North-western Zimbabwe Research Articles

Disseminating archaeological heritage knowledge for development in Africa with special reference to Zimbabwe

In recent years, culture has gained recognition as a vital element in sustainable development efforts, both globally through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in Africa through the African Union’s Vision 2063. However, there remains a significant gap between the scientific community and local communities in terms of understanding and benefiting from archaeological heritage resources. This article draws on a research project conducted in north-western Zimbabwe to explore strategies for effectively engaging communities and empowering them with archaeological knowledge that is traditionally confined to academic circles. In doing so, the discussion draws attention to the need for the adoption of more inclusive approaches to the utilisation of archaeological heritage knowledge for community and national development.

The ecology of Nkolola girls’ initiation rites in the Middle Zambezi Valley, northwestern Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT Drawing on five years of intermittent ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the ritual ecology of the Nkolola girls’ initiation practice of the Tonga-speaking people of Mola, Zimbabwe. It focuses on the materiality framework to demonstrate the environmental contingencies of this ritual and how the breakdown of Nkolola indicates an environmental crisis. There are specific materials required for this ritual, but extreme weather patterns such as continuous droughts and heatwaves have made it challenging to gather essential items like red ochre, traditional herbs, firewood, and tree branches, as well as access to perennial rivers and streams needed to properly perform the ritual. The article discusses the importance of these materials in each stage of the ritual, as well as the significant consequences of their absence, including avoidance and delays in conducting the ceremony. It also explores an alternative ritual that is less material-intensive and demanding of natural resources.

Human–Wildlife Conflict, Drought and Chieftainship Illegitimacy in the Zambezi Valley, Northwestern Zimbabwe

Drawing on five years of intermittent ethnographic work at Kariba, I discuss the impoverishment of the Tonga of Mola chiefdom in the context of escalating human–wildlife conflict and frequent drought. I critically examine emerging competing forms of knowledge regarding traditional authority and environmental challenges between the chief and his subjects. I argue that persistent environmental crisis in the region is generating different conflictual forms of knowledge regarding traditional authority. In advancing this argument, I draw extensively upon the broader literature on power, authority and legitimacy. Local people firmly believe that these problems are induced by the current chief’s avoidance and reluctance to enact rainmaking ceremonies and to appease ancestors. I document people’s opinions about the current chief’s ‘rebellious’ behaviour and how they believe it exacerbates their impoverishment and suffering through drought and attacks by animals. I demonstrate why and how the chief’s behaviour contributes to the waning of his authority. The chief offers counter-narratives but, interestingly, both the chief’s and the people’s narratives relate to their relationship with the spirits and ancestors. By documenting these spiritual and religious narratives of human–wildlife conflicts and droughts, I extend the debates on power, knowledge and authority in southern Africa.

Reviving BaTonga culture to support community development: A case of Zambezi Valley communities, Zimbabwe

The Tonga culture in the Zambezi Valley has lost some value due to various driving factors which speeded the atomisation of culture amongst BaTonga people in North-Western Zimbabwe. The main thrust of the paper is to identify major causes of cultural decay in the Zambezi Valley communities, assess the impact of cultural decay and suggest solutions that are aimed at preservation of BaTonga culture in ways that promote community development This study was carried out in the Zambezi Valley communities of Binga, Nyaminyami, and Hwange with a sample size of 30 people targeting Tonga people. Mixed methods and simple statistics were used to quantify the data collected during the research. Ethically, local leadership (chiefs and village heads), heads of departments in the districts were consulted to seek permission to carry out the research. The key informants and focussed group discussion participants were carefully selected to include old men and women who were displaced from Zambezi River during the construction of the Kariba dam in 1950’s as well as group of able-bodied men, women and youth to obtain detailed information on the phenomenon which is under review. The need for this research therefore arose due to unbridled increase in disappearance of cultural values and norms among BaTonga people along Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe. How to cite this article using ASWNet style Muntanga W. (2023). Reviving BaTonga culture to support community development. A case of Zambezi Valley communities, Zimbabwe. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 8(4), 121-126. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v8i4.4 Visit journal website: https://jda.africasocialwork.net

“The Museum is for All Cultures”

Abstract Worldwide, community museums can play an important role in regenerating and safeguarding Indigenous living cultures. The aim of this article is to explore and examine the complex socio-cultural context of the Nambya Community Museum (NCM), located in Hwange district, north-western Zimbabwe. Over the past 18 years, a web of multiple stakeholders has struggled to find common ground on what and whose cultural heritage the NCM should represent. As a result, many often conflicting views and attitudes held by different stakeholders have emerged concerning the present or future status and the purpose of the NCM. In this article we deploy multivocality theory, and rely on qualitative data collected during a large-scale archeological and heritage management research project to present and discuss a wide range of conceptual and practical issues confronting the NCM. We situate this case study within current global conversations about the ideal museum of the present and the future.

