20
Members of Dr Tsiane’s Sangoma (traditional healer) school, Phuthi Ya Bokone. Soweto Johannesburg 2004 These sangoma students are dancing at a Cleansing ceremony. The sangomas dance to call the ancestor that they may be present at the ceremony. The choice of khangas to wear, the colour and the imagery on them is very considered. These dancers’ khangas have healing symbols on them.The colours represent the space that the ancestors inhabit - white sky/ heaven, black “the dark“ and red the blood of those departed.
Shweshwe – the people’s fabric The Shweshwe fabric worn by many cultures in southern Africa carries so much of the past. Widely used in traditional ceremonies and day to day wear, it is now experiencing a renaissance as young fashion designers celebrate its cultural context and give it a contemporary style seen, though perhaps not fully understood, on the catwalks of the world. The presence of indigo cloth in southern Africa has a long and complex history that extends as far back as early Arab trade along the eastern seaboard. Its arrival in South Africa followed the establishment of the seaport in the Cape of Good Hope – where Cape Town lies today. This early indigo cloth was originally dyed using the Leguminous Genus Indigofera plant, indigenous to regions in China and India. Indigo-dyed cloth was inexpensive and popular with peasants across Europe from the late eighteenth century. Legend has it that the term ‘Blue Monday’ originated because the cloth was dyed on Mondays giving its producers a blue skin hue. Later, in America, it took the form of ‘blue-jeans’ - tough workmens’ trousers made from sailcloth dyed with indigo. German migrants to Natal and the Cape in the early 19th century brought the taste for inexpensive indigo-dyed textiles with them. Morovian missionary women in particular were accustomed to the blue and white Blaudruk fabric from their native Germany. In colonial Africa the cloth was introduced to the local Xhosa women who are said to have relinquished their skin clothing for Shweshwe, which was originally added to traditional blankets worn for their warmth. In the early 1840s French missionaries presented the founder of the Sotho nation (Lesotho), Moshoeshoe the Great, with a gift of indigo cloth. This established a preference for it in Lesotho and it is speculated that the name Shweshwe arose from this event. Also known as isishweshwe the word sounds similar to the way the leader’s name is pronounced. Others say that the fabric’s name derives from the ‘swish swishing’ sound made by the material when worn. Retailers report that in March sales of Shweshwe reach an annual peak as rural Sotho women purchase an identical pattern to make matching outfits for Moshoeshoe Day. Whilst originally a colonial import, today the fabric is an integral part of the Sotho, Tswana, Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi cultures and through its widespread use in over a century of cultural expression, it has emerged as the most southern African of cloths. Shweshwe isn’t culturally specific, though some designs are produced for particular peoples. An example is the hat design popular with the Basotho people from in and around Lesotho and descended from Moshoeshoe. Shweshwe is a people’s cloth and never a day goes by in southern Africa without seeing women dressed head to toe in an ensemble made from favoured designs. Outfits are usually of elaborate design, often including large puffy sleeves, multiple frills and tucks, an apron and a matching head garment. In1982 a UK company, Tootal, bought the rights to the Three Cats designs and the etched rollers and moved the manufacturing process to South Africa, investing in the local company da Gama. Since then, Shweshwe has been produced by da Gama in Zwelitsha Township, situated in South Africa’s poorest area, the Eastern Cape Province. The same copper rollers, now
22
