Bléénj (also sëru njaago in Senegal)
The hand-weaving of ceremonial loincloth cloth by men of the Manjak (also Mandjak, Manjaco, Njaago) ethnic group, whose communities span Guinea-Bissau (the group's homeland), Casamance in Senegal, Gambia, and Cape Verde. Cotton is harvested and woven horizontally on a traditional ground loom roughly twenty meters long, producing narrow strips in varying widths bearing stripes, chevrons, and checkerboard patterns drawn from a transmitted visual grammar; the strips are then assembled and hand-finished (hems, fringes, joins) into a single large ceremonial cloth. Manjak weaving's presence in West Africa is documented as tracing to the height of the transatlantic slave trade, when Manjak weavers held captive in Cape Verde came into direct contact with Portuguese textile production, with weavers today still using looms and techniques their ancestors are recorded as having learned from the Portuguese in the 16th century. Colors and patterns carry deep symbolic meaning — status, memory, and alliance — worn at weddings, births, and funerals, with the craft originally specifically employed for grave rites before becoming broader ceremonial dress. A genuine, documented decline is underway: young Manjak men are increasingly abandoning the craft, citing its difficulty and low pay.
Risk level: Endangered · Not independently inscribed
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