Ukara

Ukara cloth, c. 1900-1950. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Ukara cloths are designed with nsibidi mostly for Ekpe club members to wear and are also used to decorate Ekpe clubhouses. The designs are made by the Igbo people who traditionally used nsibidi widely in society, the Cross River Igbo people, the Bende, Eda, Ohafia, Aro area in today’s Abia State. The designs are taken up to the Ezilo area of today’s Ebonyi State to be resist-dyed, usually with indigo. The dating of ukara is uncertain, but ukara became more common around the late 19th century.