Bamana Mudcloth Boubou Shirt Mali Sidley Collection

A boubou (or bubu, or grand boubou, or grand bubu) is an African garment worn by men and women in much of West Africa and parts of Central Africa. The boubou generally consists of up to three pieces: a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of tie-up trousers that narrow at the ankles, and an open-stitched overflowing wide-sleeveless gown worn over these two; all three are usually the same color and were historically made from silk, but nowadays are made up of cotton or sometimes synthetic fabric made to resemble silk. The whole ensemble is complete with a "chechia" or hat of any color. A woman's boubou differs from a man's boubou. It will consist of two pieces: a wrapper around the waist, a large overflowing gown to top it all off, and an intricate headscarf instead of a hat. "Boubou" comes from the word "mbubb" in the Wolof language, which translated into French, is "boubou". The tradition of the boubou is old and can be traced back to the 8th Century. Its origin lies in the clothing worn by the