South African Fertility Doll (1999) - KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
This doll was designed and created in KwaZulu-Natal by a participant in the Rural Craft and HIV/AIDS Awareness Project - administered by ML Sultan Technikon in Durban and Middlesex University in London.
Natalia Molebatsi - NU Doctoral Student : Performance Studies
South African Fertility Doll: Literature
The craft tradition of beaded cloth doll making is predominantly practiced by rural women in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. Zulu beadwork patterns have been analyzed as a visual language, consisting of encoded meaning and complex syntax. Present day practitioners have used the art as a “social document” to draw attention to societal inequalities and injustices such as those endured during the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Women power : a contribution to the role of African women during and after Anglo-Zulu conflicts of the 19th century and beyond by Publication Date: Gender & behaviour, 2016, Vol.14 (2), p.7419-7425- The eloquent bead : Zulu women communicate by Publication Date: [2015] Pietermaritzburg : Otterley Press
- Representation and development of a South African identity : a case of Zulu women's dress by Publication Date: [2009] Addis Ababa : Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa
Borders of Beads: Questions of Identity in the Beadwork of the Zulu-Speaking People by Publication Date: African arts, 2005, Vol.38 (2), p.38-93
The "Siyazama" Project: A Traditional Beadwork and AIDS Intervention Program by Publication Date: Design issues, 2004, Vol.20 (2), p.73-89- Syntax and Semantics in a Zulu Bead Colour Communication System by Publication Date: Anthropos, 1995, Vol.90 (4/6), p.391-405
