North-eastern Zimbabwe Research Articles

Aloe inyangensis var. lutea, a new yellow-flowering variety from Nyanga (Inyanga), north-eastern Zimbabwe

Aloe inyangensis var. lutea, a new yellow-flowering variety from Nyanga (Inyanga), north-eastern Zimbabwe

The Mutare–Fingeren dyke swarm: the enigma of the Kalahari Craton's exit from supercontinent Rodinia

Abstract The Rodinia supercontinent broke apart during the Neoproterozoic. Rodinia break-up is associated with widespread intraplate magmatism on many cratons, including the c. 720–719 Ma Franklin large igneous province (LIP) of Laurentia. Coeval magmatism has also been identified recently in Siberia and South China. This extensive magmatism terminates ∼1 myr before the onset of the Sturtian Snowball Earth. However, LIP-scale magmatism and global glaciation are probably related. U–Pb isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) baddeleyite dating herein identifies remnants of a new c. 724–712 Ma LIP on the eastern Kalahari Craton in southern Africa and East Antarctica: the combined Mutare–Fingeren Dyke Swarm. This dyke swarm occurs in northeastern Zimbabwe (Mutare Dyke Swarm) and western Dronning Maud Land (Fingeren Dyke Swarm). It has incompatible element-enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt-like geochemistry, suggesting an asthenospheric mantle source for the LIP. The Mutare–Fingeren LIP probably formed during rifting. This rifting would have occurred almost ∼100 myr earlier than previous estimates in eastern Kalahari. The placement of Kalahari against southeastern Laurentia in Rodinia is also questioned. Proposed alternatives, invoking linking terranes between Kalahari and southwestern Laurentia or close to northwestern Laurentia, also present challenges with no discernible resolution. Nevertheless, LIP-scale magmatism being responsible for the Sturtian Snowball Earth significantly increases.

Taxonomic revision of the mydas-fly genera Eremohaplomydas Bequaert, 1959, Haplomydas Bezzi, 1924, and Lachnocorynus Hesse, 1969 (Insecta, Diptera, Mydidae)

The genera Eremohaplomydas Bequaert, 1959, Haplomydas Bezzi, 1924, and Lachnocorynus Hesse, 1969 (Diptera: Mydidae: Syllegomydinae) are revised. Currently, four species are known from southern Africa, i.e., Eremohaplomydas desertorum Bequaert, 1959 from north-western Namibia, Haplomydas crassipes Bezzi, 1924 widespread in southern Africa, Lachnocorynus chobeensis Hesse, 1969 from northern Botswana, and Lachnocorynus kochi Hesse, 1969 from northern Namibia. Four new species, Eremohaplomydas gobabebensissp. nov. and Eremohaplomydas whartonisp. nov. from the central Namib desert of Namibia, Eremohaplomydas stomachorissp. nov. from the northern Namib desert in Namibia, and Lachnocorynus stenocephalussp. nov. from north-eastern Zimbabwe are described. Lachnocorynus kochi is synonymized with Lachnocorynus chobeensis. Distribution, biology, occurrence in biodiversity hotspots sensu Conservation International and seasonal imago flight activity are discussed. Descriptions/redescriptions, photographs, specimen occurrence data, and identification keys (both dichotomous and matrix-based) to species are provided and made openly accessible in data repositories to support and accelerate future studies of the included taxa. An updated identification key to the Mydidae genera of the Afrotropical Region is provided. The placement of the three genera in the subfamily taxon Syllegomydinae is discussed and several morphological features, such as an extremely reduced proboscis in some species, a unique wing venation in Eremohaplomydas gobabebensissp. nov., and the unique metathoracic coxa, are discussed.

Nyanga pottery and the Manyika ethnohistory: towards a decolonised archaeology of the Nyanga agricultural complex

Ancient pottery from the Nyanga agricultural complex (CE 1300–1900) in north-eastern Zimbabwe enjoys more than a century of archaeological research. Though several studies dedicated to the pottery have expanded the frontiers of knowledge about the peopling of Bantu-speaking agropastoral societies in this part of southern Africa, we know little about the social context in which the pottery was made, distributed, used, and discarded in everyday life. This mostly comes from the fact that the majority of the ceramic studies undertaken were rooted in Eurocentric typological approaches to material culture hence these processes were elided by most researchers. As part of the decolonial turn in African archaeology geared at rethinking our current understanding of the everyday life of precolonial agropastoral societies, we explored the lifecycle of traditional pottery among the Manyika, one of the local communities historically connected to the Nyanga archaeological landscape. The study proffered new dimensions to the previous typological analyses. It revealed a range of everyday roles and cultural contexts that probably shaped the lifecycle of local pottery in ancient Nyanga.

