Notes

Astrid Haushiku comes from Ngone in the Mashare Constituency of Kavango East Region, Namibia. She is a member of the weavers group started by Charlie Paxton under the auspices of ‘Every River has its People’ project. One of Haushiku’s baskets was part of the 2006 Mud Hut Trading Basket Exhibition at Omba Gallery in Windhoek.

The coiling technique here uses close, simple over-sewing over two rows of the grass core. The Kavango weavers have become famous for their fine tight coiling technique with very thin core bundles. This type of coiling takes great patience and skill, which was encouraged initially by Karin le Roux of the Rössing Foundation and later through the dedication and support of Charlie Paxton and Christina Shitoka. The start of the basket is a true weaving technique because the warp and weft elements are interwoven at right angles using an over-one-under-one weaving style. The chequer weave or checkerwork technique, is called “crab start” by the Shambyu women, as it represents the small crabs found in the Okavango River. The dark brown colour is obtained from the palm leaves boiled with the bark of Euclea divinorum tree roots. The red-brown colour from the palm leaves boiled with Berchemia discolor tree bark. The yellow-brown mustard colour is from the Diospyros lyciodes roots and leaves.

- Dr Elizabeth Terry

Provenance

Dr Elizabeth Terry Collection.