African Aesthetics Artefacts from Africa exhibit their cultural context. Indeed, there is value in emphasizing formal aesthetics of objects and their expression of the religious and moral values (Ray, 1993)

There is a moral basis in African aesthetics. One term that epitomises such truth is that in many African languages, there is a common usage of the same word that means good and beautiful. This is in line with the meaning of African Art that is meant to be good and beautiful too. Ideally, it is attractive to the eye and emphatic on morals. The religious and ethical basis of African art explains why the central subject is the figure of a human being. The art usually appears in ritualistic contexts that have to do with the spiritual and moral ideals of humans (Ray, 1993)

It is of essence to show African sculpture such as head dresses and masks at eye level since that is how they are viewed on dancer's heads. African artists have a way of making the headgear as attractive as it can be. They also seek to capture the various aspects as the dancer turns and moves around before their audience (Ray, 1993).

The Great Zimbabwe

The Great Zimbabwe has been lauded as the biggest complex stone carving in the Southern part of African. The name Zimbabwe is derived from Shona and Dzimba, which means a house made of stone. The Great Zimbabwe ruins are evident of an early sophistication in civilization (SAHO, 2011).

Cecil Rhodes occupied preset day Zimbabwe and made it a colony. The area was formerly referred to as Rhodesia for many years until its independence in 1980. Africans lost their rights to own land during the colonial era. They also lost their heritage under imperialism. Although there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Great Zimbabwe was carved by African people, the colonial regime made frantic attempts to conceal such knowledge from the public (SAHO, 2011).

Cecil Rhodes, with like-minded colonial administrators did not want to believe that Africans had such ingenious art skills. Cecil went further to try and corrupt the truth by employing Theodore, a miner, to show that either Phoenicians or Arabs had carved the artefact. Although the colonial government tried desperately to suppress the artistic ingenious and heritage of the people of Zimbabwe, the iconic Great Zimbabwe eventually became evidence and an emphatic demonstration of the achievement and resistance of the African people. The Great Zimbabwe became a symbol of Nationalist resistance against colonial rule and occupation in the 60s and 70s. Zimbabwe managed to attain its independence later and reclaimed its heritage and history. The Great Zimbabwe is a symbol of freedom and the re-emergence of a new state. The state has made no secret of the same by making it an emblem on the banknotes and the national flag.

Trade at the Great Zimbabwe

The original Great Zimbabwe was an affluent centre with an abundance of farming products. It was also a functional link between the inland people's and the Sofala Swahili Kingdom along the Mozambican coast. The Sofala people had experience of trade with East Africans and those of China and India. Several artefacts authenticating such interactions bear testimony to a once prosperous nation. They point to the fact that Great Zimbabwe was an essential centre of trade. One such artefact is a Persian glazed bowl. There are also dishes from the Chinese; many glass beads, cowrie and coral shells, and a coin from Portugal. It is believed that it may have come from Kilwa; a major trading center along the coast of East Africa.

Shona society had a long history of Gold trade and mining. They sold it to the people from the East African coast. Historians estimate that over 1200 reefs of gold had been exploited in the central plateau before the onset of commercial mining of minerals in 1890. The Shona used gold largely for trade purposes. Other notable products in the Shona commercial activities include cotton, ivory, and weaving of cloth. The wealthy people imported fine cloth through the East African coast.

The Kingdom of Zimbabwe ended approximately 1450 AD. It has been speculated that the end was a result of the exhaustion of resources among other reasons. It is possible that people moved to new areas in searc of fresh grazing land (SAHO, 2011)

Conical tower at Great Zimbabwe (Wikipedia)

The Great Zimbabwe was abandoned and parts of the iconic times can be seen in ruins. Many of the structures still stand today though. UNESCO has formally recognized the site as a World...

The massive walls made of stone are amongst the most impressive relics of Great Zimbabwe. Perhaps one of the reasons why it stands out is because its walls are granite; a resource collected from the local area. It was easy to transport the massive slabs (Ancient Origin Members, 2014)
Great Zimbabwe, stone imitation of a wooden lintel (Wikipedia)

Analysts have pointed out that the construction of the Great Zimbabwe took well over 300 hundred years. It has also been noted that the great civilization housed up to 18-000 people. The iconic artefact is rumoured to have been utilized as a political throne that served as the palace of the Monarch of Zimbabwe's. Although it is not known who actually was responsible for the construction of the great Zimbabwe, it has been pointed out that several groups, including the Bantu, could have been involved in its construction. Others include the South African Gekomere from the Lemba ethnic group, Karanga among others (Ancient Origin Members, 2014)

Preserved wall of the Great Zimbabwe ruins (Wikipedia)

From the hillsides and the outstanding and distinctive groupings of architectural prowess, i.e. the Valley Complex, the Hill Complex and the Great enclosure stand out for their magnificence. The three groupings have stirred hot debate as to their essence. Some observers point out that each of the groups is representative of a different king. Each ruler is said to have created a fresh residence after getting the power from the people. The implication of this observation is that the centre and focus of power shifted continuously during the period that the Great Zimbabwe flourished. Each complex appears to have served a specific purpose

(Ancient Origin Members, 2014)

The Hill Complex in the Great Zimbabwe (Wikipedia)

Evidence of those that occupied the Great Zimbabwe has been unearthed from the area. There are figurines of soapstone, iron gongs, pottery, iron, copper, ivory, hoes, spread heads of bronze, ingots of copper, gold beads, crucibles, pendants, sheaths, bracelets and sheaths. Eight Zimbabwe Birds is, perhaps, one of the most popular of the artefacts. These are 16-inch tall figures that were planted on large stone monoliths that measured up to a yard in height. Too bad for researchers and historians, that the discovery did not occur in situ. Therefore, the exact area of placement during the construction it is still unclear. Some evidence suggests that these iconic Zimbabwe birds were strategically placed at the enclosure on the East of the complex on the hill. These pieces of art consist of a combined human and bird features. They have lips in the place of a beak, and five toes in place of claws. They have signified the presence of royalty over the years. If critics and other interested historians and lovers of African aesthetics could unravel the mystery of the exact point of the placement of these Zimbabwe Birds, it would be easy to locate the exact location of the Royal residence of the iconic Great Zimbabwe (Ancient Origin Members, 2014).

Copy of one of the soapstone birds found at the Great Zimbabwe (Wikipedia)

A lot has been rumoured with regard to the decline and eventual end of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe also known as the Great Zimbabwe in this paper. Many observers have cited the possibility of the decline having resulted from the exhaustion of resources that previously funded and kept the economy of the Great Zimbabwe vibrant. Some of the other reasons proposed include the decline of trade from the North. The decline of gold deposits from the local mines is also one of the reasons that have been discussed. The decline of the Great Zimbabwe remains a mystery because the numbers of proposed reasons are many and often contradictory. Some observers say that political unrest, accompanied with famine and ensuing shortage of water caused the erosion of the great culture. They observe that these harsh conditions were good reasons for the migration of the citizens of Great Zimbabwe to other locations to earn a living.

The Great Zimbabwe is a practical journey into human civilization stages. It is a great symbol for the world, the peoples of Zimbabwe, and Africa in general. There is plenty of room for further research to unveil the mysteries of the Great Zimbabwe. There has been a lot of speculation as to why it was built in the first place, what it was used for, its abandonment, uses, and more puzzles. We may never really unravel everything truth about the artefact but we still marvel with amazement, and awe at the great art and beauty…