After ‘Siziphile’ Land Occupations: Youth Land Occupiers, Livelihoods and the Complex Realities of a Worker-Peasantry in North-Western Zimbabwe

This research tries to reach an understanding of the relationship between youth, land, and livelihoods through an analysis of incidents of land self-provisioning by youth in a former labour reserve. Research was conducted in three villages over a 10-year period following what became known as ‘siziphile’ land occupations. The research contributes to contemporary debates on the youth employment, youth land struggles and livelihoods. This is done through the conceptual understanding of worker-peasantry dynamics. The fact that nearly all land occupants had abandoned the occupied land 10 years after the occupations attests to the complexity of issues around land and livelihoods in a worker-peasantry context. The conclusion emerging from this research is a contestation over the ‘land the economy and economy is land’ narrative, and argues that youth land struggles are not necessarily struggles for livelihoods, particularly among worker-peasants.

An ecological and epidemiological single-season survey of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia positive ticks in Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe.

There is an urgent need for continued research on the ecology of tick-borne diseases in Africa. Our objective was to provide a preliminary description of the ecology and epidemiology of tick species, tick-borne pathogens, and animal hosts in Zimbabwe, focusing efforts at Victoria Falls National Park, for a single season. We tested the hypothesis that tick surveillance and pathogen screening data can be used to model associations among ticks, hosts, and pathogens. We collected ticks from domesticated animals and wildlife in Zimbabwe and screened the ticks for the presence of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia bacteria. Nearly 30% of the screened ticks were PCR-positive; 89% of tick species were PCR-positive, and 88% of animal species carried at least one PCR-positive tick. We sequenced a subset of amplicons that were similar to three Anaplasma species and three Ehrlichia species. The odds of a tick being PCR-positive increased when many ticks were collected from the host or the tick was collected from a cow (domesticated animal). Tick species shared host species more often than expected. We demonstrate that ticks in northwestern Zimbabwe present a One Health problem for nearby wildlife and humans.

Youth, Livelihoods, and Complex Realities in a Former Migrant Labour Reserve in North-western Zimbabwe

Youth, Livelihoods, and Complex Realities in a Former Migrant Labour Reserve in North-western Zimbabwe

Landscape, history and power: The Zimbabwe Culture and the Nambya state, north-western Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT An archaeological identity of the Nambya state in north-western Zimbabwe is attempted by interrogating available oral accounts to determine how monumental stone structures in the region contributed to the development of the historical landscape. The research employs concepts of ‘listening’ to inform the archaeology connected with the state, which is also recalled in the recent histories of the Nambya people. Chronometric dating indicates that the Nambya state developed earlier than previously thought, and a review of the oral accounts indicates very close connections with Great Zimbabwe. It may have been an offshoot of the expansion of the Zimbabwe Culture on the Zimbabwe plateau during the fifteenth century, like the Mutapa state (1400-1900 AD). The clustering of monumental stone structures in north-western Zimbabwe is best informed by oral accounts, which show how royal capitals or palaces, and by extension, state power, shifted from one place to another.

Exploring the Origins and Expansion of the Nyaminyami (Water Spirit) Belief Systems among the BaTonga People of Northwestern Zimbabwe

Abstract Water spirits are an integral part of African traditional religious beliefs and ritual practices. Like many other African traditional religious practices and beliefs, water spirit beliefs are characterized by complex ‘myths’ surrounding their origins. In that regard, this paper explores the origins and expansion of the Nyaminyami (water spirit,) beliefs prevalent among some BaTonga people of northwestern Zimbabwe. It argues that these beliefs were exotic to the BaTonga people. In so doing, it substantiates the assumption by Elizabeth Colson and Thayer Scudder that Nyaminyami was a foreign idea to the BaTonga people. This study brings in new contemporary evidence to substantiate and extend this diffusionist perspective. It provides evidence from ethnographic research conducted among the BaTonga and Shangwe-speaking peoples living in the immediate vicinity of the Kariba Gorge area from April to November 2017. This study also rests on the wider scholarship on water divinities in Africa that explains the emergence of water divinities in different societies through diffusion of ideas. The study further examines the ways by which the cultural borrowing may have occurred, as well as the period and the extent to which the diffusion of ideas occurred, based on the ethnographic evidence.

