Acrylic paint on canvas
50cm x 50cm
 
Credo Mutwa (1921-2020) was a Zulu Sanusi, author, artist, and one of South Africa’s most widely known custodians of indigenous knowledge. He dedicated his life to preserving and sharing oral histories, spiritual traditions, and cosmologies that were historically marginalised or silenced.
A gifted storyteller and teacher, Mutwa spoke of ancestry, ritual, healing and the deep relationship between people and land. His work and public life were sometimes debated, reflecting the complexity of carrying ancient knowledge into a modern world shaped by technology and change. His knowledge was vast and experiential, rooted in lived practice rather than written record. This portrait reflects not a mythic figure, but a man bearing memory – one who carried stories forward so they would not be lost.