A STUDY ON SWAHILI CARVED DOORS IN ZANZIBAR

The study was undertaken in order to find out the impact of stylistic characteristics, patronage, social functions, and media on the creation of the Swahili carved doors in Zanzibar. Although much has been written on the Swahili doors, no framework for analysis has been employed in the analysis. As a work of art, the Swahili carved doors are amenable to critical analysis so as to find out the factors associated with its production. The study was conducted in Zanzibar Island at the Stone Town and Kidimni. There was a total of 32 respondents, distributed as follows: 5 patrons, 8 Swahili door carvers, 5 gallery owners, 2 archive and antiquity officials, 2 Islamic scholars, 2 members of general public, and 8 visual artists. This study was guided by the interview questions and observation schedule conducted. Data collected were coded, transcribed, and grouped into themes with clear, concise, and adequate titles using graphs. The findings show that there was relationship between patronage and stylistic characteristics of Swahili carved doors. The findings also proved that there was a strong relationship between nature of the medium used and social functions of the carved doors. Moreover, the study revealed that religious restrictions of presenting human and animal figures in carving was one of the factors for not depicting fauna but only floral motifs and geometrical patterns. This study, therefore, recommends that door carving skills should be included in the curricula of Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) in order to make the door carving skills widely available or accessible to the public. The study also recommends that TAN TRADE should encourage door carvers to exhibit their doors in international trade fairs in order to expose the carvers to enable them to get commissions and gain publicity both nationally and internationally.