Stereotyping, Exploitation, and Appropriation of African Traditional Religious Beliefs: The Case of Nyaminyami, Water Spirit, among the Batonga People of Northwestern Zimbabwe, 1860s–1960s

Abstract This article examines the forms of knowledge that existed between Africans and Europeans regarding local indigenous religious beliefs, focusing particularly on the case of Nyaminyami, a water spirit that is part of the belief systems prevalent among some BaTonga people of northwestern Zimbabwe. The article briefly outlines the “traditional” BaTonga beliefs and practices relating to Nyaminyami, which were diametrically opposed to those of the Europeans. It then scrutinizes the ways the beliefs have been exploited and appropriated by different interest groups and races from the 1860s to the 1960s. The BaTonga people, who held strong beliefs in Nyaminyami, and European colonists used the idea of Nyaminyami for different social, political, and environmental agendas prior to, during, and after resettlement. Nyaminyami played changing sociocultural and economic functions for the BaTonga people over time. They revered Nyaminyami as their river god in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; they also appropriated the beliefs by rallying behind the river god for protection from their displacement in 1958 following the construction of the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River. Nyaminyami was also appropriated by European interest groups who used the idea of Nyaminyami to cast Africa as the “dark continent” and to stereotype the BaTonga people as primitive. This article relies on data obtained through a reading of European explorers' texts and by gathering oral traditions among the BaTonga and Shangwe.

Landscape habitat occupancy and distribution of the Wild Ground Pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) in Zimbabwe’s Protected Areas (PAs)

The Smutsia temminckii is the only species of pangolin known to exist in Zimbabwe and is considered vulnerable under the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Distribution of wild S. temminckii in protected areas (PAs) and associated environmental variables are not well defined in Zimbabwe. The study sort to relate key environmental variables (Altitude, rainfall, temperature and vegetation type) to habitat occupancy and distribution of S. temminckii. Data was collected from forty-eight stations based on S.temminckii sightings historical records spanning ten years (2011-2021) done by field rangers, tourists and scientific services research personnel. A review of available literature was done from online sources and station records. A distribution map based on S. temminckii sightings across various PAs in Zimbabwe was developed for this study. Results of this study reveal that S. temminckii occupy PAs in South East low-veld areas, Northwestern Zimbabwe, Mid Zambezi Valley and Nyanga NP. No historical data on S. temminckii sighting in central PAs located in ecological regions IIa, IIb and III of Zimbabwe. Climatic conditions associated with S. temminckii distribution, except for Nyanga NP, are average temperatures above 220C and rainfall between 400mm to 900mm per annum. Landscapes ideal for S. temminckii habitat occupancy have an altitude between 262m-2000m above sea level. Associated vegetation types for habitat occupancy of S. temminckii are the Zambezian and mopane woodlands as well as montane forest grasslands mosaic of Nyanga NP. Future studies should focus on establishing distribution of S. temminckii outside PA, population status and density to inform conservation of this rare and unique species around Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Culture and the development of the Nambya state in north-western Zimbabwe

A multi-disciplinary research project in north-western Zimbabwe focuses on the Nambya state of the Zimbabwe Culture. The new research suggests that the development of the Nambya state was contemporaneous with other Zimbabwe Culture states and not the result of a direct migration from the Great Zimbabwe state.

Disturbance impacts on the persistence niche of key species in the Baikiaea–Guibourtia–Pterocarpus woodlands of north-western Zimbabwe

