Mozambican Batik "canvases" ...

I rarely talk about things or places I don't know enough of or have never visited, but to the many who have recently told me that I only seem to display Cape Verdian and Angolan Art in my blog, I have decided to introduce some other examples of Art, this time from  Mozambique, although I have not had the chance of visiting this country.

In 1995 I bought some Mozambican batik "canvases", which really fascinated me (still do), not necessarily because they were more colourful than the traditional batik patterns, as in accordance with what I read then, but because the whole thematic  "canvases" depicted the reality of the African daily life in a very realistic way ... the family ...  the daily tasks ... the ceremonial dances ...

Soon after having bought them I realised that this wax resist dyeing technique in fabric was an ancient art form, which according to discoveries already existed in Egypt in the 4th century BCE, though in Africa it was originally practiced in Nigeria and Senegal, but also the fact that to get these patterns, several colours had had to be used, following a series of dyeing, drying and waxing steps, some of which must have been time consuming, particularly since these pieces were clearly not mass produced. 

 

When this technique was introduced in Mozambique I don't know, but according to the lady who sold them to me, quite a few Mozambican artisans make these batik "canvases" in order to get some money by selling them to tourists (quite different from the traditional lineage identification, body wrapping, ceremonial costumes, wide variety of rituals and formal occasions and even corpse wrapping use).

Note: Three of the seven batik "canvases" I bought in 1995, by three Mozambican artists - Majoe, Mapyo and Micas).