Chitenje: the production and use of printed cotton cloth in Malawi. In Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. Paper 888

Abstract

• ‘To wear a commemorative cloth is to visually communicate that one has either a relationship with the person or event or identifies with the subject of the cloth’s design’ (Perani and Wolff 1999: 30) Historic links between Scotland and Malawi date back to the mid-1800s when Scottish missionary explorer David Livingstone first travelled into the territory that is modern day Malawi. Many other missionaries and traders followed and today strong links with many Governmental and Non-Government Organisation exist between the two countries. Since 2009, National Museums Scotland (NMS) has been working in partnership with Museums of Malawi on a number of projects, ranging from skills exchange programmes to exhibition development. Through this partnership it has also been possible to gain insights into the Malawian collections in Scotland and to develop the scope ofthe collections to include examples of Malawian contemporary material culture ranging from wood carving, beadwork to woven and printed textiles.