Southern Msinga Headrests and Carvers
MDUKWA NGUBANE Mdukwa Ngubane was a full-time carver from Emvundlweni in Keate’s Drift, an area of Msinga between Greytown and Tugela Ferry. This area along the Mooi River is also called Emachunwini, which is not a place name like Emvundlweni, but rather denotes the area under chief Mchunu, which includes most of Keate’s Drift. Ngubane’s block headrests have a distinctive style, and are usually decorated with raised lines and shapes, creating earplug and domino-like patterns. He also frequently branded the letters K and T on the side of his headrests, as well as the work “SIHLE” which means “It is beautiful”. According to Clive Newman, Mdukwa Ngubane’s headrests “featured a design that was extremely popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The carver lived and worked in Keate’s Drift. His popularity spread north beyond Tugela Ferry although it is more usual to find his headrests in the Keate’s Drift/Kopi area. Ngubane was probably one of the last carvers south of the Thukela River whose headrests were widely bought. His death in the 1980s coincided with the decline in the use of headrests. The hole in the side of the headrest [A330] on facing page is a peculiarity that is often found in headrests made by Ngubane. The hole was often plugged very neatly by the carver according to the author’s informants. The reason for the hole is unclear. Many of the holes appear to have marks which indicate they may have been used for storage purposes. Some informants or owners stated that the carver ‘takes out the heart of the wood’ and the hole was then plugged up, but no reason was given for doing this. Other informants stated that the hole was for inserting traditional medicine, but this was denied by others.”
Detail of Mdukwa Ngubane headrest [A330 | p. 160]
158
Extract from Zulu Headrests from the Msinga Area of KwaZulu-Natal, Clive Newman, 1999.
159
