What does an original cultural/ethnic dress for the native Shona people of Zimbabwe look like? The only way to find out is to look at historical archives of artist depictions and photos taken in the 1800s and 1900s: |
After searching around , I found this old picture taken in 1900 of Shona women and girls in traditional dress and attire. It belongs to the website rhodesian.com.au |
Mashona Women 1908 - Source: Rhodesian Study Circle |
Native Shona Villagers 1908 - Source: Rhodesian Study Circle |
1910 - A Native Shona Brass Worker and His Wives Source: From the Book Women of All Nations. |
The pictures above are from the book [Women of All Nations: A Record of Their Characteristics, Habits, Manners, Customs, and Influence] published in 1908 by Thomas Athol Joyce [1878-1942] and Northcote Whitridge Thomas [1868-1936]
The book has many colorful plates of original photos taken in the 1900s. You can view and read the book online at Archive.org
The Book: [Women of All Nations: A Record of Their Characteristics, Habits, Manners, Customs, and Influence] 1908 |
Archive.org Books - Women of All Nations
Google Books - Women of All Nations
Image Sources:
Rhodesian.com.au - Mashona Women 1890
Flickr - Shona Brass Worker and Wives 1910
Vintage Edition - Mashona Women
Rhodesian Study Circle - Mashona Girls
Rhodesian Study Circle - Mashona Villagers
Instead of clamoring
for a national dress, we should be clamoring for traditional dresses. Beyond
our borders, South Africa and Namibia are two multi-cultural African countries
which don’t have a national dress, but instead they have traditional dresses,
something which you would also call an ethnic or cultural dress. During cultural
events and festivals, you will South Africans from all backgrounds proudly
wearing an ethnic outfit. Zulus, Xhosas, Swazis, Vendas and Sothos will be
wearing a cultural outfit on this occasion. The same happens in Namibia where
Wambo, Herero and Damara Nama tribes have their own cultural costumes.
So why is it
hard for Zimbabwean tribes to come up with their own traditional dress? Is it a
lack of pride or are we suffering from identity crisis?
Finding a
traditional dress is not hard if you know your roots and history. People just
need to rewind back to history to find out what type of traditional dresses
were worn. A traditional dress is not something that can be invented, proposed,
imposed or copied from another country, but it should be original and
indigenous. It should be derived from historical dressing. There have been cases
where some Zimbabweans will copy Nigerian traditional attire and flaunt it as
their own.
Pokello Nare is one of the leading Zimbabwean fashionistas who likes rocking African fabrics and colours. She likes mixing African designs with modern attire - CICI Fashions Facebook |
Ideas for Modern Zimbabwean
Traditional Dresses
Shona
Dress - By winding
the clock back to the Great Zimbabwe era when the Shona people started trading
with the Portuguese, you will find out that black inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe
were already wearing cotton body wraps as from 1200 AD. This European-influenced
attire continued up to the era of Mbuya Nehanda, a female spirit medium who was
pictured wearing a shoulder strapped garment. This was the attire for married
and older women. Young women did not wear a shoulder-strapped garment, but they
wore a simple strapless bodycon wrap with bare shoulders.
Ndebele
Dress – An original
dress can be inspired from the traditional Zulu dress because of the shared
roots, language and culture.
By tracing
back to their historical attire, other 13 tribes of Zimbabwe (Tonga, Venda etc)
can also find inspiration for a modern traditional dress.
