Nguni - The Cattle Of The Xhosa People

Nguni Cattle at the Wild Coast

The Nguni cattle breed is indigenous to Southern Africa. A hybrid of indigenous and Indian cattle they were introduced by the Bantu tribes of southern Africa from the north of the continent. They are medium sized, adapted to grazing on the Highveld. The ancestors of Nguni cattle were brought by the Xhosa, Zulu and Swazi people, during their migration to Southern Africa between 600 and 1400 AD. 

Since then, the Nguni have played an important social and economic role in the development of these societies and are used as a bride's dowry (lobola). 

Nguni Cattle on high mountain slopes at the Wild Coast

Nguni cattle are known for their fertility and resistance to diseases. They are characterised by their multicolored skin, that can show many different patterns, but their noses are always black-tipped.

The Wild Coast - The Land of the Xhosa People

The number of animals held by a village or an individual determined much of their importance to the rest of the world. 

Nguni Cattle on their way back to the mountains after a lazy morning at the beach

The skins of the Nguni cattle have many different patterns and colors such as white, brown, golden black and yellow, dappled and spotty.

Nguni cows at the beach at the Wild Coast

Spotted beauty

Resistant to many diseases

Nguni on their way home

Africa's Pride

The Nguni are famous for their skin

To understand the culture of the Xhosa people better one has to reflect on the value and importance of cattle in the African society in general.

Even today in urban regions like Mdantsane and other towns cattle can be seen on the streets. They are slaughtered on ceremonial days and on most of all important family happenings.

Incede Womens Project - Art And Recycling In Mdantsane

The Incede Womens Project recycles glass bottles and turn them into beautiful liquor glasses

Nomunde (Patience is her English name, so she tells us) and Zameka are the two savvy ladies behind the Incede Women's Project. The Incede Womens Project's workshop is located in a large room at the Mdantsane Arts Center.

Several women of Mdantsane, concerned about the situation and the future of young people in this country have founded this project a couple of years ago, with the intention to help young people to gain skills in the art sector and thereby allowing them to earn a little income. 

Incede is in the lucky position to be now funded by the Department of Arts and Culture. The efforts of these women, to help create a better community and trying to keep the young people of the streets have been finally recognized.

My name is Patience but I am actually not patient at all, she says!

The Incede Womens Project creates a variety of products with very different materials including pottery ware, mosaic work and has started a line of products, that are made from recycled glass, but we are concentrating in this article on the pottery products, that the women design. 

The products are strongly influenced by the Xhosa culture and the local tradition of the Eastern Cape but they also incorporate many other non-typical Xhosa elements of daily life.

Zameka - a strong vision

Zameka at her working area in front of pottery wares, destined to be painted and glazed

The workshop at the Mdantsane art center seems large to us, but the ladies say it is still not big enough. It is used by many young people, who come there after school to paint or learn the skill of pottery.

Beautiful, colorful handmade and completely RECYCLED glass tiles

The raw material is bought in Gonubie, a little coastal town outside of East London.

The project is well equipped and has all the material needed at its disposition, but the women say what they profoundly lack is marketing, business and selling skills. 

"Once our products are finished, they rest on the shelves in the arts center, Patience says, we don't know how to get them to the clients and we don't know how to attract clients."

The Kiln

Unfinished products

A mosaic clock

The large workshop of the Incede Womens Project

Patience at work

The women belief in their project

The women who have founded Incede believe in the power of work and that if one learns a skill it changes one's outlook on life.

Learning something adds a sense of worth and self respect to your life

"If you are not working, you feel useless. You feel useless and you do not have an income. Sometimes this can not be changed easily because of external circumstances. But if you learn a skill, even if you still have not an income you feel proud and more re-assured of yourself than before," says Patience.

"You have added value to yourself. Life is also about understanding your own value. May be your income will come later or there is the possibility, that you will find money through the skill you have learned in another way, that you have not thought of!"

 

Many women in their later years in life have a deep concern for the future of the young people in South Africa.

Representing the tasks of daily life in the Xhosa culture

If the old traditions die the teachings of these traditions reserved for the young people die as well. But it is a fact of life that certain traditions will die because the effort it would take to uphold them is too big. New ways have to be found to establish values and recognize the value of life. Art can be one of these ways.

The tradition of the rural areas of the Eastern Cape is reflected in these sculptures

Looking at the sculptures one can see, that they have been inspired by daily life. The easy and simple things are shown here. The things, that have to be repeated day after day and that can be a burden sometimes are modeled into sculptures.

I do know nothing about art!

"In fact, I do know nothing about art! But I am very interested in art and all the things that are linked to it", says Patience. 

It is hard to believe, that she grew up "knowing nothing about art", as she says.

Religion is always there

The traditional way of dressing

The traditional way of living

some humor

and something foreign

Makes the eclectic mix of todays South Africa

If you want to support the women or if you are on the look out for some beautiful gifts - Mdantsane is not that far. 

Here are the ladies phone numbers:
Nomunde 0738522088
Zameka  0735794244

Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays To All Our Readers

The team of The Mdantsane Way Magazine wishes all our readers, young and old, South African and International a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays!  Thank you for your support during 2012.

Zingisa Zang Nkosinkulu - Welcome to COUCHLOCKPROJECTS

Today we are introducing you to the blog of Zingisa Zang Nkosinkulu -The Art of Zang.
Welcome to COUCHLOCKPROJECTS for Arts development/ Exhibition/ Projects/ Hip Hop/Graffiti

Zang has contacted a couple of days ago The Mdantsane Way Magazine and left us his link. We followed up (it took a while, like always) but what we have seen is very interesting and stimulating!

