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Zulu Ricksha Attire
Les Deux Carrosses - Claude Gillot - 1707
Power
Carriages
of the
Mandlakazi
Clan
Japanese
Translation (Jinricksha = Jin "man",
riki
"power"
sha
"carriage")
A moment of contact and
wonder.
 1892
- 1980
We share
with you images from a time now gone. Over the years the owners of Galerie
Ezakwantu have provided both private and public collections in Africa, England
and the United States, with complete Ricksha costumes collected in earlier times.
Contact
us
for the availability of these rarities.
The first ten Ricksha's
imported to Natal arrived in 1892. They were imported by sugar magnate Marshall
Campbell. His daughter Killie Campbell, would later establish the world's
largest library collection of Africana, as well as a world class museum
collection of ethnic artifacts. Her collections were preserved and may be
accessed by appointment at the "The Killie Campbell Library" in
Durban.
Mignon Herring - Killie Campbell - Daphne Stutt
Almost
overnight and to everyone's disbelief ,
the "Ricksha" became Durban's main mode of transportation, both in the city
center and docks. By 1902, 2170 ricksha's crowded the streets, all pulled by what was
literally an army of registered natives. A proposal was made
that these pullers were to wear uniforms. A law was passed to this end, apparently so that the
police could recognize pullers from other natives. The uniform was an ordinary unbleached
calico suit, trimmed with a single band of red braid.
On a heartbeat, the
pullers took their new attire further, adding extra braids and wearing bangles
of plaited reeds with seeds which rattled upon white painted lower legs. Two
horns were added to the pullers brow, intended to show the man to be as strong as
an ox. The convenience of movement had become the name of the game.
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By 1918 and due to the advent of the motor car, fierce competition to
the ricksha had surfaced. Horse drawn rickshas had also become popular.
As a result, pullers came under the constant threat of various bye-laws. Strikes
occurred, as well as public petitions in support of the services which ricksha
pullers rendered.
Durban traffic had
also become a problem. By 1930 it was unbearable, with over 9000 motor vehicles and an
excess of 10000 horse drawn vehicles on the city streets. A number of trams and
buses added to ricksha competition. Still the convenience of offering short
journeys in and around the city center kept them somewhat popular.
But the clock ticked on.
By 1940 less than 900 ricksha's were left to work the streets. In an attempt to
boost popularity, pullers attire had become so outrageous that tourists flocked to
have holiday photograph pictures taken. Feathers, quills,
traditional beadwork and other exceptional ornamentation had become the norm.
By this time two distinct groups of pullers
had evolved. Those pullers working the docks and general passengers in the city
were virtually all of Mpondo origin. Those who applied their
services to the tourist trade hailed from the "Mandlakazi Clan" of the
Nongoma area in northern Zululand.
The
decoration of rickshaw pullers became world renown and was a uniquely South African phenomenon . National
Geographic Magazine brought Ricksha's to the attention of the world scene. At
the same time, the Encyclopedia Britannica referred to "Ricksha Boys" as Durban's tourist
attraction to the outside world.
As the
market changed, pullers succumbed to the absence of their former
white clientele. Ricksha's became known as the poor mans taxis. Pullers
abandoned the fiercely competitive scene in droves. Those who stayed on gave fun rides along the beachfront to tourists.
From the 1950's, the
ricksha's presence in the tourist trade became an enterprise in it's own
right. The Mandlakazi
beachfront pullers had now adorned themselves entirely with beaded vests, skirts,
aprons, belts, sheep skin anklets and other accessories, virtually covering
their entire bodies. The headdresses
become enormous, incorporating two to four painted ox horns each.
According to public records, by 1968
there were only 260 rickshaw's in operation, 186 in 1970 and 90 in 1971. At this
time the very last of the Mpondo pullers working around the market area were
reported. By 1975 there were 29 ricksha's
left working the beachfront area. By 1980 10 remained, virtually all in poor condition.
Southern African native beadwork dress had not only emerged
from a century of transformation, but blended into the city of Durban to
become part of
cosmopolitan life. Nowhere in the world was this duplicated.
Three cheers to the old
faces of outrageous Zulu Ricksha fun!
Information and images provided as a service to viewers.
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