This single-log wood sculpture was created circa 1970 by Mr. Gablieli Mpakatamwiu, one of the most skillful artists at Boko Estate, a roadside village just outside of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was there that several Mozambican and Tanzanian wood carvers gathered to  work out their ideas and narratives, using very simple hand tools to shape the hard East African ebony wood known as mpingo. This tree-of-life  style, one of several styles for which Makonde sculptors are known, aptly epitomized the spirit of Ujamaa, which captured much of the political spirit of the then recently independent Tanzania.

       The folk expression of strong family bonds are clearly on display in this sculpture, symbolized by the outsized portrayal of an 'mzee' - an African elder -  surrounded by extended family. The members are  shown in unbroken contact with each other with their outstretched arms eventually extend to connect to the elevated figure. One cultural motif  employed by the artist is the technique of rendering the ancestral status of the two elder figures by rendering their enlarged, rough-hewn facial features in contrast  to the smooth rendering of the bodies of the all embracing family members.