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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 13158211, member: 8267&quot;]OK, the book has arrived. Among an in depth presentation of all the basketry techniques observed in southern Africa, there is one brief sentence that mentions the combination of materials shown in your basket. When discussing the use of palm leaves as sewing material in coiled baskets using multiple-strand foundations, the author states -</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;More rarely, for example among the Valenge, palm-leaf strands are used for sewing over a single foundation of the stem of a creeper.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>E.M. Shaw: The Basketwork of Southern Africa Part 1: Technology. pg.193</p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately the author did not include a photograph of an example.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Valenge are a Bantu group, closely related to the Chopi and the Tsonga, who are located in the southern coastal region of Mozambique. Your basket may be an example of a traditional type called a &quot;xirundzu&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Xirundzu baskets are conical and made in varying sizes, the most common being approximately 50-60 cm in diameter and 20 cm high. Baskets, with the exception of a few that use chemical dyes for colouring, are made exclusively from local materials. The majority of baskets are made of only two materials: a thin creeper called titsambe and stripped fronds (palha) from the milala palm. Titsambe is used to make the basic shape structure of the basket, while the palha is used more for decorative purposes. Each region has very distinct ways of making xirundzus. Some areas make baskets exclusively of titsambe, weaving it so closely that the baskets and other items such as cups that are made with this technique are virtually watertight. Other areas apply the palha in textured geometric layers, sometimes colouring the decorative parts in various shades of brown made from dyes derived from roots (nhie). In one area baskets are reinforced with a cross made from bark and decorated with a sisal embroidery. Though a variety of shapes and patterns exist, each area has its own particular type of basket, and within that area basket makers rarely break from the set pattern/shape to experiment with new designs. Interviewed consumers of xirundzus gave very little importance to design of the basket when they bought it.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Fion de Vletter: COPING WITH EXTREME POVERTY THROUGH TRADITIONAL SKILLS: THE CASE OF THE XIRUNDZU BASKET MAKERS OF MOZAMBIQUE, ILO/SAMAT Discussion Paper No.18, 2001</p><p><br /></p><p>This source was found via a search for &quot;xirundzu baskets made in Mozambique&quot;. </p><p>The link to the article from the International Labor Organization (ILO) is titled &quot;Chirundzu Basket Makers in Inhambane&quot;. If you click on it, it will immediately download a pdf file of the article. The article includes additional interesting information, and states that -</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;For some inexplicable reason, xirundzu baskets have, until recently, escaped any sort of recognition by craft purchasers: it can be safely said that almost all xirundzu baskets were made entirely for the traditional purposes of carrying foodstuffs and other material. The baskets are found in only some markets along the main highway EN1 of Inhambane (e.g. Morrumbene and Massinga which are a considerable distance away from the producing areas) and are common in some remote areas such as Mabote and Funhalouro, as well as the interior of Gaza.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Basketry from Mozambique is poorly understood. The British Museum&#039;s online database includes no baskets attributed to the Valenge or Chopi, and only 4 identified as being from Mozambique. I cannot find a Portuguese museum that has an online database.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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