Backpack ‘Tsonga’ Toffee Leather

Description

This ‘Tsonga’ Backpack in Toffee Leather is made from a 100% South African Cow Leather and has a multi colour tribal design cotton weave on the front. Our Diesel Leather is buffed, coated in oil and then burned through an ironing press to achieve the effect. Once in use, the oil disperses into the hide, softening the leather from the inside out. This creates a 2 tone distress appearance with a soft velvet touch.

The interior of the Backpack is lined with an original South African Shweshwe fabric for strength and style. Our Backpack has been designed to minimise theft from pick pocketing and therefor has a leather belt with antique brass buckle for extra closure. The top of the Backpack is also fitted with a metal zip from YKK to protect belongings from falling out, as well as a hidden zip pocket on the back for your valuable items, like phone, wallet, keys etc. This is not just another Backpack but a Backpack with a purpose. All NAVA Apparel bags are handmade by local South African craftswomen.

‘Tsonga’ is a Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people. It is mutually intelligible with Tswa and Ronga, and the name “Tsonga” is often used as a cover term for all three, also sometimes referred to as Tswa-Ronga. The Xitsonga language has been standardized for both academic and home use, making it the base language for the Tsonga people. Like with many other languages, there are various dialects within the Tsonga language group.

Shweshwe is a printed cotton fabric widely used for traditional South African clothing. Originally dyed indigo, the fabric is manufactured in a variety of colours and printing designs characterised by intricate geometric patterns. Due to its popularity, shweshwe has been described as the denim or tartan of South Africa. Shweshwe is traditionally used to make dresses, skirts, aprons and wraparound clothing. Shweshwe clothing is traditionally worn by newly married Xhosa women, known as makoti, and married Sotho women. Xhosa women have also incorporated the fabric into their traditional ochre-coloured blanket clothing. Aside from traditional wear, shweshwe is used in contemporary South African fashion design for women and men from all ethnic groups, as well as for making accessories and upholstery. It is also used in the United States as a quilting fabric.