Couvercle "imiteri" · Tanzanie, Haya ou Rwanda / Burundi, Tutsi · ID: 3049735
Dick Meijer, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Description
grass, fibres of banana leaf sheaths,
Extremely intricately crafted, these objects are undoubtedly among the
most imaginative sculptural forms created from plant fibers in the Great
Lakes region. They testify to a high level of craftsmanship and a
pronounced aesthetic sensitivity.
They served as lids for vessels made of gourd (or wood), in which mainly banana beer was stored, but also other liquids of ritual significance (beers made of sorghum, millet or honey and milk).
Although the lids were mainly meant to protect against insects and dust, they were by no means mere household objects. They also embodied the importance attached to drinking banana beer in Haya society. In the context of ceremonial events, the communal drinking of the beer took on a ritual character, which was emphasised by the extraordinarily fine design of the vessel lids.
The projections at the upper end, which are typical for the lids of the vessels, are probably intended to represent horns, which symbolize the cattle that are valued above all else as both the Haya and the Tutsi traditionally lived as cattle breeders and shepherds. High social status depended on the number of cattle a man ownded.
Littérature comparée
Kecskési, Maria, Kunst aus Afrika, München, London, New York 1999, p. 222 Drake Moraga, V., Weaving Abstraction, The Textile Museum Washington, D.C., 2011, p. 209f f. Sibeth, Achim (Hg.), Being object, being art, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin 2009, p. 142 f.