Glossary of Cloth, Ceremony and Craft.

A

Adire Yoruba

Yoruba indigo resist-dyed cloth — patterned by tying, stitching or starch-paste resist before dyeing. The matriarch of the modern revival is Nike Davies-Okundaye, whose workshops in Oshogbo and Lagos have trained generations of dyers. Adire is occasionally used for casual gele but its primary place is in the broader Yoruba women's wardrobe.

Agbada Yoruba

The men's flowing four-piece robe — undershirt, trouser, embroidered overgown and cap (fila). The agbada is the masculine counterpart of the bride's iro-and-buba; at a Yoruba wedding, both ensembles are typically cut from the same family-coloured aso-oke.

Alaari (Alari) Yoruba

Deep red, magenta or purple aso-oke, woven with cotton and shining threads, sometimes perforated for visual texture. One of the three classical aso-oke types alongside sanyan and etu. The cloth of weddings, chieftaincy and grand ceremonial events.

Alaga Iduro / Alaga Ijoko Yoruba

The two ceremonial spokeswomen at a Yoruba traditional wedding. Alaga Iduro ("the standing one") leads from the groom's side; Alaga Ijoko ("the seated one") leads from the bride's. The choreography of question, gift, song and ritual at the engagement is in their hands.

Anaphe silk

Wild silk produced by the Anaphe moth (Anaphe infracta, Anaphe moloneyi) native to Nigerian forests. The cocoons, gathered rather than farmed, yield the cream-tan thread that historically made sanyan aso-oke. Modern sanyan is more often woven from synthetic substitutes — but the cloth still carries the Anaphe moth's name.

Aso / Aṣọ Yoruba

Cloth. The root of every textile word in this glossary that begins with "aso-".

Aso-ebi (Aṣọ-ẹbí) Yoruba

"Family cloth." A coordinated uniform fabric worn by friends and relatives at a Nigerian ceremony — the bride or host chooses the cloth, the colour and the price, and circulates yardage in advance for guests to tailor into whatever silhouette they like. The modern aso-ebi is run on WhatsApp; the V&A's Africa Fashion exhibition (London, 2022) framed it as Nigeria's haute-couture-of-the-people.

Aso-oke (Aṣọ-òkè) Yoruba

"Cloth of the upper country" — hand-loomed Yoruba prestige cloth, woven on the narrow-strip òfì loom. Three classical types: sanyan, alaari, etu. Iseyin in Oyo State is the historic principal weaving centre.

Aso-ofi (Aṣọ-òfì) Yoruba

An older Yoruba name for the same hand-woven strip cloth — literally "cloth from the loom." Used interchangeably with aso-oke; aso-ofi tends to appear in older literary sources, aso-oke in everyday and commercial contexts.

Aso-olona Yoruba

Patterned aso-oke — the woven motifs ("ona") that lift a plain weave into a designed surface. Geometric, often referenced by name (cocoa pod, broom, comb).

Auto-gele

A pre-tied, ready-to-wear gele constructed like a fitted hat. Credited to Nigerian stylist Funmi Olurinola. The form bypasses the skill barrier of traditional gele tying — important for diaspora customers who don't have access to a stylist on the morning of a wedding.

B

Bazin Riche

The French-language name (used widely in Senegal and Mali) for the lustrous, structured cotton damask that Yoruba speakers call sego. The dominant high-end manufacturer is Getzner Textil of Bludenz, Austria.

Brocade

The English-language umbrella term for any figured-weave cloth with a raised pattern. In the Nigerian context, "brocade" almost always means sego — the imported Austrian or Swiss cotton damask used for the modern sculptural gele.

Buba (Bùbá) Yoruba

The voluminous blouse worn over the iro. Loose-cut, usually in matching cloth, often embroidered at the neckline. The buba is the canvas the gele rises above; the two are designed together.

C

Coral beads (Ivie-uru) Edo

The signature jewellery of Edo (Bini) and Itsekiri brides, descended from the regalia tradition credited to Oba Ewuare the Great (reigned 1440–1473). Worn in graduated strands at the neck (ivie-uru), wrist, ankle and waist; the matching beaded crown is the okuku. Igbo brides also wear coral, often paired with red. Read more in our piece on Edo bridal regalia.

D

Damask

A patterned figured-weave cloth, lighter than full sego but heavier than ordinary cotton, often imported from Europe. Damask sits between aso-oke and brocade in stiffness and is a popular choice for the introduction ceremony and second outfit at a Yoruba traditional wedding.

Doek Afrikaans, South Africa

The South African head-cloth — doek in Afrikaans, iduku in isiXhosa, iqhiya in isiZulu. White doek is the Sunday-best of married women in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and is associated with grandmothers and rural elders more broadly. Read more under South Africa.

Duku Akan, Ghana

The Ghanaian head-cloth (from Mfantse), traditionally worn for Friday, Saturday and Sunday — modest for church and funerals, grand for weddings and traditional events. Worn alongside the kente wrap or, more recently, alongside Western dress.

E

Etu Yoruba

"Guinea fowl" — dark indigo aso-oke with fine white or light-blue pin-stripes, evoking the bird's plumage. The most understated of the three classical aso-oke types; favoured for chieftaincy installations, elder ceremonies and dignified family events.

Ewu-ivie Edo

The beaded blouse-cape worn by Edo brides, descended from royal regalia. Heavily embroidered with coral beads.

F

Fila (Filà) Yoruba

The Yoruba men's soft cap, worn with the agbada. Two main forms: the slouchy abeti aja (with side flaps that fall like dog's ears) and the smaller gobi. Often cut from the same cloth as the bride's aso-oke set.

G

Gele (Gèlè) Yoruba

The sculptural Nigerian head-tie. Etymologically derived (per Pliny Earle Chase, 1865) from ga (high) and ele (eminence) — "to be elevated." For the long-form, see our complete guide and history.

George Ijaw, Igbo, Niger Delta

A heavy embroidered or brocaded cloth originating in Indian export trade, widely used in Niger-Delta and Igbo bridal dress. Distinct from sego in weight and surface.

Getzner

Getzner Textil — Austrian textile firm founded 1818 in Bludenz, Vorarlberg. The dominant supplier of bazin riche / sego cotton damask to West and Central Africa. The reason a Yoruba bride's gele can stand seven inches above her head and not fall.

Gomesi Buganda, Uganda

The floor-length puff-sleeved formal dress of Buganda women. Not strictly a head-tie, but worn with regional head-coverings depending on occasion.

Gyale Hausa, Northern Nigeria

The Hausa long shawl-veil draped over a wrapper-and-blouse ensemble, framing the face and shoulders. Distinct from the sculptural Yoruba gele in form, but kindred in occasion. Hausa speakers also use the word gele in some contexts.

H

Headtie

Generic English-language term for the wrapped head-cloth across West African traditions. The Yoruba gele, the Igbo ichafu, the Hausa gyale, the Ghanaian duku, the Senegalese moussor, and the South African doek are all headties.

I

Ichafu Igbo

The Igbo head-tie. Typically tied with a softer pleated fan or a side rosette, worn at the second-outfit change in the igbankwu (wine-carrying) ceremony, paired with red or white coral beads. Documented in Igbo women's improvement-association practice from at least 1955.

Idana Yoruba

The introduction ceremony — the first formal meeting between the families of bride and groom. Less elaborate than the engagement, but the gele is still tied.

Igbankwu Igbo

The Igbo traditional wedding — literally "wine-carrying ceremony." The bride seeks the groom out in the room, finds him, kneels and presents him with a cup of palm wine. The cloth, and the gele or ichafu that crowns it, is what she changes into for the second half of the day.

Igbeyawo Yoruba

The Yoruba traditional wedding (engagement). Choreographed by the Alaga spokeswomen of either family. Every named gesture — the bride's prostration, the groom's gift, the elders' blessing — is the day's ceremonial spine.

Iro (Iró) Yoruba

The wrapper skirt — a long rectangle of cloth wrapped at the waist, tucked rather than fastened. Worn with the buba blouse and topped with the gele. The full iro-and-buba ensemble is, with the aso-oke it is cut from, the canonical Yoruba woman's formal dress.

Ipele (Ìpèlé / Ìbòrùn) Yoruba

The shoulder shawl or sash — a long strip of matching cloth thrown over the left shoulder, completing the iro-and-buba-and-gele suite. Sometimes called iborun; the choice depends on family and region.

J

Jacquard

Patterned cloth woven on a jacquard loom, where the pattern is held in the weave rather than printed on top. In the Nigerian context, jacquard sits between damask and brocade in weight; a popular asoebi cloth.

K

Kalabari Ijaw, Niger Delta

The Kalabari Ijo people of Rivers State are particularly known for pelete bite, the cut-thread cloth made by removing individual threads from imported Indian madras plaid (injiri) to create translucent patterns. Documented at length by Joanne B. Eicher.

Kallabi Hausa

The Hausa square head-scarf, folded triangularly and tied at the nape. Lighter and more everyday than the formal gyale.

L

Lace

French, Austrian and Swiss laces — cord lace, guipure, voile — became central to Nigerian aso-ebi from the 2000s onwards. Lace is too unstructured to hold a stand-alone fan-shaped gele, so lace head-pieces are usually tied over a stiffer underlay or worn at the white wedding rather than the traditional.

M

Mayafi Hausa

Embellished hijab styles within Hausa-Fulani fashion — heavily ornamented head-coverings often stoned, beaded or embroidered for formal occasions. Distinct from the longer draped gyale.

Moussor (Musor) Wolof, Senegal

The Senegalese head-tie. Worn for everyday and ceremony, in numerous wraps. Senegalese moussor is closer in form to the Yoruba gele than to the South African doek, and Dakar's haute-couture wedding scene is a parallel world to Lagos's.

N

Netela Amharic, Ethiopia

A thin two-layered handwoven cotton scarf, often with embroidered tibeb borders, worn over the head and shoulders. The Ethiopian formal head-covering for church, weddings and ceremony.

O

Oba

King (Yoruba and Edo). Oba Ewuare the Great of Benin (reigned 1440–1473) is credited in tradition with introducing coral beads and red flannel cloth (ododo) to court regalia.

Ododo Edo

Red flannel cloth, in the Edo court tradition. Paired with coral and worn for the highest ceremonial events.

Òfì (Ofi) Yoruba

The narrow-strip horizontal treadle loom — the canonical Yoruba men's loom, on which strips of aso-oke approximately 10–20 cm wide are produced and then stitched edge-to-edge into wider cloth.

Okuku Edo

The coral-bead crown or wig of an Edo bride. Worn with the Ewu-ivie blouse.

Onílégogoro Yoruba

Literally "the high-storey building" — the slang name for the dramatically tall, sculptural avant-garde gele that emphasises height. The "skyscraper" style.

P

Pelete bite Kalabari Ijo

The Kalabari cut-thread cloth — patterns made by removing individual threads from imported Indian madras plaid (injiri). Worn for life-cycle events. Documented by anthropologist Joanne B. Eicher in Pelete Bite: Kalabari Cut-Thread Cloth.

R

Rosette

A central-spiral gele fold, finished in a flat rose-shaped knot at one side. Quieter than the fan, more architectural than the turban; popular for the introduction ceremony and the bride's mother.

S

Sanyan Yoruba

"The father of cloths" (Sàányán ni baba aṣọ). The cream-tan aso-oke historically woven from Anaphe wild silk blended with cotton; reserved for elders, royalty and "gowns of honour." Modern sanyan is more often woven from synthetic substitutes, but the cloth still carries the moth's name.

Sego Yoruba

The Yoruba name for the structured cotton damask widely used for the modern sculptural gele. Imported from Austria (chiefly Getzner) and Switzerland; called bazin riche in Senegalese and Malian usage. Stiffened in the finishing rather than the weave; the reason the Lagos fan-shaped gele can stand.

T

Tarha Sudan

The Sudanese head-scarf — distinct from the body-length tobe (toub) which envelops the entire body. Tarha is worn formally and casually.

Tibeb Amharic

The embroidered border on a netela or other Ethiopian woven cloth. The pattern carries regional and family information.

Tignon Louisiana

The head-scarf legally required of free women of colour and enslaved women in Spanish Louisiana from 2 June 1786, by order of Governor Esteban Rodríguez Miró. The women answered the law with elaborately wrapped, jewel-trimmed tignons. The mark of suppression became a stage. The law was no longer enforced after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Read more under the diaspora.

Turban

A low-wrapped gele with the cloth tucked into itself rather than folded into pleats. The form of choice for velvet and soft cloth, and the bride's second outfit.

V

Velvet

A pile-weave cloth that became a Lagos couture bridal favourite during the 2010s. Too soft for a tall fan, so velvet geles are tied in low plush turban-like shapes. Pairs with heavy gold; reads richer under low light.

W

White wedding

The Christian or church wedding component of a Nigerian wedding sequence — typically held the day after, or weeks after, the traditional wedding. The bride often wears Western dress for the ceremony and changes into traditional aso-ebi for the reception.

Y

Yoruba

The southwestern Nigerian people whose ceremonial dress is the canonical home of the gele. The Yoruba diaspora extends to Benin, Togo, the Caribbean (particularly Trinidad and Brazil), and to large communities in the UK, US and Canada.