Welcome to the Zulu Kingdom, KwaZulu-Natal

Crafts and Markets

zoom Oval Craft Market Photo:uMgungundlovu District Municipality

Arts & Crafts: A flourishing industry

The Kingdom of the Zulu provides a wealth of art and craft works throughout the province, from the traditional, to the modern, from highly sophisticated, to the charmingly naive, and from the widely affordable to items worth a small fortune.

Hand-made crafts are an integral part of Zulu culture, and incorporates decorative elements such as beadwork, jewellery and clothing, artefacts used in ceremonies and rituals, as well as practical items like clay pots, sleeping mats and wooden head-rests which date back centuries.

Many Zulu crafters continue to make traditional crafts, offering them for sale at roadside stalls, markets and shops. Most of the materials are gathered from nature – reeds, clay, plants, trees and animals. Increasing use is made of recycled materials like wire, plastic and tin.

Many crafters and artists have opened their studios and workshops to the public and have organised themselves into arts and crafts routes where visitors can browse for gifts while watching the artists at work.

Visitors to the Zulu Kingdom can enjoy the arts and crafts in many ways – at sophisticated galleries and art shops, country studios and workshops or enthusiastic roadside vendors selling everything from wire toys and trinkets to traditional clay pots and carvings.

A story of beads

The Zulu Kingdom is home to some of the finest, most creative bead workers in the world. For the Zulus, beadwork is an integral part of their culture, handed down through the generations. Highly decorative certainly, but the significance lies as much in the unique ‘language’ of beads, as the aesthetic value. The colours, shapes and designs of beads speak volumes to the beholder.

The earliest Zulu beads were made from organic materials like seeds, seashells, ivory and animal teeth, and coloured with natural dyes – fruit, leaves, roots, mud and bark. Later, glass beads were introduced by European traders, and there are records of gold, ivory, even slaves, being traded for them.

The language of beads is primarily linked to love. Zulu maidens would send long involved bead messages to their lovers, weaving thoughts of love, grief, jealousy or uncertainty into their intricately patterned creations. Colours have different meanings – white for purity, pink for poverty, blue for loneliness, and green for pining. But there are many subtle variations: a black strip horizontally bisecting a piece of white means ‘our love is over’.

The bead work ranges from simple jewellery, tokens and little gift trinkets, to ultra-sophisticated evening wear and jewellery commissioned and exported worldwide.

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Wirework

Traditionally, Zulu crafters made carefully woven baskets made from lengths of copper wire. Today the Zulu Kingdom is experiencing a glorious wirework revolution. Increasing numbers of talented wire crafters are creating magnificent baskets in bold colours.

Interestingly, this craft originated when security guards kept themselves awake through the long nights by covering their protective sticks or ‘knobkerries’ with brightly coloured telephone wire!

Steel wire sculptures – animals, people, musical instruments, bicycles – are another fascinating form of wire work which you will find at flea markets and roadside stalls.

Carvings

Traditional African wooden carving is possibly the craft most commonly associated with African culture.

Sold alongside almost every main road in the Zulu Kingdom, carvings are found in styles ranging from crude and charmingly na??ve to breathtaking fine-art work found in galleries worldwide.

Traditionally, carvings are made using the wood from indigenous trees such as ‘Umthombothi’ with its appealing combination of light and dark wood, or ‘red ivory’, another local timber.

Others use wood from exotic species, or ‘recycled’ wood. One of the Zulu Kingdom’s foremost wood carvers, Philemon Sangweni, trawls the river bed of the Imfolozi River after rainstorms for pieces of indigenous wood washed downstream. Look out for his work at the Durban Art Gallery.

Pottery

The art of ‘pot-making’ is an age-old tradition, widespread in the Zulu Kingdom. Enthusiasts can find ceramics ranging from traditional Zulu pots to more classical or contemporary collections produced by crafters who’ve gained international recognition.

The award-winning Nala family of Eshowe in Zululand continue to create clay beer pots using techniques passed down through the generations. They produce the ukhamba’ drinking pot, the smaller ‘imbiza’ for storing beer, and the much larger ‘uphiso’. The clay is hand dug from two areas near their ancestral home, one clay is red, the other grey. The clay is ground, sieved and dried, before being mixed with water in a ten-gallon iron drum. They leave the clay to mature, before it is wedged and rolled into balls.

The pots are hand coiled, then smoothed using a piece of calabash or an old spoon. They use river pebbles to burnish the pots, then add traditional decorations of small pieces of shaped clay. These decorations were symbols designated to a particular family or clan, often depicting a story or a picture.

Nowadays the younger members of the family experiment by adding reptiles or cultural scenes.

Once the pot is completed, it is left to dry naturally before being covered in dry grasses, stalks and leaves and set alight. This ‘fires’ the pot, while a second firing blackens it. The finished item is rubbed with animal fat, and brushed until it shines.

Clay pots of this kind can be viewed and purchased at the African Art Centre, while the Bayside Gallery at the BAT Centre specialises in ceramics, including work by the Nala family and internationally acclaimed artists such as Subisiso Dube, Rodney Blumenfeld, Clive Sithole and Marta Zettler.

Traditional pots are also sold by roadside vendors, craft stalls and markets.

