Leso Proverbs

What is a Leso?

The lesos or kangas, used to make the "Takaungu" label line of products, are the most prominent article of clothing for women along the Swahili coast of East Africa. The leso is a rectangle of pure cotton cloth with a border all around it, printed in bold designs and bright colors, usually with a message along the bottom. It is as long as a person’s outstretched arm and wide enough to cover from neck to knee, or from waist to toe. Lesos are usually bought in pairs and worn in an amazing array of attractive and useful ways. Most traditional outfits require a matched or unmatched pair. Women also use lesos to cover other clothes, to cover their heads, to carry their young children on their backs, as tablecloths, or as wall hangings.

Lesos use a variety of African sayings, idioms, proverbs, and riddles in Swahili. These sayings must be understood in their cultural and social contexts. Many are intended to be a commentary on the lives of East African women and their complex relationships. Many are messages (hidden/coded or otherwise) that women communicate to each other. Usually the saying is printed on the bottom middle of the cloth. Many of them have the added charm (or frustration!) of being obscure or ambiguous in their meaning. If you find a motto that you can't figure out, ask several different Kiswahili speakers. You will get an equal number of different explanations!

History of Lesos

Lesos originated on the coast of East Africa in the mid 19th Century. As the story goes, stylish ladies in Zanzibar got the idea of buying printed kerchiefs in lengths of six. They cut the six into two lengths of three, and sewed these together along one side to make 3-by-2 sheets. Or they bought different kinds of kerchiefs and sewed them back together to form very individualistic designs.

The new design was called "leso" after the kerchief squares that had originally been brought to Africa by Portuguese traders. The leso quickly became more popular than any other kind of patterned cloth available. Before long, enterprising coastal shopkeepers sent away for special designs, printed the six-together leso pieces, but as a single unit of cloth. The buyers (or more likely, their men folk!) quickly came to call these cloths "kanga" after the noisy, sociable guinea fowl with its elegant spotty plumage. The fashion of adding messages to the lesos was started by a locally famous trader in Mombasa, Kenya named Kaderdina Hajee Essak. At first, the sayings, aphorisms or slogans were printed in Arabic script, later in Roman letters.

Leso designs have evolved over the years, from simple spots and borders to a huge variety of elaborate patterns of every conceivable motif and color. For a century, lesos were mostly designed and printed in India, the Far East and Europe. Even today, you will see lesos that were printed in China or Japan. But since the 1950's, most lesos have been designed and printed in Tanzania, Kenya, and other countries in Africa.

Proverbs

Use the alphabetized list below to translate the message on your "Takaungu" product…

Akosae hurudiwa au laa husamehewa.

One who does wrong must be punished or forgiven.

Mkumbuke aliye kulea.

Do not forget who brought you up.