The influence of landscape structure on the diversity of avifauna species in tropical urban areas of Northeastern Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT Variations in avifauna species diversity are subject to environmental factors as well as interactions with other species. We evaluated how landscape structure can influence the composition and distribution of avifauna species groups in a tropical urban landscape from the understudied region of the Harare metropolitan area in Northeastern Zimbabwe. We sampled avifauna species groups and computed patch metrics (size, shape and isolation distance) using remotely sensed data from 35 census plots representing five land use/land cover classes. Using multivariate analysis techniques, we found three habitat patch characteristics distinguishing avifauna species diversity and distribution, namely patch shape complexity (R2 = 0.47–0.64), patch size (R2 = 0.55–0.62) and isolation distance (R2 = 0.73–0.78). In this study, we discuss the implications of these findings with a view to better understanding the effects of urban landscape structure on avifauna species diversity in this understudied region. In particular, contextual landscape features such as native savanna vegetation accompanied by dispersed urban development patterns could mitigate the negative impacts of urbanization on biodiversity. This study may be useful in helping to understand landscape structure–biodiversity linkages in ecosystems outside tropical savannas, as well as in other urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Key policy insights provide empirical information for review of town planning by-laws and align zoning proposals to habitat requirements of avifauna species, inform preparation of environmental action plans to restore degraded landscapes and ecosystems and, inform development of subdivision layout design guidelines by managing the size, shape, isolation distance and LULC composition of habitat fragments.

Gender-biased Street Naming in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: Influential Factors, Features and Future Recommendations

This article explores the present-day problematic of gender-biased street names as prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa’s cityscapes. That is, the abundance of masculine street names as opposed to feminine ones in the urban environments of this region. The article first provides a comparative view on the scope of this toponymic phenomenon in other geographic regions with relation to sub-Saharan Africa. It also identifies few decisive factors in the creation of the gender-biased urban landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa. These factors consist of: recent tendencies in critical toponymy studies; colonial and post-colonial cultures of governmentality; and inadequate urban planning legislation and vision as pertained by post-colonial states. This toponymic problematic is then exemplified in a site-specific analysis of the city of Bindura in north-eastern Zimbabwe. The article concludes with recommendations for designing a more socially inclusive urban management policy in the region, pointing to future research directions of this under-studied phenomenon in critical place-name studies.

Narratives, Rituals and Political Imaginations: The Social and Political World of the Vashona of North-Eastern Zimbabwe from the 16th to the 19th Centuries

This article is about power in pre-colonial polities of the Chishona-speaking people who lived in the north-eastern parts of the Zimbabwean plateau from the late 16th century to the end of the 19th century. It is an examination of how ruling lineages rationalised their claims to authority and how their subjects and others contested those claims. Paying attention to chiefly lineages’ narratives and to ritual politics central to social health and to the actions and voices of individuals for whom rituals were performed, and those who performed them, the article demonstrates the limits of chiefly power and the power of autochthonous communities in these polities. Further, the article addresses questions of gender, fertility, politics and contestations over authority among the pre-colonial inhabitants of the Zimbabwean plateau. In this way, it shifts scholarly attention from ruling families to those who belonged to these communities but were not of the ruling lineages. More importantly, it demonstrates the ways in which we can use oral traditions and archives to write a social history of power among pre-colonial southern Africa’s chieftainship-based polities. The article moves beyond the empire- and dynasty-centric histories of pre-colonial Zimbabwe – histories that turn out to be more about the ruling lineages than they are about the many people who constituted these societies – while privileging local social processes in the making of pre-colonial Zimbabwean polities.

