CLOTHING IN GABON

SEASON 3 EPISODE 10

Clothing is a major part of our lives as it reflects an individual’s culture. Clothings are worn for various reasons such as;

• Adornment: Added decoration or ornamentation.
• Protection: Clothing that provides physical safeguards to the body, preventing harm from climate and environment.
• Identification: Establishing who someone is or what they do.
• Modesty: Covering the body according to the code of decency established by society.
• Status: One’s position or rank in comparison to others.
  

Let’s look at what the Gabonese people wear as their clothing.

Most Gabonese people have embraced the western style of clothing. Formal clothes such as jeans, shirts, suits, tie, skirts, trousers are worn.

One fashionable and more traditional material that is been worn in Gabon is the boubou, which is a flowing top that either stays at knee length or ankle length. Boubous are worn for various ceremonial occasions made into different styles and materials.

Boubous are worn together with loose trousers by men while women wear them with a loincloth called pagne.

Written and edited by Ebenezer Oladokun