Azwifarwi Ragimana

Biography

Azwifarwi Ragimana was born in 1962 in Chandama Village in the Limpopo Province. He was schooled at Chandama Primary and Tengua Secondary School. Today, Azwifarwi lives in Allubimbi Village (Limpopo Province), with his wife and four children. As with the majority of rural artists, Azwifarwi has no formal art training.

He started sculpting at the age of fifteen, under the tutelage of Simon Mikosi, who was also his greatest influence. Azwifarwi has continued to master the art of sculpture and he receives his inspiration from his ancestors and the spirits, who he says, “…pass the art on to me… ”. He receives visions, and all preparation for his sculptures are done in his mind - these preparations include actual measurements and proportions to the block of wood that he has found.

Azwifarwi’s tools are primitive, and are primarily hand made, apart from the odd axe, saw, rasp and sandpaper. Azwifarwi’s favored medium is kiaat wood, which he collects from indigenous forests. He only uses dead trees and cuts a section of the tree trunk, which is then transported back to the village where the sculpture will take form. His favourite sculptures are drums, and he performs all the “sound checks” himself. Azwifarwi’s artworks express “…happiness and comfortable surroundings…”

Azwifarwi’s future plans include exhibiting nationally and internationally, and his greatest wish is to have his artworks globally recognized.

AZWIFARWI RAGIMANA
by Dr. Marais

This Venda crafts man is well versed not only in Venda mythology, but also that of other cultures, as demonstrated, for example, by his magnificent carving of Medusa from the Greek mythology, and his group of Adam, Eve and Satan at The Fall, leading to their expulsion from the GARDEN OF EDEN. As will be notice, he Africanized all his subjects: As classical artists like da Vinci and Michelangelo commonly portrayed their Biblical figures with Nordic features, those of Azwifarwi have unquestionable African features.

CREATION OF MAN (THE FALL) - In the group of three portraying The Fall, Adam is the innocent party - Satan and his coterie of serpents first induced Eve to pick the Forbidden Apple, eating his own apple to prove that it was quite safe. Seeing that nothing untoward happened to his mate, both Satan and his serpents then cajole Adam into tasting the apple. According to Azwifarwi, the two upright serpents (with their super natural messages), are also proclaiming, “EAT THE FRUIT, EAT THE FRUIT!” Surrendering to the general appeal, Adam immediately becomes aware of Eve’s femininity and his (dramatized) erection is the sign that SIN has made its debut on earth!

The cage of serpents surrounding Eve and adjoining Satan are carved from the Strangler Fig – a species of Ficus that creeps and leans on other forest trees, and eventually strangulates and kills it’s host. The two groups of serpent figures originated from the Holy Forest, from where, it is not allowed, that even a blade of grass is removed. The two host-trees however, were strangled and fell, obstructing the main trail through the Forest. Special permission was granted by the Forestry Department of Venda to remove them (the two host-trees and the Strangler Fig causing their death were between 30 and 35 metres tall). These trees were growing in the same area at another holy site in Venda – the Fundudzi Lake, and the forbidden cave of the legendary wizard, Tate, who roams the Holy Forest in the guise of a White Lion.

MEDUSA (From the Greek mythology) - One of the three giant Gorgons could turn anyone looking at them into stone. The two brothers were immortal but their sister, Medusa, the only mortal, could only protect herself by petrifying her adversaries at the moment they looked directly at her.

Peruses, however overcame this obstacle by severing her head while looking at her in a mirror, and striking over his shoulder with his sword. The Gorgons are usually portrayed with serpents for hair, but otherwise with classical Grecian features- these, however are Africanized in Azwifarwi’s work.

THE TOKKELOSH - The Tokkelosh is one of the best-known supernatural beings in African mythology, but apart from saying that, it acts on instructions from beings superior to it. Most Africans are not aware that this being’s origin dates back as far as the middle stone age, when it was portrayed on San petroglyphs. This maledictory imp moves around at night on instructions of other beings, and it was common use for Africans to raise their beds on supports to more than a meter high, so that he could do them no harm while they were sleeping. Azwifarwi Ragimana portrayed a Tokkelosh King, the conductor who acts as middleman / getting requests or orders from the other mythical beings (perhaps even witchdoctors), and then passing these orders / requests on to the lower cadres of Tokkeloshes, by means of his serpent messengers. The accompanying outline is of a petroglyph from near Vryburg (Northern Cape Province), just more than 20cm high. The Tokkelosh is supposed to be only knee-high (0-50cm), but the king Tokkelosh (as in the carving) is of human size.