TANZANIA: ART AND LITERATURE

Tanzania lies in the midst of the Great Rift Valley, or East African Rift as it’s called now. This refers to the great geographic feat that created the great mountain ranges and peaks we see throughout this region as well as the lakes the people here so depend on. And with these structural changes, created plenty of natural canvas for rock drawings. Many different tribes of people moved into this area and had their own style of rock drawings, some of which are nearly 7000 years old! The Kondoa province has quite a bit of rock art that has been preserved, covering different styles across different time periods. The Sandawe drawings are distinctive for their fine red lines, while other styles (here and elsewhere in Tanzania) include the geometric styles of the Twa peoples as well as paintings from the Maasai and Bukoba.

Quite a few handicrafts are also produced in Tanzania. Batik cloth making is a common trade among women. Batik is made by stamping hot wax onto cloth in patterns and then dipping the cloth into a dye, which will adhere to all the places not covered in wax. Many of these batik designs use tribal or animal patterns. Woven mats and bowls are another common handicraft. Some use bright colors and incorporate designs into these. A lot of these items are sold at open air or roadside markets.

One of the more well-known styles of painting to emerge in the 20th century is Tingatinga painting, named after its creator, Edward Said Tingatinga. It typically uses bicycle paint since it holds up better and has brighter colors; masonite board seems to be the prefered material to paint on since it’s light but durable. Flowers, animals, and geometric designs seem to be the main themes. Many of these paintings have become known as “airport paintings” because of its appeal to tourists and its small size being easier to transport through airports. George Lilanga is quite known for his paintings using the tingatinga style, even though he never specifically studied it. He just hung around a bunch of these particular artists and picked it up from them (see why it’s good to pick good friends!).

George Lilanga with one of his tingatinga paintings

However, George Lilanga originally studied sculpture, which has long been a focal point of Tanzanian artists. Many of these sculptures represent an abstract version of people, animals, and mythological characters. Wood carving, using several different kinds of natural woods found locally (like ebony, for instance), are often used, but other materials, like stones and shells, may also be used, depending on the region.

George Lilanga is known for his shetani sculptures. Shetani are mythological spirits, mostly malevolent, and typically depicted as distorted animal or human figures.

During the latter part of the 20th century, cartoon artists began to emerge as its own field. And they were widely popular. Some published their works in newspapers, and even political cartoons became a thing. Other artists created comic books and published them as a series.

Cartoon by Salum Matata

For the vast majority of Tanzania’s history, its literature has been primarily in oral traditions. Not only would they tell and pass along stories and folktales, but they also told poems, proverbs, and riddles. In recent years, the art of oral storytelling has fallen to the wayside a bit as family structure and modern society has impacted these traditions. However, written literature is still on the up and coming and still fairly undeveloped. A few writers have emerged in the field though, producing works in both Swahili and in English.

Some of the writers who write in Swahili include Shaaban Robert (novelist, essayist, poet; probably one of the most prominent Tanzanian writers), Muhammed Said Abdulla (known for his detective stories), Ebrahim Hussein (playwright, poet), and Fadhy Mtanga (creative writer, blogger).

There are also quite a few authors who write in English as well. Some of the top names include Peter Palangyo (novelist), Gabriel Ruhumbika (novelist, short story writer, translator), Marti Mollel (short story writer), and Abdulrazak Gurnah (novelist, nominated for the Booker Prize and Commonwealth Writers Prize).

Up next: music and dance