coated in stainless steel, are used in the printing process and are artworks in themselves. From time to time the rollers are re-etched by technicians from the local community. Tootal also introduced the Toto range and two new colours—red and brown. Recently, da Gama, with the consent of Nelson Mandela, have introduced the Madiba range. Madiba is Mandela’s clan name. Madiba loves to wear African print shirts and it is fitting that he has been celebrated in the most popular of local fabrics. Note on the design, that he is wearing a Shweshwe shirt. It is made from one of the oldest Three Cats Designs—the shell. Da Gama still produces the original ‘German Print’ as the settlers knew it or ‘Ujamani’ as it was initially called locally. The traditional process still involves feeding the dyed fabric through the copper rollers that have patterns etched on their surface, allowing a weak acid solution to be fed into the cloth, bleaching out the distinctive and intricate all over designs and the panels that are ready to be made into clothing. Until recently da Gama printed bed sheeting and other linen but like many African textiles factories, they have had to scale back in the face of global trade pressures. They now concentrate on Shweshwe and although there are imitations on the market, the discerning market of southern African women knows the difference. Da Gama also prints the orange and black print fabric worn by inmates of South African prisons. While the Three Cats designs are a closed set sold only by retailers in the limited Three Cats Club, the two other labels Toto, with its very colonial label, and Three Leopards introduce new designs regularly. The factory prints seasonal ranges, sometimes frustrating buyers when the design they are looking for is not available for a time. The cloths have a distinctive back stamp on the reverse of the fabric. Women who purchase the fabric hold the authentication stamp in such high esteem that it is often incorporated into garments facing outwards. Women of the region have other ways to ensure that the Shweshwe is genuine. It is stiff – a legacy of its early long distance travels by sea, and has a distinctive smell of the fixing agent ‘turkey oil’ that actually contains no turkey product at all. The fixing agent soon washes out and like denim; Shweshwe fabric ages and softens beautifully. Wearers say it improves with age. Another method to ensure authenticity is to bite on the fabric to confirm its distinctive taste. Shweshwe cloth is associated with women’s coming of age ceremonies as well as with marriage and maturity. Among the Xhosa people there remains a tradition that for the first three months of her marriage, a newly wed woman will wear a full length Shweshwe with a modest high neck and long sleeves. It remains a traditional wedding cloth for Xhosa and Tswana women. Worn in many traditional rural settings the demand for Shweshwe is constant. The streets of southern Africa reveal many an informal trader selling Shweshwe garments lovingly made up for everyday wear. If you are ever in Johannesburg, visit one of the downtown Shweshwe retailers – seek out a member of the exclusive Three Cats Club. You will know by a distinctive smell that you are in a genuine Shweshwe retail outlet.
23
50 Original 1994 ANC cloth – 1994 Year of Liberation for all South Africans Acquired Shell House (ANC Headquarters) Johannesburg South Africa 1994
24
52 Thabo Mbeki ANC © Nkosi Fabrics Acquired Style Fabrics Oriental Plaza Johannesburg South Africa 2003
The South African Textile Industry The South African Textile Industry is by far the most industrialized and sophisticated in sub-Saharan Africa. In the aftermath of the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902, thousands of Afrikaner families were forced off their farms into the cities. Afrikaner men often found it difficult to find employment in the British-dominated South African economy and government, so younger women went to work in the factories to support their families. Many of the early garment factories were based on small-scale sweatshop production, often under highly exploitative conditions. The labour-intensive garment industry grew on the basis of low-paid black and coloured Africans and poor Afrikaner female labour. It was one of the first areas to be unionised. In the 1930s the non-racial Communist-led Garment Workers’ Union, lead by Solly Sachs, Alex LaGuma and Moses Kotane, was one of the most powerful in the country. One of the mainstays of the South African textile industry had become colourful blankets based on traditional tribal blankets each with their distinct use, history and designs. The cultural blankets were given as gifts, the newer manufactured ones marketed to migrant African mine workers drawn from across southern Africa to labour in the diamond and gold mines. During the Second World War, with traditional textile and apparel supplies cut off from Britain, South Africa increased its home grown wartime import substitution. The size and complexity of the South African textile industry grew. With the rise of the apartheid government in 1948, multi-racial