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Background information
Made by: Individual maker unknown This headrest was collected in the late 19th century but headrests have been used in Africa since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. Remains of headrests, once covered in gold foil, have been found in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe dating to the twelfth century A.D. Until very recently they were still in widespread use in eastern and southern Africa. Headrests were used to support the neck or the head during sleep to protect the elaborate hairstyles of their owners. Among the Shona peoples of Zimbabwe only the men owned headrests, which were inherited by male relatives and may have been used by the head of the family as a status symbol. The beautifully carved circular and crossed supports found on Shona headrests have been interpreted as representing persons with outstretched legs and arms supporting the sleeper's heavy head. Joram Mariga, a Shona wood carver, described a headrest to the anthropologist, William Dewey in the 1980s, in the following way: "Mutsago long ago was a woman. Can you see her that which is like a moon [the upper platform]? It's a woman's hand carrying her husband's head. This and that [pointing to the concentric circle motifs on a headrest] are ndoro which were put on the forehead or tied around the neck. Ndoro are for great hunters. You see these scarifications; they are for the hands and face of a woman. These ndoro are used to dream for meat by hombarume [title given to great hunters]. Can you see these, [pointing to the V shape on the base, then said in English] these are female organs." Opinion is divided on the meaning of the concentric circles found on many Shona headrests. Some have interpreted them as representing bodies or breasts, while others believe they are meant to show the discs cut out of the conus shell called ndoro, used as a sign of authority. (In more recent times, some Shona have said how the shells could also have magical powers and may be used for curing and divination ). Another suggestion is that they refer to ripples on a pool made after a stone is thrown into it. The Shona believe that they can contact their ancestors in pools, thus the headrest, when used as a pillow, provides a link with the ancestoral realm. The patterns on the gently reclining seat that directly supports the head may be based on old scarification patterns that women used to beautify their bodies. This is perhaps why men cause so much laughter among the women when they awake with the patterns on their skin. Among the Shona, headrests are thought to aid communication between the living and the dead. In the past headrests were buried with their former owners, but today they are more likely to be inherited by male relatives. In the 1980s, Chief Masarurwa of Nharira, used his grandfather's headrest when praying to his ancestors, opening his prayers by saying: "Grandfather, here is your headrest". The Shona believe that certain knowledge can only be obtained from their ancestors who communicate with them in dreams. Another Shona chief, Chief Nyoka, explained how, after having problems judging legal cases brought before him, he had commissioned a headrest for himself. By sleeping on it, he received dreams which he found useful in helping him make decisions about his cases. Many Shona musicians and blacksmiths also report receiving help from their ancestors by way of dreams. Headrests are also used by spirit mediums who agree that the ancestors communicate with them through the dreams they receive while resting. |