The End of an Era .............. and A New Beginning

 

We are leaving our Armadale store in Melbourne after many years.

The website is temporarily on hold, and will be back in action in the New Year.

 

Many new products will be available, as well as many favourites.

 

Please look out for them.

 

Our contact details will also change, and will appear on the refreshed site.

 

A heartfelt 'Thank you' to our many loyal customers, who have supported us so well.

 

Don't despair - 'We'll be back!'

How to Paint a Tonga Drum

Here is a drum from northern Zimbabwe being decorated in the traditional patterns and colours.

Everyone gathers round to lend a hand to mix the red oxide, charcoal and white clay, which are the hallmarks of the Tonga drum.

The logs to the left are going to be used shortly, to build a new house. The pointed ends will be driven into the ground to form walls.

The Zambezi river flows along in the valley behind the house. It is the village water supply.

This is a marvelous illustration of African self-sufficiency, which is entirely unavailable in Western urban culture.

Africa - A Colonial Carve-Up

This map of 1888 shows the African continent, seen through European eyes in that period.

The land has been carved up and divided among the British, French, Germans and Belgians.

 

The only exception is Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) which remained independent. 

 

No attention was ever paid to inter-tribal relationships and local ownership.

 

This land grab laid the foundation for a great deal of the conflict which plagued African countries in the 20th century and beyond.

Yet African culture has endured and strengthened in many instances, and has greatly influenced Western Art and Music.

An Ancient, Modern, Concept from Africa

 This is an excellent example of the Art of the Sculptors of West Africa.

It is a mask of the Guro people, carved from wood, with a polychrome finish.

The entire piece is carved from a single wood billet, spectacularly demonstrating the maker's skill.

It depicts the position of the human species within the Creation.

The face is surrounded by animal features, signifying the dependence of people on the creatures around them.

The bird at the top, usually a Hornbill, represents the creatures of the air. 

The Antelope horns show the presence of the creatures of the bush or forest, and the serrations below show the jaws of the crocodile: a creature of the water.

The message is that each depends on the others for existence and survival.

What is done to one, affects all.

Not quite as Old as the Hills .....

 

Africa is considered by most anthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on the earth, with the Human species originating on that continent.

The discoveries of Fossils and of evidence of Human occupation, date from as early as 7 million years ago.

Several species of early ape-like Humans, are thought to have evolved into modern man.

Australopithecus afarensis ( dated to approximately 3.9–3.0 million years BC ), Parnthropus boisei ( c. 2.3–1.4 million years BC ) and Homo ergaster ( c. 1.9 million–600,000 years BC ) have all been documented.

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