Tonga baskets are baskets woven by the Tonga

Tonga people

The Tonga are an ethnic group living in northern Malawi. A related ethnic group also called the Tonga are found in Zambia and Zimbabwe, with some in Mozambique.-History:...

 women of the Southern Province

Southern Province, Zambia

Southern Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces, and home to Zambia's premier tourist attraction, Mosi-oa-Tunya , shared with Zimbabwe...

 of Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

, who are renowned for their basket weaving

Basket weaving

Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...

. The baskets have a distinctive design with a square bottom forming the foundation of the basket.

It takes approximately two weeks to complete a basket about 35 cm in diameter. The baskets are made from the ilala palm (mapokwe in Tonga), which, although growing freely, is also planted by Tonga women for the purpose of basket making. This re-planting became standard practice in the late 1980s with the opening of the Tonga Craft Center in Binga, Zimbabwe, a center funded by the Danish government

Government of Denmark

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a representative democracy based on a unicameral parliamentary system. The affairs of Government are decided by a Cabinet of Ministers, which is led by a Prime Minister...

, which exports thousands of baskets a year. This craft center not only keeps the traditional crafts alive (basket-making, drum-making, carving

Carving

- Arts :*Bone carving*Chip carving*Gourd carving or Gourd art*Ice carving or Ice sculpture*Ivory carving*Stone carving**Petroglyph*Vegetable carving*Wood carving- Others :*Data carving and/or file carving, two closely related data recovery techniques...

, pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

, and beading), but keeps the women who are involved alive. The Tonga live in an area prone to drought and poverty, and the basket making helps the women feed their families.

Traditionally the baskets were (and still are) used for carrying maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 or sorghum

Sorghum

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

from the fields and then winnowing the grain. Traditional designs includes stripes, a spider web type pattern and a lightning pattern.