The Ndebele Tribe
By Alexandra
- This
is a doll that looks like an Ndebele woman. The Ndebele wear gold rings around
their necks to make them longer, and consider it to be a sign of
beauty. She is also wearing an Ndebele dress that is multi coloured.
Gold used to be fairly common in Zimbabwe, where the Ndebele live, so
gold was not as expensive as you think of it over here.
- The Ndebele live in Zimbabwe. Their custom is to paint their houses, and it is a sign of hard working women if the house is painted well. They paint in intricate designs on the buildings, each one unique.
- The Ndebele paint their houses because it is their custom. They think of it like we would think of our Halloween decorations outside, except they are more important, more time consuming, and more permanent. The Ndebele wear beads too, which they make. For some odd reason, beautiful is not a word they ever use to describe something. The women rule for the most part.
- In the 1800’s the British came over and occupied Zimbabwe. The Ndebele were forced to thieve to survive in those times. In 1896, they revolted against the British, and were finally left in peace. After that, it went back to normal, but tribal differences threatened to split the country apart.
Ndebele | African Tribe | South Africa
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