George Lilanga was a Tanzanian painter and sculptor, active from the late 1970s and until the early 21st century. He belonged to the Makonde people and lived most of his life in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania.
George Lilanga with one of his paintings by the title: we ndizi anangalia ulimi wangu, unawasha ("Banana look at me, I have the mouth-watering")
The main gate of the Nyumba ya Sanaa cultural centre in Dar es Salaam with sculptures by Lilanga
George Lilanga (right) and fellow painter Patrick Francis Imanjama outside Nyumba ya Sanaa
The Makonde are an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and Kenya. The Makonde developed their culture on the Mueda Plateau in Mozambique. At present they live throughout Tanzania and Mozambique, and have a small presence in Kenya. The Makonde population in Tanzania was estimated in 2001 to be 1,140,000, and the 1997 census in Mozambique put the Makonde population in that country at 233,358, for an estimated total of 1,373,358. The ethnic group is roughly divided by the Ruvuma River; members of the group in Tanzania are referred to as the Makonde, and those in Mozambique as the Maconde. The two groups have developed separate languages over time but share a common origin and culture.
Makonde grainary
modern Makonde wood carvings
