ABSTRACT
This article presents a theoretical reflection on capulanas (wax print fabrics) in the northern region of Mozambique. It is based on fieldwork conducted in Nampula and Ilha de Moçambique in 2015 and 2017. Beginning with a dialogue with the theoretical propositions of Alfred Gell and Bruno Latour, it suggests that “making capulanas” is not restricted to production. Instead, it happens mainly through circulation and its multiple forms of use. In addition, it addresses what capulanas are “made to do” (faire-faire) and especially what they “make not do” (faire ne pas faire). By covering the bodies and transmitting messages about sensitive matters such as illness, death, and menstruation, they harbor the spheres of the invisible and the unspeakable, and thus they “keep secrets.”
Keywords:
Anthropology of art; attachment; objects; wax print fabrics; Mozambique