These two mats, tell the story of their intimate relationship through font and spoken words. They materialise the Kiswahili oral-literary device of call-and-response that characterises personal relationships between two people or parties.
Despite displaying two completely different handwritings with totally different patterns and weaving designs, they are linked to each other through their interwoven poems which talk to one another. The poem on the first mat has prompted the composition of the one on the second. Call-and-response poetry is still common in Kiswahili oral and literary compositions as well as in day-to-day communication. It is highly likely that there were more such mats talking to each other through their interwoven poems, but that they haven’t been found in the same place since each was a gift to another household bringing a message.
The poems on these two mats advise each other on comportment and composed demeanour and argue with one another whether it is only one or none among a thousand who recognises benevolence. They date from the late 19th and early 20th century and originate from the Lamu region. They are currently held in the collections of the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin.
Voice: Najma Mohamed Lali Mahazi
Image credits: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum und Museum für Asiatische Kunst / Martin Franken
Video editing: Rebeca Ofek