We absolutely adore French photographer Delphine Blast’s Kanga Tales, Women Stories, created in Tanzania between 2022 and 2024.

Bringing together portraiture, kanga, and storytelling, the series explores the women who wear these cloths and the messages they carry—through colour, motif, and misemo.

Inspired by the aesthetics of traditional African studio photography, the work beautifully honours both the kanga and the women who wear it.

Below is a selection of portraits from the series, alongside translations of the misemo featured on the kangas. The complete body of work includes 27 original portraits, which can be explored in full at delphineblast.com.

Penye nia pana njia
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
A reminder that determination and commitment help us overcome obstacles and find solutions.

Maisha ni safari ndefu ya milima na mabonde
Life has ups and downs.
A reflection on life’s joys and hardships, and the resilience needed to move through both.

Dada dada duniani, ni sura kwa sura
Sisters in this world resemble one another face by face.
A poetic reflection on sisterhood, kinship, and shared identity among women.

Hasidi umekuwa koroma, hunitii homa
Jealousy does not rest, even in times of suffering.
A proverb reflecting on the persistence of envy and the stubbornness of human nature.

Ukiona uso, hauioni nyuma yake
Appearances can be deceiving.
A reminder that what is visible on the surface rarely tells the full story.

Tusidharauiane duniani sote tunapita
Let us not despise one another in this world; we are all passing through.
A reflection on humility, compassion, and treating others with dignity through our shared passage in life.

Mtu ni watu
I am because we are.
One of the most enduring expressions of community and interconnectedness within African philosophy.

Panda mbegu nzuri uzipate matunda mazuri
You reap what you sow.
A reflection on intention, effort, and the ways our actions shape what returns to us.