unions were banned. The textile and garment industry was remoulded into a two tiered labour force of white superiors and black workers, with radically disparate pay scales. With its large population (over 42 million today), South Africa enjoyed a vast domestic market, especially for cheaper textiles and apparel. International sanctions against the apartheid regime merely strengthened the hold of local manufacturers over this market. In the 1970s it absorbed over ninety percent of production. Despite the rhetoric of neighbouring black African governments, cheap South African textiles found a ready market within the Rand-zone of the Southern African Customs Union. When the apartheid government introduced the Bantustans, the so-called ‘independent’ African homelands, tax incentives were offered to South African and foreign companies, many of them from Taiwan and Hong Kong, to establish in the Homelands and provide employment. However the South
African textile industry remained highly vertically integrated from top to bottom, controlled by a small oligopoly of companies; cotton ginning was controlled by five companies and ninety percent of the spun yarn was produced by five companies. Textile production and manufacturing remains concentrated in the Durban-Pietermaritzburg region of KwaZulu-Natal and in Cape Town. The end of the apartheid regime and the opening up of the South African economy under the African National Congress government has resulted in significant restructuring. Economic and trade liberalisation has led to a fall in industry employment, as well as falling real prices. Much of the bottom end of the South African market has been captured by cheap asian imports. While roughly two-thirds of investment in the textile industry has been by foreigners, South Africa is competing with its neighbours for investment. As asian textile manufacturers move into Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, South African manufactured textiles face stiff competition. In 2000 South Africa was offered a free trade agreement with the European Union, with the EU reducing tariffs on South African textiles to zero over six years and South Africa halving its tariffs on European apparel. In 2001, South Africa also qualified for reduced duties on goods to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, albeit on less favourable terms than less developed African countries. The termination of the Multi-Fibre Agreement under the World Trade Organization regulations has yet to fully impact on the South African textile industry but the flood of cheap asian textiles is bound to undercut a major part of the South African domestic market.
The Khanga - medium and message A khanga is a traditional African wrap used by men and women throughout East Africa. A ‘genuine khanga’, as many East African people will tell you, has three distinct characteristics - it’s one hundred percent cotton; it’s made in East Africa, since Independence that is; and it contains a kiSwahili proverb or saying. Many African nations have appropriated the word khanga for their version of this piece of wrap around material, the equivalent of a sarong in Indonesia, a lap lap in Papua New Guinea. In this exhibition there are twelve traditional east African khangas; nine from Kenya and three from Zanzibar. One from Zanzibar and four from Tanzania use the traditional format for post independence messages and images. The khanga has a proscribed format. There is usually a border design all around with a central patterned area. At the bottom of this central area is a printed saying or proverb, now possibly a health warning or political party slogan. Sometimes a new word is introduced to the vocabulary and is made known on a khanga design. Traders agree that the text has an important role for most buyers in their selection. East Africans viewing the exhibition khangas in Brisbane became excited when discussing these sayings and commented on their value with great emphasis and hilarity. The Kenyan khangas are made from locally produced cotton and usually bear the trademark of the print house. Dealers indicate that many buyers want to see the name of the print house on the fabric and won’t buy it unless it is present. In the second-half of the19th century trade-cloths often included the ‘trademark’ of the trading firm or one of its brands, a practice taken up by Swahili traders. It is widely believed that a successful local manufacturer and trader in Mombasa, Kenya, Kaderdina Hajee Essak, better known