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The Mangbetu People and their Pottery

Background

Mangbetu are a tribal group of people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Orientale Province. They speak a language called kingbetu, part of the regional Lingala language (a member of the Central Sudanic linguistic family). The Mangbetu call their language Nemangbetu. (1)

The Mangbetu are well known for their highly developed music and art. The most famous being the Mangbetu harp or guitar. Exemplary versions have sold for well over $100,000! They are often adorned with carved figures of wood or ivory with exceptionally detailed carving. Their music has been widely studied by musicologists as well. (2)

The uniqueness of the Mangbetu has always fascinated European explorers. By tradition, the Mangbetu have wrapped the heads of infants in tightly wrapped cloth to give them a distinctive elongated shape to the skull. Although the practice began to die out around 1950, it is still traditionally practiced as it is considered a sign of great beauty today to the Mangbetu and it does make the Mangbetu figures easy to identify in art and sculpture. (3)

Tribal Facts

The Mangbetu had consisted of a number of small clans who, from southward migrations in the early 1700’s, had come in contact with a number of northward-migrating Bantu-speaking tribes among whom they lived. In the late 18th century a group of Mangbetu-speaking elites, mainly from the Mabiti clan, assumed control over other Mangbetu clans and many neighboring Bantu-speaking tribes. It is likely that their knowledge of iron and copper forgery, by which they made weapons and fine ornaments, gave them a military and economic advantage over their neighbors. (4)

Notoriety?

The mystique of the ancient Mangbetu revolves around the fact that the Mangbetu are considered to be a historically cannibalistic people. This fact was emphasized in a documentary called Spirits of Defiance: The Mangbetu People of Zaire. “David Lewis asserts that a “wave of flesh-eating that spread from inveterate cannibals like Bakusa to Batetela, the Mangbetu, and much of the Zande” resulted from ongoing political disorder caused by Swahili raids in the . However, Keim contends that many of the accounts of cannibalism are not based on “careful fieldwork in Africa but on nineteenth-century European accounts that were deeply prejudiced by Dark Continent myths.” ” (5)

The Pottery

Pottery produced by the Mangbetu was classified as three types: the large pot (also known as nembwo), the small pot, and sculpted and decorated pots. The nembwo served general purposes, such as getting water from the lake and carrying vegetables. The smaller pots were used for more specific tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and pouring, and some were even used as toilets. The decorative pots were made more as a hobby, and nowadays are collector’s items and can fetch a high price in art auctions. (6)

The nembwo and small pot have a rather round conventional pot shape that is more spherical than most due to how it is constructed, and most are thin and smooth with a thicker opening. The decorated and sculpted pots of the Mangbetu tribe have human or animal figures (generally just heads) at the opening of the jar. Occasionally this sculpted figure is a Mangbetu woman with the traditional elongated head and decorative head dressing. The handles of these pots are sometimes molded into animal or human parts. The bottom of the pot is round, and occasionally patterns will be carved onto the surface. The pots are monochromatic and are made of coarse textured clay which is either hand built or made using variations of the “hammer-and-anvil” technique. They are usually a natural russet color or dark gray (the decorative pots). The latter often have incised patterns on the surface in addition to the human or animal figures. The surfaces are textured using shell scrapers and wooden pattern-making tools and then the pots are fired in open bonfires. (7)

Terracotta Mangbetu Pot #1

Terracotta Mangbetu Pot #2

Terracotta Mangbetu Pot #3

Wooden Mangbetu Sculpture– Man and Woman Wood Mangbetu Sculpture Couple

All items from the collection at http://www.spectrumartsinc.com

SOURCES

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangbetu_people sourced from:

Christopher Ehret, The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800(University of Virginia Press, 2002), 436–438.
Curtis A. Keim, Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind(Basic Civitas Books, 1999), 42–43, 92–93.
David Levering Lewis, The Race to Fashoda: European Colonialism and African Resistance in the Scramble for Africa(New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1987).

(6) (7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangbetu_Pottery sourced from:

“Pottery”. edu. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
“Mangbetu Terracotta Statue Pair Antique African Tribal Art – eBay”.com. Retrieved 2015-03- 05.
“Mangbetu Clay Pot – Congo”. Ezakwantu.com. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
“The Congo Expedition: Art of Daily Life”. org. Retrieved 2015-03-05.

Phillips, Ruth B., and Christopher Burghard Steiner. Unpacking culture art and commodity in colonial and postcolonial worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. Print.

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Chinese Minorities and Their Adornments

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

Introduction

One of the most amazing, varied and beautiful aspects of folk art and craft that I have found is in the textiles and jewelry of the minority peoples of China. The embroidery is so varied and so amazingly precise that one could study the techniques for nearly a lifetime. Books such as Writing with Thread, by the University of Hawai’i Art Gallery, showcase the incredible work by the Minority women, yet seeing the pieces in person is truly awe-inspiring.

The Collection

I was lucky enough to have come across a collection of pieces from the estate of a well-known expert and collector who amassed an incredible collection of pre 1970 pieces that I have put into my shop. The pieces include jackets, skirts, aprons, baby carriers, belts, purses, collars, wallets, baby hats, and even shoe insoles! The colors reflect the rainbow and the skills of the women doing the stitchery are almost impossible to believe! And the variety of designs and techniques can fill volumes.

