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vi
C O N T E N T S
Illustrations xiv
Foreword by Matthew W. Mungle xxiii
Preface xxv
Acknowledgments xxvii
FACIAL PLANES 6
CHARACTERISTICS OF COLOR 14
SPACE USAGE 21
VENTILATION 23
CONCLUSION 24
CHARACTER ANALYSIS 27
HEREDITY 29
vii
vi
viii Contents
ETHNICITY 29
ENVIRONMENT 29
TEMPERAMENT 31
HEALTH 34
AGE 35
PHYSIOGNOMY 38
QUICK CHANGES 47
MAKEUP CHARTS 49
WORKSHEETS 49
FOUNDATIONS 55
PROFESSIONAL BRUSHES 56
FACE POWDER 61
EYELINER 62
MASCARA 62
EYELASHES 63
LIP COLOR 64
TATTOOS 72
APPLIANCE MAKEUP 74
AIRBRUSH COSMETICS 74
ix
Contents ix
THE FOUNDATION 81
FACIAL ANALYSIS 86
STIPPLING 111
FOREHEAD 114
EYES 117
EYEBROWS 117
NOSE 119
CHEEKBONES 122
JAWLINE 123
MOUTH 124
CHIN 125
NECK 125
HANDS 125
TEETH 130
x Contents
TATTOOS 160
GELATIN 169
BRUISES 207
BURNS 208
Contents xi
PIMPLES/ACNE 222
SCABS 224
SCARS/WELTS 224
TEETH/DENTURES 228
WARTS/MOLES 239
SCULPTING 289
SILICONE 297
xii Contents
HAIRPIECES 345
Contents xiii
I L L U S T R A T I O N S
Figure 1.1 A diagram of the bones in the skull and hollows (or fossae) 4
Figure 1.2 A skull makeup inspired by Gray’s Anatomy 5
Figure 1.3 A sketch of the planes of the face 6
Figure 1.4 Sketch of the eye 7
Figure 1.5 Sketch of the mouth and chin 7
Figure 1.6 Sketch of the ear 8
Figure 1.7 Half skull makeup 8
Figure 2.1 Color theory illustration 12
Figure 2.2 Characteristics of color illustration 13
Figure 2.3a Cool makeup color palette 14
Figure 2.3b Warm makeup color palette 14
Figure 2.4 Color scheme examples 16
Figure 2.5 Color theory chart 17
Figure 3.1 AMUA beauty makeup classroom 19
Figure 3.2 CSUF makeup classroom 20
Figure 3.3 AMUA demonstration area in the beauty studio 20
Figure 3.4 CSUF makeup classroom with projection screen 21
Figure 3.5 AMUA FX lab student work stations 21
Figure 3.6 AMUA FX lab work station 22
Figure 3.7 CSUF storage room adjoining classroom 22
Figure 3.8 AMUA storage in the wig and hair studio 23
Figure 4.1 Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 28
Figure 4.2 Claire Taylor as Sally Bowles in the musical, Cabaret 30
Figure 4.3 Charl-Johan Lingenfelder as the Emcee in the musical, Cabaret 31
Figure 4.4 Character makeups on the same actor showing differences in age and temperament 32
Figure 4.5 Michelle Lee as Madame Morrible 33
Figure 4.6 Jamie Ann Romero as Viola and Thomas Kent 34
Figure 4.7 Soprano Beverly Sills as Queen Elizabeth I 36
Figure 4.8 Soprano Sondra Radvanovky as Queen Elizabeth I 37
Figure 4.9 The Rocky Horror Show 39
Figure 4.10 Five character makeups on the same actor 39
Figure 5.1 Scene from the Broadway musical, Anastasia 41
Figure 5.2 Makeup face chart for the character, Anastasia 42
Figure 5.3 Makeup face chart for the character, the Dowager 42
Figure 5.4 Costume designer renderings used as character sketches 44
Figure 5.5 Character rendering of Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night 45
Figure 5.6 Costume rendering of Count Dracula 45
xiv
xv
List of Illustrations xv
Figure 8.29 Example of lips made larger with lip liner and lip color 130
Figure 8.30 Creating natural aging on the lips 130
Figure 8.31 Aging the mouth. Painting on wrinkles with highlights and shadows 130
Figure 8.32 Muscles of the neck and jaw 131
Figure 8.33 Neck aged with cake makeup 131
Figure 8.34 Aging hands 131
Figure 8.35 Aging a male hand 132
Figure 8.36 James Black as Scrooge painting his fingernails 132
Figure 8.37 Discoloring the teeth 132
Figure 8.38 Painted character makeup 133
Figure 8.39 Creating a Joker fantasy makeup 134
Figure 8.40 Extreme painted old age 135
Figure 9.1 Glenn Close makeup and hair test for Albert Nobbs 138
Figure 9.2 Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs 138
Figure 9.3 Liquid foundations 139
