African lace-bark in the Caribbean : the construction of race, class and gender / Steeve O. Buckridge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buckridge, Steeve O., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tapa--Social aspects--Caribbean Area.

Tapa.

Enslaved women--Clothing--Caribbean Area.

Enslaved women.

Black people--Clothing--Caribbean Area.

Black people.

Black people--Material culture--Caribbean Area.

Clothing and dress--Caribbean Area--History.

Clothing and dress.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (217 p.)

Distribution:

London, England : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020

Place of Publication:

London, England : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc, 2020.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Caribbean history, the European colonial plantocracy created a cultural diaspora in which African slaves were torn from their ancestral homeland. In order to maintain vital links to their traditions and culture, slaves retained certain customs and nurtured them in the Caribbean. The creation of lace-bark cloth from the lagetta tree was a practice that enabled slave women to fashion their own clothing, an exercise that was both a necessity, as clothing provisions for slaves were poor, and empowering, as it allowed women who participated in the industry to achieve some financial independence. This is the first book on the subject and, through close collaboration with experts in the field including Maroon descendants, scientists and conservationists, it offers a pioneering perspective on the material culture of Caribbean slaves, bringing into focus the dynamics of race, class and gender. Focusing on the time period from the 1660s to the 1920s, it examines how the industry developed, the types of clothes made, and the people who wore them. The study asks crucial questions about the social roles that bark cloth production played in the plantation economy and colonial society, and in particular explores the relationship between bark cloth production and identity amongst slave women.

Contents:

Pre-history to early slave trade : "people of the forest"

Plantation Jamaica : "controlling the silver"

Victorian Jamaica : "fancy fans and doilies".

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781474285339

1474285333

9781472569325

1472569326

9781472569318

1472569318

OCLC:

951977324