Ndebele Houses, Cultural Village Loopspruit, Gauteng, South Africa

Artist/Designer: Ndebele Women

Project Location: Zimbabwe

Figure 1: Ndebele Tribe Painted House ( Source | Accessed : June 14, 2021 | Photographer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/claudevoyage/8951891498 )

Figure 2: Ndebele Tribe Painted Houses ( Source | Accessed : June 14, 2021 | Photographer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/claudevoyage/8951891498 )

Figure 3: ClaudVoyage Flickr Photostream of Ndebele Houses South Africa ( Source | Accessed : June 14, 2021 )

Figure 4: ClaudVoyage Flickr Photostream of Ndebele Houses South Africa ( Source | Accessed : June 14, 2021 )

Figure 5: ClaudVoyage Flickr Photostream of Ndebele Houses South Africa ( Source | Accessed : June 14, 2021 )

Style/Period(s):
No Style/Period Assigned.

Primary Material(s):
Paint

Function(s):
Residential Structure

Related Website(s):

Article on Painted Walls of Nedeble Women South Africa | Accessed : June 14, 2021

Ndebele Wall Painting Symbolism and History | Accessed : June 14, 2021

ClaudVoyage Flickr Website Photos taken 2011 | Accessed : June 14, 2021

Blog on Ndebele Houses | Accessed : January 15, 2023

Significant Date(s):
1940

Additional Information:
Books in Print:

Margaret Courtney-Clarke, 'Ndebele: The Art of an African Tribe" 1986, 2002, New York, Thames & Hudson Publishers
Ndebele Tribe in South Africa Kruger National Park

The Ndebele: Art and Culture. Aubrey Elliot. Cape Town: Struik Publishers 1993

Ndebele: A People and Their Art. Ivor Powell. NY: Cross River Press, 1995, ISBN-13: 978-0789200730

Ndebele House Interior. Source: Taschen, Angelika. South African Style. Italy: Taschen, 2006.pg. 76-77, 78-79

Location: Ndebele Cultural Village, Loopspruit, Gauteng, South Africa

From the Website: https://www.reckontalk.com/the-painted-houses-of-the-ndebeles-17-artistic-talent/

Women at the Ndebele Cultural Village, Loopspruit, Gauteng, South Africa. Photo credit

The initial wall art designs and symbolic forms were derived from centuries-old Ndebele beadwork forms and patterns. Earliest wall art shows tonal patterns painted by the women with their fingers on mud walls of their cylindrical houses. Prior to the French introduction of acrylic pigments into South Africa in the 1940s, only natural pigments were used. Monochrome ochres, browns, black, and limestone whitewash were the initial hues. The walls had to be resurfaced seasonally, after the summer rains washed away the natural pigments.

Read Also: African “Himba” Tribe Struggle For Survival | Namibia

The Ndebele wall designs have evolved over the years showing increasing external influence. In one example, a huge BMW logo was found painted on a house. However, in the remote Nebo area of the Northern Province one can still see the traditional black soot lines, limestone whitewash, and red and dark red brown, now complemented by sky blue, deep blue, yellow-gold, green, and occasionally pink.

One of the best places to see this form of art is at Mapoch, about 40 km west outside Pretoria. Another Ndebele village well worth a visit is Mpumalanga, situated in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique.

TAGS: Painted Walls, Ornament, Africa, Women Painters

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