as Abdulla, added the sayings, aphorisms or slogans to khangas, initially in Arabic, later in kiSwahili using roman script. Abdulla’s textile works still produces khangas and his many designs bear the mark ‘K H E – Mali ya Abdulla’. Zanzibar has a variation on this story. There, it is believed that early khangas were constructed from six handkerchiefs – leso – kerchiefs imported by the Portuguese into Zanzibar. These six smaller squares when joined made an imminently more useful cloth that soon found many applications, most prominently, as a garment, and settled into its own design format. The leso design with border patterns and repetitive spots and floral motives in the central area assumed an over all format with wording. This became known as a khanga, the kiSwahili word for a guinea fowl; a spotted, chatty, busy bird common in the region. Khanga sayings are infinite, charming, curious, wise. Many are quite obscure or ambiguous in meaning. Asking several kiSwahili speakers for an interpretation will lead to multiple versions of the possible meaning. In turn this gives the wearer a mandate to develop
26
an individual interpretation relevant to their social context. People in Zanzibar say that each month new khangas will appear with messages that speak to those of the month before. There are differences though from country to country. The khangas that carry sayings are more common in Kenya and Zanzibar, and the Zanzibar ones more likely to speak of love. Khangas that commemorate political events are more common in Tanzania as all the examples in this exhibition indicate. A khanga is as wide as the span of your outstretched arms and long enough to cover a woman from neck to knee, or from breast to toe.1 Khangas are usually bought and worn in pairs – called a doti. On a woman in East Africa one piece is commonly worn around the body while the other is used as a head wrap. The style of this head wrap varies - as a cover in the Muslim style, more common in Zanzibar, or a wound and folded decorative head wrap, more common on mainland Africa. Men can sleep in khangas and often wear them around the house; women wear them everywhere. Khangas are the perfect gift. Husbands give khangas to wives; children to their mothers, a woman may split a pair and give half to her best friend. Babies are virtually born into them and are carried around in a soft khanga sling which soon takes on the baby’s shape as it bears weight. They are used for fishing in the shallows. Girls learn to sew by hemming khangas. In Australia they may be used as a decorative waist wrap over western clothing on special occasions. They are printed on varying qualities of cotton and soften with washing and wearing.
74 Namshukuru Mungu Kwa Kila Jambo I thank my god for everything Mali Ya Chavda Zanzibar Jayshri 6426 Chavdas Khanga -government recognised trading house Acquired Stone Town Zanzibar 1997
76 Hiyo Shepu Ya Kabati Nani Utamsifiay Your body is shaped like a cupboard—who will please you? Mali Ya Chavda Zanzibar Jayshri 6384, Chavdas Khanga Acquired Stone Town Zanzibar 2003
27
Khangas are not to be confused with their cousin’s the sitenge (Zambia) or kitenge or kapalana (Mozambique) and many more names depending on which country you are in. These manufactured cloths have evolved from the original imported trade cloth. Most of the political cloths in this exhibition fall into this grouping. Many have borders top and bottom then a continuous repeated design cut to the length of two or three patterns sometimes four. In the political cloths these often correlate to two or three portrait patterns of a country’s leader as in the South African and Mozambiquan examples. Unlike the Khanga, these textiles are not bought in pairs. They feature a complete array of new designs relating to the current circumstances of any country’s social, political or economic development. While clay pots, chickens and wooden pounding vessels are age old images incorporated into designs, new or desired domestic and other western commodities and comforts such as knives and forks, kerosene lamps, ceramic toilet bowls with flush systems and light bulbs, appear all the time. Most people, even in Africa’s most developed countries such as South Africa, live without electricity. There are two examples of cell or mobile phones in this exhibition. Unlike western countries with our decades of landline telephones, televisions and postal services many Africans have leapt from no long distance communication straight to their mobiles.
