Wedding baskets are one of the most useful items that African women own. They are used to collect grain and vegetables from the field. They are filled with cassava roots and the basket is set on the roof of the house so that the roots will dry in the sun. They are used to store seeds. When the women winnow or separate the impurities from their cooking flour they do it by shaking or winnowing the flour. The baskets are then used to store the flour. Often times the baskets are used to serve food.

Because the baskets are so heavily used they show signs of wear. Holes or breaks will appear. Each basket takes a month or more to weave so often the women will opt to repair a basket rather than weave a new one. They will use patches made of banana leaf or cornhusk to cover the broken area. This patch is woven into place using the same makenge roots with which the basket was originally made. Once patched the basket can be used for many more years.

It is not unusual to find adult women using baskets, which are older than they are. When questioned about a particular basket’s age they have replied that the basket has been in use as long as they can remember. It is difficult to weave a basket using the makenge root and it takes a much longer time to weave them than it does to weave baskets made of other materials but no other basket can last as long as these baskets. Because they can last so long despite such heavy use they are able to obtain the dark brown patinas.