- Title
- The cultural significance of plant-fiber crafts in Southern Africa: a comparative study of Eswatini, Malawi, and Zimbabwe
- Creator
- Pullanikkatil, Deepa, Thondhlana, Gladman, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/399860
- Identifier
- vital:69564
- Identifier
- xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2021.1998797"
- Description
- Traditional handicrafts made from various plant materials are produced by most cultures around the world. Many originated through symbolic and utilitarian needs that became ritualized through time, thereby gradually attaining greater value as cultural items or symbols rather than solely functional ones. Here we report on a survey of 343 crafters across Eswatini, Malawi, and Zimbabwe in southern Africa regarding the cultural uses and significance of the items they make from wild plant fibers and sell to local communities or tourists. The plant materials used were largely dictated by tradition and local availability and were crafted into a diverse range of products including baskets, mats, brooms, storage containers, hats, fish traps, ornaments, and furniture. Many products had uses and cultural significance at major ceremonies or rituals, such as weddings, funerals, initiation, and divination. The preparation and design of the different crafts were influenced by tradition as well as market demand as indicated by tourist fashions and advice provided by government or non-government agencies to boost income generation from crafts. Although the crafting of cultural objects is increasingly commercialized and subject to the tastes and fashions of tourist markets in the region, the traditional and cultural significance of such artifacts remains widely recognized and valued.
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (17 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Taylor and Francis
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, Pullanikkatil, D., Thondhlana, G. and Shackleton, C., 2021. The cultural significance of plant-fiber crafts in Southern Africa: a comparative study of Eswatini, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 30(4), pp.287-303, Forests, Trees and Livelihoods volume 30 number 4 p. 287 2021 2164-3075
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor and Francis Online Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)
- Rights
- Closed Access
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Collections
Thondhlana, Gladman (Dr)
RU DST/NRF SARChI for Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods
RU Department of Environmental Science
Shackleton, Charles Michael (Distinguished Prof)
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 15. Life On Land
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | The cultural significance of plant-fiber crafts in Southern Africa.pdf | 707 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |