Zimbabwe Heritage
A heritage can be defined as an enduring legacy, a definitive event;
achievement tradition or theory to which the peoples of a specific nation rally
around, and have emotional attachments and for which they are prepared to
defend and to go to War over if threatened or violated.
It can also be difined as things that are passed down from one generation to
the other through family or culture.
In the USA the national heritage is a deep – rooted political legacy born out of
the War and rebellion against Great Britain and this is embodied in the term
Republicanism.
The French, who are fiercely proud of their heritage, have the French Revolution
Similarly the young nation of Zimbabwe has the ethos of the second
Chimurenga as the national and enduring political tradition. The second
Chimurenga ethos embodies political, cultural as well as economic principles,
which define and continue to sustain us as a nation.
Social and cultural heritage
o Culture refers to the beliefs ,values ,traditions and social norms that are
shared by a group of people
o Cultural heritage refers to the physical and non physical things that a
culture has inherited from its past eg. Historical sites , traditional practices
o Heritage sites are places that have been designated as having special
cultural or historical significance , usually representing a significant aspect
of a country's culture or history eg Great Zimbabwe
Culture in Zimbabwe reflects the major ethnic and tribal groups in the society.
The demographic statistics is as follows:
Shona extraction constitute about 84%
Ndebele at about 7%
Tonga; Venda; Kalanga; Chewa; Namibia; Shangani and other smaller groups
constituting about another 7% of the population.
The white population has dwindled to less than 0.1% of the population.
Elements of the Zimbabwean African Culture
Nuclear or extended family
Recognition and respect for age, parents and authority
Respect for hard and honest work
Acceptance of good morals in terms of dress, sex and marriage
There has however been a strong negative influence due to the mass media
on the African culture in Zimbabwe.
Television, radio and the print media have done much harm in undermining
the superior African culture by encouraging foreign tastes and habits in
terms of diet, dress, the family, marriage, sex and the extended family
NATIONAL SYMBOLS
The National Anthem ,Born and inspired by the War of liberation.
The national anthem is as it were the rallying point of the nation.
Authored by Professor Mutsvairo
It descries and narrates in a few words of origins, history, beliefs and aspirations
(each student tomemorise the song).
THE NATIONAL FLAG
The national flag represent the state wood , together with court of arms they
are the official and visible tokens of the state and its authority and existence.The
flag is also the product of the War of liberation.
The red star represents our socialist ideals , and the Zimbabwe bird proudly
points back to our distant origins and prowess as people
The white background on which the above two are superimposed represents
our desire for peace and tranquillity.
The Red Stripes symbolises the blood of the heroes who died liberating the
country
Yellow our mineral resources
Green our flora and fauna
Black the indigenous African natives of this nation.
NB It is incumbent upon every Zimbabwean and any foreigner on our soil to
acknowledge our state hood by standing at attention when the flag is lowered
where ever and whatever one is doing.
Standing at attention is not a Religious Act as some over zealous and misguided
so called Christians think. Kneeling or bowing down in reverence is a religious Act
reserved for God that is why Shadreck and his other two friends were thrown in a
furnace.
Nowhere in Christian writing is standing erect an Act of worship or homage. It
would be only right and fair to refuse to kneel to the flag for every Christian. It is
only right and fair for every Christian to stand erect in recognition not homage of
those who rule them.
Threats to Zimbabwean culture
The first culprit has been the African family with:
Western influence through globalization and western media
Erosion of tradition values
Loss of indigenous language
divorce (unknown and unthinkable in pure African culture)
Disease due to sex before marriage and prostitution has grown to pandemic
levels
Greed and exclusiveness are the hallmarks of the white man’s culture
Unlike the white person in Zimbabwe the African does not have sufficient
expendable cash and as a result debt and unfulfilled desire and wants are making
the lives of many Zimbabweans miserable
However African culture remains the superior culture in that it keeps society and
the nation cemented.
Moreover such social ills as prostitution, pandemics,street kids, crime and
political opportunism (kutengesa nyika) because of greed would be non-existent.
