Wrapper (clothing)

The wrapper, lappa, or pagne is a colorful garment widely worn in West Africa by both men and women.

The wrapper is usually worn with a matching headscarf or head tie that is called a gele in Yoruba, pronounced geh-leh.

Pagne (French: [paɲ]) designates a certain cut (two by six yards) and type (single-sided "fancy" or double-sided "wax" prints) of untailored cotton textile,[3] especially in Francophone West and Central Africa.

[4] Enormously popular in much of tropical Africa, the pagne cloth's usage and patterns may be used to convey by the wearer a number of social, economic—and sometimes even political—messages.

[5] It is similar—though distinct in size, expected pattern, and usage—to the Khanga, Kikoy or Chitenge of East and Southern Africa.

From the pagne any number of garments may be created (the boubou, dresses, or western style suits) or it can be used untailored as a wrap, headtie, skirt, or tied as a sling for children or goods.

The word pagne, likely derived from the Latin pannum, was a term introduced by merchants from the 16th Century and adopted by several African societies to identify often pre-existing textiles or garments distinct from a simple cloth.

The buba, sokoto/iro and fila/gele set is the traditional costume of the Yoruba people in South Western Nigeria and the other regions of Yorubaland.