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South Africa is a country that has a very rich heritage because of our history and the diversity in our cultures and traditions. We are a country that has so many tribes and more than 10 official languages. It is really the heritage of our cultures and traditions that makes us who we are and plays a big role in inspiring the art and innovation of South African creatives, I think MaXhosa by Laduma Ngxokolo makes a great example of the kind of influence culture has on art, design and creativity in this country. I chose the Ndebele house painting as a fitting representation of art and creativity as well as our heritage that I cannot even begin to explain in words. They speak for themselves, it is the unspoken word. The Ndebele people created expressive patterns between their sub-groups as form of communication, these patterns represented the continuity and cultural resistance in the circumstances that the Ndebele people were faced with during the 18th century. What I think is even more fascinating is that it was the women who invented this form of expressionism art and that it was passed down from mothers to daughters, for generations and generations Ndebele women have sustained their family values and the traditions of their tribe. They were the developers of the art on the walls of their homes and community. This form of expressionism though is not only used by the Ndebele people, I have seen in some parts of Southern Kwa Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Drakensberg whereby similar patterns have been made to decorate mud huts and houses, infact my late grandmother's old house was decorated with patterns and different colours. What I think we should celebrate more and even embrace, especially as the youth is our traditions, cultures and beliefs as African people, in the past centuries our traditions and cultures were looked down on because of colonization, I think it is very important to learn about our history as African people, South African history particularly because there is not much written about it and it is not often told. In this way, we can learn more about our identity, reconnect and restore with our traditions which have obviously evolved with time and culture so that we can be able to pass it down to the next generations because that is where our wealth and power lies. So, I wish you all a happy heritage month and I hope you learn a thing or two about your heritage.
#heritage #history #youngcreatives #Ndebele #zulu #xhosa #tsonga #zeitsmocca #esthermahlangu #creativity
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