Zimbabwean Stone Sculptures
Zimbabwe literally means "House of Stone". The modern nation took its name from one of the country's
greatest historical and cultural attractions: Great Zimbabwe, the largest ruins in Africa,
a stone castle that covers almost 1,800 acres. It was built over seven centuries ago and may have housed as many as 40,000 people back then.
Over 200 different stone colors have been found and used to create sculptures.
The sculptors respect the stone very much. They believe this natural resource, like all other things around them,
has an innate spiritual life of its own. Fundamental in Shona is the relationship between the visible physical world and
the invisible spiritual world. In this culture, ancestral spirits are very influential and communicate
with the living.. They are thought to
inhabit stones. Although many Zimbabwean beliefs seem
"primitive" or "exotic" to outsiders, their art is powerfully human.
Shona sculpture has become popular over the last 40 years and is now collected internationally. The Shona make up about 75% of the population
and this is where the sculpture gets its name, although sculptors come from neighboring countries and other ethnic groups as well. Sculptures from Zimbabwe
are often extremely beautiful. They convey feelings and experiences basic to human beings,
whatever their cultural background, and evoke feelings of harmony and peace.
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