１．Introduction
Tanzania, one of the most nature-rich countries, is well known
for many national parks and Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
Tanzania is also famous worldwide for modern art. Those Makonde Art and
Tingatinga Art are sold to tourists and known as massive produced pop
arts. There are some outstanding artist such as George Lilanga whose
work is well-recognized and collected in Europe, America and Japan.
In this special web exhibition, we exhibit the art collection owned by
Ms. Asami Kanayama of Shetani Art who has intimate friendship and
connection with Tanzanian artists. Enjoy the world of Spirits of
Tanzania created from the imagination of the
Makonde people.
【Makonde people and Art】
Makonde people live in the
Makonde Plateau in the Ruvuma River basin, which is located on
the border of Tanzania and Mozambique. Some people migrated
from the area to Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. The art
created by these immigrants have become recognized around the
world.
One of the things that made Makonde famous is the wood carving
sculptures. Makonde people traditionally carve sculptures using
African Blackwood (Mubingo in Swahili). It came from their
beliefs and religion. The sculptures have been used for rituals
and ceremonies. There is a folktale called "Makonde people were
born in Mubingo". As you can see from it, Mubingo is deeply
rooted in the Makonde people's life. Today, many sculptures are
produced using various themes as motifs. |
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【Shetani: the spirits of Tanzania 】
Shetani means spirits or devil in Swahili. The word is cognate with the
English word Satan. It is said that Shetani sometimes helps people and
sometimes troubles people. It is expressed in various shapes such as
human-like object, animals, or obvious monsters.
Hendrick Lilanga, the Makonde artist, said "There are two types of
Shetani in this world, good Shetani and bad Shetani. I only draw good
Shetani.” As you see in the exhibition, none of his Shetani is
devil-like. They are good spirits but somehow they are very emotional
and sensitive just like human.
On the other hand, some of the Shetani sculptures have very strange
appearances. It is especially noticeable in the works of Mathias
Nampoka. There certainly are eyes, mouth, or horns, but the overall
appearance is elusive and mysterious. "Freedom" that comes from the
artists' imagination may be the major feature of the Shetani world.