The khanga and its cousins often focus attention on a forthcoming event be they political, social, ceremonial or religious. They become commemorative cloths afterwards and are often referred to as such. Many celebrate the independence of countries, usually depicting political leaders, in particular those who led the country to its independence from colonial rule. The designs are powerful and emblematic. While many assert national identity a neighbouring friendly country may strike a cloth in support of their neighbours leader or exceptional events. The 1994 Year of Liberation for all South Africans cloth is prized. Neighbouring Malawi responded using the same design but with their salute added “Congratulations from the Warm Heart of Africa – Malawi” What could be nicer than this textile expression of solidarity. This distinctly African range of textile design is still evolving. Like the t-shirt, but incomparably more elegant and useful, they are an invaluable medium of expression.2 As an art form as well as a beautiful, convenient garment, they have become an integral part of African culture. 1,2 Jeannette Hanby and David Bygott, authors & illustrator Khangas: 101 Uses
17 Mwema Akiondoka Wanyonge Huteseka When someone good and caring goes the weak ones will suffer Registered Mali Ya Mototo Acquired Nairobi Kenya 2000
28
22 Waridi Ni Harufu Si Rangi Something that smells can be heard from afar K.H.E. Regd. Mali Ya Abdulla, Mombasa D No 104241 Acquired Nairobi Kenya 2005
23 Huba Huna Na Hisani Hukumbuki You can’t remember something that you don’t know K.H.E. Regd. Mali Ya Abdulla, Mombasa Design No. 6165
29
The Kenyan textile industry – what price globalization? The colonial economy of Kenya was based on white settler farmers producing commodities for Britain in return for manufactured goods. While raw cotton was processed in government-controlled ginneries, the fibre was exported to Britain to be fabricated into cloth. In the 1960s, cotton cultivation was promoted in the Rift Valley and Nyanza provinces as part of post-war colonial development, but it was only with independence in 1963 that the government embarked on a textile importsubstitution policy, intended to protect and expand local industry while protecting foreign reserves lost to textile imports. By the early 1980s, textile manufacturing was the largest single element in the Kenyan manufacturing sector, employing hundreds of thousands of cotton farmers organised into cooperatives, as well as some 30 percent of the industrial labour force. The industry flourished behind a duty of 100 percent on imported fabric and apparel. In the late 1980s, the expansion of the trade in second-hand clothing, much of it ostensibly sent as aid to refugees in troubled Uganda and Rwanda was diverted by corrupt Kenyan politicians into the local markets for quick profits. Under pressure from Western aid donors for greater transparency and reform, the increasingly autocratic Moi government reacted to political opposition with intimidation and coercion. As international debts mounted, the IMF-World Bank began demanding trade liberalisation, if not political reform. By 1990 the influx of foreign textiles had put half the local textile sector out of business, compounding the mounting unemployment problems. As in South Africa the industry was saved by the US African Growth and Opportunity Act, passed in 2000 under US President Clinton, allowing the poorest African countries, which agreed to implement free trade and investment, the right to export cotton goods to the United States free from tariff and quota restrictions. Kenya introduced an array of investment incentives, including the establishment of a free-trade Export Processing Zone (EPZ). The number of textile manufacturers in the EPZ grew from 6 at inception to 17 a year later. Exports of apparel to the United States under AGOA rose from under US$ 40 million in 1999 before AGOA, to US$ 277 million in 2004. Kenya became the second largest subSaharan African supplier of clothing to America after Lesotho. Under the initial implementation phase of AGOA, African-based manufacturers were allowed to source fibre from the world market, ostensibly until local demand led to local production. However many of
30
the textile manufacturers who moved into the EPZ were Asians, with established lines of supply. Kenyan cotton growers, with memories of the collapse of the late 1980s, were reluctant to return to such a labour intensive, low return commodity as cotton. Whereas the textile industry of the 1980s had been based on locally produced cotton, most of the AGOA exports were based on imported asian fibre. The state-owned Cotton Marketing Board, which regulated the marketing of cotton, was corrupt, skimming much of the farmers’ profits. Most of the Board’s 24 ginneries have stood idle or under used since. The Kenya domestic market is still dominated by imports, both new and used clothing. Local manufacturing only supplies about 45 percent of the market. Under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Kenya has been able to increase its textile exports to neighbouring states, mainly the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Sudan, all with weak domestic textile sectors. The once-powerful American cotton lobby was vocal in its opposition to Kenyan textile imports, claiming that Kenya had merely become a transit point for asian exports to the United States. For a brief period it forced suspension of Kenya’s access. However the problems plaguing the Kenyan textile industry are more complex, being swept up in the free-trade phenomena of ‘globalisation’. The Kenyan farmers proved astute in their assessment of the longer-term prospects for the re-emergence of the Kenyan textile industry. The World Trade Organization ruled that the Multi-Fibre Agreement, which has regulated quotas on textiles for the past thirty years was in contravention of free trade and must cease on 31 December 2004. The impact on African textile manufacturers, including Kenya, has been traumatic. Both the domestic and export markets have been flooded with cheap Chinese textiles and apparel. Already textile factories in the EPZ have begun to close, retrenching their labour force. Thousands of workers are rejoining the unemployment lines as factories sit idle.