Archaeological implications of ethnographically grounded functional study of pottery from Nyanga, Zimbabwe

The value of typological analyses of pottery in global archaeology is widely acknowledged. However, pottery typologies in southern Africa are frequently criticised for one-dimensionally revealing more about decorations on pots and not their function and meaning to people that made and used them. This motivated an experiment to combine functional and stylistic variables of pottery from modern-day Nyanga district, in north-eastern Zimbabwe to develop alternative ways of approaching archaeological pottery. With the alertness that the present and the past are different, even in contexts of strong cultural continuity, we applied the results of the experiment to a collection of archaeological pottery from Nyanga tradition (CE 1300–1900) sites. For the recent past, the study indicated that vessel shapes strongly correlated with names and functions of pottery across the mundane, ritual and symbolic worlds. Comparisons with the archaeological picture identified a similarity of shapes between the past and the present. This stimulated reflections on a wide array of quotidian roles and functions that pottery fulfilled for Nyanga populations in the deep past. The conclusion to the paper is that functional classifications, particularly when combined with style, are a strong alternative to dominant classification schemes which enlighten more on people and not the vessels. However, the robustness of such an approach must be firmed up with the application of approaches from the material, chemical, and molecular approaches to develop a holistic view of pottery and its role in everyday practice at individual, community and societal levels.

Contamination of soil around an abandoned gold mine tailings dam with trace elements in a small town, northeastern Zimbabwe

Abandoned mine sites are a threat to the quality of the ambient environment. Tailings from an abandoned gold mine were characterised for physicochemical properties. The contamination of soil around a tailings dam with trace elements was assessed using geochemical indices. Tailings had low pH (5.67 ± 0.67), high SO42− content (116.00 ± 23.88 g/kg) and electrical conductivity (3,918.40 ± 673.17 μS/cm). Surrounding soil had elevated concentrations of trace elements which decreased with increasing distance away from the tailings dam, and with increasing depth. The geoaccumulation and degree of contamination indices showed strong to extreme contamination of soil with Cd, Cr and Cu within 10 m from the tailings dam. Soil contamination was high in the downslope and downwind (S, W and SW) directions. Multivariate statistics suggested a common source of Cd, Cu and Pb, the tailings dam. Rehabilitation of the tailings dam may reduce tailings erosion and soil contamination.

Contamination of soil around an abandoned gold mine tailings dam with trace elements in a small town, northeastern Zimbabwe

Contamination of soil around an abandoned gold mine tailings dam with trace elements in a small town, northeastern Zimbabwe

Petrology, geochemistry, and zircon U-Pb geochronology of the Zambezi Belt in Zimbabwe: Implications for terrane assembly in southern Africa

The Zambezi Belt in southern Africa has been regarded as a part of the 570–530 Ma Kuunga Orogen formed by a series of collision of Archean cratons and Proterozoic orogenic belts. Here, we report new petrological, geochemical, and zircon U-Pb geochronological data of various metamorphic rocks (felsic to mafic orthogneiss, pelitic schist, and felsic paragneiss) from the Zambezi Belt in northeastern Zimbabwe, and evaluate the timing and P-T conditions of the collisional event as well as protolith formation. Geochemical data of felsic orthogneiss indicate within-plate granite signature, whereas those of mafic orthogneiss suggest MORB, ocean-island, or within-plate affinities. Metamorphic P-T estimates for orthogneisses indicate significant P-T variation within the study area (700–780 °C/6.7–7.2 kbar to 800–875 °C/10–11 kbar) suggesting that the Zambezi Belt might correspond to a suture zone with several discrete crustal blocks. Zircon cores from felsic orthogneisses yielded two magmatic ages: 2655 ± 21 Ma and 813 ± 5 Ma, which suggests Neoarchean and Early Neoproterozoic crustal growth related to within-plate magmatism. Detrital zircons from metasediments display various ages from Neoarchean to Neoproterozoic (ca. 2700–750 Ma). The Neoarchean (ca. 2700–2630 Ma) and Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2200–1700 Ma) zircons could have been derived from the adjacent Kalahari Craton and the Magondi Belt in Zimbabwe, respectively. The Choma-Kalomo Block and the Lufilian Belt in Zambia might be proximal sources of the Meso- to Neoproterozoic (ca. 1500–950 Ma) and early Neoproterozoic (ca. 900–750 Ma) detrital zircons, respectively. Such detrital zircons from adjacent terranes possibly deposited during late Neoproterozoic (744–670 Ma), and subsequently underwent high-grade metamorphism at 557–555 Ma possibly related to the collision of the Congo and Kalahari Cratons during the latest Neoproterozoic to Cambrian. In contrast, 670–627 Ma metamorphic ages obtained from metasediments are slightly older than previous reports, but consistent with ∼680–650 Ma metamorphic ages reported from different parts of the Kuunga Orogen, suggesting Cryogenian thermal events before the final collision.

