Zanzibar is famous for its intricately carved doors. Even before we got to Zanzibar and were at Fulbright Orientation in Washington, D.C., Brady and I saw our first Zanzibar door at the Smithsonian, as an indication of Zanzibari culture.
Doors, both now and historically, are signifiers of wealth: the more intricately carved the door, the wealthier (or more status-conscious) the owner. Doors also are signifiers of the values and constitution of the household. For people who know the iconography of doors, it is possible to look at a door’s rosettes, anchors, fishes, crosses and more and know how many people were in the family at the time of the building’s construction, what religion the members of the household are, and what profession they practice.
One odd feature of some doors in Zanzibar is the “elephant spike.” Although I’ve heard no credible evidence of there ever having been elephants in Zanzibar, the doors reportedly have spikes to deter elephants from breaking down the door and terrorizing the inhabitants. (I have heard a fairly credible theory that emigrants from a place that does have elephants popularized the style of doors from their home.)
No comments:
Post a Comment