Baobab Collection TRANO MUZI

Product description

MUZI (Limited Edition)

Mint Leaves - Vetiver Roots - Ylang Ylang

Archaic wall painting draws on the four colours used by Ndebele women at a time when they could not get hold of commercial paints and had to make do with natural pigments;brown, oak, red, black and blue. These are the colours used for the raffia collection “TRANO”.

The Muzi scented candle bears the name of the chief of the Ndebele tribe who brought them to settle in the region around Pretoria in 1600. Its geometric pattern of a house roof ends in a wide turquoise stripe evocative of the blue skies of South Africa. Two small houses in hand-lacquered horn are attached like pendants, creating a joyous and decorative effect. 

Inspiration

Baobab Collection have drawn their inspiration from the traditions of the Ndebele women of South Africa. These women have an ancestral know-how that they pass on from mother to daughter. The art of painting the outside walls of their houses with colourful frescoes and geometric patterns. TRANO means house in Malagasy. 

Fragrance

The fruity aroma of the Muzi candle will transport you to a refreshing world of summer citrus.

Usage

Burning Instructions.pdf

Choosing Your Candle Size

Candle Sizes, Weights, Burn Times.pdf

A bit of History

Nowadays, Ndebele art is divided into two styles of mural painting: a traditional style, seen as more archaic, and a contemporary style, seen as less tribal.

Archaic wall painting draws on the four colours used by Ndebele women at a time when they could not get hold of commercial paints and had to make do with natural pigments; brown, oak, red, black and blue. These are the colours used for the raffia collection “TRANO”.

Contemporary wall art came into being when the Ndebele women left their village farms to go and work in the towns. This move gave traditional Ndebele wall painting a new pictorial dimension as the women included motifs in their work that they had seen in town such as aircraft, lamp posts, arrows and electric light bulbs. In step with this modern iconography, new colours available on the market made an appearance – red, pink, green, yellow, violet and turquoise.

With a view to preserving this endangered ancestral art, an association, MTAM (Mpumalanga Traditional Art Market), was created in South Africa. This association enabled Baobab Collection to travel to South Africa and meet the last Ndebele women artists and their daughters, who we hope will carry on the tradition.