Friday 4 October 2019

What kind of Imagery and symbolism have they used?

Ndongeni, S (2019). Xhosa Fertility Charms Display, East London Museum.b
While at the museum, I had found that there was a lot of symbolic imagery used within the traditional Xhosa beadworks. I will however be only discussing those which are relevant this research report. 

Ndongeni, S. (2019). Xhosa love dolls , East London Museum. 
The Xhosa love dolls in the picture above were traditional worn by young girls who had the "misfortune" of not receiving a marriage proposal. These were not made by the young woman themselves, but were however made by old woman and were then to be secretly worn around the neck, until such a time the young girl received a marriage proposal.

These dolls were believed to have the ability to attract a husband.These dolls would therefore fall under the classification of spiritual jewellery.