Definition: Piece of cloth, usually decorated, designed to be wrapped around a woman’s waist. It’s often worn around a dress, skirt or trousers which the woman is already wearing inside.
How many uses can you put to a rectangular piece of fabric, the most ubiquitous item by far in Malawi (? stroke Africa)?
1. Baby carrier - first and foremost
2. Leg hider (my favourite quote: “legs are to Malawian men what boobs are to English men”)
3. Leg warmer (in winter it’s c-c-c-old!)
4. Body warmer (worn around torso)
5. Head gear
6. Purse (corner tied in a knot with money in)
7. Cleaning cloth (for those kids’ uncontrollable secretions)
8. Bed liner (including examination beds in those busy clinics)
9. Pressure bandage/ Tourniquet (all essential casualty first aid)
10. Hanging traction weights (i.e. bricks)
11. Bench liner before sitting
12. Carrying goods (tied at the corners to make a kind of bag)
13. Securing goods (e.g. bowls full of fruit/veg carried on women’s head)
14. Head cushion (for carrying heavy water buckets/stick bundles on their heads)
15. Fashion accessory
16. Political propaganda (Presidents' faces and party logos- I even saw one of Osama Bin Laden!!!)
17. Commemoration of important events (NGOs issue many of these ones)
18. Curtains or screens
19. Mats
20. Winnow
21. Water filter
22. Tourist souvenir (guess the tourist!!)
Of course I will have left out loads of uses. The floor is now yours to add more ingenuous suggestions!
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