Oloye

Adire Yoruba textile called "Oloye" meaning Combs. Made on a manufactured damask cloth which is hand-painted with multiple patterned squares using cassava starch. After drying, it is dyed with indigo in above-ground dye pots. The more times the cloth is dipped in indigo, the darker the background and the more vivid the pattern. The pattern is revealed after the cassava starch is beaten off the dried-out cloth. The pattern on this textile includes two squares and geometrics. One square has a figure showing "oloye" (combs) at one end and "kokoro" (key) at the other. The second squre has a figure of "ajunila/ejo ila" (coiled snake).