16 detail: Karibu Mgeni - Welcome Visitors Made for the All Africa Games - Soccer 1987 Hakuna Tabu, Mombasa. Acquired Nairobi Kenya 2005
14 detail: Mourning cloth Said to have been used to designate plague victims in early 20th century plague in Nairobi. Acquired Nairobi Kenya 2005
31
18 Usiwe Golikipa Kila Jambo Kulidaka Don’t be a goalkeeper with everything (you don’t have to keep everything in your head) Mali Ya Francis Mombasa D. No. 20180 Acquired Nairobi Kenya 2005
32
19 Mikono Ya Wazazi Ni Dawa The arms of your parents are like medicine K.H.E. Regd. Mali Ya Abdulla, Mombasa D No. 104242 Acquired Nairobi Kenya 2005
58 Bora Umasikini Na Uhuru Kuliko Kuwa Tajiri Na Utumwa It is better to be poor and free than rich and in slavery Urafiki Tanzania Printed Khanga FTC DES No. 619 Acquired Dar es Salam Tanzania 2001
We prefer freedom in poverty to riches in slavery - The Tanzania Khangas Unlike Kenya which mainly produces classical khanga designs, Tanzania produces khangas using the traditional format but with post independence images, proverbs and sayings. The khanga with the renowned Mount Kilomanjaro above has a very popular saying which when translated into English means “It is better to be poor and free than rich and in slavery”. The late 1950’s saw a proliferation of debate between colonial powers and their colonies about de-colonisation and independence. Among those who stood for total independence was Ahmed Sekou Toure Prime Minister of Guinea. In 1958, France’s leader Charles de Gaulle proposed the creation of a greater French Community, with increased autonomy for the former African colonies within the Fifth Republic and political representation in the French parliament in Paris. The choice was between autonomy within this greater French Community or independence and no aid. A referendum was held in 1958. Only Guinea under Sekou Touré voted overwhelmingly for independence, which was proclaimed on 2 October 1958. The French Community collapsed shortly thereafter as Francophone African politicians scrambled to retain popular support for independence. When DeGaulle arrived in the capital of Guinea, Conakry, in August 1958, prior to the referendum, he was greeted with people shouting independence slogans. That night he was subjected to a harsh speech by Toure, who accused France of offering ‘old merchandise with a new label’, but more significantly to this story, he said, ‘We prefer freedom in poverty to riches in slavery’ This was repeated in various versions across Africa, though few felt its full force. In the case of Guinea, the French administration was vindictive, stripping the telephones off the walls and destroying office furnishings as they departed.
The first image on the next page catalogue no. 59 symbolises the union of the two islands off the east coast of Africa, Zanzibar and Pemba, to the mainland, known at the time of union as Tanganyika. In 1961 Tangayika became independent with Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere as Prime Minister. Following the overthrow of the Omani-Arab Sultanate in Zanzibar, the Afro-Shirazi Party came to power and established a union with Tanganyika to form Tanzania, on 26 April 1964. Nyerere became President of the United Republic of Tanzania with the semi-autonomous Republic of Zanzibar within Tanzania. The central image of the three chiefs is surrounded by the repeating motive of the map of this union. Khanga number 64 from Zanzibar, depicts the tenth anniversary of Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) of Zanzibar, in alliance with TANU [the Tanzania African National Union]. The building is the ASP headquarters. Zanzibar retains its own president, legislature and considerable local autonomy, hence the saying on this khanga “Don’t be jealous, it’s our luck”. Along with Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Nyerere was influentuial in creating the ‘Liberation Committee’ of the Organisation of African Unity which supported African nationalist movements across white-dominated southern Africa. Catalogue no. 61 on page 35 is dedicated to the memory of Nyerere, Tanzania’s first president, the spiritual leader of the country and an outstanding international statesman. Nyerere died in 1999; Buriani Baba wa Taifa translates as Farewell [and remain at peace] Father of the Nation. The colours on the outline of this khanga are those of the national flag; the crests, the national crest.