Pokello Nare in African Print Pant Suit - CICI Fashions Twitter |
A Modern Traditional Dress is Not a
Regular Dress
Whatever you
call it, traditional or national dress, a modern traditional dress is not
something that you are supposed to wear on a daily or regular basis. Times have
changed, today people have access to high quality clothing with much more
beneficial features and functions than traditional attire. The need for a
traditional dress doesn’t mean you should take it with you everywhere - to
work, shopping mall, party or social functions. It’s not compulsory. You wear
this dress for cultural purposes, festivals and events. You wear this dress out of pride
and love for your identity. Whether you want to wear this dress as a fashion
item or not is a personal choice. The freedom to wear a traditional dress means
you are not ashamed of your culture, and that you are not afraid of being
judged. In the end, you will get respect because people admire people who are
proud of their culture. Nobody admires a person of no fixed abode. Why do some Zimbabweans copy and envy the Nigerian Yoruba and Igbo dress? It's because Nigerians are proud of their culture.
Attempts to Launch a National Dress
in Zimbabwe
The first
attempt to launch a national dress was in 2005, when the Minister of Sports,
Arts and Culture announced a design competition. Fashion designers across the
country were invited to participate in this competition, but the panel was not
impressed with the quality of submissions. The competition ended with no winner
and the whole project was abandoned.
The year
2012 saw another attempt to launch a national dress, but this time it was not a
design competition but an exhibition of a proposed dress. The showcase of the
“Nhowe Zimbabwe Dress” ran along the Miss Curvy beauty contest where fashion models
took to the catwalk to exhibit the conceptual design.
The designer
of the Nhowe dress Mercy Mushaninga lamented the fact that Zimbabweans are
often confused with other nationalities because they don’t have a defined
cultural attire. A Zimbabwean in the USA would be taken for an African
American, unlike Nigerians who have a clearly defined traditional attire.
Sure, it’s
not only Nigerians and West Africans who can be identified by their cultural
attire, but Indians and Arabs are also known to have a strong association with
their cultural dress code. Although people in western countries have what you
call the western attire (the regular fashion one can find at Edgars, Truworths
and Woolworths), most if not all European countries have cultural festivals and
celebrations where people wear traditional costumes. That’s the reason why I
said earlier on, that a traditional dress is not necessarily a regular dress.
Evolution of the Traditional Dress
How does a
traditional dress come to be a traditional dress? A traditional dress is born
from historical dress code. It is shaped by ethnic culture, identity, beliefs and
historical influences. The evolution of a traditional dress is natural. You cannot just wake up and decide to make a
traditional dress that you dreamed of. You have to go back to the past to check
the original generational trends and influences in native wear within your
tribe or clan. After researching the historical background of the dress code
within your clan, the next logical step is adapting the original styles to your
modern design. The outfits may not be 100% similar, but some degree of resemblance
must be maintained between the original and modern design.
Postal Stamp of King Mutapa of the Monomotapa Kingdom 1589 to 1620 |
Adapting and Modernizing a
Traditional Dress
The following
template will be helpful in designing a traditional dress from original native
wear. The design process in this case is adapting and modernizing a historical dress,
not inventing a dress. The designer should answer the following questions:
- What did Shona natives wear during the Mapungubwe
Kingdom? 1075 - 1220 AD
- What did Shona natives wear during the Great
Zimbabwe Kingdom, and during the Mutapa, Torwa and Rozwi Empires, when trade
with the Portuguese and Arabs was at its peak? 1220 – 1834 AD
- What did Shona natives wear during the time of
Mbuya Nehanda? 1890 AD
- Look at the dress codes during these 3 episodes,
and adapt them to your modern design while maintaining some resemblance.
Mashona Men from Chief Mashayamombe - August 1890 Source: Rhodesian Australia |
The famous picture of Mbuya Nehanda |
Depiction of the Great King Monomatapa by the Portuguese |
References:
Vintage Edition - Mashona Women
Rhodesian Study Circle - Mashona Girls
Rhodesian Study Circle - Mashona Villagers
Archive.org - Women of All Nations
Rhodesian.com.au - Historic Gallery Rhodesia 1890Rhodesian Study Circle - Mashona Girls
Rhodesian Study Circle - Mashona Villagers
Archive.org - Women of All Nations
Rhodesian.com.au - Mashona Men in 1890
Flickr - Shona Brass Worker and Wives