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Zimbabwe has many different cultures, which may include beliefs and ceremonies, one of them being Shona. Zimbabwe's largest ethnic group is Shona.
The Legacy of a Nation: Delving into the Rich History of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, a name that conjours images of sprawling savannahs, majestic wildlife, and the enigmatic ruins of an ancient city, is a country with a deeply layered past. From its precolonial prosperity and complexity to the trials of colonialism and the eventual tumult of independence and beyond, Zimbabwe's history is a profound story of resilience, endurance, and transformation. In this article, we shall traverse the historical landscape of Zimbabwe, exploring its storied past and the indelible imprint it has left on the present.
The roots of Zimbabwean civilisation stretch far back in time, weaving a tapestry of cultural and political innovation. The tale begins with the Bantu-speaking farmers, who, during the Iron Age, traversed the Limpopo River, infusing the region with new agricultural techniques and ironworking skills (Beach, 1994). These migrants forged the foundation of early Zimbabwe, a cultural legacy evidenced today by the imposing stone walls of Great Zimbabwe, an architectural marvel that stood as the nerve centre of an influential precolonial state, flourishing between the 11th and 15th centuries (Fontein, 2006).
Great Zimbabwe, which gave the modern nation its name, was a political and economic powerhouse, its influence rippling throughout Southern Africa. The city was part of an extensive trading network, exchanging gold, ivory, copper, and iron for luxury goods from as far afield as China and the Persian Gulf, a testament to the globalised world of medieval commerce (Chirikure, 2018). Its ruins, which remain amongst the largest stone structures in Southern Africa, embody the zenith of precolonial Zimbabwean cultural and architectural sophistication.
Source: Beach, D. N. (1994). A Zimbabwean Past: Shona Dynastic Histories and Oral Traditions. Mambo Press. Source: Fontein, J. (2006). Silence, Destruction, and Closure at Great Zimbabwe: Local Narratives of Desecration and Alienation. Journal of Southern African Studies, 32(4), 771-794. Source: Chirikure, S. (2018). Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy. Springer International Publishing.
The arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century marked the beginning of foreign intervention in Zimbabwe. Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries penetrated the hinterland, seeking gold and converts, respectively, but it was not until the late 19th century that European incursions had a seismic impact on the region. The advent of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company heralded a new era, as his charter with Queen Victoria granted the company comprehensive administrative and economic control over the region - a stark departure from the sovereignty known by the likes of Great Zimbabwe (Palmer, 1977).
Rhodes' legacy is fraught with controversy, emblematic of the era's imperialism and the grievous repercussions for indigenous populations. Land was appropriated, local governance structures undermined, and the native Shona and Ndebele peoples consigned to an existence of subjugation and exploitation (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2009). The forced labour and taxation policies imposed by the British South Africa Company fomented discontent, culminating in the Chimurenga, or First War of Liberation, a vehement but ultimately vanquished resistance against colonial rule (Ranger, 1985).
Source: Palmer, R. (1977). Land and Racial Domination in Rhodesia. London: Heinemann. Source: Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. (2009). Do 'Zimbabweans' Exist? Trajectories of Nationalism, National Identity Formation and Crisis in a Postcolonial State. Peter Lang. Source: Ranger, T. (1985). The Invention of Tribalism in Zimbabwe. Gweru: Mambo Press.
Fast forward to the 20th century, and Zimbabwe's quest for independence intensified. The 1960s and 70s were decades of convulsion, as African nationalist movements challeneged colonial rule throughout the continent. In Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was then known, two main liberation movements, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), orchestrated a protracted guerrilla warfare against the minority white government led by Ian Smith, who had unilaterally declared independence from Britain in 1965 in a bid to prevent black majority rule (Meredith, 2002).
The Liberation War, or Second Chimurenga, was bitter and prolonged, with neighbouring countries providing sanctuary and support for Zimbabwean nationalists. The conflict wore on until the Lancaster House Agreement was signed in 1979, a negotiated settlement that finally paved the way for free elections and the establishment of an independent Zimbabwe in 1980, with ZANU leader Robert Mugabe assuming the mantle of Prime Minister (Sibanda, 2005).
Source: Meredith, M. (2002). Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe. PublicAffairs. Source: Sibanda, E. (2005). The Zimbabwe African People's Union 1961-87: A Political History of Insurgency in Southern Rhodesia. Africa World Press.
The independent era of Zimbabwe has been one of both hope and hardship. Initially, Mugabe implemented policies of reconciliation, infrastructure development, and education, culminating in significant advancements and a burgeoning economy. However, in the subsequent years, political repression grew, economic mismanagement took its toll, and the controversial land reform program at the turn of the millennium led to international sanctions, hyperinflation, and a dramatic decline in living standards (Raftopoulos & Mlambo, 2009). Despite these challenges, Zimbabweans have demonstrated remarkable fortitude, contributing to the arts, sport, and academia with steadfast vigour.
