Nike Art & Culture Center

A group of us took a trip out to the Nike (pronounced nee-kay; not like the sneaker!)Art & Culture Center this weekend. We were treated to a demonstration on how they make all the beautiful fabrics here, including hand dying in the Indigo Pits. There were also a lot of performances of the tribal dances as well as some beautiful local art to look at. Here are some of the highlights:

Here the guy is handpainting the design on the fabric:


Here is a closeup and the finished product:



These are the indigo pits where they dye the fabric with natural indigo found locally:



These ladies are making "pounded yam" which is a staple Nigerian dish - it is sort of like very dry mashed potatoes that they use in stews and soups. It is an awful lot of work to make - they use giant wooded mortar & pestles. The other lady is sorting millet which she will later ground with a stone to make flour:



Here is a sample of some of the art created by local artists:


These are just two photos from the tribal dances:



And here's Eric:



And me in front of one of the quilts they made at the center:


Eric took a lot of video and I am sure he will post more pics on his site. It was a fun day even if it was 100 degrees!

Next weekend I am traveling so I should have more exciting pictures to post then.

P.S. HAPPY EASTER