By
Andrew Mulenga
A
mouse stands casually with his legs crossed in a “4”. His reading glasses show
he is educated, his smart, one button jacket and black shoes radiate class and
the four bottles of beer in his hands mean he has just been paid.
 |
| A penniless monkey pleads for alcohol from an indifferent mousein typical Ngoni-Bemba ‘Chimbuya’ style by an unknown 1980s artist in Lusaka’s Mtendere township |
His
thirsty friend, the monkey walks up to him, empty hands humbly clasped together
in a pleading position with his tail between his legs. A symbol of assumed humility.
The t-shirt, torn trousers and gumboots show he is poor, a humble labourer, or
squandered all his money and is forced downgrade his wardrobe.
Such
a narrative is typical of post-independence Zambian tavern art. And according
to residents of Mtendere township in Lusaka, the rare specimen mentioned here
dates back to the 80s.
The
slightly damaged and heavily discoloured painting is in Drunkards Pub, a time
honoured opaque beer tavern at the So
Chabe complex that has obviously changed names over the years.
Luckily,
unlike many of its kind in taverns across the country, the wall that bears it
has not received a new coat of paint in decades. As a result, the work is quite
well preserved, although chipped and bearing a splash of graffiti or two here
and there.
This
type of painting was commonplace in the 70s, 80s and perhaps early 90s. Not
only did they serve a decorative purpose but would also light heartedly teach patrons
of the taverns to share when they have surplus. In the case of this mouse and
monkey scenario, the latter had a tendency of switching taverns and
disappearing when he has money, only to return to beg when he is broke.
But,
why the use of a mouse and monkey in this allegory you might ask? Without pretending
to be an ethnologist one would say; in the concept of chimbuya or ‘tribal cousinship’ - a playful form of, ‘ethnic
sparring’ enjoyed between Zambian tribes that were at war at least a century
ago; a mouse represents the Ngoni from the east whereas a monkey represents the
Bemba from the north.
It
is not clear why, but the mouse may symbolize the Ngoni because they consider
it a culinary delight and the monkey are supposed to be a delicacy to the Bemba.
But
enough of the symbolism. Although this type of artwork is disappearing in urban
Zambia, it used to be commonplace and it harkens back to colonial times. Times
when Zambia was still Northern Rhodesia and taverns or beer halls were not only
places where hundreds of natives would gather for beer in the evenings but would
also engage in social and political debate.
Arts
expert and Secretary of the Lechwe Art Trust Committee in Lusaka, Roy Kausa
grew up on the copperbelt and shares his take on the evolution of Zambian
tavern art and how it possibly produced one of Zambia’s greatest artists, a man
to whom the design of the country’s most famous monument, the Freedom Statue is
attributed, Akwila Simpasa himself.
“In the late
50s, when he was still in Chamboli (mine township), in Kitwe, Akwila, used to
draw social commentaries on tavern walls in charcoal. The commentaries were
based on the moment, hardships that people would undergo,” he says.
Being in the colonial era, this of
course would have been an outrageous crime attracting severe punishment.
“He couldn’t get arrested because the
community enjoyed what he was doing and when they hear that the Mine Police are
coming they would raise an alarm, quickly help erase the charcoal drawings and hide the artist”. Says Kausa.
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