A Sling By Any Other Name

One of the nicest things about having friends from all over the world (besides the food) is that you get great gifts. To celebrate my wedding and the birth of my first child, I was given kanga by my friend Julie who comes from Uganda. Is a kanga a gift for the mother or the child? It’s a distinction that is impossible to make. Kangas are the huge cloths that women in Africa use to carry their children on their backs.

Today, the Christian Science Monitor features an ode to the kanga by Stephanie Hanes.

• Basically, she says, you lift the baby onto your back, piggy back style, letting the little feet fall to either side of your mid section. Then you bend over, so your back is almost parallel to the ground, and balance him there on his tummy. Meanwhile, you use your hands to sling a cloth over your back, almost like a jump rope backwards, tucking the bottom edge under the baby’s bottom. You then pull the edges of the cloth to the front of your torso, under your arms. The ends are knotted around your chest or secured with a big safety pin or tucked one edge over the other, like a bath towel. The tension of the cloth creates a slinglike seat for the baby, pressed close to your back. Of course, it helps if you have curves – to eliminate slippage, Hanes explains.

It certainly sounds lot easier than comparing the various consumer notes that accompany discussions of other slings and baby carriers. One of the ideas I carry close to my heart when I think about technology is the idea that maybe, somethings cannot be improved upon because they are perfect in their usefulness. The kanga, I am convinced is one of them.