Indigo

by Catherine E. McKinley

  By the Same Author

  The Book of Sarahs

  Afrekete (as editor)

  Author’s Note

  This book is a work of memoir and of historical narrative, but also a work of discovery—a piecing together of primary and secondary research, memory, impressions, interviews, and oral histories. The events are true; some details may have been altered to protect privacy. Any errors of fact are my own attempt to make sense of sometimes conflicting or competing records or claims. Some names, like those of Eurama and members of the Ghilchreist family, have been changed; most are of actual persons.

  The term obruni appears throughout the text. It is a word that means, interchangeably, “white person” and “stranger” in Twi, one of the major languages of Ghana. Any non-African person is obruni, as is any African who is not a native speaker or has lived in or adopted a culture or manners of the West. Obruni has come to be used as a term of endearment. In postcolonial Ghana, in music and pop culture, and in the language of affection, it is often used without irony to mean “darling,” “beloved,” or “beautiful one.”

  Copyright © 2011 by Catherine E. McKinley

  Map copyright © 2011 by Gary Antonetti/Ortelius Design

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced

  in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher

  except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  For information address Bloomsbury USA, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

  Published by Bloomsbury USA, New York

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  McKinley, Catherine E.

  Indigo : in search of the color that seduced the world / Catherine E. McKinley.—1st U.S. ed.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN 978-1-60819-505-3 (hardcover)

  1. Indigo—Africa, West—History. 2. Textile fabrics—Africa, West—History.

  3. Indigo industry—Africa, West—History. 4. Clothing and dress—Africa, West—History.

  5. Africa, West—Civilization. 6. McKinley, Catherine E. I. Title.

  First published by Bloomsbury USA in 2011

  This e-book edition published in 2011

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-60819-589-3

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