finally - I'm I seeing things? Either I was too drunk on tiredness last night when I first read this posting or I'm in serious need of a shrink!
Anyway, many thanks to you and the rest in Admin for allowing us to learn more about the origins of what we've come to appreciate as part of our traditional dress code in cultural gatherings. I personnaly love dressing in Busuti as I find the experience albeit daunting, honourable and beautiful.
Whatever excuses may be given for not wearing gomesi, the fact remain that we will always follow fashion dictates of the time, and Ugandans especially, whatever is being held up as trendy from US, Europe or anywhere else for that matter, will follow suit within a blink of an eye. Yes dressing in gomesi is darn hard work - especially if you've not been brought up to wear this kind of attire. I greatly believe dressing in gomesi starts at a young age to get the knack for it and be free to move around in it without feeling constrained, (a trick I picked up was to cut out the bikoyi biz and just put on baggy trousers or a skirt underneath!). That way, you acquire a big bum and have something to round off the kimono-like belt without having trip over the undergarments!
But seriously... if Indian women folk I see walking around the work place here in saris can pull it off on a daily basis, we too ought to quit looking for reasons to limit wearing gomesi to functions only. Perhaps it ought to be that the gomesis are made customised - i.e, like half-gomesi, or kadeyas etc... That bark cloth is not news to me - it's rather a pity that the onset of christianity gave the usage of this fabric bad light much rather like the african drums were initially banned from usage by early christians in religious gatherings! The bark cloth contrary to what it sounds like is actually quite soft depending on how it is prepared and has many usages which have benefitted our people for centuries gone.
For this I greatly admire W.Africans in some respects for holding on fast and not loosing sight of their own traditional dress styles which btw complement the african woman's body rather than force her to diet against the natural body's law to fit in with the dictates of fashion gurus the world over. Arguably some of us may be forced to eat certain food stuffs to acquire "the body" to fit into some of these traditional garbs!!! Also with the spillage of second-hand clothing from charity places from the abroad competing with the cost of fabrics required to make a gomesi, one I think can begin to see why the gomesi would loose the battle in the fashion stakes for the everyday person.
"Worrying is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."