African Elegance - Looking Back At The Work Of Photographer Alice Mertens

The objective of today's article is to introduce you to the photographic work of Alice Mertens (1915 -2001). Looking back in history, at all times and throughout the centuries, under any type of government, no matter how oppressive and segregating it was, there were people, who were genuinely interested in the culture and traditions of others living around them, although they themselves did not belong to the same clan, tribe, cast or ethnic group. Their curiosity was stronger than the ideology, that was preached to them. 

Some of them felt inspired enough to document what they encountered and the experiences, that came from these encounters.

Alice Mertens might have been one of those people. She dedicated part of her time and life to photograph and capture for later generations the tribal life of the Xhosa people in the Transkei.

The Photographer Alice Mertens captured true African Elegance

Now who is Alice Mertens? What are these guys talking about today? The woman died in 2001 having reached the honorable age of 86 years! We have never heard of her! Of what relevance is this to us today? 

We reply: Of great relevance! Remember the article "Our Place Of Origin". The images we have published in the article have touched the hearts of many of our readers. Remember the beautiful Fingo woman with the child on her back. Her eyes are fixed on something, that we can not see, her look is focusing on an object in the distance. Or may be she is just focusing on the land, where she lived. And remember the proud Pondo man!

Mdantsane being a predominantly Xhosa township has of course been influenced in its evolution by the Xhosa tradition and customs. Although many of them are still alive, many old traditions have fallen away.

From The Out Of Print Book "African Elegance" by Alice Mertens and Joan Broster

In the out of print book "African Elegance", a collaboration between Alice Mertens and Joan Broster the costumes, bead work and customs of Xhosa tribal life in the Transkei region are recorded and documented. The images of Alice Mertens take us back into a time now lost, seen through the lens of Alice Mertens camera.

The beauty of traditional African tribal dress

The two women, Joan Broster and Alice Mertens, portrayed the Gcaleka, Tembu, Pondo, Bomvana and Fingo peoples, who have lived in the area of the Eastern Cape of South Africa for decades.

"African Elegance"was published in 1974 and since the time of its publication, many of the traditional tribal costumes have changed under the influence of Western culture.  

African Elegance was a collaboration between Alice Mertens and Joan Broster

Back to the question who was Alice Mertens?

Not much public information is available about her life. We know, that Alice Victoria Mertens was born in Namibia in February 1915. Shortly before WWII, she studied photography at the Reimann School in Berlin in Germany. 

A time gone by

She became a professional photographer and in the years between 1964 and 1980 she worked as a journalist in Cape Town. Alice Mertens traveled extensively in Southern Africa, taking picture of the landscapes, its wildlife and the people living there.

The International Court of Justice in La Hague used the images of Alice Mertens in 1964

 
Many of her photographs were used at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1964. Between 1959 and 1975, she authored or co-authored eleven books.  One of these books was "African Elegance".
Mrs.Mertens lectured in the Arts Department at the University of Stellenbosch. She donated her collection of slides and photographs to the Duggan-Cronin Museum in Kimberly.

The traditional Xhosa dress has undergone change over time under the influence of Western Culture

Looking at her images today,.... Are they priceless, extraordinary or does it just seem like that to us, because we the spectators are looking at an era in retrospective, a time that we have not been part of?
Was she just a woman who loved to photograph, thereby becoming a witness to a time, that is long gone by for us others, who were born after her.

But then, who of us is really aware and conscious, that the moment we are living right now is special and that it will vanish and pass? That it will fly away from us like a bird. Everything will change and only our own pictures will tell us later, that we have lived our own "time gone by".

Books like African Elegance remind us us the beauty of an" untouched Transkei"

Alice Mertens, a passionate photographer had the eye and the patience to get shots like these.

Transkei, the land of the forefathers

African Elegance can fetch up to 150 US$ on the Internet, if you can get it. If you can and have the money, then it is an acquisition worth to join your bookshelf or to give it as a present to a good friend or a loved one. It is unlikely, that you will find in a junk shop or second hand shop.

Traditional dress of the Xhosa Women

African Elegance has detailed explanations and it does give you an insight into the diversity of tribal dress in the Transkei in the past.

The copyright of all the images we have uploaded belongs to Alice Mertens and they are solely shown here for their beauty, with the intention to honor this great photographer, who has kept safe a part of the Xhosa culture, even if it is only with pictures. We do not claim any rights to them.  

