African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African folklore 42
Boy with hat. Photo © Sonia Silva.
Techniques
Evidence of all main basketry techniques is found in Africa: the coil (mainly the sewn
type), the plait (mainly the twill), the twine, and the stake-and-strand, sometimes termed
wickerwork. It is possible to roughly distinguish areas where certain techniques
predominate: for example, the area of Ethiopia, Burundi, and Rwanda, and the vast
region of Southern Africa are best known for their exquisite sewed coiling. The
Ethiopians coil food-tables with lustrous colors that may change up to ten times in a
linear inch of stitches; the Hutu and Tutsi of Burundi and Rwanda are renowned for their
delicate and gracious bowls with conical lids and spiral motifs; the Zulu, for their
colorful, geometrically decorated flared baskets; and the Hambukushu and Bayei, for the
named motifs on their jars and bowls. Inspired by the local environment, mainly the
animal world, these motifs are known by highly distinctive names: “Tail of the Swallow,”
“Knees of the Tortoise,” “Urine of the Bull.”
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, central and eastern Zambia, northern
Mozambique, and along the coast of East Africa, the twill predominates. The Congolese
Tetela, the Zambian Ambo and Ngoni, and the Mozambican Makonde produce most of
their basket ware using this technique. The ones with the most impressive and complex
patterns, some of them figurative, are found in the lower Congo and Madagascar.
Throughout the continent the presence of the open twine and stake-and-strand is
ubiquitous. Twined openwork is used in the manufacture of fishing and/or hunting traps,
and stake-and-strand is the technique employed in the making of all manner of fences,
enclosures, and walls. Weaving by means of twine and wickerwork is the most
widespread basketry technique in Africa.