I-CURIO

AUTHENTIC EAST AFRICAN ART SINCE 1982

 

In 1982, Isaakari Ngoma (known to his friends as "Culture") opened a small shop featuring original East African artwork. Over the years the shop has grown in size and popularity amongst tourists. After several years Isaakari finally gave his art store its name. "Yahu" Art Store symbolizes the whole excitement of the East African experience - climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (Isaakari has summited several times), going on safari, and engaging with Tanzania's 120 different cultural groups. Through Yahu Art Store Isaakari and Sipe have become community leaders by establishing a strong network of local artisans, contributing to various activities to ensure the sustainability of Tanzania's environment and cultural identity while creating a positive experience for visitors.

One example of holistic perspective towards art. is how Yahu Supports the replanting of various tree species, such as the Mpingo, that are used for carving. Protecting the Mpingo trees not only sustains the forest, but local and regional livelihoods as well. It is because of this perspective that Yahu Art Store stands as an example of a successful and sustainable Tanzanian business! Karibuni Tena!

The many faces of African Art

Makonde carvings are probably the best known art work produced in Tanzania. The carvings are produced by the people of the Makonde tribe of Southern Tanzania, who have slowly migrated North from the East African Highlands to the costal regions seeking employment. The Makonde utilize their tribal myths and stories as inspiration for the masterful work. More recently, both traditional and contemporary carvings are made, reflecting a tribal past as well as modern response to urban life.
Using simple tools - the traditional teso or adze, rasps and saws - the Makonde carvers shape blocks of mpingo, the common African blackwood tree (often incorrectly called ebony) - into beautiful translations of the carvers' world - its people, animals and plants.

 

This beautiful soapstone is found only near the village of Kisii in Western Kenya. Kisii stone ranges in color from deep gold to rich burgundy, pale pink to mauve and black to creamy white.

The various colorations running through it are formed as different minerals leach through the stone as it sits underground. The raw quarry stones are excavated by hand and carried to workshops that are up to 10 kilometers away.

Once its final shape has been attained the stone is dyed with ink, paint, or shoe polish and sealed with beeswax. To finish the piece, intricate patterns are incised on the surface, thereby allowing the light colored, natural stone to show through.

 

Edward Saidi Tingatinga has come to be recognized as the father of a unique Tanzanian art expression that continues to grow, develop and provide hope for many young Tanzanians. Tingatinga died in 1972, just after a decade after he first started making these pictures, but within that short period his work managed to gain popularity and recognition amongst tourists. Originally, Tingatinga style was simple depictions of wildlife and scenes of village life. Today, individual interpretations mean that the Tingatinga style can be elaborate and varied. New themes such as the Masais and Mashetanis (little devils popular in Swahili culture) have been assimilated making it a dynamic part of the Tanzanian culture.

African societies define an instruments identity in terms of the sound it creates, the visual perception of the sounds and symbols of the instrument, and the interaction that occurs between the instrument and the senses. Traditionally there is no separation between the sound that the instrument creates and the emotion that is felt as a result, and the music can often be identified with tactile qualities, such as roughness and smoothness.

 

Drums were used in traditionally to announce the arrival or departure of traditional leaders or to keep a rhythm or morale to farming societies.

Some drums were used to summon people to meet the ruler or as battle cry.
The "marimba", or thumb piano is a plucked idiophone unique to Africa and widely distributed throughout the continent.