Tuesday 16 October 2012

"Indigo" by Catherine McKinley



I have just finished reading this rather interesting book, whose story goes beyond the role "Indigo" played as an exquisite, rare and costly pigment in the slave trade across the Atlantic.

It is a journey across several West African countries with powerful lessons of both heritage and history to be learned.

A few years ago I had read about the fifteenth century cotton and indigo plantations, as well as the elaborate patterned indigo cloths fabricated in the centuries to follow under Portuguese "supervision" (slave oriented)  in Cape Verde, but in no way did I get such a thorough explanation and connections as those provided by Catherine McKinley. 









At various moments throughout the reading of the book I could see myself wanting to do what the author did ... the pursuit of something specific ... though not knowing exactly where that pursuit would take you to ... but  an inner necessity of doing it.



In the words of Mark Kurlandsky, author of Salt it is "a journey in every sense of the word" ... I would strongly advise anyone who loves Africa to read. 








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