33
59 Unification of Pemba, Zanzibar and Tanzania Tumarishe Munngano kwa Manufaa Ya Watanzania Acquired Stone Town Zanzibar 2000
34
60 TANU ASP Ten Year Anniversary Usituonee Wivu Ni Bahati Yetu Don’t be jealous, it’s our luck Acquired Dar es Salam Tanzania 2001
61 Baba wa Taifa 1922 – Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyere - 1999 The Father of the Nation Dumisheni Upendo Amani Utulivu Na Umoja Live together in peace, love and harmony Urafiki Tanzania Printed khanga FTC DES No.136 Acquired Dar es Salam Tanzania 2003
62 UHURU 9 December 1961 Freedom (All is well) – Independence of Tanzania, 9 December 1961 Hongera Mwanangu Hongera Congratulations My Child. Urafiki Tanzania Printed Khanga FTC DES No.142 Acquired Dar es Salam Tanzania 2001
35
Wearing history - Mozambique While Mozambique is a prolific designer of kapalanas the majority are manufactured in Pakistan and Japan. Mozambique has the most comprehensive range of still available political leader designs. Unlike most countries who rarely put more than one leader on a cloth, Mozambique has recently begun to specialize in the reproduction of older photos with multiple independence and post independence leaders including some from other countries. The first three leaders appear together with the inscription in Portuguese Os Pilares da Nacao Mocambiquana. The solid pillars of the new Mozambique - Eduardo Mondlane, Samora Moises Machel, Joaquim Chissano catalogue no.34, Mondlane appears with Chissano no.39, Nyerere of Tanzania appears with Machel catalogue no.35. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) was founded by Eduardo Mondlane in 1962 and commenced a bitter armed struggle against Portuguese colonial rule that lasted until 1975. Mondlane was assassinated by the Portuguese in Dar es Salaam in 1968. In 1970 Samora Machel became commander and chief of the Frelimo army. His army weakened the Portuguese position. In 1974, after a coup in Portugal, the Portuguese eventually left, though often in quite a temper. In the north, for example, they poured concrete into the plumbing system. The new revolutionary government took over on June 25, 1975. Machel became independent Mozambique’s first president, affectionately referred to as “President Samora.” Mozambique had been supporting Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army and the military wing of the African National Congress of South Africa which used Mozambique as a base for their liberation struggles. The white settler regime in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) helped organise the Mozambique National Resistance (MNR), later taken over by South African security and renamed Renamo, to fight a bloody civil war against the majority Frelimo government and its supporters. Machel died in a plane crash in 1986, believed to be the result of sabotage by the white minority South African government. The crash killed other top Mozambique leaders of the day. Throughout southern Africa angry people mourned their loss. Nelson Mandela
36
opened a memorial to these victims and their families in 1999 and an investigation into this incident has been opened in South Africa recently. The first president’s mother Josina has several textiles devoted to her (see opposite page). Her much loved son has many more. He is depicted in many ways on the textiles in the Naughton Collection and in this exhibition –engaging with children, writing studiously, as an army commander amongst his men... In 1994 the country held its first democratic elections. Joaquim Chissano was elected President with 53 percent of the vote. (See catalogue no.6) He won a second term by a margin of 4 percent. He stepped down in 2005 as the constitution allows for only two five year terms. The Frelimo party maintained the leadership however when Armando Emilio Guebuza was elected. Two of his voting cloths are in the Naughton Collection, the blue one on page 38, is in this exhibition. Women enjoy more respect in Mozambique than some countries and this is reflected in the number of designs which acknowledge and celebrate women. Mozambique is a very Catholic country and Christian religious symbolism is also very prevalent. Mozambique has the strongest representation in the Tracey Naughton African Textile Collection and in this exhibition, having been just across the border from her former home in South Africa and a place where she worked regularly.
