AMONG the major representatives of Tanzanian figurative art are the
Makonde people, who are renowned throughout East Africa for their
original and often highly fanciful carvings. Authentic Makonde carvings
are made from ebony wood. The Makonde are one of the five major tribes
in Tanzania who originally migrated north from Mozambique to the
southern Tanzanian highlands. They are internationally famous for their
intricate carvings, based on Life, Love, Good and Evil and which form
their beliefs about the origins of man. The Makonde people had a
traditional tale that “In the beginning, there was a man, who lived
alone in a wild place and was lonely. One day he took a piece of wood
and shaped it with a tool into a figure. He placed the figure in the sun
by his dwelling. Night fell and when the sun rose again the figure was a
woman and she became his wife. They conceived and a child was born, but
after three days it died. ‘Let us move from the river to a higher place
where the reed beds grow.’ Said the wife. And this they did. Again she
conceived and a child was born, but after three days it, too, died.
Again the woman said ‘Let us move to yet higher ground where the thick
bush grows.’ Once more they moved. A third time they conceived and a
child was born. The child lived, and he was the first Makonde.”
Tingatinga (also spelt
Tinga-tinga or
Tinga Tinga) is a painting style that developed in the second half of the 20th century in the
Oyster Bay area in(
Tanzania)
and later spread to most East Africa. Tingatinga paintings are one of
the most widely represented forms of tourist-oriented art in Tanzania,
Kenya and neighboring countries. The genre is named after its founder, Tanzanian painter
Edward Said Tingatinga.
mto wa mbu
Tingatinga paintings are traditionally made on
masonite,
using several layers of bicycle paint, which makes for a brilliant and
highly saturated colors. Many elements of the style are related to
requirements of the tourist-oriented market; for example, the paintings
are usually small so they can be easily transported, and subjects are
intended to appeal to the Europeans and Americans (e.g., the
big five and other wild fauna). In this sense, Tingatinga paintings can be considered a form of "
airport..serval-safari-guide
