
The Senegalese fascination with boubou the long, colorful, loose-fitting garment – worn by both sexes in parts of Africa is well-founded. After all, the word “boubou” comes from the Wolof mbubbe Wolof being the principal African language of Senegal. It underlines the Senegalese assertion that the cloth has always been Senegalese. The boubou is fit for purpose thanks to its multiplicity of contradictory uses and meanings. It can connote sexiness or modesty.