Boubou (Clothing)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Grand Boubou/Bubu is one of the names for a flowing wide sleeved robe worn by men in much of West Africa, and to a lesser extent in North Africa, related to the Dashiki suit. It is known by various names, depending on the ethnic group wearing them: Agbada, Babban Riga, K'sa Grand Boubou and the English term of Gown. The Senegalese Boubou, a variation on the Grand Boubou described below, is also known as the Senegalese kaftan. The female version worn in some communities is also known as a M'boubou or Kaftan. Its origin lies with the clothing worn by the Islamized Tukulor, Mandé and Songhai peoples of the historic 8th Century Takrur and Ghana Empires, and 13th Century Mali and Songhai Empires, who had in turn adopted the clothing of the nobility of the early Islamic Empire via the Tuareg people