Just 35km from Francistown on the way to the Ramokgwebana border gate is a small village called Siviya.Although the origins of the approximately 500 people who sojourn in the little-known area are shrouded in mystery, they have been identified as one of the Nguni tribes - the Ndebele people, an offshoot of the Nguni people of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Ndebele are a branch of the Zulus who split from King Shaka in the early 1820s under the leadership of Mzilikazi, a former general in Shaka's army. Now, for a 25-year-old, who was born and grew up in Botswana all his life, to dedicate an art talent to preserving that culture is definitely enigmatic. And Fikile 'Too-short' Mabula considers it some sort of 'exclusive right' to be that one budding artist to preserve a culture he has only heard of from his gramps.
"Ndebeles are not known in Botswana - historically the migration went to Zimbabwe but some of us remained in Siviya," he says with pride.A quick run through his work shows he hardly uses dark colours. The dominant colours in his work are primary colours: red, yellow and blue.Admittedly, he will use any of those colours even in places seemingly unrelated."I can draw a figure of a woman and paint it blue." His explanation is that Ndebeles are colourful and creative. The Ndebele people are well-known for their artistic talent - especially with regard to their painted houses and colourful beadwork. For over 100 years, Mabula says, the Ndebele in neighbouring South Africa have decorated the outside of their homes with designs.
