Kuba cloth gets its name from the Kuba tribe of central Congo. The cloth is a cooperative effort of both the men and women of this tribe.

The women begin the process by beating palm leaves so that the leaf will separate into fibers. The men use a loom to weave these fibers into a very tight woven cloth. The process then goes back to the women who decorate the cloth. Sometimes they use a “u” stitch to create a carpet pile like texture as well as motifs. Other times they use appliqué methods to create patterns and motifs. Each cloth can take over a month to make.

In olden times the cloth was only made by the most important and wealthy men in the tribe. Their wives were the only women in the tribe who had enough spare time to embroider the cloth. Ordinary women were kept too busy with their work in the fields, cooking and raising their children. Thus the cloth became a symbol of wealth and status.

When a major event occurred such as the induction of a new chief, the women of the tribe would sew many cloths together to make a royal robe.

One popular village song describes how, a man was offered a Mercedes Benz car or a Kuba cloth by his mother. He chose the Kuba cloth after wisely noting that it would last longer.