Source: Raftopoulos, B., & Mlambo, A. (2009). Becoming Zimbabwe. A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008. Harare: Weaver Press.
In conclusion, the history of Zimbabwe is one of great achievements and equally profound challenges. Its early societies set the stage for a state that would withstand the test of time. The colonial experience, while devastating, did not obliterate the enduring spirit of the Zimbabwean people. Independence, hard-fought and dearly won, has meant navigating the complexities of self-governance, grappling with legacies of inequality, and contending with the pressures of global politics. As Zimbabwe continues to evolve, its history remains a mirror through which its future is both reflected and shaped.
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Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, [1] Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, "Koisan" (presumably Tsoa), Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, "sign language" (Zimbabwean sign languages), Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa. Much of the population speaks Bantu languages, such as Shona (chishona) (76%) and Ndebele (18%). Shona has a rich oral tradition, which was incorporated into the first Shona novel, Feso by Solomon Mutswairo, published in 1957. English is spoken primarily in the cities, but less so in rural areas. Education in Zimbabwe is taught in English, Shona and Ndebele. Many rural primary schools teach in the native language until grade three; then, school is taught in English. [2]
Like in many African countries, a majority of Zimbabweans depend on staple foods. "Mealie meal", or cornmeal as it is known in other parts of the world, is used to prepare bota, a porridge made by mixing cornmeal with water, to make a thick paste. This is usually flavored with butter or peanut butter. Bota is usually eaten for breakfast. Cornmeal is also used to make sadza , which is usually eaten for dinner, and by many for lunch too. The process of making sadza is similar to bota, however after the paste has been cooking for several minutes, more cornmeal is added to thicken the paste until it is firm. This meal is usually served with vegetables (spinach, chou moellier, or spring greens/collard greens), beans, and meat (stewed, grilled, roasted, or sundried). Sadza is also commonly eaten with boerewors (a sausage made from beef or pork), chicken, or curdled milk (sour milk), commonly known as "lacto" (mukaka wakakora or "amasi"). Rice and chicken with coleslaw salad is often served as the main meal. Graduations, weddings, and any other family gatherings will usually be celebrated with the killing of a goat, sheep, or cow, which will be braaied (or barbecued) for the gathered family.
Since Zimbabwe was a British colony, they have adopted some English habits. For example, most people will have porridge in the morning, however they will still have 10 o'clock tea (midday tea). They will have lunch, which can be leftovers from the night before, freshly cooked sadza, or sandwiches (which is more common in the cities). After lunch, there is usually 4 o'clock tea (afternoon tea), which is served before dinner. It is not uncommon for tea to be had after dinner.
Traditional arts in Zimbabwe include pottery, basketry, textiles, jewelry and carving. Among the distinctive qualities are symmetrically patterned woven baskets and stools carved out of a single piece of wood. Shona sculpture in modern times has become a fusion of African folklore with European influences. It is widely respected across the globe and it itself has had an impact on the global sculpture scene since at least the 1980s. A recurring theme in Zimbabwean art is the metamorphosis of man into beast. Cartwark, M. is of the view that ,A number of finely carved soapstone figures have been found which include eight representations of birds perched on monoliths over one metre (39 inches) in height. The bird is known as the Zimbabwe Bird and does not resemble any bird in nature; it appears on the flag of the country today. Such artefacts as the soapstone figures hint at the ritual nature of the Great Zimbabwe site. Other sculptures include cattle and nude highly-stylised female figures. Simple unglazed pottery of very good quality was produced - very often given a graphite covering and then polished. Forms include gourd-shaped vessels with distinctive hatched triangular decorations, small disks of uncertain purpose, and models of huts.
Among members of the white minority community, theatre has a large following, with numerous theatrical companies performing in Zimbabwe's urban areas.
The country's art is admired by those that know of its existence, and several Zimbabwean artists have managed to gain a world audience. To name some world-famous Zimbabwean sculptors, we have Nicholas, Nesbert and Anderson Mukomberanwa, Tapfuma Gutsa, Henry Munyaradzi, and Locardia Ndandarika. Internationally, Zimbabwean sculptors have managed to influence a new generation of artists, particularly African Americans, through lengthy apprenticeships with master sculptors in Zimbabwe. Contemporary artists, including New York sculptor M. Scott Johnson and California sculptor Russel Albans have learned to fuse both African and Afro-diasporic aesthetics in a way that travels beyond the simplistic mimicry of African Art by some Black artists of past generations in the United States.
Zimbabwe's cultural wall is the durawall.
Until roughly 2,000 years ago, what would become Zimbabwe was populated by ancestors of the San people. Bantu inhabitants of the region arrived and developed ceramic production in the area. A series of trading empires emerged, including the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and Kingdom of Zimbabwe. In the 1880s, the British South Africa Company began its activities in the region, leading to the colonial era in Southern Rhodesia.
