Adire textile is a type of dyed cloth from southwest Nigeria traditionally made by Yoruba women, using a variety of resist-dyeing techniques. The word 'Adire' originally derives from the Yoruba words 'adi' which means to tie and 're' meaning to dye. It is a material designed with wax-resist methods that produce patterned designs in an array of tints and hues. It is common among the Egba people of Ogun State.

Initially produced in southwestern Nigeria, adire textiles traveled to northern Africa through Yoruba traders and trader families. Some families who chose to migrate up north began creating adire cloths to market to other women. Because it is usually made by women, patterns and themes of the Adire are passed down from mother to daughter within families. However, certain motifs can depend on the artist's abilities and craftmanship, as well as skills taught from older generations. The patterns of Adire are often representations of plants, animals, tools, and conceptual themes. Traditional themes are categorized into geometric, figural, skewmorphic, letters, and celestiomorphic types.



Today, there are three primary resist techniques used in Nigeria:

• Oniko: this process involves tying raffia around hundreds of individual corn kernels or pebbles to produce small white circles on a blue background. The fabric can also be twisted and tied on itself or folded into stripes.
• Alabere: Stitching raffia onto the fabric in a pattern prior to dyeing. The raffia palm is stripped, and the spine sewn into the fabric. After dyeing the raffia is usually ripped out, although some choose to leave it in and let wear and tear on the garment slowly reveal the design.
• Eleko: Resist dyeing with cassava paste painted onto the fabric. Traditionally done with different size chicken feathers, calabash carved into different designs are also used, in a manner similar to block printing. Since the early twentieth century, metal stencils cut from the sheets of tin that lined tea chests have also been used.



The art of adire originated in Abeokuta in the nineteenth century but soon spread to other Nigerian cities. Ibadan, about eighty miles northeast, emerged in the early twentieth century as a major center of the production of adire eleko.

One of the eleko design styles - Ibadan-Dun or “Ibadan is sweet,” as featured in this work - celebrates the prominence of that city and is among the most complex of eleko designs.

Traditionally adire eleko is composed of two cloths sewn together, each with a grid of patterns in four rows of seven rectangles. A finished cloth, like this one, would have a total of fifty-six sections. Sections feature different patterns, though some are repeated. Because they are hand-painted, no two cloths are exactly the same.

Ibandan-dun features a pattern with architectural pillars alternating with spoons known as Opo Ile Mapo. On the wrapper here, this pattern is seen on the the top left square and repeated later in that row and twice again in the bottom row. The pillars refer to Mapo Hall, the city’s neoclassical town hall built in 1945 during the colonial era. Visible on a hill in the middle of the city, the building serves as a cultural landmark. The number of spoons in the design is said to be an indication of the textile’s quality, five being superior and three the least good. Quality is judged by the skill of execution and the range and sequencing of patterns. In the spoon pattern, there are bowls on each end. 

Other designs on this textile include an umbrella (Agboorun) combined with cassava leaves (Ewe Ege), seen on the second row, second from left, and Igi Odan or “market tree,” fourth row, second from left. At the bottom left is a pattern with repeated triangles and dots, identified as Ayed’egbe or “The world is on its side.”

All of the motifs are not only meant to be appreciated for the beauty of their design but have deeper meaning within the Yoruba worldview. Certain birds, for example, are associated with mystical powers.

The process of creating adire eleko is labor-intensive and is exclusively done by women from start to finish. Traditionally its production involves two specialists, those who dye the cloth (alaro) and those who create the resist designs (aladire). It is typically made with imported cotton sheeting, using two lengths of fabric which, when sewn together, creates a roughly square-shaped cloth.

The starch used to paint the cloth is made from cassava flour mixed with water and then boiled with copper sulfate to form a thick paste. It is applied free-hand and on only one side of the cloth. Artists create lines in varying thicknesses using different implements. Chicken feathers or the mid-rib of a palm leaf produce the finest of lines while a matchstick might be used to create dots. The artist must have a steady hand to apply the paste evenly and ensure it doesn’t crack. Once painted, the cloth is laid out to fully dry before being dyed.

The indigo used to dye the cloth is extracted from locally grown leaves by specialist artisans. Since the 1960s, Yoruba women have also used imported synthetic dyes. The painted cloth is dipped in a vat of dye and removed. Repeated soaking is necessary to achieve the deep blue hue, as the color gets darker with oxidization each time the cloth is pulled from the vat. The areas covered with the cassava paste resist the absorption of the dye. The starch is scraped off after the dyeing process is complete. Lastly, the stiff cloth is pounded with a wooden mallet to soften it and give the fabric a slight sheen.

The cloth is commonly worn around the body as a wrapper, the ends of the cloth tied together.