The use of indigenous knowledge systems for short and long range rainfall prediction and farmers’ perceptions of science-based seasonal forecasts in Zimbabwe

Purpose This paper aims to document indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) used for short- and long-range rainfall prediction by small holder farmers in three communities of Guruve District, in north-eastern Zimbabwe. The study also investigated farmers’ perceptions of contemporary forecasts and the reliability of both IKS and contemporary forecasts. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected among small holder farmers in Guruve District using household interviews and focus group discussions in three wards in the district, grouped according to their agro-climate into high and low rainfall areas. To get an expert view of the issues, key informant interviews were held with key agricultural extension personnel and traditional leaders. Findings Results obtained showed show high dependence on IKS-based forecasts in the district. Over 80 per cent of the farmers used at least one form of IKS for short- and long-range forecasting, as they are easily understood and applicable to their local situations. Tree phenology, migration and behaviour of some bird species and insects, and observation of atmospheric phenomena were the common indicators used. Tree phenology was the most common with over 80 per cent of farmers using this indicator. While some respondents (60 per cent) viewed forecasts derived from IKS as more reliable than science-based forecasts, 69 per cent preferred an integration of the two methods. Originality/value The simplicity and location specificity of IKS-based forecasts makes them potentially useful to smallholder farmers, climate scientists and policymakers in tracking change in these areas for more effective climate change response strategies and policymaking.

Zimbabwe: Salvaging Vandalised Rock Art at Domboshava National Monument in North-eastern Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Salvaging Vandalised Rock Art at Domboshava National Monument in North-eastern Zimbabwe

An insight into guinea fowl rearing practices and productivity by guinea fowl keepers in Zimbabwe

The production practices used to rear seventy-three guinea fowl flocks in a semi-arid zone in north-eastern Zimbabwe were investigated during the period of June to July 2002. Data were generated using participatory research appraisal techniques. Extensive (scavenging) and semi-intensive rearing systems were the two types of rearing systems practiced, with the former accounting for 81% participants. Both practices farmed an indigenous helmeted guinea fowl (Numidia meleagris). Men managed approximately 69% of flocks while the fowl was reared for cash generation. Average productivity indices were: flock size8±6 birds (range: 2 to 30/keeper); egg production 89±50 eggs (range: 0 to 200 eggs/hen); hatchability 64% (range: 0 to 100%) and keet survival rate 60% (range: 0 to 100%). Provision of supplementary feed was given to birds under the semi-intensive feeding regime. Feed was offered in a haphazard manner and feed offered comprised mainly of crushed maize, millet or sorghum grains. Ethno veterinary services were used as substitute for conventional veterinary support. Housing provided was substandard. From the results, it was inferred that scavenging was the popular rearing system, however, overall flock productivity compromised of immense eggs losses, poor hatchability and high keet mortality; but there is merit to pursue research for better management styles as strategy to enhance productivity. Key words: Guinea fowl, rearing, practice, productivity, rural, Zimbabwe.

O1-S04.01 Increasing adolescent HIV prevalence in Northeastern Zimbabwe: evidence of long-term survivors of mother to child transmission

BackgroundLongitudinal data from eastern Zimbabwe suggested an increase in HIV prevalence among 15 to 17 year olds between 2005 and 2008. Prevalence increased from 1.2% to 2.6% among adolescent males...

Multi-electrode resistivity survey for groundwater exploration in the Harare greenstone belt, Zimbabwe

A multi-electrode resistivity survey, carried out over metasedimentary strata and metavolcanics in the Harare greenstone belt in northeastern Zimbabwe as part of a groundwater resources investigation, illustrates the ability of this technique to produce high-resolution images of the subsurface, which are useful for groundwater resources assessment. The resistivity results provide a clear view of the thickness of the weathered regolith and of the distribution of the various lithological units. Using a combination of apparent formation resistivity and inferred depth of weathering, it is possible to characterize the various lithologies on the geophysical profiles. These assigned lithologies show excellent correlation with the mapped geology, and the main lithologies, metabasalt, meta-arenite, granodiorite and banded iron formation can be clearly identified. The banded iron formation is characterized by low resistivity values, while a combination of the depth of weathering and resistivity values are used to distinguish between the meta-arenite on one hand and the metabasalt and granodiorite on the other. The multi-electrode method is successful in identifying potentially favourable zones for obtaining groundwater, such as areas with a maximum depth of weathered regolith, zones of fracturing and faulting, and high porosity and permeability zones associated with lithological contacts.