Figure 9.4 Kryolan HD Micro Foundation Mattifying Liquid 139
Figure 9.5 Ben Nye Media Pro HD Foundation Palette 139
Figure 9.6 Mehron’s Celebré HD Pro Foundation 139
Figure 9.7 Skin care products 140
Figure 9.8 SyncOnSet 141
Figure 9.9 IMATS International Make-up Artist Trade Show 141
Figure 9.10 Makeup artist Stephan Tessier on location 142
Figure 9.11 Healing ointments: Aquaphor and Eucerin 142
Figure 9.12 Primers 143
Figure 9.13 Tinted moisturizer by Kryolan 143
Figure 9.14 Ben Nye Lux Loose Powders 144
Figure 9.15 Make Up For Ever Pressed Finishing Powder 145
Figure 9.16 MAC Pressed Blot Powder 145
Figure 9.17 Too Cool For School Blotting Paper 146
Figure 9.18 Concealer 147
Figure 9.19 Megan Brantley, TV News Anchor 148
Figure 9.20 Makeup artist Stephan Tessier on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation television news set 149
Figure 9.21 Makeup artist Stephan Tessier in the makeup room 152
Figure 9.22 Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm 154
Figure 9.23 Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm 153
Figure 9.24 Makeup application for broadcast television 153
Figure 9.25 Tattoo cover 161
Figure 9.26 Birthmark cover 161
Figure 10.1 Nose putty/scar wax products 167
Figure 10.2 Building up the nose with derma wax over cotton 169
Figure 10.3 Kryolan Rubber Mask Grease Paint Palette 170
Figure 10.4 Noses 171
Figure 10.5 Products used to make gelatin 172
Figure 10.6 Gelatin prosthetic age makeup for Sissy Spacek in the film, Blast from the Past 173
Figure 10.7 Character makeup with old age stipple 174
Figure 10.8 Zombie makeup application 186
Figure 10.9 Kryolan Glatzan plastic cap material, ceramic cap head, plastic cap head 195
Figure 10.10 Baldeze and Q-Ballz 195
xvii
F O R E W O R D
My love for makeup started in 1963 when I was seven years wanted to know if I would be interested in contributing to a
old. I used to watch old Universal Monster movies on television book he was working on at the time. It just happened to be
and it became a staple in my life. My brothers bought a copy the ninth edition of Stage Makeup. I immediately said yes and
of the book Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-up Hand Book by was so excited that I would have a little part in the book that
Dick Smith in 1966 for me and it became my go-to reference introduced me to the art of makeup. For the book, I created
magazine until the fall of 1971 when my drama and English a gelatin prosthetic old age makeup. I began by making a face
teacher introduced me to the fourth edition of Stage Makeup cast, then sculpted the character, made all the molds and then
by Richard Corson. That book became my bible of makeup, my completed the final application.
Holy Grail. In the book there were photos of the prosthetic I am so proud to be participating in this new, exciting
makeup on Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain by my hero, the great all-color edition of Stage Makeup. I know there are many people
Dick Smith. I was enthralled by the way he had made his molds, out there like me who reminisce about which edition they
created the prosthetic appliances, and the application of the learned from and were inspired by. My greatest hope is that this
foam latex pieces. I was sold and knew then and there I wanted edition will be an introduction and provide encouragement to
to become a professional makeup artist. That fourth edition of a new generation of young and talented makeup artists who
Stage Makeup is still in my library today, although it’s a bit worse will one day look back at this eleventh edition of Stage Makeup
for wear now. and remember it as the book that inspired them to enter this
Cut to 1999, I received a call from Jim Glavan who was wonderful world of makeup.
