Miserable life for a skilled sculptor

Mr Martin Yohana Liteka displays a certificate he won in a carving competition whose prize won him a month long tour of China in March. In the picture is also a sculpure that he presented in the contest.PHOTO | Saumu Mwalimu 

By Saumu Mwalimu,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Mr Liteka started his art work when he was 15 years old. None of his children has taken after him. “They are not interested and think it is a waste of time considering the poor gains. It is sad that our generation may be the last to carry the tradition forward; it is a pity,” he laments.

Dar es Salaam. Now aged 69, Martin Yohana Liteka is in his twilight years. The many years notwithstanding, the old man continues to do what he loves most – carving sculptures.

He has been in this business for more than half a century and shows no sign of fading away. After all, it has been his only source of income as the sole breadwinner for a family of five.

According to Mr Liteka, the trade has also seen him going places, including overseas with different trips to China and South Korea. In fact, the old man will be making his second trip to China later in March, courtesy of a carving competition in which he emerged tops.

On a few occasions, he has hobnobbed with royalty, often receiving invitations to State House to showcase the trade and hand over souvenirs to visiting presidents and other high-flying dignitaries.

But all that is the glamorous side of his life. The flipside is a story of a struggling artist barely putting food on the table. “I am sustained and motivated to continue by the passion I have developed since childhood for sculpturing,” Mr Liteka told The Citizen on Saturday at his home in unplanned Mbagala suburb.

“Tanzania has a rich history in sculpture. Some of our products are well regarded by visitors from around the world who marvel at the artistry once they encounter us,” he said.

What baffles him, however, is why, despite the apparent popularity of their products, most of those who took sculpturing as a career remain steeped in poverty?

“I think it boils down to our development policies. No one seems to know how or care to help us rise up and make a decent living from our art. We have simply been left to attend government-organised exhibitions and at the mercy of middlemen who live on our sweat as they are better informed,” Mr Liteka said.

For him, the only thing to show for his many years in the trade is his unfinished four-bedroomed family house. “I started building the house in the 1980s and as you can see we moved in and hope one day it will be complete,” he said of the windowless structure where he puts up with his wife, four children and two grandchildren. Part of the house has been turned into his carving space.

All of Mr Liteka’s children did not progress past Standard Seven.  He works alongside Tobias Steven for most of the day spent there.

“Many of my days end without knowing what the future holds. It is not surprising to finish the day without a penny because carving and selling my sculptures is not an easy task,” he says, pointing out that  it is also tedious as it takes five days to months to complete one piece depending on the size and complexity.

Mr Liteka started his art work when he was 15 years old. None of his children has taken after him. “They are not interested and think it is a waste of time considering the poor gains. It is sad that our generation may be the last to carry the tradition forward; it is a pity,” he laments.