Sources of History
Sources of History
Sources of History
-Several sources have been used to recover the pre-history and history of the Zimbabwe
plateau. These are;
Oral traditions
Written records
Archaeology
Linguistics
Anthropology
Rock art
Ethnography
-Each source has its own strengths and weaknesses or merits and demerits or advantages and
disadvantages.
-No single source adequately recovers the pre-history and history of the plateau. The sources
complement each other and should be used inter-changeably.
-When trying to recover and reconstruct the history of Zimbabwe it is important to use the
inter- disciplinary or multi-disciplinary approach which utilizes all sources of history.
Oral Traditions
- Oral traditions are verbal recollections of the past.
-They refer to the passing of information, beliefs and practices from one generation to the next
verbally or by word of mouth.
- They are shared widely throughout a culture verbally. They may be entrusted to particular
people safe keeping, transmittal and recitation
- Oral traditions are organic expressions of identity, purpose, functions, customs and
generational continuity of the culture in which they occur.
-They are means of cultural expression. They are not direct experiences of the narrator.
- Examples of oral traditions include family trees, genealogies, folk tales, poems, riddles, songs,
dances, taboos and religious practices.
Advantages
- Oral traditions have provided useful evidence on pre-colonial states like the Mutapa, Torwa
and Rozvi-Changamire polity.
- They have also provided names of the rulers and ruling dynasties of pre-colonial states like
Great Zimbabwe.
- Oral traditions have also provided useful information on the history of commoners living in
pre-colonial and pre-literate societies of the plateau. For instance traditions on the Mutapa
state mention one Nyakatonje who advised prince Mutota to migrate to the north east to look
for salt.
- Oral traditions shed more light on the social aspects of the pre-literate societies of the
plateau.
- Oral traditions complement ‘silent witnesses’ like archaeological findings by shedding more
light on the society and religion of early and later Zimbabwe Culture states like Great Zimbabwe
and Rozvi states.
- For instance Shona orature identifies the last rulers of Great Zimbabwe as Munembire Mudadi
or Chibatamatotsi.
- They also identify the founders of the Mutapa and Rozvi states as Nyatsimba Mutota and
Dombo-Dlembeu respectively.
Oral traditions are cheap and easily accessible. There are a lot of community leaders who are
willing and ready to share the past free of charge. This makes the study of Zimbabwe’s past
interesting.
- Oral traditions can be dramatized through song, dance and praise poetry. They can be very
captivating especially if they are handled by master story tellers.
- Oral traditions are part of Zimbabwe’s national heritage. They represent the collective
memory of modern day Zimbabwe.
- Oral traditions are participative. They allow for interaction between the informer and
informant through face to face interviews and audio recordings.
Disadvantages
- Oral traditions are prone to myth making. For instance They are abound with myths about the
rise of Mutapa and Rozvi state systems.
- They are prone to bias, exaggeration and distortion. For instance Chigwedere has over relied
on traditions that have over emphasized the power and influence of the Soko-Mbire dynasty in
pre-colonial Zimbabwe distorting the country’s past in the process.
-Some pertinent information may be omitted because the informant will be trying to paint a
rosy picture of a particular group.
- Oral traditions do not provide dates. They give hazy descriptions of the prevalence of a
pandemic or natural disaster which can’t help much.
- Some oral traditions can be incoherent and contradictory. This is evident in accounts about
the rulers of Great Zimbabwe and Rozvi-Changamire
- Important historical information can be lost through death and loss of collective memory. For
instance there are little or no surviving traditions on early farming communities such as Ziwa,
Zhizho, Bambadyanalo, Leopard’s Kopje and Mapungubwe.
- Most oral traditions cannot survive for more than 12 generations or 300 years. Vital
information like that of early farming communities may be lost forever
- Oral traditions are subjective. They are often expressions of opinion and impressions rather
than objective history.
Written Evidence
- This is documentary or recorded evidence. Examples include history text books,
journals, letters, diaries travelers’ accounts and rock art among others.
Primary sources are found in their original form e.f. photographs, letters, diaries
etc. They are not edited.
Secondary sources are edited and are found in newspapers, magazines, textbooks
and cartoons.
- Written evidence is useful in the recovery of the history of the plateau especially
from the late 15th century onwards.
- Portuguese records have been a major source of Mutapa history. They have
furnished details about the names of the Mutapas, economic and social activities
as well as trade relations with the Swahili Arabs as well as the Portuguese
themselves.
- 20th century historians like Mudenge and D.N. Beach have relied on Portuguese
written sources to reconstruct the Mutapa’s political and economic organization.
- 19th century accounts by missionaries, hunters and traders have been important
in shedding light on Ndebele raiding activities although with exaggerations.
