The inspiration behind the colors of traditional African architecture

Ndebele homes

The Ndebele are an ethnic group that originated in the southern parts of Zimbabwe and the northern part of South Africa in the eighteenth century.

They are known for their territorial dispute with the neighboring Boer tribe,

which led to the loss of their homelands. As a result,

their people were forced to work as indentured labourers.

During this period of subjugation, the Ndebele people discovered their own art form of colour.

The women in the community painted their homes with patterns and colors

as a discreet way of expressing grief and cultural resistance under the control of the Boer planters.

They started with natural earth tones of black and white and crafted them with extreme precision to express geometric patterns.

Over the generations, this color pattern has grown into a 5-color system:

Black represents people in the spiritual realm, white symbolizes purity,

and red represents passion and strength.

Yellow represents fertility and hope, and green represents land and agriculture.

Weaving these colors and their symbolic meanings through geometry is a form of language for the Ndebele people.

With their homes as a canvas,

they express colorful patterns that can convey the status of the homeowner,

Or announcing marriage, or praying, or protesting.

Although Ndebele Color Patterns are now popular all over the world and have been applied in the design of products such as cars and aircraft,

Her inspiration, however, reminds us of how color can be used in architecture beyond an element of decoration and also as a language.

Nuba houses

Nubia is one of the oldest civilizations of the Nile Valley, located in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt.

With a history that can be traced back to at least 2000 BC through antiquities,

artifacts, and written records, it has linked history with ancient Egypt,

Because of territorial disputes and disagreement over control of trade routes and competition for leadership.

The tribe’s exploration of color in architecture is a product of recent history.

As a result of the flooding from the High Dam,

the Nubians had to move to new areas between Aswan (Egypt) and the second cataract on the Nile (Sudan),

Where they built 35,000 homes.

They have preserved the traditional Nubian architectural character represented by the use of dried mud bricks and vaulted ceilings,

But they added a large number of bright colors, symbols,

and geometric patterns to the exterior facades of their homes.

Most of the paintings and decorations on the houses were based on religious connotations,

such as an eye painted with wall paintings depicting the hand of Fatima or the eye of the Prophet of Islam.

Nubians believe these symbols provide protection against evil forces and use the colors to create envelopes that they believe protect them.

They also use floral motifs on the facades, and some of them contain contemporary elements such as trains, planes, cars, and ships.

Which brings a colorful and cheerful feel to their architecture.