Our Story
Woven into my return.
N’nanba began with a welcome, and a part of myself I have reclaimed.
In 2021, during a Decade of Return journey to Guinea-Bissau, my ancestral village elders in Tchocman Village named me N’nanba, meaning ‘You are welcome and you are wanted.’
Their welcome affirmed my lineage restoration, reconnecting me to my Balanta people and ancestral home from which trafficking, enslavement, and colonialism had torn us.
During that journey, Daina presented us with a special handwoven textile: Panu Di Pinti. I remember her care in finding it, her pride in offering it, and how I felt when the cloth rested on my shoulders: welcomed, connected, and responsible to the ancestral family I was coming to know.
I carried that textile on my travels, displayed it in my Evanston home, and wore it when speaking worldwide. It spoke before I said a word.
Building from belonging.
Receiving citizenship in Guinea-Bissau deepened that belonging. Through N’nanba, I want admiration for this textile to create economic health, cultural preservation, and celebration.
Economic health means supporting skilled work, sustained livelihoods, and business opportunities for Bissau-Guinean artisans and their communities.
Cultural preservation means honoring makers’ knowledge, documenting their stories with care, and supporting the tradition’s continuation.
Celebration means welcoming Panu Di Pinti into our homes, our gatherings, our rest, and the way we enter the world.
You are welcome here.
The name my elders gave me carries the spirit of this collection.
Through heirloom pieces to wear, use, and cherish, N’nanba extends the welcome I received.
It is an invitation to encounter Guinea-Bissau’s beauty, learn about the makers, and help carry this cultural brilliance forward.
With love, gratitude and responsibility,
N’nanba