Kuba design is highly ornamental. The Kuba do not have a word for art, but do have one for design (bwiin) and have no difficulty in distinguishing between 150 patterns, each of which has its own name. In choosing a name for a pattern, the Kuba take one small component of the design that they regard as a crucial part of the motif and name the whole composition after this elementary aspect of the pattern. The point of this process is to distinguish between the different cloths rather than to highlight their artistic content.
The non-representational designs are ornamental; they symbolize a cultural group and membership thereof. Nobody disputes that the designs may have been inspired by the natural world - a chameleon's footprints, locust shapes and animal tracks, for example. Similar forms and patterns will also be found in the body tattoos and wood carvings of the Kuba ethnic groups.
The Shoowa display a greater variety of design than other Kuba peoples, who are very closely attached to their traditional patterns. The reason for this is that the Shoowa are far less conservative in general than the other Kuba peoples.
The Shoowa employ an enormous range of patterns in their velvets. In addition to approximately 150 different basic patterns (lozenges, squares, hexagons, knots, etc.), there are countless individual variations. As a rule, one basic principle runs through one cloth, or a large part of it - a kind of module that usually runs diagonally across the velvet. As the cloth progresses, the module is constantly varied to produce the pattern. This can go so far that it is difficult to find any recognizable similarity between elements that are far apart. Another interesting aspect is the deliberate construction of spatial depth, created by arranging the pattern in particular ways.
The Shoowa's courage in replacing ornamental uniformity with asymmetrical free compositions results in images of high quality, at least from a European point of view. At the same time, good pieces avoid an arbitrary confusion of geometric elements. It is up to the viewer to decide whether to accept or consider the typical interruptions in a velvet pattern as a formal artistic vehicle, or to treat it as a new beginning after the designer interrupted her work and simply delight in the variation.
The decline in traditional crafts and in artistic quality has not spared textile design in the Kuba region. As early as 1920, missionaries established schools for the Bushoong, a Kuba ethnic group, to preserve the art of cut-pile embroidery and the existing geometric motifs. The cultural decline is noticeable particularly in the coarser weave, fewer variations and gaudier colours, the last probably influenced by European taste. Today flat, monotonous and usually re-dyed Kuba panels are dumped on the market as a welcome source of income.