Contemporary potter Ian Glenny established the internationally renowned Dargle Valley Pottery in the Midlands. All his ceramics are authentically local, crafted on site from clay found in the valley, while many of the glazes originate from local wood ash. Ian builds the kilns and hand throws the pots. His designs are original, and all pieces are both robust and functional, as well as being collectors’ items.

Another must for the seeker of unique ceramic design, is a visit to the Ardmore Art Studio in the Champagne Valley, central Drakensberg. Fee Halsted-Berning blended her considerable expertise and knowledge with that of Bonakele “Bonnie” Ntshalintshali, and they were joined by some 40 Zulu artists from the local Ntshalintshali and Shabalala families. A unique and dynamic partnership developed over time, and the functional and sculpted ceramics based on a fusion of African and colonial artistic traditions, are now on display at Christies of London.

Gelelege

Trevor Makhoba was born in Cato Manor (Umkhumbane) in 1956. He was one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important artists and most major South African collections include examples of his powerful and controversial work.

With no formal art training, he was driven by an inner compulsion to start painting in 1975. As his work developed, his paintings increasingly become imbued with deep and often complex ideas, coupled with religious and mystical symbolism, black humour and biting social satire.

In 1991 he became the first Black artist to win the KwaZulu Biennale award and in 1996 he won the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award.

Trevor died in 2003 at the age of 46.

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Fine Art

Art lovers are spoilt for choice as there are many fine art galleries around the Zulu Kingdom.

The African Art Centre in Durban represents over 1 000 artists. The Centre opened its doors in 1959 against overwhelming political odds, and supported many traditional African artists whom, today, are world renowned. Throughout the year, you can enjoy exhibitions of both antique and contemporary art, all with origins deeply entrenched in the Zulu culture.

Also supporting community art production is the Bat Centre, found next to the tugboat harbour in central Durban. Fledgling artists are selected to work at the BAT Centre for about three months. Visitors can meet the artists at work in the studio, and browse the galleries and shops displaying a vast selection of artwork for sale. And while you’re at the Bat Centre, sample the traditional African cuisine on offer at the restaurant, and catch some African jazz on the verandah overlooking the harbour.

For classical and contemporary collections, visit the Durban Art Gallery, in the City Hall in Smith Street. This gallery holds between 13 and 15 exhibitions a year, and also curates ‘in-house’ exhibitions around the city from time to time.

Also a public venue with free entrance, the Tatham Gallery in central Pietermaritzburg is ideally placed for a visit before heading off to the Midlands Meander art centres. This gallery houses a permanent collection of contemporary and traditional fine art, with an equal blend of African and European influences, as well as roving exhibitions.

Community Craft Initiatives

Community craft centres are springing up throughout the Zulu Kingdom, offering a wide variety of items such as traditional beadwork and basketware, grass mats, Zulu pots and unique embroidery and ceramics They provide local people with an opportunity to learn skills and earn a living, while providing an outlet for home-grown talent.

Zakhele – near Shelley Beach on the South Coast – is a rural development project training the community to produce unique soft furnishings and hand made paper.

In the Midlands, the community of Mpophomeni has banded together to create the Zenzeleni project, translated as ‘help yourself’. The community has created a modern township experience for visitors, with welcoming bed-and- breakfasts, craft outlets, a ‘shebeen’ or African pub with authentic local music, an inyanga (traditional healer), the historical wall of reconciliation, and a host of Zulu cultural experiences.

Southern Explorer

The South Coast is an easily accessible, scenic stretch of coastline, offering a depth of talented artists and crafters. The region extends from the Umkomaas River to Port Edward. The crafters are spread throughout the area, and especially around Port Edward. You will discover exceptional ceramics, bold handpainted and dyed clothing and d??cor accessories, and world-renowned hand-carved doors and signs. En route, there are kite makers, knife makers and shoe makers. Stop off for some delicious macadamia nuts or fresh bananas at one of the roadside farm stalls, or browse for collectibles in some of the fascinating little shops between Margate and Ramsgate.

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Amagugu African Treasures Arts & Crafts
Telephone:(033)4171203


Doodle Crafts
Telephone: (033)3428450


Gateway Enterprises Trust T/A Zandla Xpressions
Telephone:(033)3943342
Fax:(033)3454838
E-Mail: zandlax@futurenet.co.za


Groundcover Leather Company
Telephone:(033)3306092
Fax:(033)3304694
E-Mail: info@groundcover.co.za


Mask Trading
Telephone:(033)3307343
Fax:(033)3307343
E-Mail: info@hangaboutz.co.za


Nyoni Crafts & Culture Centre
Telephone:(033)345 1760/ (032)453 0066
Fax:(033)345 1760
E-Mail: environdev@sai.co.za


Sharrow Spinning & Weaving
Telephone: (033)2632638
Fax: (033)2632638
E-Mail: sharrow@tiscali.co.za


Woodridge Country Hotel
Telephone: ( 033 ) 234 4423
Fax: ( 033 ) 234 4328
E-Mail: woodridge@worldonline.co.za

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You can also search our recreation and entertainment database for more information about the various other craft outlets and markets in KwaZulu- Natal. Our regional tourism pages also provide information on this topic. Alternatively you can complete a query form.

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