July 23, 2007
By Lesego Madumo
Scores of avid art lovers on the Johannesburg Art Gallery's walkabout of the Dungamanzi/Stirring Waters exhibition on Saturday, 21 July heard fascinating anecdotes, ancient and modern, about the Tsonga and Shangaan people and their art.
The walkabout was held at the gallery on King George Street in Johannesburg, next to Joubert Park.
Taking the visitors around the gallery corridors, Nessa Leibhammer, the curator of the southern African traditional collection at the gallery, said the two tribes – even though viewed as interrelated – had two arguably distinct origins. She said there were men she knew, one of whom was an artist and one a poet, who described themselves as belonging either to the Matsonga or the Machangani (Shangaan) tribes.
There were many interesting stories related to the origins of the Tsonga and Shangaan people. One was that they were based in northern KwaZulu-Natal area before being defeated and then forced out by the 19th-century Zulu monarch Shaka, along with their leader Soshangane. The Tsonga and Shangaan leader later relocated north into Mozambique, conquering the Portuguese settlers at Delagoa Bay and making the place a trading facility.
In another story, the curator said the two tribes might have started as traders and farmers who owned land in Mozambique, adding that they also had a history of migration, "and by the 1600s they had settled in the Transvaal area".
Although the tribes have long been craftsman, Mozambique was where their artwork flourished, Leibhammer noted, and "this made it easy for the tribes to generate a living".
Somewhere along the corridor of the gallery there was a pile of rocks arranged on the floor, symbolising a hillock. Leibhammer took one through the life of famed sculptor Jackson Hlungwani, a former Christian apostle whose sculpture depicting Jesus' cross, a fish and other Christian symbols could be spotted on the crest of the bricks.
Beaded textile creation
Flanking Hlungwani's piled-up rocks is a beaded xhithabana, a marriage basket that was used to drink beer in the late 20th century when elders negotiated lobola. In the process, one family would make the lid, and the other the whole basket "to symbolise the coming together of the two families".
Some of the figures, headrests, and other forms of artwork on exhibition were more than 100 years old, Leibhammer confirmed.
Placed on the wall was a glass case containing headrests known as xikhigelo, which were used by male elders to rest their heads after travelling long distances. Also on exhibit are walking sticks with sculpted ancestor faces; men used them as a symbol of power, she added.
On the other hand, images of diviners who were possessed with ancestral spirits were illustrated with beads embroidered on a blue fabric, which were placed on a gallery partition. One of the fabrics portrays Nyamisi Khumalo, one of the two male diviners of the Tsonga and Shangaan people, who were possessed by the spirit of ancestors. "These figures show how these people were possessed with ancestral spirits, which helped them heal people," she said.
The walkabout also included some enlightening moments, when the curator spoke about the ceramic vessels, which were used by older men who usually sat around in groups to share a drink from the same tub.
She said that woodcarving was a tradition amongst most Tsonga- and Shangaan-speaking artists. "This can been seen in the headrests, figures, staffs, spoons, and snuff containers on exhibition."
Dungamanzi/Stirring Waters is at the Johannesburg Art Gallery until Sunday, 19 August.
The Johannesburg Art Gallery is open to the public from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10am to 5pm. For exhibition enquiries call curator Nessa Leibhammer on 011 725 3130 or email nessal@joburg.org.za.
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