wanke

Ingredients

soot from cooking pots, water, gabarawa pods (BL28), tannins, mordants

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Made from soot collected from the bottom of cooking pots, boiled or steeped in hot water. The dye water was filtered or decanted (p. 24). To intensify the color, malams added tannins and mordants such as gabarawa pods (BL28), drawing on knowledge from tanners and dyers (p. 24).

Evidence

"Wanke is the ink most widely encountered in Northern Nigerian manuscripts. Made from soot collected from the bottom of cooking pots, it was boiled or steeped in hot water."

Remarks

Depending on the wood burned, the color varies from light yellow to dark golden brown and is transparent. It produces a marked modulation in tone from dark to light within the same stroke (p. 24).