Description
Portrait of Ms. Elisabeth, 1998 – Ms. Elisabeth Mahlangu is an Ndzundza Ndebele living in Limpopo Province in the historic Nebo District. She is a co-wife with Ms. Anna to Mr. Robert Mahlangu. She is pictured here before the death of her husband in 2002. At that time she had a brassmaker saw off the lovely, though weighty brass and copper neck rings, which announce her marital status. For centuries, these brass neck rings have been the unique adornment of Ndebele married women in South Africa. Each one weighs a kilo, about 2 pounds.
