Cultura De Zimbabwe (English)

CULTURE

Traditions and Culture Zimbabwe

Alternative Names

Shona, Ndebele

Traditions and culture Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe is a country in southern Africa with 12.4 million inhabitants. Neighboring countries are Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. The landscape is dominated by a central mountain ridge, comprising (from north to south) Mvurwi chain of mountains, hills and mountains Mashava the Matopo. On both sides of the ridge are the catchment areas of rivers.

The Zambezi in the north and the Limpopo and Save rivers flows from southeast. Approximately 20% of the country is covered with afforestation. There is a tropical climate. The capital Harare has 1.6 million inhabitants. Places are downtown, public gardens, the national museum of modern art, the MacGregor geological museum, the Anglican cathedral, the Chapungu kraal and Cecil square. Other cities are Bulawayo, Mutare, Beit Bridge, Bindura, Marondera, Kwekwe, Chinhoyi, Masvingo city, Lupane, Gwanda and Gweru.

In the World Heritage List of UNESCO, the Victoria, Matobo National Park, national monuments of Great Zimbabwe and Khami, the national park Mana Pools and safari areas Sapi and Chewore cataracts. Other attractions are the nocturnal safaris in Matetsi, wild dogs, the many national parks, artists Tengenenge village and Lake Kariba.

The art in Zimbabwe has many artistic treasures of interest. There is a wide range of architectural, samples as paintings, sculptures and traditional art.

In architecture are two types of distinct architectural complexes: first, the buildings of the former Kingdom of Monomotapa, which highlights the elliptically shaped temple decorated with phallic motifs and irregular rings and the Acropolis fortress guarding the temple; and on the other, remains of ancient buildings of different ethnicities as Khami ruins and Dhlo Dhlo and rock art of the Bushmen, who no longer live in the country, which can be seen in the so-called Matopos.

As pictorial highlights samples that can be seen in the National Gallery of Harare, the capital.

Figurines and masks made in wood by Shona and Matabele are very attractive as headrests beautifully decorated by the Shona.

Other examples are fascinating cultural narratives through families are passed from generation to generation, and have the main avatars of ethnic groups. It is further distinguished traditional dances and rhythms, which are spectacular.

Symbolism. The national flag and the Zimbabwe bird (the African fish eagle) are the most important symbolic representations of the nation. The Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on the flag, and while the flag symbolizes independence, the Zimbabwe bird represents continuity with the precolonial past. Internationally, particularly in the tourist sector, photographs of Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, and wildlife are symbols of the national history and natural heritage.

Circumcision ceremony

Mukanda called the circumcision ceremony takes place between May and October (dry season). This important ceremony marks the transition from child to adulthood and lasts for several months instead of just one day. During this time, the child not only cured of circumcision, but teaches the adult life of the village elders. All this happens in a place called the katateveje, meaning "place of death" because it is where the boy child dies and he enters adulthood.

TOTEMS

Totems (mitupos) were used to identify the different clans of the tribe Mashona and are one of the oldest traditions in Zimbabwe. These totems are of such importance that even if the descendants of the same clan are from different tribes, clan ties are more tribal balance. Totems give a clan not only their identity, they can praise a person or guard against incestuous behavior.

Arts

Traditional arts in Zimbabwe include pottery, basketry, textiles, jewelry and sculpture. Among the distinctive qualities are the baskets and stools carved from a single piece of wood. Shona sculpture in essence ethnicity has been a fusion of African traditions with European influences. In addition, a recurring theme in Zimbabwean art is the metamorphosis of humans into beasts.

Among members of the white minority community, Theatre has a large following, with various theater companies performing in Zimbabwe's urban areas.

While the country's art is admired by those who know of its existence, several Zimbabwean artists have managed to grab the global audience, such as Nicholas, Nesbert and Anderson Mukomberanwa, Tapfuma Gutsa, Henry Locardia Ndandarika Muyradzi and sculptors. Zimbabwean sculptors have internationally recognized generated influence on a new generation of artists, especially African Americans, who have been able to learn from master sculptors in Zimbabwe.

LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION

All the national languages, with the exception of the official language, English, are Bantu, a branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Shona and Sindebele are the most widely spoken, and students are required to take at least one of those languages. The four main dialects of Shona—Zezuru, Kalanga, Manyika, and Ndau—have a common vocabulary and similar tonal and grammatical features. The Ndebele in the nineteenth century were the first to use the name "Shona" to refer to the peoples they conquered; although the exact meaning of the term is unclear, it was probably derogatory. Later, white colonists extended the term to refer to all groups that spoke dialects officially recognized as Shona. One view of the dialects is that they resulted from differing missionary education policies in the nineteenth century. Sindebele is a click language of the Nguni group of Bantu languages; other members of this language group are Zulu and Xhosa, which are spoken mainly in South Africa; siSwati (Swaziland); and siTswana (Botswana). Other languages spoken in Zimbabwe are Tonga, Shangaan, and Venda, which are shared with large groups of Tonga in Zambia and Shangaan and Venda in South Africa.

Religion

Religious Beliefs. In traditional religion, the spirit of a deceased person returns to the community and the deceased heads of extended families (the ancestors), have a powerful influence on family life. The spirit ancestors are usually only two or three generations back from the living generation and are the people who passed on the custom of honoring their ancestors and the traditions of the community. They are honored in ceremonies to celebrate a good harvest and in appeals to deal with misfortune. When a spirit becomes angry, it communicates through a medium, or

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