Crafts

The Ndebele people are well known for their artistic talent - especially with regard to their
painted houses and colorful beadwork .For over a hundred
years, the Ndebele have decorated the outside of their homes
with designs. Multi color wall paintings are painted by using
their fingers, the most frequent theme, as in wall painting, is
the house. Gables, gateways, steps, roofline's and light
fixtures may all be recognized on
women's aprons and on walls. These
reflect the domestic interests of
women, and may point to aspirations
of idealized homes. The dresses and
beautiful decorated homes of the Ndebele people in South Africa are
unique in Africa. Many a fashion model would envy the elegance, color
and presentation of well-dressed Ndebele women. One form of early
design was made with earth pigments, ranging from bright yellow to
brown. The pigments were ground up and mixed with liquid to form a
"paint" that was used to decorate door and window frames, bordered
with charcoal. The earlier patterns are believed, unlike the more recent
painted patterns, to have sacred powers and to have been made in response to demands by the
ancestors
Exclusively the Ndebele women, who are renowned for their artistic skills, have always done
beadwork. Their beadwork and bead pattern-inspired mural paintings in particular have become
an integral part of Ndebele culture. The motifs used in beadwork and in wall painting show great
vitality and dynamic response to the changing world around the artists. Stylized plant forms may
express a hope for good harvests in a dry region.
Colorful dresses, metal rings and beaded hoops are used. The beadwork is sometimes so
elaborate that garments and trinkets can only be removed by destroying it. The rings around the
ankles as well as necklaces remain there for most of the wearer's life.
The Painted Houses of The Ndebeles
by Kaushik Patowary 2014
The Ndebeles are an African ethnic group living in South Africa and Zimbabwe known for their
artistic talent, especially with regard to their painted houses and colorful beadwork. Not much is
known about these people except that they originated from the larger Nguni tribes who make up
almost two thirds of the black population in South Africa. Ndebeles are thought to have travelled
from Natal to the Transvaal region and settled near Pretoria in the 16th century. Rivalry between
families caused one group of Ndebele to go farther north into Zimbabwe. Of the groups that
stayed in South Africa, the Manala and the Ndzundza, it is the latter who developed abstract
house-painting schemes and who are recognized globally as the Ndebele of South Africa.
Photo credit

The Ndebele people were formidable warriors who often subdued the smaller chiefdom's and
assimilated them into Ndebele society. Intermarriages ensued and cultural exchanged happened.
It is believed that early Ndebele house structure and house-painting strategies were adopted as a
result of these relationships. According to a few sources, the Ndebeles suffered a horrible defeat
in a war against the Dutch-speaking settlers – the Boers, just before the start of the twentieth
century. Forced into an oppressive life, the Ndebele people started using expressive symbols to
secretly communicate with each other. These paintings became an expression of both cultural
resistance and continuity. The Boer farmers did not understand the meaning and viewed this
cultural art as decorative and harmless and thus allowed it to continue.
The wall paintings are always done by the women, and this tradition and style is passed down in
the families from generation to generation by the mothers. A well-painted home indicates the
female of the household is a good wife and mother. She is responsible for the painting of the
outside gates, front walls, side walls, and usually the interior of her home.

Women at the Ndebele Cultural Village, Loopspruit, Gauteng, South Africa. Photo credit

The initial wall art designs and symbolic forms were derived from centuries-old Ndebele
beadwork forms and patterns. Earliest wall art shows tonal patterns painted by the women with
their fingers on mud walls of their cylindrical houses. Prior to the French introduction of acrylic
pigments into South Africa in the 1940s, only natural pigments were used. Monochrome ochres,
browns, black, and limestone whitewash were the initial hues. The walls had to be resurfaced
seasonally, after the summer rains washed away the natural pigments.

The Ndebele wall designs have evolved over the years showing increasing external influence. In
one example, a huge BMW logo was found painted on a house. However, in the remote Nebo
area of the Northern Province one can still see the traditional black soot lines, limestone
whitewash, and red and dark red brown, now complemented by sky blue, deep blue, yellow-gold,
green, and occasionally pink.
One of the best places to see this form of art is at Mapoch, about 40 km west outside Pretoria.
Another Ndebele village well worth a visit is Mpumalanga, situated in eastern South Africa,
north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique.
Also see: Decorated Mud Houses of Tiebele, Burkina Faso and Zalipie, The Painted Village