“I am Makonde, I was born a carver following in my family tradition.”

When African artists abandon their traditional tribal sculptures and resort to carving for the tourist market, they invariably conform to a style that shows only slight variations.


Tribal art has been corrupted by commercialism, but behind this repetitive and disappointing art facade, there is art and there are artistic traditions. Very hard to find in today's world, but those artists and their creations do exist.

To discover the art of the Makonde is to dispute the claims that there are no inherited artistic traditions in East Africa. Makonde artists and their art will stand in comparison with any better-known works from the Congo or West Africa. One such artist was  “Inacio Mbanze”.