The persistence niche (studied through different modes of regeneration) of three key species (Baikiaea plurijuga (Harms), Guibourtia coleosperma (Benth.) J. Leonard, and Pterocarpus angolensis) (DC) under five different disturbance regimes (eight years after cessation of disturbance) was studied in the Baikiaea–Guibourtia–Pterocarpus woodlands of north-western Zimbabwe. The disturbance regimes were: protected area (no disturbance); timber concession area (timber harvesting); pole and firewood harvesting sites; abandoned crop fields (after clearing for agriculture); and burnt sites (fire disturbance). Influence of stump diameter and height on regeneration factors was investigated. For each disturbance regime, six main plots (100 m × 100 m) each were systematically laid out (20 m apart) to assess regeneration. In each main plot, 10 m wide transects (5 m apart) were surveyed for seedlings and saplings of the target species (at least 100 plants of each species), resulting in 7 transects per main plot, 42 transects in each study site and 210 transects in total. Number of seedlings with or without a rootstock (i.e., just grown from seed) was recorded. Diameter of stumps was measured at the cut surface. Shoot height was measured from their origin. Each target species was associated with mode of regeneration (χ² = 27 642, p < 0.001). Most plants regenerated from root suckers. Regeneration mode is dependent on disturbance regime (B. plurijuga χ² = 225.66, p < 0.001; G. coleosperma χ² = 158.62, p < 0.001; and P. angolensis χ² = 144.01, p < 0.001). Stump diameter negatively influenced number of sprouts for B. plurijuga and P. angolensis, but positively influenced sprout height for all species. Stump height positively influenced sprout height for G. coleosperma and P. angolensis. The study therefore concludes that disturbances are necessary in facilitating sprouting and growth of suppressed shoots. Stump height and diameter influence the ability of stumps to regrow vegetatively through sprouting. Weak relationships between stump diameter/height and coppice density and shoot height suggest that there are other factors that affect vegetative regrowth through coppicing.

Thayer Scudder’s Four Stage Framework, water resources dispossession and appropriation: the Kariba case

ABSTRACT This article considers how the colonial British government’s appropriation of the Kariba Dam historically excluded the BaTonga people from accessing the dam’s resources. Dispossession and appropriation of the Kariba Dam resulted in the impoverishment of the BaTonga of north-western Zimbabwe. In this study, impoverishment of the BaTonga is understood in relation to their failure to adequately reach Thayer ‘Ted’ Scudder’s stages 3 and 4 of the Four Stages Framework (FSF) of successful resettlement. The article argues that when people are denied access to reservoirs and their resources for both religious and socioeconomic reasons, they hardly pass through the four stages adequately. The article is based on ethnographic research and extensive document analysis conducted among the BaTonga between April and October 2017.

When language revitalisation transcends linguistic issues: Motivations for the revitalisation of Tonga

This article presents findings from research on Tonga language revitalisation. Tonga is a formerly marginalised indigenous language spoken in north-western Zimbabwe. It is part of Zimbabwe’s linguistic ecology comprising 16 officially recognised languages that exist in a polyglossic situation. The Tonga community recently embarked on a bottom-up language planning approach to revitalise their language, contrary to the traditional macro-level language planning, which is normally top-down. Through semi-structured interviews, the study explores the Tonga speakers’ motivations for the revitalisation of their language. The study also aims to test the usability of Karan’s (2008) taxonomy of language choice motivations as presented in his perceived benefit model of language shift. The findings point to the fact that the linguistic war that the Tonga community have been fighting is fuelled by various agendas. Although on the surface the Tonga people seemed to be dealing with a linguistic issue, the ripple effects touch on other pragmatic considerations such as political, social, economic and educational issues, issues that deal directly with end-user needs, both at individual and community level. Karan’s model was found useful in analysing motivations for revitalisation.

The effects of land use and microsite availability on early seedling recruitment of Acacia tortilis (synonym: Vachelia tortilis) in a southern African savanna

Many tree recruitment studies in African savannas target individual factors that limit recruitment, yet recruitment of some species could be limited by an interplay of environmental filters. This study investigated the effects of land use and microsite availability on early seedling recruitment of Acacia tortilis in riverine woodlands in north-western Zimbabwe. The riverine woodlands were divided according to the level of human disturbance into protected and unprotected sites. Each site was further divided into riverine and off riverine microsites. In each microsite, we laid five main plots (100 × 50 m) and nine seedling subplots (5 × 5 m) nested in each main plot, making a total of 60 main plots and 180 subplots. We found higher seedling recruitment in unprotected than protected sites. Although seeder density was twice greater in protected than unprotected sites, seed bank density was lower in the former by a factor of 1.5. Tree cover and herbaceous biomass was 1.4 and 1.8 times greater in protected than unprotected sites, respectively but were negatively correlated with seedling density. Across all microsites, herbivory-related mortality was less than 40% while drought-related mortality was more than 60%. Put together, the results suggest that higher recruitment in unprotected sites was most likely facilitated by domestic ungulates through seed dispersal and grass suppression which enhanced the quality of regeneration sites. We conclude that encroachment of A. tortilis in communal grazing sites is not only important for its conservation but for a variety of goods and services derived from it.