 

Alice Mertens a great photographer of the past

The Xhosa Dolls - A Genuine Expression Of The Xhosa Culture In The Eastern Cape

Our portray of "The African Doll Maker" has become one of the most read articles of our magazine. Responding to our readers request, we are digging today a little bit deeper into the history and production of Xhosa Dolls in the Eastern Cape. 

Xhosa Dolls - Folk Art Dolls From The Eastern Cape, South Africa

The Xhosa Dolls of the Eastern Cape fall under a category, generally labeled "Folk Art Dolls". Folk Art Dolls have been produced by many communities all over this world, ranging from the native Americans to the Inuit people of Alaska. Dolls, that date back to the last century are highly sought after by doll collectors all over the world and fetch steep prices. 

What makes the folk art dolls so desirable is the fact, that they are exact copies of the traditional way of dressing of local communities.

The Xhosa dolls are exact copies of the traditional way of dressing of the Xhosa nation

Our Xhosa dolls, that we find in the Eastern Cape are no difference in this regard. They are representing the Xhosa Nation's traditional way of dressing right down to the last detail. 

The traditional dress of the Xhosa people has evolved over the years into beautiful, with beads and button adorned outfits, that are worn to special occasions like marriages and ritual ceremonies.

Has the traditional Xhosa dress its origin in the Victorian dress of the first settler women? We rather think no! 

 

It has been said that the traditional Xhosa dress has its origin in the Victorian dress worn by the first settler women, who came to this country. 

Although, this might be true for the dresses of the Herero women in Namibia, one can in a subjective way differ from this point of view. To us there is not really a great similarity between the way the Xhosa women dress and the way the settler's women dressed. It is true, that petty coats have been added over time and that traditional dresses have become longer but the similarity is much less significant that in the case of the Herero women's attire.

We think that the Xhosa dolls are a genuine expression of the Xhosa's way of dressing. And we dare to say a way of dressing, that has existed before the first settlers arrived in South Africa.

The Traditional dress is decorated with beads and buttons

Black tape is sewed onto the costume to embellish it. Beads and buttons serve as decorations.

During the last decade a small industry has risen in South Africa. 

Nowadays, a great number of self-help initiatives, NGOs and craft groups in the province of the Eastern Cape have trained women to sew Xhosa art dolls in the traditional way. 

Many of these projects have as a mission to generate income for unemployed women, thereby empowering them economically. Tourists have found a liking to these dolls and most of them are bought by foreigners visiting South Africa.

But it is hard to find genuine old dolls in the Eastern Cape.

Most of the early dolls were created from fabric, resembling rag dolls.

Traditionally the Xhosa art dolls were created from rags or fabric off cuts

We came across one very old doll in the King Williams Town Museum, that represents the genre of dolls one could probably find at the beginning of our century.

An early example of a Xhosa doll exhibited in the King Williams Town Museum

There are not many examples of early Xhosa fabric dolls and the one we have discovered in the Amathole Museum in King Williams town in the Eastern Cape is truly unique. 

Typically for the Xhosa dolls as well as for many other folk art dolls of different geographic origin is, that their faces are painted or stitched by hand onto the cloth.

A Historical Xhosa doll preserved in the King Williams Town Museum

At a later stage aspects of recycling were introduced into the production of the Xhosa dolls. Empty one liter coke and other cool drink plastic bottles are used today by many craft groups to create the body of the dolls. The plastic bottles are filled with small stones or gravel, thereby giving the doll gravity, so that it will not either fall over.

Detail of the Head Of A Xhosa Doll Of  Later Origin

A new era of recycled Xhosa art dolls - small stones add gravity to the empty coke bottle used as the body

This small unique doll, that could represent a Sangoma, is completely made out of recycled materials. The body of the doll consists of an empty spice-glass covered in fabric. The dress and her scarf are made out of rag cut-offs. The traditional stick she is holding is made from wood and a piece of a feather.
She wears a petty-coat made of the plastic of an old supermarket-carrier bag. The face and her arms are covered by black cloth.
This doll measures only 7,5" in height. 

The petty coat is made from a plastic shopping bag piece

The way African women dress has changed a lot in recent times and Xhosa dolls are produced nowadays in a way to represent the spirit of the 21th century Africa in their appearance. But without doubt, new or old, the charm, that they elude is irresistible.

The dress of this doll has captured all the details of a real traditional Xhosa dress.

Button Detail of a traditional Xhosa art doll dress