Makonde Art Museum (Ise City, Mie Prefecture)

　The Makonde Art Museum has a collection sculptures of "Makonde Tribe" who live on Makonde Plateau in United Republic of Tanzania which located in the southeast of the African continent.

　Since ancient times, the Makonde tribe who are primarily farmers have had the custom of sculptures after farming or during the off-season.

　The themes of the sculptures include the Makonde tribe themselves or local evil spirits known as Shetani, and familiar wild animals.

Wild animal works

　Makonde sculptures are characterized by a caricature (exaggerated expression) style that resembles a deformed caricature.

　Since it is an African continent, the main attraction is a wide variety of wild animals, but there are also many sculptures of local evil spirits as the Shetani.

Evil spirit the Shetani statue

　Once upon a time there were sorcerers in the Makonde's village.

　The Shetani was a familiar figure to the Makonde tribe, they were used to pray for illnesses or injuries or childbirth, etc., and to drive away evil spirits.

Masks for sorcery, etc.

　The Shetani can be bad, but he seems to help people on a whim.

　This may be why the Makonde tribe feel close to them rather than fearing them as mere evil spirits.

　African Ebonies is used for these sculptures.

　It is a hard wood and is characterized by its deep black shine.

　The country was a long-time colony of Germany and Britain before becoming independent in 1961 as Republic of Tanganyika and merging with People's Republic of Zanzibar in 1964 to from United Republic of Tanzania.

　African ebony, a high-quality wood was taken over by the colonial powers that controlled the colonies, so works from that time were made with other woods instead.

　The materials used in the works also provide a glimpse into the history of United Republic of Tanzania.

　The museum also exhibits works by Eduardo Saidi Tingatinga, a painter from the same country.

　Tingatinga's works which ignore perspective , shading, and proportions of the human body, and are painted in solid colors may seem primitive at first glance, but they are tasteful and remind us of Japanese ukiyo-e prints.

　Many works by junior painters from the same area who inherited Tingatinga's style are also on display.​

　At first, the works he sculptured and painted in his own way were simply local souvenirs, but from around the 1970s they were recognised by Westerners as works of art, and are now valued in the world of art.

　This is similar to how everyday items such as Japanese chopsticks and bowls, which are made by craftsmen rather than artists are valued as works of art call "Folk Crafts" or "Crafts".