Dhlamini, Mbali2016-07-292016-07-292016-07-29http://hdl.handle.net/10539/20778A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Fine Art by Dissertation. Johannesburg 2016Colour has always played an important role in South Africa; from the beginning of colonialism when “Africans” were converted to Christianity and baptised in white robes, to the bright colourful church garments that flood Soweto on Sundays. In the nineteenth century “Africans” began to reimagine their faith and spiritually. Seeking independence and a sense of identity, they began to fuse Western Christian ideologies with “African” spiritual beliefs and attire, which led to the origin of African Independent Churches (AIC). I aim to demonstrate how colour was not only used as a break away from colonial influences, but was also used to portray African spiritual beliefs and to create a distinctive “African” religious identity. This paper aims to study colour usage and it’s meaning within the South African context in order to show how colour use within Apostolic and Zionist movements relates to traditional African spirituality. The paper aims to show how colours used within both movements are symbolic and are thus used as spiritual codes. The paper will look at contemporary colours in order to show how Apostolic and Zionist movements continue to use colour to shape their spiritual identity.enChristian art and symbolismClothing and dress--Symbolic aspects--South AfricaClothing and dress--Social aspects--South AfricaThesis