The Akwa Ocha Textile

Akwa-Ocha, a popular hand-woven cloth is peculiar to the people of Anioma, meaning the good land in Delta State. Anioma land is the Igbo-speaking part of Delta state comprising of Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika and Oshimili people and they are all associated with the Akwa-Ocha fabric.

Akwa-Ocha, which literally means white cloth, is designed and woven for all-purposes but can also be customized to suit particular occasions or people of high social status. It is embellished with motifs and symbols reflective of the people’s religious and social beliefs. These motifs range from mundane to the spiritual, it incorporates plants, animals, man-made objects, geometric shapes, as well as cosmological symbols. Beyond their ordinary function of clothing the wearers, Akwa-Ocha hand-woven fabrics assume other important and symbolic roles. Anioma people use their Akwa-Ocha for most of their ceremonies believing that it inspires their essence and heritage at ceremonies.

Akwa Ocha is readily available in wrappers and mufflers and at every occasion or ceremony it is put to use, the men wear the fabric around the waist or neck region with a vest, top or t-shirt.

The women tie the fabric above above their breast or around the waist with a matching blouse.

Since Nigeria is a country with mixed fashion and is undergoing changes at a rapid pace, the importance of Akwa-Ocha has offered some interpretation to the changing social and political landscape in modern Nigeria and this is because anyone who adorns Akwa-Ocha at any ceremony does so primarily as a mode of identity. It also showcases the rich culture of the particular region or ethnic group in Nigeria where the fabric originates from. Apart from giving the wearers an identity, Akwa-Ocha highlights creativity and often makes the individual wearing it stand out in a crowd.

Ubulu-Uku is one of the several communities in Anioma land and the community is believed to have started producing Akwa-Ocha which they did after processing harvested cotton that was widely cultivated in the area. Akwa-Ocha weavers of Ubulu-Uku have not been able to respond to the global fashion consciousness like other indigenous woven fabrics but regardless of this setback, the Akwa-Ocha textile has found its way to other weaving centers in Anioma land. The fabric represents certain aspects of the Anioma culture, however, the process of making it is very tedious. It is a combination of male and female efforts in the sense that the men would go to plant the cotton and do the harvesting and in the evening, you would see the women trying to filter the cotton. With modernisation, the weavers now go to the market to buy ready-made cotton threads in rims.

The culture of purity

Back in the day, not everybody had the privilege of wearing Akwa-Ocha but there is a point it gets to that an Anioma man is supposed to get the fabric as part of his collection. It is essentially an aspect of the  Anioma culture and a statement of their values. The Akwa-Ocha has its own cultural and religious significance in terms of purity. If a man comes to marry an Anioma daughter, her father is expected to have trained her pure before giving her in marriage, she does not just go like that. The father accompanies his daughter to the house of her newly wedded husband with one yard of Akwa-Ocha. On the couple’s first night, it is expected that some blood drops on the Akwa-Ocha. Eventually, it is with joy that the Akwa-Ocha is returned as a testimony that the husband met the  daughter at home. The father would receive it with greater joy and tie the wrapper as he goes out. This is part of their culture of significance, talking about purity. 

There are also stages for an Anioma man, when he could tie one piece across his shoulder as it is used during some occasions. During burial ceremonies, it is usually a sight to behold the Akwa-Ocha contrasting with the red cap. Red in that sense that it is about royalty and valour. You don’t just wake up and start wearing the red cap!

As young ladies grow up in Anioma, there are certain things expected of them. One of such things is the making of Akwa-Ocha just as a young Anioma man growing up too whom certain things are expected of; He is expected to be able to set traps and catch animals, climb palm trees and cut down bunches of palm nuts because these were seen as achievements. The women should be able to weave the Akwa-Ocha fabric. If she could not weave, she should be able to buy from those who weave, as a gift to her man or husband.

As a treasured item, Akwa-Ocha is among the most important two-dimensional art forms in Nigeria. Traditionally it is not everyday clothing material, as it is reserved for special occasions and considered as precious gifts for important visitors. With time, Nigeria’s fashion industry has started charting a renaissance of the Akwa-Ocha fabric which has been enumerated here

We daily intensify our efforts at Bolakoka to increase interests in this revered fabric which subsequently improves demand and keeps the women of Anioma land weaving this fabric in constant production. You can purchase Anioma’s original Akwa-Ocha fabric from our shop here