Zambia’s diverse cultures bring with them a wide variety of traditional skills. Crafts can be found in great variety if not in abundance and among them is some of the finest basketry in Africa.
The economy of most of the crafts people is based on fishing, cattle or the cultivation of crops. Craftwork is often done seasonally to supplement the incomes of many families. It was originally intended for barter and made according to the needs of other villagers. To many, especially the subsistence farmers, craftwork is their only means of earning cash.
Basketry, practised by both the men and the women is widespread. The many forms and raw materials used reflect the environment in which they are made: bamboo, liana vines, roots, reeds, grasses, rushes, papyrus palm leaves, bark and sisal. They are decorated with symbolic designs using traditional dyes made from different coloured soils, roots, bark and leaves. The Lozi and Mbunda people in the Western Province are particularly skilled in this field.
It is the men that usually do the woodwork and carving and produce canoes, furniture, walking sticks, utensils and food bowls as well as masks, drums and a variety of animal forms. The potters are usually, though not always, women who work the clay and then fire them on open fires or pits.
Stamps & Postal Products
1970 – Zambian Traditional Crafts
Postcards/Lettercards/Letter Folders
1971 – SAPRA Studio (RZ Series/Type 1) No.100-139
References
- Beautiful Zambia: Arts and Crafts Markets
- Zambia’s Postage Stamps: The Post-Federation Stamp Issues of Northern Rhodesia (1963-1971) – A. R. Drysdall, J. Case