JENGUE, Daughter of the Water

The two-parter was sewn on the basis of an earlier use of women from the Cameroonian Littoral, the so-called SAWA people. At the time, these women wore hand-tied banana leaves on their hips to cover their abdomen. That was long before the time KABA was born ...

Jengue comes from the Littoral. More specifically, it comes from Kribi, a southern city right on the sea, where the sun and the dark blue water merge into one another in the evening. It was named after a great queen from Pongo, a small village on the other side of the river Wouri before Douala, the port city of Cameroon.

Jengue, daughter of the water, is tall, elegant and gorgeous with her extraordinary ebony complexion. She has the haughty head that gives her her noble lineage. Because wherever she goes, daughter Sawa has that certain something that captivates her. Especially when she wears her KABA, which is typical of coastal women's costume made of colorful fabrics and high-quality details.

The KABA with a special origin ...

The British missionary Alfred Saker arrived on the Cameroonian coast in 1844 to spread the good news to the local people. His wife discovered that the daughters of the water wore carefully lined, dried banana leaves as clothing, covering only the lower part of her body to the navel. "The pointed breasts like spears," in the words of a great artist, were delivered to the lustful eyes of men and were considered by the pastor's wife an object of temptation.

Given the natural beauty of the coastal women, she undertook to wear them by making long dresses with wide jute sleeves. The KABA was born ...

Although it is worn today in all regions of Cameroon and beyond, this majestic garment along the coast is reserved primarily for large ceremonies. KABA gets an appealing touch with the "pèti" accessory, which features a pretty lace.

But this is another story.