A red cloth, and gowns made from it, prestigious in the Sokoto Caliphate. Perani & Wolff describe gowns of red barage with green embroidery worn by titled Fulani aristocrats, red being considered auspicious and protective; barage gowns were also given to bodyguards and palace servants. With rigar tsamiya (beige wild silk), barage gowns were the most esteemed caliphate gowns.
Palace guards were rewarded with gowns of red barage.