Matopo Women Preserve Ancient Tradition Through ...

Matopo Women Preserve Ancient Tradition Through Art Contest

Zim Now Writer

Peggy Masuku is one of the hundreds of women who participates in the annual paint competition, ‘My Beautiful Home’ contest, in Matopo Hills, a village situated South-East of Bulawayo.

These women compete for the most beautiful natural decoration on walls, houses and granaries, with each edition getting better and better.

The competition aims to rekindle the ancient art of decorating rural homes using materials gathered from the earth.

The process engages villagers to make their houses a place of art and it has deep ancestral roots for villagers like Masuku who won the competition in 2019.

Masuku is one of the contestants who had spent sleepless nights worrying about whether her creative efforts were enough to earn her the prize.

“The ancestors have arrived,” says Masuku as she wakes up early morning to gather seeds from the Mopane tree to stitch together an outfit for her competition so she can stand out from the other women competitors.

“Everyone is an artist. We just need to learn how to see,” she says.

Respect for the natural environment and the traditional way of constructing with mud bricks encourages the village people to become aware of the need for them to contribute to a better and cleaner environment.

Local coordinator Patience Sarif says the competition is also a way women inspire and support each other and the joy that comes when women come together.

“The art aside, this competition is all about community spirit and each woman inspires and supports the next. You can see it in their daily lives.

“Life is hard. They clean, cook, gather water, plough fields and yet still find time to work on beautifying their homes,” she says.

When the summer rains arrive in early November, all the colours and designs will wash away.

“When that happens, I sometimes stand in the rain watching my creation wash away, and I feel sad. But then we start dreaming about what to do next,” Masuku says.

The announcement of the winners and the distribution of the prices is a living testimony of the African philosophy of Ubuntu: “I am because we are.”

The singing, cheers and ululating when participants collect their prizes reflects the huge love for the annual tradition in the village.