The Ndebele sub-tribes, although, not kindred in origin, language, or culture, are undoubtedly descendants of a proto-Nguni tribe, as are the Xhosa and Zulu, and were resident in what is now KwaZulu-Natal as long as four centuries ago. They originated as a tribal following in 1823 when Mzilikazi, a general under the Zulu King Shaka, fled with his Kumalo clan and renamed them the Ndebele, ‘those who carry long shields’ into what is now the Mpumalanga and Gauteng area. After the British suppressed an 1896 revolt, the Ndebele abandoned warfare, becoming herders and farmers. Ndebele wall painting originated, according to some scholars, as a form of cultural self-expression. As M.C. Clark is mentioning in [1], natural ochres were used to create uncomplicated triangular and V-shaped designs on broad planes of color. The artwork soon became more complex and by the 1970s the style had developed into elaborate designs. Further development occurred when more recognizable paintings (stylized animals, birds, etc.) were introduced. Increasing exposure to urban ways and the availability of synthetic paint the range of both designs and colors expanded to include city scenes and other modern subjects.
Surprisingly, the Ndebele art form is not connected with the mystical and does not possess any sacred significance for the Ndebele themselves. However, for the women, wall painting is important as a celebration of the domestic environment. The Ndebele women use their fingers to apply the pigment and created pictures only to please the eye. Often the male initiation (or wela) became the occasion for either painting or renewing wall decoration, and its completion would always coincide with the family celebrations and ceremonies that mark the culmination of the initiation rites.
Designing tools for painting in virtual environments presents many challenges. The most important being to support the designing, without restricting the artist’s creative process. Commercially available tools are mainly working in a 2 dimensional environment and use specialized interaction devices, like the tablet, to allow sketching