33 25 De Junho De 1975 Independence Nacional 35 detail: Mozambique 1975 Eduardo 36 detail: Josina Machel—A Saudosa Mamã da Nação MBS 13288 Big Cashew Nut Chivambo Mondlane Josina Machel—The Much Missed Mother of the Nation Acquired Maputo Mozambique 1997 O Saudoso Herói da Nação MBS 12027 The Much Missed Hero of the Nation MBS 11970n Acquired Maputo 2003
37
detail: Samora Moisés Machel O Nosso Lîder Cnesquecîvel Continua Viva No Nosso Coração Our unforgettable hero is alive in our hearts
38
42 detail: Frelimo, Armando Emilio Guebuza Vota Vota Mocambique (2004 national elections) Vote Vote Mozambique Acquired Maputo Mozambique 2005
44 detail: VIVA a Mulher Mocambicana Long Live the Mozambiquan Woman MBS 6773 Acquired Maputo Mozambique 2001
40 detail: Maria de Lurdes Mutola A Amenina Africana CampeĂŁ do Mundo The World Champion African Girl Grupo MBS Acquired Maputo Mozambique 2005
39
Malawi – Peace and Unity in the New Millennium 2000 Dr Livingstone – Destroyer of Slavery, John Chilembwe – First Freedom Fighter Dr H. K. Banda – Destroyer of Federation, Dr, B. Maluzi – Father of Genuine Democracy The detail of the cloth below celebrates the Millennium in 2000, through four key historical figures for Malawi . John Chilembwe, ‘First Freedom Fighter’ (c 1871-1915), was a Yao preacher who led an uprising against European exploitation and oppression. Though the uprising failed to impact on British colonial policy, he is popularly remembered as a martyr who died for his oppressed people. David Livingstone, ‘Destroyer of Slavery’, (1813-1873) was in many ways the founder of colonial Nyasaland (Malawi). He was the first missionary to visit there in 1859, as leader of the British-sponsored Zambesi Expedition. The Universities Mission to Central Africa was created in response to his 1857 Cambridge University lectures denouncing the African slave trade and calling for missionaries to bring Christianity and civilization to the natives. Following Livingstone’s death, the Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland sent missions in 1875 and 1876. Fear of Portuguese encroachment and pressure from the missionaries, who feared Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company might annex the territory into ‘the Rhodesias’, led Britain to declare Nyasaland a protectorate in 1889.
40
Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, ‘Destroyer of Federation’ (1896-1997), led Nyasaland to independence as Malawi and served as president-for-life from 1964 - 1994. Banda studied medicine in America and Scotland but his aspirations to return as a medical missionary were frustrated by colonial racism in both mission and colonial medical services. In 1953 the British government created the Central African Federation, re-uniting the copper-rich Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) with the white-settler controlled self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia. Nyasaland was simply tacked on as a cost-cutting convenience. African nationalists Kenneth Kaunda in Northern Rhodesia and Josuah Nkomo in the South opposed the white-settler dominated Federation. In 1958, the Nyasaland African Congress Party invited Banda to return to spearhead the independence movement. On his release from prison in 1960 he became head of the Malawi Congress Party which swept to power in the 1961 elections. It was Banda’s opposition to the Federation that brought about its collapse in 1963. Nyasaland became independent Malawi in July 1964, with Banda as prime minister. He transformed Malawi into a one-party state. Elson Bakili Muluzi, ‘Father of Genuine Democracy’ (b.1943) head of the United Democratic Front, defeated Banda in 1994, in the first multi-party election since independence, to become President of Malawi. He was re-elected in 1999, and retired in May 2004.