Negotiating Territoriality in North-Western Zimbabwe: Locating The Multiple-Identities of BaTonga, Shangwe, and Karanga in History

Multiple identities are not an event, neither are they overnight occurrences. They undergo constructions and reconstructions over time. The BaTonga, Shangwe, and Karanga speaking people in the Musampakaruma Chiefdom of north-western Zimbabwe are not an exception. Forced colonial displacements and post-independence involuntary (and/or voluntary) migrations resulted in their settling in the Musampakaruma Chiefdom from which they have now come to negotiate for space, and ultimately their identities too, in the Zimbabwean mainstream nation-state making process. For years, these three ethnic groups have had a primodalist alliance to identity wherein their identification with ancestral places of origin appeared to have been common. This, however, has changed as the new terrain has offered them new options prompting rethinking of identity and ethnicity concepts. Using qualitative and historical ethnographic data obtained in Musampakaruma from April to September 2017, this paper reports the historical and contemporary socio-political experiences of the people in the area advancing the multiple identity phenomena. Taking Musampakaruma as a case, the broad nation-state identity is re-engaged in the paper from the perspective of so-called marginalised groups showing that while landscape and socio-ethno-identities are determinants of ‘multi-personalities’, deep theorisation of identity and ethnicity is required in nation-state development because ethnicities are based on interactions resulting in negotiated identities.

English

Anthropogenic disturbances&nbsp; (cultivation, harvesting of poles and firewood and protection) play a pivotal role in the recovery and growth of Baikiaea-Guibourtia-Pterocarpus woodland species. The aim of this study is to determine the reliability of tree growth rings in age determination and average radial growth of re-growing woodland stands. The relationship between stem diameter, number of growth rings, and age of selected stands was also investigated. The research assisted in understanding the growth patterns of the key commercial timber species (Baikiaea plurijuga, Guibourtia coleosperma and Pterocarpus angolensis) of the seasonally dry Baikiaea-Guibourtia-Pterocarpus woodlands around Gwaai and Tsholotsho in north-western Zimbabwe. Tree rings were physically counted on basal stem cross-sections collected from 20 trees of different age, for each species in each disturbance regime. STATISTICA statistical package version 7.0 (StaSoft inc, 1984 - 2006) was used for data analysis. The Simple Regression Model was used to test for relationships. The relationship between age and growth rings, showed a strong correlation (p&lt;0.0001). Diameter and number of growth rings had a poor correlation. This showed that growth rings and not diameter can be used to determine the age of the three key timber species. Mean annual ring width was significantly different between species within the same disturbance category (p&lt;0.005) within a specific stand age. Mean radial growth was highest in abandoned crop fields, compared to pole and firewood collection sites. It was therefore concluded that forest managers need to adopt disturbance regimes that prompt optimal mean radial growth of at least key species in the woodlands. &nbsp; Key words: Disturbance, mean radial growth, tree rings, Baikiaea plurijuga, Guibourtia coleosperma; Pterocarpus angolensis. &nbsp

Exploring Perceptions of Subsistence Farmers in Northwestern Zimbabwe Towards the African Lion (Panthera leo) in the Context of Local Conservation Actions

We explored the perceptions held by subsistence farmers (living in communal lands within the CAMPFIRE programme area in northwestern Zimbabwe) towards the African lion (Panthera leo) and related conservation interventions undertaken by management authorities. Conceptually guided by the cognitive hierarchy, we used a semi-structured, face-to-face interview format to collect data across three different farming communities bordering Hwange and Zambezi National Parks. Ordinal regression models were used to analyse the data. Our results illustrate that farmers' perceptions towards lions were strongly negative and appeared to be associated with the geographic location in which the farmer lived, as well as the farmer's ethnic group. We also found that perceptions towards lions were not associated with specific livestock losses or to the potential benefits farmers received from wildlife conservation, e.g. school classroom blocks or road improvements. Instead, we suggest that fear of lions and perceived risk to livestock or human wellbeing may play a stronger role in shaping farmers' perceptions compared to actual livestock losses. Moreover, we suggest that sharing information across farmer social networks within a community area, along with the potential for media attention over sensational events, may also influence perceptions towards lions. Our results contribute a baseline dataset for future applied research in this area, and provide insight into developing locally-meaningful conservation interventions, including the type of information to be shared, channels for communication, and the benefits derived from participating in wildlife conservation.