introduced to me by my mentor and teacher, Joe Blasco. Jim Matthew W. Mungle
xxiii
vxi
xv
P R E F A C E
Stage Makeup is intended to be used as a text and as a work objectively. Students seriously interested in makeup as a
reference by actors, and by anyone who might in some way be profession would do well to take courses in freehand drawing
involved with the makeup, whether as a designer, a director, a and to spend some time in art museums, studying paintings and
makeup artist, or a teacher. observing how different artists have achieved their effects. They
As a textbook, it can be used by individuals learning either should also train themselves to observe people wherever they
on their own or in a workshop. Both methods have their go—not just casually, but analytically, noting color and texture of
advantages. In learning by yourself, it’s possible to work at your the skin and hair, conformation of the wrinkles, and size, shape,
own convenience and at your own speed, and to experiment color, texture, and location of any blemishes. Students should
with your own ideas and develop your own techniques. In a also make note of any indications of a possible profession or
workshop that is not always possible. But a workshop does type of work and general lifestyle.
provide the advantage of not only having the guidance of a Students would do well, if they have any talent for it at all,
teacher but of seeing other students’ work and learning from to take a course in acting to help them understand the actor’s
their successes and failures. If you are, or intend to be, an actor, problems. And unless the student has the patience of a saint, the
it is important that you work on your own face rather than compassion of a doting mother, and the meticulous fingers of a
on someone else’s. Only if you are planning to be a makeup jeweler, he or she might do well to consider choosing another
artist or a teacher is it really useful to work on faces other than profession.
your own. R.C.
Whether you are working alone or in a group, taking
photographs of your makeups will enable you to look at your
xxv
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xxivi
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
We are extremely grateful to our new publisher, Focal Press, makeup artists—Tara Cooper, Caleena Horn, Serret Jensen,
for their support of this completely updated full-color edition Allison Lowery, and Jasmin Walsh for their time and enormous
of Stage Makeup. Their enthusiasm to distribute color images talent in providing live, in-studio makeup demonstrations;
throughout the book allowed us the opportunity to expand and Lisa Berczel, Megan Brantley, Raul Cuadra, Joe Dulude II,
upon the many artistic and technical processes already located Nathan Jones, Olga Masurev, Rebecca Morgan, Alison Rainey,
in the various chapters and the freedom to create many and Marie-Laurence Tessier for their generous contributions
new step-by-step lessons using contemporary products and of photographs of their brilliant makeup designs; Dana Nye of
techniques. Our goals were to expand the scope of the book Ben Nye Cosmetic Company and Claudia Longo of Kryolan
to include detailed lessons on makeup design and application, Professional Makeup for their generous contributions of makeup
a new chapter on cross-gender makeup, expanded information products and support; to the theater companies and production
on makeup for film and television, updated lessons on facial hair companies that granted us permissions to use images from
and wigs, and contemporary techniques and products used for their productions—the Glyndebourne Festival, Stratford Festival,
nonrealistic, special effects and prosthetic character makeup. Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Fugard Theatre of Cape Town,
Although the responsibility to keep this wonderful book Pickled Image Limited of the UK, The Victoria Theatre of Victoria,
current has been passed on to the next generation of artist/ Texas, Warner Bros. Distributing, Inc., Disney Enterprises, Feld
teachers, it is our intention that the book retain Richard Entertainment, and Paramount Pictures.
Corson’s makeup techniques, theoretical approach, his spirit, A special thanks to the following artists: the world-
and his voice. In an effort to maintain the high standard of class photographs by Jenny Anderson, Barbara Bordnick,
quality instruction this book has enjoyed, we invited a number of Peter Casolino, Jesse Kramer, Joan Marcus, Matthew Murphy,
individuals, including professional makeup artists, wig designers, Christopher Nelson, Marcio del Nero, and the late Martha
performers, teachers, cosmetic company executives, world- Swope; the estate of Brian Bedford; to the brilliant Glenn Close
class photographers, and theater companies, both national and for personally gifting us images from the film, Albert Nobbs; Jinkx
international, to participate in the revision process. The level Monsoon; and to the brilliant Stephan Tessier, Special Makeup
of enthusiasm was overwhelming. So many were thrilled and Effects Artist and Head of the Makeup Department at CBC
honored to share their expertise with the next generation (Canadian Broadcast Corporation), for generously sharing
of makeup students, teachers, and professionals. There was a photographs from his vast archive and his valuable technical
unanimous expression of pride in the opportunity to give back information. A whole-hearted thank you to my colleagues
to a book that had been their guide and inspiration for their and students in the Department of Theatre and Dance at The
own careers. University of Texas, Austin for their continued support and
We are grateful to all of you: the actors—Chanel, patience.