All these ills are as a result of lack of self-respect and lack of personal identity
due to wanting to be a white persons e.g. Michael Jackson
Ways of upholding Zimbabwean culture
Promoting the use of indigenous language
Supporting traditional arts and crafts and teaching traditional knowledge
and skills to younger generations
Through education , ensuring that schools include lessons on the country' s
culture n traditions
Organization eg National gallery of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe culture
fund
Importance of cultural heritage \ sites
Helps to preserve the history and culture of a place for future generations
Source of income for local communities through employment and
formation of businesses
Foreign currency through tourism
Speeds up development in the area
Promote cross cultural industry ( language schools, translation services)
Natural resources and their importance
Zimbabwe is endowed with many natural resources, which in certain
instances places the nation on the strategic resources map of the world.
1. Land
Zimbabwe’s land mass is about 310million square miles and has a
conducive climate being neither too hot nor too cold and has an average
rainfall of about 1500m
2.Minerals
Iron, Coal, Gold ,copper , Tin ,Diamonds,Platinum ,Nickel, Uranium,
Etc.
Our Chrome; platinum; nickel and coal reserves are of Global strategic
importance because they are ranked in the top five in terms of quantity and
quality. Unfortunately control of these minerals is still in foreign land and as
anation we are also not yet adding value to them
3. Wildlife
The three major game parks in Zimbabwe are secon to the combined Kenyan
and Tanzanian wildlife population of the Serengeti game park.
The big five wild game elephant, buffalo, giraffe,lion and rhino are more abundant
in our game parks than in any other park in the world.
4 . People
With a population of about 14 000 000 people, Zimbabwe is still sparsely
populated considering that our land mass can sustain seventy million with optimal
economic utilization.
The plus about this population is its literacy levels – of about 98% and its varied
skills base
5. Vegetation
6. Water
Importance of natural resources
Providing useful materials such as food, water ,building material
Generating energy for power
Stimulating economic activities and creating employment
Trade
Indigenous methods of preserving and conserving
cultural heritage and natural resources.
Oral storytelling
Traditional ceremonies and rituals
Preserving sacred sites through spiritual and cultural practices
Music and dance
Sharing knowledge of the site to ensure that it is respected
Modern ways of preserving cultural heritage
o Creation of protected areas and national parks to safeguard the area
o Developing tourism infrastructure and educational programs to promote
the cultural and history significance
o Collaboration with other international organizations eg UNESCO to protect
the area.
Role of international organization in protecting
cultural heritage
They provide technical and financial assistance to countries to help them
protect
Promote international cooperation and exchange of knowledge ( write
books and documentaries)
Set international standars and guidelines for preserving
Create awareness and educate people
Cultural artefacts
Any object that have been created or used by a particular culture eg
artwork, tools, clothing, jewelry, furniture
Eg Great Zimbabwe ruins as they tell us about the history of the people
and how they lived .
Importance of cultural artifacts
Help us understand and appreciate different cultures
Preserve and pass cultural knowledge, traditions from one
generation to the next
Can be used to promote cultural understanding
Can be a source of inspiration and creativity for artists etc
Can have economic value as cultural assets
Threats to cultural artifacts
Physical damage eg from natural disasters or wars or even passage of time
Looting and theft
Damage from tourism ( difficult to balance preserving and allowing people
to access then and enjoy )
Challenge in preserving intangible artifacts like oral history, dance etc
Ways of protecting cultural artifacts
o Proper storage and preservation ( climate control, proper labeling)
o Education
o Use of technology ( digital preservation)
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Refers to the ways of knowing and understanding the world that have been
developed by indigenous people over generations . These are usually passed
down through songs , orally ,storytelling.
Indigenous knowledge systems refers to various aspects such as traditional
medicine , agriculture, relationship between the spiritual and physical world.
Significance of indigenous knowledge systems
In medicine, traditional herbs and a good diet remain undoubtedly the
panacea for a long healthy life
In religion opinions vary but the facts remain.
In African culture the fundamentals of Christianity are firmly
embedded.
Respect for age, parents and authority, good morals that is no
fornication or adultery, no pervasion that is no homosexuality, taking
care of the need etc are biblical positions that remain unchangeable.
In short the white man’s culture is not only incomplete with
Christianity, it is in fact the antithesis and a direct attack on everything
Godly, which is devilish.
