http://www.axisgallery.net/store/store-bop.html
Web Reference #: BOP17
AUTHOR: Margaret Courtney-Clarke
TITLE:
Ndebele: The Art of an African Tribe
DATE: 1986
NOTES: A 5-year photographic project on the mural art, beadwork, and ceremonies of the Ndebele people of South Africa. 203 pages, color illustrations throughout. Cloth.
In this book it states that:
"Wela (rite where young men are sent away for 3 months to attend Ndebele initiation schools) is possibly the most important incentive behind the young women's role as an artist. Before the young men leave for the schools, the women carefully replaster the walls of their homes and reconstruct the entranceways. They then paint- and repaint each year- their impressions of everyday life, interspersed with geometrical designs, on the wall and surfaces. while the young men are away, their homes are proudly opened to visitors and relatives, many of whom travel enormous distances to attend.. A white flag hoisted on a tall pole outside signifies that a mother has a son at Wela."
link to Ndebele artist Esther Mahlangu
see the art room library for more information.
