West Africa

===Clothing===
{{See|Folk costume#Western Africa}}
[[File:Philip Emeagwali in white "agbada.".jpg|thumb|left|[[Philip Emeagwali]] wearing the [[Boubou (clothing)|Boubou]] (or ''Agbada''), a traditional robe symbolic of West Africa]]
In contrast to other parts of the continent south of the [[Sahara Desert]], the concepts of [[hem]]ming and [[embroidered|embroidering]] clothing have been traditionally common to West Africa for centuries, demonstrated by the production of various [[breeches]], [[shirts]], [[tunic]]s and [[jackets]]. As a result, the peoples of the region's diverse nations wear a wide variety of clothing with underlying similarities. Typical pieces of west African formal attire include the knee-to-ankle-length, flowing [[Boubou (clothing)|Boubou]] robe, [[Dashiki]], and [[Senegalese]] [[Kaftan]] (also known as ''Agbada'' and ''Babariga''), which has its origins in the clothing of nobility of various West African empires in the 12th century. Traditional half-sleeved, hip-long, woven smocks or tunics (known as ''fugu'' in Gurunsi, ''riga'' in Hausa) – worn over a pair of baggy trousers—is another popular garment.<ref>Barbara K. Nordquist, Susan B. Aradeon, Howard University. School of Human Ecology, Museum of African Art (U.S.). ''Traditional African dress and textiles: an exhibition of the Susan B. Aradeon collection of West African dress at the Museum of African Art'' (1975), pp. 9–15.</ref> In the coastal regions stretching from southern Ivory Coast to Benin, a huge rectangular cloth is wrapped under one arm, draped over a shoulder, and held in one of the wearer's hands—coincidentally, reminiscent of [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]' [[toga]]s. The best-known of these toga-like garments is the [[Kente]] (made by the [[Akan people]] of [[Ghana]] and [[Ivory Coast]]), who wear them as a gesture of national pride.