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare, and the second largest is Bulawayo.
The Gukurahundi was a series of mass killings in Zimbabwe which were committed from 1982 until the Unity Accord in 1987. The name derives from a Shona-language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains".
The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years by Robert Mugabe, first as prime minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as president from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017, when he was removed as leader.
The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant socialist organisation that fought against white-minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) in 1963. ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole, later respectively called ZANU–PF and ZANU–Ndonga. These two sub-divisions ran separately at the 1980 general election, where ZANU–PF has been in power ever since, and ZANU–Ndonga a minor opposition party.
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) from 1961 until it merged in 1987 with Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) to form ZANU–PF after an internal military crackdown called Gukurahundi in western Zimbabwe, mostly on ethnic Ndebele ZAPU supporters.
Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo is a musician nicknamed "The Lion of Zimbabwe" and "Mukanya" for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music, including his sharp criticism of the government of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. He both created and made popular Chimurenga music, and his slow-moving style and distinctive voice is instantly recognisable to Zimbabweans.
Chimurenga is a word in Shona. The Ndebele equivalent is not as widely used since most Zimbabweans speak Shona; it is Umvukela, meaning "revolutionary struggle" or uprising. In specific historical terms, it also refers to the Ndebele and the Shona insurrections against administration of the British South Africa Company during the late 1890s, the First Chimurenga—and the war fought between African nationalist guerrillas and the predominantly-white Rhodesian government during the 1960s and the 1970s, the Rhodesian Bush War, or the Second Chimurenga/Imvukela.
Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers and are further separated from Midlands by the Shangani River in central Zimbabwe. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people who were called "Amatabele"(people with long spears – Mzilikazi 's group of people who were escaping the Mfecani wars). Other ethnic groups who inhabit parts of Matabeleland include the Tonga, Bakalanga, Venda, Nambya, Khoisan, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and Tsonga.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is the state-owned broadcaster in Zimbabwe. It was established as the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), taking its current name in 1980. Like the RBC before it, the ZBC has been accused of being a government mouthpiece with no editorial independence.
The Ndau are an ethnic group which inhabits the areas in south-eastern South Africa. The name "Ndau" means Land. Just like the Manyika people in northern Manicaland, their name Manyika also meaning "Owners of the Land", the name Ndau means Land. E.g "Ndau yedu" meaning "our land" When the Ngoni observed this, they called them the Ndau people, the name itself meaning the land, the place or the country in their language. Some suggestions are that the name is derived from the Nguni words "Amading'indawo" which means "those looking for a place" as this is what the Gaza Nguni called them and the name then evolved to Ndau. This is erroneous as the natives are described in detail to have already been occupying parts of Zimbabwe and Mozambique in 1500s by Joao dos Santos. The five largest Ndau groups are the Magova; the Mashanga; the Vatomboti, the Madanda and the Teve. Ancient Ndau People met with the Khoi/San during the first trade with the Arabs at Mapungumbwe and its attributed to the Kalanga people not Ndau. They traded with Arabs with “Mpalu” “Njeti” and “Vukotlo’’ these are the red, white and blue coloured cloths together with golden beads. Ndau people traded traditional herbs, spiritual powers, animal skins and bones.
Ugali, also known as posho, nsima, and other names, is a type of corn meal made from maize or corn flour in several African countries, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list.
The Shona people are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily living in Zimbabwe where they form the majority of the population, as well as Mozambique, South Africa, and a worldwide diaspora. There are five major Shona language/dialect clusters: Manyika, Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore, and Ndau.
The Northern Ndebele people are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Significant populations of native speakers of the Northern Ndebele language (siNdebele) are found in Zimbabwe and in South Africa.
Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) was the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), a militant African nationalist organisation that participated in the Rhodesian Bush War against white minority rule of Rhodesia.
Articles related to Zimbabwe include:
The military history of Zimbabwe chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers invasions of native peoples of Africa, encroachment by Europeans, and civil conflict.
Many languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa. The country's main languages are Shona, spoken by only 42% of the population, and Ndebele, spoken by roughly 39%. English is the country's lingua franca, used in government and business and as the main medium of instruction in schools. English is the first language of most white Zimbabweans, and is the second language of a majority of black Zimbabweans. Historically, a minority of white Zimbabweans spoke Afrikaans, Greek, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese, among other languages, while Gujarati and Hindi could be found amongst the country's Indian population. Deaf Zimbabweans commonly use one of several varieties of Zimbabwean Sign Language, with some using American Sign Language. Zimbabwean language data is based on estimates, as Zimbabwe has never conducted a census that enumerated people by language.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist, and as a socialist after the 1990s.
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