{{Short description|Ghanaian traditional attire}}
The '''African fugu''' (smock) also called '''batakari''' in the Asante Twi language, is a traditional garment from West Africa.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=A cultural point of order: A fugu is not a batakari! |url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/features/opinion/a-cultural-point-of-order-a-fugu-is-not-a-batakari.html |location=Accra, Ghana|access-date=2022-06-02 |newspaper=Daily Graphic|language=en-gb}}</ref> Though it originates from Northern Ghana, it has gained acceptance throughout the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=African Men's Fugu Batakari Jacket {{!}} Ghana Batakari Smock. |url=https://africanlegacyshoppe.com/collections/african-mens-clothes-batakari-fugu |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=African Legacy Shoppe}}</ref> The name ''fugu'' is a translation from the Moshie word for cloth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baafi |first=Elizabeth Anoah |title=FUGU: Fabric or Garment? A Scholarly Clarification for Contemporary Discourse |url=https://www.modernghana.com/news/1471866/fugu-fabric-or-garment-a-scholarly-clarification.html |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=Modern Ghana |language=en}}</ref>The Dagombas call the garment '''bingmaa'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFRICA {{!}} 101 Last Tribes - Dagomba people |url=https://www.101lasttribes.com/tribes/dagomba.html |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=www.101lasttribes.com}}</ref>
In the 19th century, the batakari was worn by Ashanti military forces as a war dress. It was made out of cotton and covered with leather pouches and metal cases that contained talismans as it was believed by the Ashanti forces that this variant of the batakari was bulletproof.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Manu-Osafo| first=Manuel J. | title=‘The Days of their Heedless Power Were Over and Done’: Dynamics of Power in the Military Structures of the Precolonial Asante State, 1874–1900| journal=The Journal of African History| volume=62|issue=2 | pages=254–270 | year=2021| doi=10.1017/S0021853721000281|publisher=Cambridge University Press | doi-access=free}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Cite web |title=The Northern Smock |url=https://popula.com/2018/10/15/the-northern-smock/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=Popula |language=en-US}} * {{Cite web |date=2021-08-13 |title=Which Of The Three Northern Regions Got The Best Smock In Ghana? Check It Out - Abeiku |url=https://abeiku.net/ghana/lifestyle/which-of-the-three-northern-regions-got-the-best-smock-in-ghana-check-it-out/ |access-date=2022-06-02 |language=en-US}} {{Clothing-stub}}{{Ghana-stub}} Category:Ghanaian fashion Category:African fashion