| dc.description.abstract | This study focused on creating fashion design statements that SPEAKS TO the African voice of
women pushing back against stereotypes. It is inspired by a visual archive embodied in the
biography and narratives of Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya of Tooro (known as Bagaaya in this
study) in relation to a character known as Shaman, whom she impressively plays in the film,
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (Sheena, 1989).
The research explored the visual archives and narratives from an autobiography and the portrayal
of the film character, Shaman as a source of fashion design that liberates and amplifies women‘s
voices into a collective African voice speaking of histories, triumphs and hopes,hereby
reclaiming the voices for a productive reference.
The primary source was the autobiography of Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya of Tooro – Elizabeth
of Toro: The Odyssey of an African Princess (Nyabongo, 1989) .
Through tracing the narratives found in the autobiographies and visual archives of Bagaaya of
Tooro and Shaman of Sheena a reservoir for productive reference emerged: one that Uganda‘s
fashion does not often look for as a source of inspiration. I assumed that this reservoir is
representative of lived experiences for women across national, regional and African contexts.
They can be considered a contribution towards a ̳collective African voice‘. Based on this
assumption, the study provided knowledge on the interplay between fashion design and the lived
experiences aimed at voicing the contributions made by African women within unique contexts
This study through narrative inquiry explored how meaning can be derived from the biography
and visual narratives of Bagaaya, used as a literary and visual canon source for inspiring fashion
designs. This was done using Artistic research methods and narrative theory. The study provides
a podium and a productive reference for creating designs and wearable items as fashion
statements that push back against stereotypes and so begin to represent, reclaim, amplify the
voices of women in spaces that are deeply laced with patriarchal power.
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Shaman woman as a subject (and not as an object) in an idyllic space in which power and gender
intersect to shape the destiny of a traditional kingdom. By departing from the position that this
film is a metaphor – defined by cultural and historical contexts that have framed the lives of
women in Uganda and the African continent at large – the research uses the fashion ̳voice‘ of
Princess Bagaaya to speak with and for the muffled voice of Shaman and the stereotyped
position of women over time.
Princess Elizabeth Bagaaya of Tooro is a prominent figure in Ugandan history and has made
significant contributions to her kingdom, country and the fashion world. Shaman, on the other
hand, is a fictional character who is portrayed as a dispensable platform of which Sheena, the
Caucasian heroine of the movie, is launched to save the day. ̳Shaman‘ is not a name, merely a
title that has come to be associated with a spiritual witch-like persona. Therefore, in essence, the
Shaman character was not even given the dignity of a name. This in spite of the fact that she
adopts, names and raises the orphaned Sheena, teaching her everything she knows that enables
her to shine as a heroic saviour-figure. Despite knowing all, Shaman has a muzzled voice.
In spite of, or perhaps because of, this paradox, Bagaaya asserts that her performance in the
movie did not require acting on her part because of the parallels between her life and that of
Shaman.
This study highlights and uses those parallels and intersections to create fashion that amplifies
the voice of Shaman, and through her, the African woman in all the glory of her lived
experiences.The study is an explicit example of the intersection between autobiography and
creativity as spaces that amplify and reclaim the voices of women that deflected instances of
stereotypes and transform them into wearable items in fashion design. | en_US |
