Makonde Sculpture

While looking at Makonde sculpture today, it is misleading to say that the art only developed out of contemporary society.  Certainly, todays' society and culture have had an influence as to what is seen in this art. It shouls however not come as a surprise to learn that before the evolution of their modern art indusrty, Makonde people had a well-established sense of aesthetics and creativity that were an intergral part of the Makonde culture.  Besides the body decoration, Makonde people also created murals on homes. manufactured pottery and basketry, had an oral literature and performed a variety of dances.  For the makonde as with many other ethnic groups of Africa, sculpture was a very important part of life, and this is clearly illustrated in the Makonde creation myth which reveals a striking interconnection between the Makonde and their sculpture and the centrality of wood sculpture in their culture. The myth also demonstrates the unique placeof wood in the Makonde culture, who lived reality as if it was from wood that their first mother was born.  In addition, the first Makonde is believed to have instructed his decendants to bury their dead upright to commemorate their venerated ancestress who was fashioned from wood and came live dramatically in an upright position.

The Creation Myth

"The first Makonde settled along the Ruvuma River.  He was not yet fully a human being.  He was unkempt, starving and desperate.  One night he felt sad and dispirited.  For entertainment her carved an image of himself out of a piece of wood.  When he woke in the morning, the sculpture he carved was alive.  It had become a woman in the flesh.  He found great pleasure in her company to the extent that he bathed himself clean and took good care of his appearance as a man.  But as long as they live along the Ruvuma River, their children caught ill and died.  When they move to the semi-arid plateau they were able to have a long and happy life together".  -  collected by Pater Adams 1902

In the early period of Makonde sculpture, they seem to have more concerned with making sculpture relevant to daily living, sculpting maily utilitarion items such as mortars and pestle, wooden trays, ladles, figurative stoppers for medicine gourds, walking sticks, flywhisks and smoking pipes.  The Mokonde also made items for body decoration including lip plugs, ivory bracelets and pendants. 

Perhaps the most outstanding art pieces of this period would be the face and helmet masks used in the masked dances. The lipiku mask, was an ancestors mask, for representation of ancestors in the rites of passage ceremonial dances of boys and girls as they passed into adulthood. The mapiko mask, carved from the soft njala wood, were often fitted with human hair and decorated with elaborate geometric designs.  In the distant past, the mapiko were a serious affair 'surrounded in mystery.' Women were not permitted to see them unless it was in a dance situation.