Makonde
Makonde are
Bantu speaking people who live in both northeastern Mozambique and
southeastern Tanzania. The Makonde tribes are originally from
Mozambique.
Stunning
blackwood sculptures and ceremonial masks are made by the Makonde
people of East Africa. The creativeness
and originality make Makonde sculptures a very interesting form of
contemporary art.
Woodcarving is an important part of Makonde life, both in ancestor
worshipping and in their own story of creation.
The
Makonde are known as master carvers throughout East Africa, and their
statuary can be found being sold in tourist markets and displayed in
museums
alike.
The Makonde people live on a plateau in East Africa, on the border of
Mozambique and Tanzania. They use ebony wood (african blackwood) to
make the most beautiful sculptures.
Material
The Makonde statues are made from ebony wood, coming from Dalbergia
Melanoxylon. This tree, locally called mpingo,
is native to the dry
East African coastal plains. The heart of the tree is very heavy
(dense) and has a deep brown to black colouring. The bark is much
lighter coloured. The hardness, durability and colour of the core make
ebony wood perfect for sculpting. Artists and dealers often polish the
wood with bee's wax or linseed oil to get the ebony's glossy shine.
Tribal myths and stories are inspiration for the masterful work. one
carver, for instance, specializes in ghost spirits and clouds.
According to legend, shortly after the Creation, the first man,
wandering around outside the bush, sculpted a female figure out of
wood, and the statue became a real woman who gave him many children.
The most important carving used in initiation ceremonies is the lipiko
(or mapiko) mask, which is worn over the top of the head, tilted back
so the wearer could look out through the mouth. The masks sometimes
represent ancestral spirits, sometimes animals. The ancestors come back
masked in order to express their joy at the successful achievement of
initiation. Their presence is proof of the tight bonds that exist
between the living and the dead.
The Makonde masks may attain great expressiveness. Some are simple in
form, with static concave planes; others display an organically sensed
rounded style.
