By Bukola Adeyinka
Adire textile production is assumed to be inborn; inherited by birth and the heritage passed on to descendants of families who were also involved in the production process.
In Egba land, the craft was formerly known to be a family business.
Parents passed the techniques down to their female children and the wives of their sons.
For a long time, people who were not from a certain family were not allowed to partake in Adire production as it was a part of the family’s heritage.
The Adire was first produced in Jojola’s compound of Kemta, Abeokuta by Chief Mrs. Miniya Jojolola Soetan, the second Iyalode (Head of Women) of Egba land.
She then passed on the process to her children and onward to the future generations.
The first Adire material was made with Teru (local white attire) and Elu (local Dye) made from elu leaf which is planted in the Saki area of Oyo state.
Tie and dye is a method of dyeing by hand in which coloured patterns are produced in a fabric by gathering together many small portions of material and tying them tightly with string before immersing the cloth in the dyebath.
Tie and Dye can also be described as an easy way to add a variety of colorful designs and vibrant styles to your wardrobe.
Brilliant effects are created by binding, folding or simply scrunching fabric before dyeing it. “Tie and dye” is however the process of creating patterns on clothes.
Whether created by old processes or new innovations, Adire today continues to face fashion challenges, and is still an alternative to machine prints.
The textile appeals very much to the fashion-conscious in Yorubaland, Nigeria, and on a global level.
Abeokuta is noted for the production of local textiles which are popularly known as Adire and Kampala and are regarded as the best-known pattern dyed cloth in Nigeria for over a century ago and the local textiles are made in the form of tying and dyeing.
The major production site of this local textile is Itoku situated in Abeokuta south local Government area of Ogun state (Salami, 2001). The ‘Adire and Kampala’ (Tie and dye) business in Abeokuta, provides substantial contribution to the economy in the form of income, employment and possibly foreign exchange generation.
Itoku happens to be one of the first and famous Adire and Kampala production centers in Abeokuta and Ogun State at large for over a century now
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