SOCIAL BENEFITS OF NATURAL WOODLANDS AND EUCALYPTUS WOODLOTS IN MUKARAKATE, NORTH EASTERN ZIMBABWE

ABSTRACT The social benefits of indigenous miombo woodland resources and exotic Eucalyptus camaldulensis woodlots were investigated in Mukarakate, North Eastern Zimbabwe. The availability of woodland resources and the importance of those resources to different social classes and genders were studied by using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods. Semi-structured interviews were used to clarify the benefits from natural woodlands and exotic plantations, as well as any management problems for eucalyptus woodlots owned by private individuals, educational institutions, and woodlot co-operatives. The availability of most woodland resources had decreased very quickly between 1980 and 1998 and will likely continue to decrease in the future. This has caused problems especially for the poor and women because they were the primary users of many of the non-wood forest products from the miombo woodlands, and these products were getting more and more difficult to find in the area. People from all social classes had established eucalyptus woodlots in the 1980s, but eucalyptus woodlots were not able to provide substitutes for many of the non-wood products that had come from miombo woodlands.

U-Pb zircon ages from a craton-margin archaean orogenic belt in northern Zimbabwe

In northern Zimbabwe, the Archaean Pfunzi Orogen comprises an east-west-trending belt of migmatitic gneisses separating the Zimbabwe Craton from the Pan-African Zambezi Belt farther north. Previously available Rb-Sr dates for the Pfunzi Orogenic Belt have been interpreted to record formation of granulites at ca 3.0 Ga and subsequent amphibolite-facies metamorphism at ca 2.6 Ga. Here the first conventional IDTIMS U-Pb zircon dates for the Pfunzi Belt are reported, from orthogneisses in the eastern part of the belt in northeastern Zimbabwe. Two intrusive masses of granitic and tonalitic gneiss, together with a granitic leucogneiss inferred to have formed by leucosome segregation during migmatisation, yield crystallisation ages of ca 2.62 Ga. These results are interpreted to date a major tectonothermal event along the northern margin of the Zimbabwe Craton, involving regional amphibolite-facies metamorphism and migmatisation, as well as emplacement of compositionally diverse granitoid plutons and retrogression of older granulites. This event is roughly coeval with orogenesis in the Limpopo Belt along the southern craton margin and with emplacement of the craton-wide ca 2.6 Ga Chilimanzi Granite Suite.

Species diversity in Eucalyptus camaldulensis woodlots and miombo woodland in Northeastern Zimbabwe

The tree species diversity, groundvegetation species richness, and soilcharacteristics were studied forEucalyptus camaldulensis woodlots and thenatural miombo woodlands in the Mukarakate Areaof Northeastern Zimbabwe. The woodlandcharacteristics were measured and soil sampleswere taken at a total of thirty-four miombowoodland plots and twenty-seven eucalyptusplantations.

PROVIDING MARKETING INFORMATION TO SMALLHOLDERS IN ZIMBABWE: WHAT CAN THE STATE USEFULLY DO?

In recent decades, significant international assistance has been provided to assist the establishment of market information systems (MISs) in a range of developing countries, including many in Africa. However, experience with state-run MISs, looking to provide current price information to market participants, has not been encouraging. Volatile horticultural markets provide particular challenges for such MISs. Therefore, it is suggested that it might be more appropriate to provide other types of marketing information to inform the production and marketing decisions of smallholder producers. This paper reports on recent efforts by the national extension agency, Agritex, to provide such information to smallholder horticultural producers in two districts of north-eastern Zimbabwe. Drawing on an initial evaluation of this pilot programme, the paper suggests that: 1) in the Zimbabwe case, the extension service may provide a viable vehicle for dissemination of marketing information to smallholder (horticultural) producers; 2) information on new crops and market opportunities is valued more highly by farmers than information on current market prices; 3) such information should complement, not supplant, traditional production extension advice. The paper concludes by considering some of the issues pertaining to the continuation and expansion of the pilot programme.