The African fugu (
smock) also called batakari in the
Asante Twi
Asante, also known as Ashanti, Ashante, or Asante Twi, is one of the principal dialects of the Akan language. It is one of the three literary dialects of Akan, the others being Akuapem and Fante. There are over 3.8 million speakers of the As ...
language, is a traditional men's garment from
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
.
Though it originates from
Northern Ghana
The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is situated in the northern part of the country and ranks as the second largest of the sixteen regions. Before its division, it covered an area of 25,000 square kilometres, representi ...
, it has gained acceptance throughout the country. The name ''fugu'' is a translation from the Moshie word for cloth. The
Dagombas call the garment bingba.
In the 19th century, the batakari was worn by
Ashanti military forces as a war dress. It was made out of cotton and covered with leather pouches and metal cases that contained
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
s as it was believed by the Ashanti forces that this variant of the batakari was bulletproof.
References
External links
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{{Ghana-stub
Ghanaian fashion
African fashion