- Written accounts from Charles Helm and John Moffat give accurate dates on the
founding of missions and missionary activities on the missions.
-For instance it is known that Inyathi and Hope Fountain were founded in 1857
and 1870 respectively
- Written evidence can survive unaltered for longer periods especially in peaceful
and stable environments
Disadvantages
- Writers may select what to write or leave out depending on whose side they are.
- Written evidence can be biased. For instance the colonial historians have given
distorted views on the identity of Great Zimbabwe’s builders.
- Written evidence can be altered for propaganda purposes. For instance the false
view that the Second Chimurenga started in 1966 when in fact it began in 1963.
- Written records do not give room for interactiona, as well as clarification of facts
where there is need.
Archaeology
- Archaeology is the scientific study of the physical remains of the past such as pottery,
buildings and fossils beneath the ground.
- Archaeology attempts to recover and reconstruct the past through excavations or diggings at
pre historic sites such as Gokomere, Musengezi, Mabveni, Malipati, Tunnel Rock, Zimbabwe
acropolis and Mapungubwe Hill.
-Archaeology analyses the material culture and data that prehistoric societies left behind
- Archaeological remains include the remains of pottery, human and animal bones, remains of
buildings, jewelry, fossils and ceramic.
Advantages
- Archaeology helps in the reconstruction of prehistoric and preliterate societies such as Ziwa,
Zhizho, Malipati, Leopard’s Kopje and Mapungubwe who have no oral traditions
-It provides accurate dates on prehistoric societies through the use of radio carbon dating
techniques.
- Archaeology has been useful in generating knowledge about the Stone Neolithic Revolution on
the plateau.
- By examining remains of animals, rocks and other material remains archaeologists have
helped to reconstruct Zimbabwe’s Stone Age pre-colonial past.
- The discovery of ancient Iron Age iron workings at various sites have helped shed light on the
transition from the Late Stone Age to the Early Iron Age.,
- The discovery of cattle, sheep and goat bones points towards the emergence of pastoralism as
an important economic activity.
- The discovery of large settlements like Great Zimbabwe demonstrates that the Iron Age was
characterized by large, permanent, settled and complex societies.
- Archaeology has been useful in resolving the controversy on the identity of the founders of
Great Zimbabwe.
- Archaeologists have been able to disprove the claim by colonial historians that Great
Zimbabwe was by Arabs, Semites, Russians and Phoenicians by showing that the building styles,
pottery and material remains at the site were consistent with the Shona way of life.
Demerits of Archaeology
- Physical evidence can be manipulated and destroyed by armature archaeologists or during
times of civil strife and natural calamities such as floods.
- It has reduced the study of Zimbabwean prehistory to the study of bones, pottery, rocks and
other artifacts.,
-A perusal of archaeological data gives the impression that prehistoric Zimbabwe was inhabited
by pots not humans.
- Archaeology is a silent witness. It has failed to provide the names of ruling dynasties and the
language by preliterate societies of the plateau.
- For instance there are no names of the Stone Age communities or the language spoken at
Great Zimbabwe.
Rock Art
- These are pictures drawn on cave walls by ancestors of the Khoisan hunter-gatherer
communities of the Late Stone Age.
- Rock art provides some useful insights into the way of life of pre-historic societies of the
plateau.
- Some symbols on rock art may only be identifiable within a given context.
- Some symbols may be graffiti scrambled to pass time and have no symbolic meaning at all.
- Rock art may be art for the sake of art with non-value to the historian of the plateau.
- It is sometimes difficult to read the patterns and symbols drawn on rocks and cave walls.
- Rock art is sometimes art for art’s sake and may have no value as historical evidence.
Linguistics
- This is the study of language as it changes over time.
-Linguistics traces the form, content and vocabulary of a language in order to understand the
historical background of the speakers.
-For instance the pronunciation of the word ‘munhu’ (person) by different Bantu communities
such as the Shona, Ndebele, and Kalanga show that these languages had a common origin.
- We also learn that the ancestors of the modern Shona of Zimbabwe originated somewhere
around the Congo-Benue River basin and migrated to Zimbabwe as part of the western stream
of the Bantu migrations.
-For instance recent linguistic discoveries have established affinities between the Manyika
dialects of the Shona with some language spoken in Ethiopia.
Disadvantages of linguistics
- Learning a language takes a long time.
- Wrong interpretation of linguistics may lead to distortion of history. For instance similar words
in different language may have different meanings.
- For instance ‘karima’ in Arabic means light while the same word in Shona means darkness.
Ethnography
- It’s a branch of Anthropology which focuses on the study of ethnic groups.
- It involves a study of and analysis of the terrain, climate and habitat of a cultural grouping.
