Mua Mission

The Mua Mission is a fascinating site for three reasons. The mission by itself has a superb church and a hospital. In addition, the KuNgoni Art Centre is famous for its superb sculptures. Finally, the Chamare Museum is a fascinating look on the Yao and Ngoni cultures.

One surprising aspect of the mission is the mix between traditional beliefs and the Catholic religion of the founding fathers. The cultural museum of Bujora in Tanzania is based on the same mix of cultures and religions.

The KuNgoni Art Centre and the Chamare Museum were founded by Father Claude Boucher, a Quebec priest working on this project since 1976. He is still managing the site.

The mission church.

Inside the church.

Around the village.

Art is everywhere in the village. It can be found at the church, in some houses, at the public garden, at the museum, and everywhere on the ground of the art centre.

The public garden

The garden contains some buildings where people can meet. Even these places are decorated and have numerous sculptures of great quality.

The columns and the door are sculpted and display great artistry.

Columns of a verandah.

The sculptures shop

The shop has a huge quantity of astonishing and complex sculptures. The prices are very decent. Some of the sculptures shown below are sold for $15 - $25.

The shop.

The art gallery

The art gallery contains the best from the artists.

The Chamare Museum

The Chamare Museum is fascinating in part for learning about the Yao and Ngoni cultures, but especially for its collection of Gule Wankulu masks. The 400 masks or so are normally reserved for funerals of important people.

The Chamare Museum.

On the outside wall of the museum, paintings retrace the history of the Ngoni people. In fact, each painting was partially sculpted then painted afterwards.

The room about cultures is very interesting. Please note that each dummy is in fact a superb sculpture.

The Gule Wankulu masks room.