Sunday, 24 November 2024

Textile Details

'The Tribulation of Mrs. Rumbidzai', by Kushinga Group, Weya, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Colin Peck)
'The Tribulation of Mrs. Rumbidzai', by Kushinga Group, Weya, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Colin Peck)

 

Title of Textile:The Tribulation of Mrs. Rumbidzai
Maker: Weya, Kushinga Group
Country of Origin: Zimbabwe
Year Produced: 1995
Size (cm): 89cm (w) x 62cm (l)
Materials: Scraps of used fabric - both natural and synthetic
Type of Textile: Quilt
Description:

This quilt,an example of Weya Art, tells the story of Mrs. Rumbidzai, who is very sick at home. Her husband, meanwhile, is at a pandari drinking party, where beer is drunk continuously for seven days. There he meets a woman and takes her as his mistress. The relatives of Mrs. Rumbidzai are concerned for her health and come to visit her. They feed her and care for her, telling her husband to chop wood for a fire to keep his wife warm. The husband takes his axe, but rather than chop wood, he meets his mistress. Upon returning to his home, he refuses to sleep with his own wife.

Disgusted, the relatives of Mrs. Rumbidzai carry her to the local clinic in an ox cart. There, they think, she will get proper care. Mrs. Rumbidzai does get the care she needs, and as she gets well, her relatives tell her of her husband's mischief. Her husband, convinced his wife will die of her illness, has brought his mistress into their home.

Finally well, but upset, Mrs. Rumbidzai visits a friend of hers to make a plan that might rid her of her husband's mistress. Together, they gather clothes from Mrs. Rumbidzai's husband and his mistress. They take the clothes to a Nanga (traditional healer) and ask for something to be done. Suddenly, every time her husband touches his mistress, they both become sick and break out in spots. The mistress believes their curse must have something to do with the missing clothes and refuses to see the husband any more. From then on, Mrs. Rumbidzai's husband has treated her very well.

Owner: Women in One World / Frauen in der Einen Welt e.V
Location: Nuremberg, Germany
Original / Replica: Original
Photographer: Colin Peck
Provenance: N/A. (HM0724)



Textile exhibited at: The Art of Survival: International and Irish Quilts, 8/03/2008 - 19/04/2008



Textile Detail Image(s)