Vanessa J. Lopez, Cristofer Jean, Jamie Ann Romero, and I want to personally thank three remarkable makeup artists
Britney Simpson for their kindness in permitting numerous for their generous contributions to this edition:
photographs to be taken as they worked on their makeup for
their current productions; Kelly Bland, Andrew Carlson, Jennifer • Academy Award-winning Special Makeup Effects Artist,
Ekoki, John Haas, Joseph Harrington III, Tyler Hollin, Marika Matthew Mungle, for the many step-by-step in-studio
Klein, Connor Sullivan, and YuJung Shen for serving as models makeup demonstrations of his contemporary practice for
in demonstrations of makeup products and techniques; the special effects and prosthetic character makeups.
xxvii
newgenprepdf
xxivi
xxviii Acknowledgments
• Michael Meyer, Director of the Wig and Hair Design at and to Ashley Lords and the talented staff (a big shout out to
the Academy of Makeup Arts, for his complete re-write of Ben Rittenhouse) and students at the Academy of Makeup Arts
Chapters 12 and 13 on Beards and Mustaches, and Wigs. in Nashville, Tennessee for allowing us to observe classes and
interview their brilliant professional educators.
• Tara Cooper, for her insight and contribution of
I would like to acknowledge the generations of students
contemporary practice in film and television makeup.
who have been inspired by this book and who have gone on to
advance the art form through their passion, skill, and ingenuity.
Their enthusiasm, dedication, and passionate support for Thank you Richard Corson, for sharing with us your passion
maintaining Richard Corson’s Stage Makeup as the “Bible” of for Stage Makeup.
makeup books will inspire actors, young makeup artists, and Finally, I would like to dedicate this edition of Stage Makeup,
their teachers for generations. in loving memory, to Broadway legend and musical comedy star,
Thank you to Beverly Norcross for her enthusiastic Carol Channing (1921–2019). “Good-bye, Dolly.”
participation, wisdom, and tireless editing of the manuscript, James Glavan
1
INTROD U CTION
The actor’s dream is to play a wide range of characters, to dressing-room mirrors can be as important to the actors as it
explore many facets of life in roles that encompass all humanity. will later become to the audience.
To fulfill this dream, the actor requires not only talent and The authority of the arch of brow or the sweep of a
training, but an unstinting devotion to the art. profile can be as compelling as Lear’s crown and scepter. The
In many areas of this endeavor, actors are assisted by the psychological effect of shadows and pallor or glowing health can
artistry and technical skills of brilliant craftspeople. From the be as conductive to mood and manner on stage as in life, while
original script to the set, lighting, and costumes, every effort is an important tilt to a nose or the simple graying of the hair will
made to achieve perfection. Curiously, in the field of makeup, inevitably make more specific the delineation of character. The
actors are left quite to their own devices. Except for the rare most detailed characterization can be performed only with full
production so exotic or stylized that a specialist is necessary, freedom and authority when the actors know that visual image
actors must design and execute their own makeup. supports and defines their work.
It is therefore of considerable concern that many young Actors untrained in makeup are deprived of an invaluable
professionals in the theater are unfamiliar with even so aid to their art—and little is done to remedy the situation. Large
elementary a problem as projection of the actors’ features, universities may give courses in makeup intermittently, or not at
essential to the fullest communication of the characters’ inner all. Drama schools often merely glance at the problem or train in
lives. Even on the rare occasions when a professional makeup outmoded techniques.
artist is available, it is still the actors who are more aware It is therefore most exciting and encouraging to all actors
than anyone else of the special problems posed by their own when a book such as this comes to our rescue. Richard Corson’s
features and by the characters they are playing. Thus, it is the approach to makeup is meticulous and eminently practical.
responsibility of each to learn the craft of makeup, that final Perhaps even more important is his stress on the creative aspects
dressing of the character that will enable him or her to perform of makeup and the avoidance of stereotypes and formulae. The
the role as fully and as effectively as possible. insistence on supporting technical skill with imagination and
In addition to such fundamentals as the assimilation and individuality reflects a positive and rewarding approach. With
projection of the character in terms of age, environment, and fullest exploitation of the mind and the senses, an unsuspected
health, there is an area of psychological support that makeup range of roles exists for each of us. It is through the assistance of
can give actors, comparable only to the assistance of a perfect the art and craft of makeup presented in this book that we can
costume. Just as robes or rags can give actors the “feel” of a hope for a more complete realization of our goals in acting.
