"The shortage of urban housing and the accelerated migration to the towns has led to the invasion of large tracts of vacant urban land by squatters who erects shacks (umjondolo). These rectangular makeshift huts are built of wattle stakes and laths and filled with mud, cartons or other discarded materials, and the roofs are of corrugated iron or plastic sheeting." [Oliver P., 1998: Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. The Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge University Press]. The photograph depicts mural paintings on shacks' wall, illustrating how the inhabitants of the settlement have reinterpreted their exposure to two different cultures, one traditional and the other western, and have invested them with their own symbolic meaning. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from January 8, 1947 to end of June 1947.
Local Numbers:
Negative number 24658, C-4A, 3.
General:
Title source: Index card based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
Typed index card reads, "T 5 Ndb. Ndebele. Rhodesia, near the Bembesi River. House. 3/1947. EE. neg.no. 24658, C-4A, 3." The card was written in 1977-79 by Archives staff using source provided by photographer.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
