Aso Oke


Aso oke fabric, is a hand-woven cloth created by the Yoruba people of west Africa. Aso oke means "top cloth" in the English language, denoting cloth of high status. Usually woven by men and women, the fabric is used to make men's gowns, called agbada and hats, called fila, as well as women's wrappers, called iro and head tie, called gele.
Aso oke is from the Yoruba culture in Kwara, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun States in western Nigeria and Ajase in southeastern Benin Republic.
The way of making the cloth has remained the same for centuries, however new techniques and production methods have been looked into to eliminate the weight and thickness of the aso oke cloth, and to make it more accessible for casual wear.

Types of aso oke

Other ways that designers have made this old traditional cloth become more modern is to "structurally manipulate and combine animal and floral motifs into definite shapes of grids and geometry, suitable for computer design applications." The basis of more traditional motifs would have originated from fables and folklore.
Aso oke fabric is often worn with aran, a brown velvet with concentric designs.

Yoruba women's garment

When people speak of an aso oke, they are usually referring to the traditional Yoruba women's garment, which consists of four parts:
Yorubas around the world wear aso oke fabric for special occasions, including holidays, weddings, funerals and chieftain title ceremonies. All followers of the Yoruba religion also wear aso oke fabrics and hats.