Maya's Tailor- Ibrahima Fati in Kolda, Senegal © Erin Lau, 2011
We visited Maya’s tailor, whose name is Ibrahima Fati, while in Kolda. Earlier, we had bought some bright green & blue patterned Senegalese fabric. We brought it to Ibu to sew an outfit that would be a gift for a small child. He had a wonderful old sewing machine with a foot pump, and he worked outside under the overhang of a building alongside the marketplace. Maya has had several full, traditional Senegalese outfits made by Ibu, only a couple of which she has kept. He was a wonderfully friendly and gracious man, and he let me sketch him and his tailor friend. In the same spot, I sketched a woman named Binta Barry, below. We did not know her, but she let me draw her, though she became somewhat self-conscious. She was wearing a beautiful dark blue top and skirt, with matching headdress. I wish I had had time to draw the pattern on the fabric.
Binta Barry, in Kolda, Senegal © Erin Lau, 2011
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