloths, recites this proverb to acknowledge that his chieftaincy title holds no power without the active backing of his townsfolk .
This proverb establishes cloth as the foundational metaphor for human sociality, demonstrating that in Yorùbá philosophy, dress is fundamentally interpersonal rather than merely ornamental .
A widely cited pan-Yorùbá aphorism condenses this to:
Ènìyàn l'aṣọ: ẹni tí kò l'énìyàn ló wà ní ìhòhò.
(People are clothing: whoever has no people is truly naked.)
The phrase Ènìyàn l'aṣọ balances low-mid tones (È-nì-yàn) against the mid-high tones of l'aṣọ, creating an acoustic cadence that emphasizes social balance .
The Yorùbá phrase Inú mi a dùn (literally: "my belly will be sweet") conceptualizes emotional happiness as an internal visceral sweetness within the physical center of life, which idiomatic English smooths into "my heart fills with joy" .
Púpọ̀ l'aṣọ olú,
Púpuyin kì í ṣe aṣọ ọ̀fẹ́;
Ẹni tí ó ru ebe dé orí igi,
Ó ti di baba fún gbogbo ìlú.
Púpọ̀ / Púpuyin (Red / deep red) l' (is) aṣọ (cloth of) olú (king / supreme chief),
Púpuyin (Red sorghum dye) kì í (does not ever) ṣe (act as / be) aṣọ (cloth of) ọ̀fẹ́ (freeness / triviality);
Ẹni (The person) tí (who) ó (he) ru (carries / elevates) ebe (the base Ìpò cloth) dé (reach to) orí (head / top of) igi (tree / ridge-pole),
Ó (He) ti (has already) di (become) baba (father / ancestor) fún (for) gbogbo (all) ìlú (town / community).
Red is the garment of the paramount chief; the scarlet cloth is never bought with ease. Whoever hoists the mortuary cloth to the apex of the roof has become a father and ancestor to the entire town.
(Translation: Field transcription and rendering by Elisha P. Renne)
Achieving the right to mortuary cloth display requires a lifetime of political sacrifice, ethical fortitude (ìwà), and wealth distribution. Hoisting the cloth onto the roof architecture seals the deceased's eternal promotion from mortal elder to communal ancestral protector .
Chanted by elder funeral vocalists and drummers as the àbátá or ìfálẹ̀ cloth is unfurled and secured to the rooftop during the height of the second-burial celebrations .
Sung by women of the late chief's quarter as younger men climb ladders to tie the seven-panel ìfálẹ̀ cloth across the eaves of the deceased titleholder's compound in Apaa-Bunu .
This text affirms the sanctified authority of chieftaincy titles and links architectural elevation directly to metaphysical elevation .
Documented in Ọwọrọ communities as a praise chant honoring warriors:
Aṣọ púpọ̀ baba ń wọ̀, aṣọ ológun ni.
(The red cloth our father wears is the cloth of valiant warriors.)
The phrase Púpuyin kì í ṣe aṣọ ọ̀fẹ́ employs rapid high tones on Pú-pu-yin descending to low tone on ọ̀-fẹ́, reinforcing the contrast between sacred high status and cheap commonality .
The word igi (literally: tree or timber) refers metonymically in this mortuary context to the structural king-post and center ridge-pole of the traditional house roof .
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