INQAWE (SMOKING PIPE) WITH BEADED SLEEVE
[1-3,5,6,8]: INQAWE (SMOKING PIPE) WITH BEADED SLEEVE.
[1-3,5,6,8]: Short stem inqawe in beaded sleeve with handle in @tribalgatheringlondon’s collection
[4,9,10,14-16]: Long pipes, a status of seniority and social standing, smoked by older Xhosa women
[11,17]: A wooden mouthpiece for smoking. Some beaded sleeves included attached mouthpieces showing consideration for the useful accessory in the pipe’s design
[7,12,17]: Beading is a rich Xhosa creative traditionFrom: Xhosa culture, South Africa 🇿🇦 [1-3,5,6,8]: @tribalgatheringlondon
Source [4]: “"X" Is for The Xhosa People” blog (blogspot.com) by Annesphamily on Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Source [7]: Woman beading from Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa 🇿🇦 by EggImages on Alamy
Source [9,10]: Xhosa women smoking pipes. Photograph taken c.1928. “Sacred Pipe Rituals” blog (blogspot.com) by Alice C. Linsley on Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Source [11,12]: @amsterdampipemuseum
Source [13]: An older Xhosa woman standing outside her hut, smoking the long pipe in Mgwali Village, Eastern Cape, South Africa, by Lindsey Frost on Alamy
Source [14]: Frameworthy vintage postcard, 1965
Source [15]: Artco vintage postcard by Calamity Photo on ebay
Source [16]: @university_of_cape_town photography collection
Source [17]: @invaluableofficial
Source notes [9,10]: “Pipe-making among the amaXhosa is a specialized craft traditionally practiced by men only. There are still excellent craftsmen in Xhosaland. Pipe-makers supplement their income by making wooden spoons and yokes for oxen and mending household items like wooden stools.”
Observations: Standardization in design and production, meaningful form (stem length communicates about user), marriage of art, craft, and design (beading), functional ornament (beaded handle), anthropomorphism, zoomorphism, formal contrast, graphic design (beading pattern), material awareness (two-strand handle).