Lamba (garment)

Sakalava lamba arindrano and malabary

A lamba is the traditional garment worn by men and women that live in Madagascar. The textile, highly emblematic of Malagasy culture, consists of a rectangular length of cloth wrapped around the body.[1]

Traditional lambas used for burial were often made of silk and cow hides while those for daily wear were more often made of raffia, pig skin, cotton or bast. They could range in color from a tie-dyed mess or solid white cloth, to striped red, white and black cloth found in most parts of the island, the geometric patterns in unique shades of green and brown produced by a handful of Sakalava villages, or the brilliantly multi-colored, complex weaves favored by the pre-colonial Merina aristocracy.[2] Today, it is common to find printed cotton or rayon lambas produced in India for the Malagasy market in addition to those fabricated locally.[3]

Besides its daily use as basic clothing, the lamba is also used for tying children to mothers' backs or as a cushion when carrying a heavy object on top of the head. The lamba is also used ritually to wrap the remains of the dead before placing them in the family tomb. Which after the ceremony are then placed on the dead for an order of respect to their souls.

  1. ^ Tortora, P.G. & Merkel, R.S. (1996). Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles. New York: Fairchild Publications.
  2. ^ Turner, J. (Ed.). (1996). "Madagascar", in The Dictionary of Art, Volume 20. London: Macmillan Publishers Limited.
  3. ^ Green, R.L. (2003). Lamba hoany: proverb cloths from Madagascar. Africa Arts, 36(22), pp. 30–46.