Frantz Fanon argues in his piece On Natural Culture that a growing national culture grows in parallel to progress in decolonization. This resistance revitalizes and adds to traditional culture, while often injecting new forms of expression. He writes, “a national culture is the whole body of efforts made by a people in the sphere of thought to describe, justify, and praise the action through which that people has created itself and keeps itself in existence” (Fanon, 492). Fighting for liberation is itself fighting for a national culture. Fanon joins other authors in showing readers the importance of forging a national culture. Marissa Moorman in Putting on a Pano and Dancing like Our Grandparents: Nation and Dress in Late Colonial Luanda, Nina
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They were sourced internationally by groups like the Nana Benz and the Nanettes who worked to fulfill the demands of West African women while keeping prices low. The Nana Benz helped in the forging of national culture by holding the pattern rights for Dutch manufacturers and backing political leaders in the fight for independence. They gained this prominence when protectionist policies in Ghana shifted the trade to Togo. The Nanettes showcased how national culture was equally dependent on global relations with nations like China. Sylvanus shows this significance through these groups’ use of branding, “which creates allegiance to national culture.” (Sylvanus, 91) The wax cloth patterns act as a repository for history in the region. The myriad of patterns and iterations can be used to understand cultural identity, economic power, and social status. These iterations show how the places like Togo welcomed modernization and global influences in the forging of their own national tastes. The Nana Benz persisted from Togo’s first president to the second, who was more a dictator. They did so through the “lasting formations of national identity” through “layers of materiality, feminine display, and nation they helped to create.” (Sylvanus, 80) The Nanettes continued this tradition with the added virtues of risk taking and flexibility—traveling to Asia to secure quality wax cloth and forming unique networks. Fanon’s “sphere of thought” applies directly as it was not just the domestic formation of culture but the ingenuity of those within it to seek praise and influence through their
They were sourced internationally by groups like the Nana Benz and the Nanettes who worked to fulfill the demands of West African women while keeping prices low. The Nana Benz helped in the forging of national culture by holding the pattern rights for Dutch manufacturers and backing political leaders in the fight for independence. They gained this prominence when protectionist policies in Ghana shifted the trade to Togo. The Nanettes showcased how national culture was equally dependent on global relations with nations like China. Sylvanus shows this significance through these groups’ use of branding, “which creates allegiance to national culture.” (Sylvanus, 91) The wax cloth patterns act as a repository for history in the region. The myriad of patterns and iterations can be used to understand cultural identity, economic power, and social status. These iterations show how the places like Togo welcomed modernization and global influences in the forging of their own national tastes. The Nana Benz persisted from Togo’s first president to the second, who was more a dictator. They did so through the “lasting formations of national identity” through “layers of materiality, feminine display, and nation they helped to create.” (Sylvanus, 80) The Nanettes continued this tradition with the added virtues of risk taking and flexibility—traveling to Asia to secure quality wax cloth and forming unique networks. Fanon’s “sphere of thought” applies directly as it was not just the domestic formation of culture but the ingenuity of those within it to seek praise and influence through their