Ndebele Painted Houses

Ndebele wall painting is done by women, freehand and without stencils or measuring, in hard-edged geometric designs on the outside of houses - originally in earth pigments and lime, later in commercial acrylics, which brought the vivid blues, reds and yellows the style is now known for. The tradition developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the designs carry meaning about the household, though how much is symbolic and how much is aesthetic is discussed differently by different painters. Esther Mahlangu, born 1935, took the style onto canvas and internationally - a BMW art car in 1991, collaborations and museum shows since - and became the tradition's best-known practitioner. Visiting means either a cultural village such as those near Middelburg, or an arranged visit to a working homestead, which is better done through a community organisation than by driving up unannounced.

What you actually see

• The freehand geometry - hard-edged designs painted without stencils or measurement.
• The women painters - a tradition owned and practised by women on their own homes.
• The Mahlangu route - a style taken onto canvas, a BMW art car and museum walls.
• The pigment shift - earth colours giving way to commercial acrylics and brighter designs.

When to go

April to September. Half a day. Arrange visits ahead through a community organisation.

Honest expectations

These are people's homes - do not photograph without asking and paying where a fee is asked. Cultural villages vary from genuine to staged. The tradition is less widespread than tourism images suggest, and many homes are now conventionally painted.

Nearby

Middelburg is the nearest town; Pretoria is west.