HomeOld_PostsZimbabwean avian sculpture.....exploring repositories of indigenous knowledge

Zimbabwean avian sculpture…..exploring repositories of indigenous knowledge

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GIVEN the Zimbabwe Bird is the symbol of the nation, it comes as no surprise that Zimbabwe boasts a body of sculptural artwork from a large number of Zimbabwean visual artists based on birds.
Indigenous people have long studied the field characteristics and distinct calls of local birds.
A field character is any feature of a bird which can be observed in the field such as habitat, habits, the shape and size of the bird and the colours of the plumage.
These studies became the body of knowledge, folklore and fireside stories to which the sculptors are drawn to in their works.
Birds have inspired stone sculpture in Zimbabwe since the early stone birds erected at the shrine in the Eastern Enclosure at Great Zimbabwe, where the famous Zimbabwe stone birds first stood as symbols of the royal lineage that controlled a large number of Shona states up to the 17th Century.
As we continue to commemorate our artistic and cultural achievements, this installation examines and rediscovers our avian heritage in stone sculpture.
Avian sculpture in contemporary art in Zimbabwe encompasses and illustrates a wide range of birds, from birds of prey and Lammergeyers, such as eagles, owls, hawks and vultures to water fowls (which are ducks, moorhens, swans and angling birds), to table birds (which are guinea fowl, chicken and game birds) and include flightless birds such as the ostrich.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Springstone International Art Gallery in Avondale held several seminal art exhibitions on Zimbabwean indigenous avian themes, articulating the importance of avian imagery in our indigenous orature, folklore, indigenous belief systems, ornithological history and cultural visualisation.
‘Birds in Stone I and II’, and ‘Sacred Zimbabwean Avia’, were especially curated exhibitions that articulated the African symbology of birds in Zimbabwean Shona culture and featured the art of over 45 artists including women artists and new signature sculptors.
Like nature, Zimbabwean sculpture has never been divorced from its proper function, that of articulating the environmental, cultural, spiritual and socio-religious aspects of our identity.
At Great Zimbabwe, where royal artists and designers produced the world-famous Zimbabwe Birds, the sculpture grew out of the natural granite stone forms and avian species visible in the locality.
In a remarkable continuity and revival of the subject matter of birds in contemporary Zimbabwean stone sculpture, it is noticeable that most of the birds selected as sculptural subjects by stone artists have a certain degree of folkloric relevance – apart from the study of the aesthetic qualities inherent in the shape, form, attitudes and characteristics of the birds in question.
Terathopius Ecaudatus; the Bateleur Eagle as illustrated on the National Coat-of-Arms, flag and other national emblems is a common subject for the sculptors.
It heralds a successful hunt, warns of impending danger and is said to be a guardian and voice of the ancestors for the king.
Its symbolism is also associated with the military and air force authorities.
Several artists from the first generation sculptors such as John Takawira (Chapungu of Zimbabwe), Nicholas Mukomberanwa (Bird from another World), Bernard Matemera (Chapungu with Child), Paul Gwichiri (Great Chapungu), Albert Mamvura (Spirit Eagle), Richard Mteki (Zimbabwe Bird), and Damian Manhuwa (Shona Eagle),Victor Mtongwizo and Brighton Sango have sculpted various renditions of this ominous Shona avian symbol.
The familiarity and fondness of this subject matter was carried on by various second generation sculptors.
A bird such as the Scopus Umbretta – the Hammerkop, known for its unusual and distinctive features and for its angling prowess, was a favourite of many sculptors, particularly of Stanford Derere, Arthur Azevedo and Maxwell Gochera.
The omnipresence of the fudza mombe, tick bird, throughout the veldts, forests and marshes of Zimbabwe further make it an inevitable favourite subject among the sculptors.
The ungainly elegance and striking stature of the Sagittarius Serpentarius – the Secretary bird, known in African folklore and pastoral intelligence as the bird that rids the forests of snakes gives this bird prominence as a subject matter for Shona artists.
Bubo Afrikanus – The Spotted Eagle Owl, (zizi-huru) is known in folklore as the harbinger of death and is associated with witchcraft and the occult.
These folkloric characteristics, its unusual plumage and bird song have made the owl a curiosity.
The visual symbol of midwifery and motherhood is summarised in the illusive crowned Africa Guinea Fowl.
Known scientifically as Numida Meleagris, or hangaiwa in Shona, this bird is a common favourite for Zimbabwean painters, graphic artists and sculptors in general.
The swift and acrobatic precision of the Malachite Kingfisher – Alcedo Cristata, plucking fish from the depths of rivers is a remarkable vision for young boys herding cattle near streams and is aptly captured in the sculpture of several artists, among them Stanford Derere, whose visual memory accurately recalls and articulates its motions in his unique mixed-media Shona stone works.
The majestic Balearica Regulorum – Crown Cranes, with their colourful crowned tiaras, prominent in the Zimbabwean savannahs of the Lowveld and the Upupa Epops – the African Hoopoe, with its distinctive plumage and memorable bird sound have also provided endless inspiration for Zimbabwean sculptors, rendering their imagery in both metal and stone art.
Similarly, the Grey Hornbill — Tockus Nasutus — apart from the muse for the musical sound and dance of ‘Dendera’ synonymous with Simon Chimbetu and his crew, is a favourite subject for visual artists, due to its striking sculptural features and distinctive forest call.
Perhaps Zimbabwean arts and cultural administrators ought to revisit the past achievements of Zimbabwean stone sculptors’ to see how powerfully relevant the old artists’ works were and how important their studies of birds are today as repositories of culture, ornithology, anthropology, orature, education and environmental studies.
The popularity of Zimbabwean contemporary avian sculpture, despite its cultural specificity, has an unsurpassed international appeal and a timeless beauty not unlike nature itself.
Art consultant, artist and lecturer Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate of Business Administration) in Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. He is a writer, musician, art critic, practising artist and Corporate Image Consultant.
For views and comments, email: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com

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