2 Traditional African Zulu Serving Herb Basket/Bowl Set - Great for Kwanzaa

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2 Traditional African Zulu Serving Herb Basket/Bowl Set - Great for Kwanzaa:
$67.00

TRADITIONAL Zulu Storage/Serving Basket Set

Both Bowls are approximately:

3" Tall
7" Diameter

Sometimes you see a Zulu basket and you know you love it.
It is also the only one of its kind in the world..

The Zulus are the largest tribe in Southern Africa, renowned for their artistry and craftsmanship. Many women make beautiful baskets using traditional art forms in order to supplement their incomes. For many this is their only means of support. Women work in their homes, assimilating basket weaving into their normal routines permitting them to raise their children, work in the fields, collect water or do other daily chores. Indigenous raw materials are used in making these hand-woven baskets. It can take up to a month to produce a medium-sized basket with its own unique size, shape and design. Each piece is a true collector's item.

We work with several collectives in South Africa that are helping women and HIV affected individuals to become financially self-sufficient.

Small traditional Zulu herb containers are used to hold culinary and medicinal herbs. Baskets made for holding herbs have a looser weave to allow the herbs to dry, while those made to hold fluids have a tighter weave. This is a lovely, well-made piece and a great value. It is a charming piece and feels good in your hands and is a pleasure to look at.

Traditional Symbols Used in Zulu BasketsDiamondFemaleTriangleMale2 Diamonds
(one above the other)Married Woman2 Triangles
(forming an hourglass)Married Man*Zig ZagsA Male Basket
("Assegais of Shaka")*Diamond VariationsA Feminine Basket
("Shields of Shaka")*These symbols are often combinedfor family baskets. Frequently each family member will have their own basket.Family baskets are commonly used to store dried goods (i.e., nuts, beans,herbs, etc.).

Common Colors Used in Zulu BasketsBrown (Ububende)Palm leaves are kept in muddy soil forup to a weekKhaki Green & Khaki Brown (Mxuba)Palm leaves are soaked and boiled in amixture of cow dung and waterBlack (Omniyama)Palm leaves are first precolored in rivermud and then boiled for 8 hours in a leaf and water mixture from the Umbuquetree.Lilac (Ubukhwebezane)Palm leaves are boiled in a mixture ofcrushed shrub leaves and water.Pale Red (Bomvu)Palm leaves are boiled for 2 days in amixture of crushed Tal shrub leaves and water.

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