Venda: “Land of Legend”
Art and culture of a region in the north of South Africa
Two exhibitions in Amsterdam and in Zoetermeer:
From August to October 2005, there has been organised an exhibition of wood
carving from Venda. In the Venda-area more than 40 pieces of art from 13 artists
have been collected, among whom Richard Mangoma, Owen Ndou, Albert Munyai, Aswimpheli
Magoro, Jackson Hlungwani, Avashoni Mainganye, and the renowned Noria Mabasa.
The painter Friederike Kimmerle, who lives and works in Zoetermeer and on the
Spanish island La Palma, is busy to engage in a dialogue with Venda-art. Some
of her paintings from this area of her work have been exhibited.
To this exhibition a collection of craft from Southern Africa has been added.
This has been done because in Africa arts and craft are often presented together.
During the last week of the exhibition one of the Venda-artists, Avashoni Mainganye,
has given demonstrations of the making of art and also of the teaching to students
in the style of the area.
‘Duze Nomshikashika – A choir in South African style’ has
sung during the final event of the exhibition in Amsterdam
From the end of October to December 2005, this exhibition with
some additional pieces has been shown in the Municipal museum in the Dorpsstraat
in Zoetermeer.
The demonstrations of Avashoni Mainganye and the singing of ‘Duze Nomshikashika’
have taken place in Zoetermeer during the first week resp. at the opening event
of the exhibition.
In connection with the Venda-exhibition a special Africa-day has been organised
in the Municipal museum Zoetermeer on December 4, 2005.
Short information about the Venda area in South Africa:
Venda is an area in the north of the Republic of South Africa. It belongs to
the Limpopo-province and extends nearly up to the border with Zimbabwe. The
eastern border is formed by the northern part of the Kruger National Park with
its impressive ‘wildlife’. The very attractive landscape is determined
by the mountains of the Zoutpansberg, which take their course from east to west
through the middle of this area. South to this mountain-range there is during
the two rainy seasons enough humidity for a rich vegetation and farming: mango-
and avocado-plantations, tea-plantations as well as cattle-keeping and growing
of corn and vegetables. North to the Zoutpansberg it is very dry; the vegetation
is poor and people are taking the greatest pain to make a living by keeping
some goats and cultivate small gardens alongside the rivers. Near to some hot
springs there are small tourist centres.
The people of Venda, the VhaVenda, have come many generations ago from the north
to the dwelling area of today, and they can trace back the history of their
migrations to the region of the Great Lakes (Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, Lake
Victoria). In recent time the VhaVenda have fought a long while and successfully
against the Boers who were advancing from the south. During the Apartheid-period
Venda was a so-called homeland and had within South Africa the status of an
own republic with Thohoyandou as capital. The men who were able to work often
were absent for long periods of time working under unworthy conditions in the
mines near to Johannesburg and in the industry not far off from there.
A relatively big part of the people has accepted the Christian religion. Besides
the churches founded by European missionaries, there are mostly charismatic
congregations, which belong to the ‘Penticostal movement’ or are
similar to it. But also the traditional African religions are still very much
alive and often have merged with Christian beliefs. “Venda magic is very
powerful”, is often said by the VhaVenda. Lake Funduzi of which is said
that many human beings live in there after death as fishes, and the wood nearby
where the leaders and the powerful kings of the VhaVenda are buried, are still
holy places for all inhabitants of the region. Fishes and serpents play an important
role in the religious imaginations of the VhaVenda. The sense of community is
very much developed and concedes the leading men of the families, clans and
villages and, before all, the mighty kings dominant positions. That does not
mean, however, that not also the women who are responsible for the family life
and the family economy show themselves as self-conscious.
Religious imaginations as fishes and serpents, evil and good spirits, scenes
of belonging together in the community, beautiful women, but also animals or
the coming home of a mine-worker to his family form favourite motives of the
art of carving. The form of trunks and branches as they are found in nature
is often well recognisable in the pieces of art. Except the very expressive
forms also the structure of the wood, especially of the often-used wood with
two colours, is very characteristic for the many small, bigger or even monumental
pieces of carving. Besides that, very beautiful daily requisites of wood or
pottery are produced. And there are some centres of the art of weaving where
cloths and dresses with clearly African, but at the same time very special motives
and colours of the VhaVenda are made.
Not much research is done after the philosophy of the VhaVenda. Some studies
exist of professors from the University of Venda on philosophy in proverbs and
on folk-stories. With regard to the last ones the ‘ngani’ are especially
interesting. These are stories, which women tell to women and which are similar
to the animal-fables of Esopus. With the VhaVenda storytellers, however, also
human beings appear in their fables. Rather often they express some hidden critique
of social relations and especially of the dominant position of men. The philosophy
in proverbs can be made clear by the following examples. Often used and very
characteristic is the proverb: “Human beings are like elephants, they
eat many trees.” In this proverb is expressed: Firstly, the dependence
of humans from much and varied food, then, an allusion to the many sexual partners
whom VhaVenda men often have, and finally, in a general or even universal sense
a reference to the power of humans which lies in their prudence and in the ability
and the necessity to choose from many possibilities. Deep philosophical wisdom
is also expressed in the Venda-proverb: “The mouth is louder than the
big drum” and its interpretation on different levels. Here is shown in
an illustrative and concentrated manner that human language ‘from mouth
to ear’ is superior to the messages of the drum, which can be heard from
a distance, because it makes possible a more intimate and more differentiated
communication. The mouth is also more powerful than the big drum, because humans
do not only have language by which messages are transferred, moreover they are
language in an essential meaning of the word, as they can speak to each other
and listen to each other.
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