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BAKÁ ART & CRAFT

The Baká people have their own arts and crafts with specific patterns but production of art and craft pieces are not the actual and fulltime preoccupations of every Baká man and woman. The production of every art and craft piece are based on the necessity for usage. 

Mats (Sáka): The Baká weave their own mats (known as sáka). Mat weaving is primarily the role of women although men also do weave. The mats are used for sleeping, sitting and for burial of the dead. The Bakápeople use a particular type of reeds which they call Láyí. This type of rids are often fetched by women from a distance. Sometimes out of scarcity of Layi, the Baká people improvise to use the ordinary palm leaves which have a reputation of being hard and are short-lived. They also improvised to use the peels from the sorghum stocks. Baká mats are categorized into plain mats and decorative mats with patterns, some of which are colourful. 

Baskets (Gbété): The Baka people weave different types of baskets which are generally called Gbété a word which sometime is synonymous with pocket. Each Gbété has a distinct use hence sometimes carrying its distinct name. The most exotic basket is the one made out of Láyí. Baskets are categorized into Gbété, which as its name suggest is used as a container store, container carrier etc. There is also Mbúra which is not tight weaved and used mostly for storage. There is then the ku’bi. One category of Ku’bi is the one used for carrying vegetables, grains, legumes etc. the other category of Ku’bi is the one used for winnowing. There are often the miniature and artistic versions of these Gbété, Ku’bi, sáka etc which are used as decorations and also tagged up on a long-standing pole often put in the middle of a homestead to signify a pillar or center of gravity of a homestead which the Baka call Mbayii. Sometimes this type of ku’bi is also used by women to cover the heads of babied being carried on the backs from rains or to sunscreen from a scorching sun. 

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Nets (Mbírá): The Baká people also weave their own nets which are primarily for hunting and fishing. The sizes and strengths of the nets vary depending on their purposes. These again are carefully weaved from reeds which are first extracted, shredded and then joined together into a form of threads. 

© 2025 compiled by the Baká Heritage Center. All rights reserved.

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