“With a history as rich as the color itself, garments of indigo blue were traded in the great merchant centers and ports of Africa and the Orient and brought to the markets of Europe. Throughout the ages the color blue has continued to intrigue and inspire. Worn by kings and queens and peasants alike, garments dyed in blue were handed down from generation to generation. As the garments faded and aged they became more valued and cherished.” – Kathleen O’Grady
Dried cake extracted from indigo leaves
Photo by Evan Izer (Palladian) / CC BY-SA
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)
There are different kinds of indigo plants as well as being able to dye with indigo leaves. I took a natural dye workshop in Laos in 2010. These leaves were gathered from the mountains that morning.
The history of indigo also includes a dark side because of the exploitation of colonized countries and peoples. Indigo was one of the most valuable exports from the Southeast United States and the Caribbean and it was produced using the labour of enslaved Africans. India under British colonization was a major supplier of indigo to Europe. In Bengal, the farmers were forced to grow indigo rather than food crops. In 1859 the farmers revolted against oppression by the East India Company in what became known as the Indigo Revolt or the Blue Mutiny. In the early 1900’s natural indigo was replaced by synthetic dye and the natural indigo trade dyed out and along with it the indigo plantations.
But there is much more to indigo’s history than this dark side. Indigo dyeing has been practiced since antiquity in India, Asia, Africa and South America. The word “indigo” is derived from the Ancient Greek word for “Indian dye.” For generations indigenous people have created exquisite textiles and passed the techniques down from one generation to the next.
I could never say I am an expert of indigo dyeing, but it has influenced me. I am inspired by its magic, including the beautiful colour it produces and its practice by diverse cultures.
Visiting a specialty indigo shop in Kyoto, Japan, in 1985.
Japanese ‘Kasuri‘ fabric pieces I collected while there.
Vintage collectible indigo and naturally dyed cotton.
More collectible Japanese indigo fabrics. I was there in the mid-1980’s and these fabrics were old then!
In recent times, there has been a world-wide revival of indigo dyeing. I have had the good fortune of being a student of some of the world masters who take great pride in the indigo-textile traditions from their native countries.
I was fortunate to meet Dr. Kikuo Morimoto in Cambodia in 2010. Dr. Morimoto, a Japanese textile master, came to Cambodia in the 1990’s to revive the traditional weaving and natural dye arts that had been lost in the time of the Khmer Rouge. Here Dr. Morimoto shows me the location of new indigo vats.
Indigo can take years to master. I’ve been told that Malian indigo master, Aboubakar Fofana taught a 10-day indigo workshop several years ago in Oakland, California. He started the indigo vats with the class, but for some reason, the vats did not work. After much deliberation, he discovered that the high chlorine in the tap water affected the pH of the vats, and he had to start them again with purified water. Even the masters are challenged by indigo.
Jenny Balfour-Paul is one of the leading experts on indigo. In 2018 Jenny Balfour-Paul gave a talk at Maiwa Handprints in Vancouver about her book Deeper Than Indigo which covers her travels and encounters with indigo. If you would like to be spell-bound by Jenny’s talk, view the video below or listen to the podcast.