Communities
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Masvingo
Chilonga is a place in Chiredzi, Masvingo Province. It is located in the south-eastern parts of Zimbabwe, and neighbours the Gonarezhou National Park, which is close to the border Zimbabwe shares with Mozambique. There we found various dances such as, Xinyambela, Xibhelani Kukadha, Marhula, Tikhomba, Mbeula from the Xangani/Tsonga people.
Matebeleland NORTH
In Hwange, we found the Nambya people. Nambya people originated from Great Zimbabwe. They moved away and established themselves in Hwange. They were among the people who constructed Great Zimbabwe Monuments such as the Nalatali Monuments, Khami Monuments, Shangano Monuments, Matowa Monuments, and Vumbisi Monuments. Unfortunately, the monuments they constructed in the Hwange National Park are being destroyed by the wild animals such as Elephants and Buffalos. Nambya have many dances. There are dances for small kids (bana bathukuthuku) and dances for the youth (mzano yebana vakurana). Some dances are performed after finishing the grain the have harvested is in the granaries. Other dances are performed during spiritual rituals (zvemijimu) such as Mhande, Chiperu, and Marira and when asking for the rain from Mwali (supreme being). The communities we visited showed us dances such as Chiperu, Mhande, Mazenge, Ibhasa and Jiti.
The Tonga people live along Kasambavezi (Zambezi) River and are popularly known as the people of the river (basilwizi). They used to stay along the banks of the river before the construction of Kariba Dam which separated them into two groups, some now living across the Zambezi River in Zambia. However, despite the border marked by colonialism and continued after independence, Tonga people from Zambia and Zimbabwe do not require visas or passports to cross Zambezi to visit their relatives across the river. Many of them can simply cross the river by canoe. We found many Tonga communities in Binga. They showed us many dances such as Ngoma Buntimbe, Chilimba, and Saimpukutumpukutu.
MATEBELELAND SOUTH
Venda people are found concentrated in Beitbridge, which is south of Zimbabwe sharing, the border with South Africa. Many of their relatives are across the Limpopo at the Zimbabwe-South Africa border. Before the nation borders were created, these two communities were one and would visit each other without migration challenges. Dumba, in Beitbridge, is in hot and dry region of the low veld, where the vegetation is mostly Mopani, Acacia, Baobab and the Amarula. The Dumba Dance group featured in the section is made up of elderly women who are usually invited to gatherings for their performances. They do their rehearsals at a local spot on the banks of Dumba River, which is a tributary to the Limpopo River, a few kilometres downstream. This community shared with two dances with us; Chigombela/Chigombera and Marende/Malende.
Bulilima, which is South West of Zimbabwe, along the country’s border with Botswana, is predominantly populated by the Kalanga people.
There are many Kalanga cultural dances (mzano) but most of them are no longer practiced. There are some dances practiced during funerals (dzifa), although christian songs. We met with the Kalanga students of Tjehanga Primary School who invited us to watch them practice Amahossana and also Amatshomane, which is a Xangani hunting dance. This therefore implies the mobility ability of cultural dances and the integration of the society. Cultures borrow from each other and it unites them. Students at Nopemano Primary School showed us the Kwayara dance.
MANICALAND
People of Ndau culture were taught Shona in school and are still taught Shona even though the language has been recognized as a separate language. This is mainly because Ndau people are still working on modalities to produce literature for people to learn from. Ndau people are found on the borderlines of Mozambique and Zimbabwe in Chimanimani and Chipinge. They are found in both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They were divided by the scramble and partition of Africa by colonialism. The colonial boundaries gave them new identities. Those in Mozambique became subjects of Portugal while those in Zimbabwe subjects of England. After Zimbabwe gain independence, Ndau people were not given the pleasure to practice their cultural dances in school. In 2013, Phillip Kusasa and his colleagues established a centre in Bangira Village, 45km South West of Chipinge Town. Paiyapo Arts Centre is the host of Ndau Festival of the Arts (NDAFA). NDAFA is a platform that exhibits Ndau cultural practices that include dances, crafts, culinary and environmental management. Competitions among the Ndau in their dances encourage hardworking as those who lost would be preparing to be crowned the next season. Furthermore, they were also there to teach the Ndau culture and unite them through gathering people of all ages at one space thereby maintaining peace among them. Ndau people cultural dances include Chinyambera, Hondora, Madzviti, Mapenzi, Mhongo/Madanda, Muchongoyo, Tshokoto and Zvipunha. For Imbizo Project, we were shown Madzviti, Mhongo and Muchongoyo dances of the Ndau people. Most Ndau dances are spiritual dances.