In South Africa we have different tribes and each tribe has their own traditional attire, I am oppsessed!! with our Venda traditional attire. Venda clothing was originally made from wild animal skin, but with the aid of civilisation and modernity, this has change substantially. The traditional dress of Venda girls is a Maredo, which is a small apron used to cover the pubic area. It is made of narrow strips of clothing hanging between the legs in the front and back and over a girdle. As the girls grow and develop breasts, they begin to wear a nwenda around their waist or across one shoulder. This cloth is made from brightly coloured striped fabric. The young females wear bracelets and necklaces made of twisted grass known as vhukunda. They also wear thuthu or shedo, which are pieces of copper twisted around a string of cotton around the ankles and wrists. This Munwenda is usually worn as a skirt or around the shoulders. The upper garment of the Venda women's clothing is made from multi-coloured striped cloth "Wenda". The entire length of cloth may have one strap (bannda) sewn across the top or two straps (mivhofho) on both shoulders to tie the cloth. A traditional garment that was worn only by married women, is a goat skin apron called tshirivha, covering the back and front. On special occasions, married women used to wear a ceremonial back apron made of sheepskin called gwana. Today, a similar garment is made from Wenda cloth.
learn more about our Venda culture and clothing, please use the 'learn more' link below 👇
learn moreCoded by Elelwani Mukondi Tshikosi