Background

China is officially composed of 56 ethnic groups (55 minorities plus the dominant Han). Yet many of those groups are subdivided by regions, traditions, and languages. Various groups of the Miao minority, for example, speak different dialects of the Hmong–Mien languages, Tai–Kadai languages, and Chinese languages. There is a myriad of cultural customs as well. Smaller groups are sometimes classified together by religion or customs. Inconsistencies are common when trying to find commonalities between groups with some sharing totally unique characteristics from the Han majority, and yet others share Han characteristics. For example, most Hui Chinese are indistinguishable from Han Chinese except for the fact that they practice Islam, and most Manchu are considered to be largely assimilated into dominant Han society. China’s official 55 minorities are located primarily in the south, west, and north of China. Tibet and Xinjiang have a majority population of “official” minorities, while all other regions of China have a Han majority.

Acceptance

Acceptance of ethnic minorities with the mainstream community varies widely from group to group. Attitudes towards minorities by the Han are known as Han chauvinism, and are resented by minority groups. Migration also caused friction in areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang.

It is said that in China minorities are considered more primitive than the Han majority. Minority groups are often portrayed as pastoral and outdated. Since the government is said to depict itself as a patron, those not willing to adapt to the majority “(despite the offers of assistance) are portrayed as “masculine, violent, and unreasonable”. Groups that have been represented this way this way include the Tibetans, Uyghurs and the Mongols. Groups that have been more willing to embrace the majority (and accept the help of the government) are often portrayed as “feminine and sexual, including the Miao, Tujia and the Dai.”

The “Undistinguished”

The “undistinguished” ethnic groups have not been officially recognized or classified by the central government. They number more than 730,000 people, and would comprise the twentieth most populous ethnic group in China as a group. Most of these people are found in Guizhou Province.

These “undistinguished ethnic groups” do not include groups that have been controversially classified into existing groups. For example, the Mosuo are considered as Naxi, and the Chuanqing are considered Han Chinese, but they reject these classifications and see themselves as separate ethnic groups.

The Stitchery

Generally, the textiles represent the identity and history of the minority group, each having a particular style and meaning both for the cultural identity of the wearer and for the particular event the item is chosen for. Stitchery styles and weaving techniques historically were developed to portray the uniqueness of the group as well as the ties between groups. Some experts believe that the history and identity of the groups are actually “written” into the textile design.

The Techniques

The types of textile adornment includes applique, tie dye, specially processed indigo dye finished with pig’s blood, egg white, or boiled cowhide (for a glossy finish), cross stitch, satin stitch, metal adorned silk stitches using hand cut 0.7 mm strips of tin foil, pleating and variations of pleating, running stitches, patchwork, piling folded cloth, counted thread flat picking known as long and short stitch, and more. The finished cloth is then often adorned by feathers, Job’s tears and a myriad of silver adornments, buttons, ribbons, and jewelry. Many pieces are totally covered with hand stitchery and literally dozens of silver pieces. This is a fascinating area to explore and research in books such as Writing with Thread, by the University of Hawai’i Art Gallery.

All pieces shown (and more) are available at www.SpectrumArtsInc.com

Sources

Writing with Thread, by the University of Hawai’i Art Gallery

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_minorities_in_China#Ethnic_groups

Gladney, Dru C. (1994). “Representing Nationality in China: Refiguring Majority/Minority Identities”. The Journal of Asian Studies53 (1): 92–123.

Hasmath, Reza. (2011) “From Job Search to Hiring to Promotion: The Labour Market Experiences of Ethnic Minorities in Beijing”, International Labour Review 150(1/2): 189-201.

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail skirt

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail skirt

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail pleating

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail skirt

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail baby carrier

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile- detail jacket back

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail baby carrier

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail tie dye

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority coat- detail with feathers

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket reverse

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail baby carrier

vintage Chinese Minority textile- detail

vintage Chinese Minority bib – detail

vintage Chinese Minority tunic – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – jacket

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail tie dye

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail embroidery and pleating

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority jacket- detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

vintage Chinese Minority textile – full dress with jewelry

vintage Chinese Minority textile – detail

Vintage Chinese Minority Indigo Jacket

Chinese Vintage Minority Embroidered Jacket

Chinese Vintage Minority Jacket with Embroidered Panel

Silk Chinese Embroidered Vintage Minority Jacket and Apron

Chinese Vintage Minority Jacket with Embroidered Borders

Chinese Vintage Minority Embroidered Hat

Chinese Vintage Minority Embroidered Tunic

Vintage Minority Padded Baby Carrier Panel ex PN Coll

Vintage Minority Baby Hat, ex. Peter Nelson Collection, field collected in 1970’s

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Ethnographic Art for the Discerning Collector!

Posts tagged ‘Ethnic Art’

The Mangbetu People and their Pottery

Chinese Minorities and Their Adornments

In the Beginning….

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Chinese Minorities and Their Adornments