Becoming Ndebele: The Decorated Homes of Matabeleland

The photos in this exhibit are from Dr. Molife’s dissertation research in 1995-1997. The homes were all painted by women who live in Zimbabwe. The women decorate their homes to show their communities that they maintain a clean, presentable household and are respectable, good women. Historically, in this area, only Ndebele paint their homes, for others to do so is to adopt this ethnicity as one’s own or to “Become Ndebele.”https://vc.bridgew.edu/bsu_art_shows/1020/thumbnail.jp