5 / 2001
Mali * Elevated wooden clog with leather upper
Mali is a very diversified country in its physical geography as well as in its population. The biggest, central, part of Mali is part of the Great West-African Ravine. South Mali is part of the basins of the rivers Niger and Senegal, while the north is part of the Sahara desert. In the central part we find the Bambara and Dogon people, in the north the nomadic Touareg, Berber and Fulani, while in the river basins the Songhai and Malinke are residing. The latter carved above clog out of one block of wood at the beginning of the 20th century. The stilts at the back and the front add 3.4 inches or 8.7 centimetres to the wearer's height. The decorated upper is attached to the wood with straps of leather which are tied together on the bottom.
Research and text by : W.A.H.M. Habraken-Oosterhout-Holland
Illustration by : Colin Ball - Waalwijk - Holland