character, so also can makeup. The visual image reflected in their Uta Hagen
1
2
3
C H AP T E R 1
FAC IAL A N ATOMY
The first step in preparing to study makeup is to examine the features for prosthetics. When a character’s age is advancing,
structure of bone, muscle, and cartilage that lies beneath the the muscles show a loss of tone and begin to sag. Sometimes,
skin. In remodeling a face to fit a particular character, you should in extreme old age, the face can take on the effect of a skull
know how the face is constructed. Even when you are applying draped with skin.
a corrective makeup on yourself, you need to be aware of The cheekbone or zygomatic arch is one of the most
which features you wish to emphasize and those you wish to impor tant bones of the face for the makeup ar tist, and
minimize. Actors, or makeup artists, should familiarize themselves familiarity with its location and shape is essential for
not only with the basic structure of a human face, but also with accurate modeling. Some people have prominent cheekbones
the particular structure of any face they make up, whether it be that are easily observed, but with others the flesh may need
their own or someone else’s. to be prodded with the fingers to find them. In studying the
bones of your own face, you should locate them by feel as
well as by sight. To feel the cheekbone, prod the flesh along
BONES OF THE FACE
the entire length, beginning in front of the ear, until you know
Anatomy is a complex subject and memorizing an exhaustive list its exact shape. Star t with the top of the bone, then feel
of the technical names for all of the bones and muscles of the face how it curves around underneath. Keep prodding along the
is not essential for an actor or makeup artist. There is, for example, bottom until you reach the enlargement of the bone under
no particular virtue in referring to the zygomatic arch when the the eye. Familiarize yourself with the general shape and exact
term cheekbone is simpler and more generally understood. In a location of the bone. Observe the angle of the cheekbone
few instances, however, when the precise location of shadows as it slopes gently down from the ear toward the center of
and highlights is to be discussed, it is advantageous to be able the face.
to refer to the exact area. The term forehead is useful only if we Then there are the hollows in the skull. The orbital
really mean the entire forehead. And in makeup we seldom do. hollows (or eye sockets) are clear-cut and easy to feel with
There are two separate and distinct eminences, the frontal and your finger. The temporal hollows are normally referred to
the superciliary, which must ordinarily be considered separately as the temples. These are not deep, but there is a slight
when highlighting. In some individuals these are clearly defined, depression that tends to show up increasingly with age.
especially when the source of light is directly overhead, forming The infratemporal hollows you will have already found in
a slight shadow between the two. In other individuals the whole the process of prodding the cheekbone. The lack of bony
forehead may be smoothly rounded with no hint of a depression. suppor t here allows the flesh to sink in underneath the
In this case then, the technical terms are useful. cheekbone, resulting in the familiar hollow-cheeked effect.
Familiarity with the bones of the face becomes increasingly In extreme old age or starvation this sinking-in can be
important when applying age makeup, and when sculpting facial considerable.
3
4
FIGURE 1.1 A diagram of the bones of the skull and hollows (or fossae).The maxilla and the mandible are the upper and lower jaws, and the nasal
bone is simply the bony part of the nose.The upper section of the nose is part of the nose and part of the bony structure of the skull. The lower, more
movable part is constructed of cartilage attached to the nasal bone.
5
FIGURE 1.2 A skull makeup inspired by Gray’s Anatomy. Makeup artist, Lisa Berczel.
6
FACIAL PLANES Another way to divide the face and check out the degree of
symmetry is to divide it into three horizontal sections. The first
If you were to divide anyone’s face in half vertically and lay the division begins at the hairline/top of the forehead and ends at
halves on top of one another, you would most likely observe the top of the eye socket, the second picks up there and stops
some remarkable differences between the two sides. Most at the bottom of the nose, and the third division starts there
faces have some degree of asymmetry and we subliminally form and finishes at the bottom of the chin. The width of each of
judgments about beauty based on the amount of symmetry in these sections is usually close to equal. Sometimes there will
the facial features.
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DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.