Who is Zang? First of all he is born and bred in Mdantsane.

That makes him so interesting for us. And he is another perfect showcase of Mdantsane talent. Great talent, that has unfortunately left the township but we understand, you have to go where you can find a living.

Here is Zang in his own words:

Zang, living today in Pretoria in Gauteng was born and raised in the Township of Mdantsane, Eastern Cape. 

He acquired his diploma in Fine Art at NMMU, his B-Tech at WSU and is currently studying towards his Master’s in Visual Art at UNISA. He worked at Belgravia Art Centre while in East London as an art teacher for five years. 

After that he joined the team at UNISA Art Gallery as a gallery assistant. Zang is a Visual/ Graffiti Artist with a Calling to use ART as a Mediator to TRANCEND beyond conditions of his birth place. 

To bring new hope, share Creative Wisdom and Encourage youth to be ARTISTIC, EDUCATED and Conscious Individuals. Art is a way he lives trying to relate to the world in a CREATIVE and SPIRITUAL ways. Zang believes in working in creative collaborative projects and workshops to develop the Artistic Underdeveloped Communities.

Zang's Studio from where he works. Images by Zang

 

Zang's Studio, work in progress, All Images are by Zang himself

That is what we also believe in. We see art as a tool of expression of the society we live in but also as one of the most powerful transformation tools. The place one is born into is not the place one is confined to for the rest of one's life. 

We have taken a few images from Zang's blog but we do not have the intention to tell his story for him because he is already doing a good job telling his story himself and presenting himself and his art to the world. We really invite you to go over to his blog and have a look at his artwork! 

Laetitia

There is a series called Laetitia, a life drawing exercise he did with candle smoke and other materials. We have been absolutely impressed by this mixed media art piece.

My Culture - My Technology- Vanishing Values Of The Xhosa Tradition

In my culture my technology he deals with the theme of the culture of the Xhosa people, that is being treatened by technology. 

Zang says: "Technology is a symbol of change and technology weakens things of value. For instance, now the are new circumsizing tools, that are governmental or hospital tools. Now the traditional spear used to remove foreskin will be forgotten. Now children sit down and play with their cellphone they do not sit around the fire and wait for their grandmother to tell them stories."

His artwork is of course for sale and as every artist in this world he needs the community's support. All his contact details are on his blog.

Zingisa Zang Nkosinkulu

The Unknown Street Musician Of Oxfordstreet 36 Years Ago - The Photography Of Rob Mellin

36 years ago there was music on Oxfordstreet!

Unknown Street Musician At The Corner Oxford And Terminus Street 36 Years Ago, East London South Africa

There is a reason for everything and there is also a reason why this image has found its way into our magazine 36 years after it was taken. 

You probably remember, that we have started a research project and are busy collecting material to set up a digital archive for old Mdantsane and East London images. The archive will be made up of images coming from local families and from photographers of diverse backgrounds, who are generously allowing us to digitalise their family treasures. 

Let us tell you the interesting story behind this beautiful historical photograph.

Chocolat, our publisher and founder of the magazine met a while ago a gentleman in a second hand shop, who shared her passion for old records. The gentleman of name Rob had already too many records but Chocolat was still buying and adding to her collection. So Rob promised her to give her some records. And he did - to the great excitement of Chocolat. When she visited Rob's house to collect the records they started chatting and she was in for another surprise. They shared another passion, photography.

Rob Mellin worked as a photographer and photojournalist for the Daily Dispatch newspaper for 18 years. He is retired since eleven years. Rob has a rich and turbulent past. He started taking up photography in the 1970s as a hobby, but soon his hobby became his work. He took pictures for the at the time "Rhodesian Air force". He said working for the air force was the turning point of his life.

"It was my experience with the air force, that laid the foundation for a career in journalism. Whenever I held a camera I felt compelled to take news worthy pictures".

While he was staying in Zimbabwe his images were published in a community newspaper and this was the inspiration he needed to work relentlessly towards a career as a photographer. In 1983 he eventually joined the Daily Dispatch.

There are two sides to his photography. There is the more conventional work he did for the newspaper he worked for. But he also had an interest in the local African culture, which was rare at the time and the black and white images he shot are testimonials of East London's history and street culture. His photography is art.

Rob Mellin is a photographer of the old school, before the digital photography saw the light of the day. He is an artist who knows all the tools of the trade. He knows how to develop a picture in a drak room..

The day when Chocolat visited him, he showed her treasures she did not think she would see this day. His darkroom, though hardly used now is fully intact and his collection of non archived negatives, slides and photos must amount to the thousands.

"We were under sanctions these days and we could not get material from Agfa, so we worked with Ilford Paper and Developer. But I started making my own developing liquid and you can see I have done a good job because this picture is 36 years old."

The picture we published today, he took while he was on what was called "an open assignment" for the Daily Dispatch. In those days, that meant photographers were sent out on the street to look for interesting scenes. 

The street musician in the images was sitting at Oxfordstreet/corner Terminus Street and Rob said the man had a very  raspy" beautiful voice, that captured his attention.

He does not remember the exact date, but he says it was in 1986. He also does not remember if it was ever published by the Daily Dispatch but he handed it in for a photographic competition with the photographic society of East London at the time and it was marked down because the Black Label sign, that you can see in the background was cut off and not readable in its entirety.

A friend, whom we told this shook his head and said: "But the musician, he is the black label, He is the black label of the finest quality."

And so is Rob Mellin's picture.

Image Courtesy Rob Mellin. With Rob's permission we will published more of his images.