Makonde art

This genre can be traced back to the 1930s, when the first documented exhibition of Makonde art was held at the Centro Cultural dos Novos in the former Portuguese colony of today's Mozambique.

They showed great interest and fascination for the Makonde wood carvings and began to order different pieces, from religious to political “eminences.” The Makonde sculptors, after noticing such interest, decided to carve sculptures in a new style, using pau-preto (ebony wood, Diospyros ebenum) and pau-rosa (Swartzia sapini.)

These masks were carved from a single block of light wood (usually sumaumeira brava) and may represent shetani spirits, ancestors, or living characters (real or idealized).

After the introduction of road systems in the plateaus between Tanzania and Mozambique by Portuguese troops during World War I, the traditional sense of the practice began to shift to meet new social and economic demands.

[3] Portuguese forced labor and taxes had prompted Makonde carvers in Mozambique to expand the practices of traditional woodcarving.

As early as 1959, Makonde people in Dar-es-Salaam helped create the nationalist organisation (MANU) that later became part of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO).

Gradually, the main figure shifted to represent tribal heads or people in unity with community members or family.

These figures exemplify ujamaa (communal unity) or relationships in a community and bring forth the underlying reverence the Makonde have for their ancestors or society.

This style uses the appearance of otherworldly physical traits, like large, distorted facial or body features, and sometimes of animals to signify the spiritual realm.

Many locals began to prioritize the craft and create figures embodying the daily lives of Makonde men and women to appeal to westerner taste.

[10][11] Long before Makonde woodcarvings became of commercial interest, the purpose of this artform was in its characterization of evil spirits during rites of passage ceremonies.