- Ethnography also seeks to capture social meanings and ordinary activities of people in
naturally occurring social settings.
-Ethnography uses research methods such as interviews, field notes, participatory observation
and surveys to collect data about a cultural or ethnic group.
Advantages of Ethnography
- It enables the researcher to obtain firsthand information about a cultural group through
participatory observation.
Disadvantages of Ethnography.
- Observation takes longer to produce accurate research results.
Anthropology
- This is the method of observing and comparing the societies of now and of the previous time
just before colonisation.
-The assumption is that this gives us a picture of people’s lives a hundred, five hundred or even
a thousand years ago.
-Anthropologists investigate the past and suggest the stages by which the society has
progressed
Advantages
- It is helpful in deducing how unfamiliar artefacts were used
- It helps understand the culture and value systems of societies
Disadvantages
- This method assumes that societies are static; they do not develop. This is a false assumption
- Anthropologists have their own prejudices and it has been proven on many occasions that
they are likely to misinterpret what they see or hear in the society they are studying
- The Late Stone Age was characterised by the use of bone, wood and stone tools.
- Tools of the Late Stone Age were digging sticks, scrappers, clubs, flakes, stone tipped arrows,
hand axes and stone hammers.
Importance of the king’s role in the Shona states during the Iron Age
- The king had overall authority.
- The king appointed chiefs.
- The provided security to his people.
- The king gave royal fire to the chiefs.-
- The king commanded the army.
- The king distributed land to the people.
- The king controlled trade.
- The king was the religious leader.
- The king was the chief judge.
- The Great Zimbabwe state was one of the late Iron Age states in pre-colonial Zimbabwe. Its
origin is controversial or debatable or unclear.
- Two theories emerged in trying to explain the origins of this state.
[a] One school argued that Great Zimbabwe was built by foreigners. According to this
theory Great Zimbabwe was built by more civilised races than Africans.
- Some of these theorists argue that Great Zimbabwe was built by Arabs. Some also argue that
there is a Jewish influence on the origin of Great Zimbabwe.
[b] The other theory argues that Great Zimbabwe was built by Africans. According to this
theory Great Zimbabwe was local in origin, thus it was built by local people.
- This theory argues that Great Zimbabwe was built by indigenous Shona speaking people
between 1100AD and 1450AD.
- According to this theory artefacts found at Great Zimbabwe indicated Shona traditional culture.
More so, ceramics [pots] found at Great Zimbabwe are local and similar to those of recent Shona
speaking people.
- The few foreign ceramics found at Great Zimbabwe can be attributed to long distance trade.
- People who built Great Zimbabwe were cattle herders, crop growers, iron smelters and
designers of pottery as well as builders in stone work.
Reasons for the rise of Great Zimbabwe / Factors which led to the rise of Great Zimbabwe
- There was availability of fertile soils in the area around Great Zimbabwe which promoted crop
cultivation.
- Availability of good pastures which promoted livestock production [pastoralism] led to its rise.
- Abundance of minerals like gold [in the neighbourhood] for trade and iron for tool making led
to its rise.
- Availability of game [fauna] for meat, skins and ivory in the area led to its rise.
- Favourable climate, that is, good rainfall led to its rise.
- Availability of water from nearby rivers such as Mutirikwi led to its rise.
- The area was accessible to international trade with the Swahili, Arabs, Persians and Chinese
through Sofala.
- Control of surplus production by leaders also contributed.
- The area was free from tsetse flies thereby promoting animal rearing.
- Polygamy which ensured adequate labour supply and soldiers led to its rise.
- Loaning of cattle [kuronzera] helped to unify people and made the leaders strong and it also
attracted many people to come under their control.
- The increase in population led to the rise of Great Zimbabwe.
- Religion helped in unifying people within the state.
- The hill was regarded as sacred for religious purposes.
- Availability of granite rocks enabled people to build the stone walls.
- They traded both internal and external trade. Internally they traded among themselves and
externally with foreigners such as the Portuguese and the Swahili.
- They gathered wild fruits, roots, berries, vegetables, wild honey, mushroom and insects.
- All subjects paid tribute to the king in form of grain, cattle, goats, sheep, labour, gold, ivory,
tools, and precious skins.
- They kept animals like cattle goats and sheep.
- They grew crops like sorghum, millet, rapoko, melons, pumpkins, beans, cowpeas and gourds.
- They hunted animals for meat, ivory and hides [skins].
- They caught fish to supplement their diet.
- They mined minerals like gold, copper and iron.
- They did art and craft, that is,
a] Pottery. Women made different types of pots for domestic use.
b] Basketry. They made different types of baskets like the winnowing basket.
c] Blacksmithing. They made iron tools like hoes, axes, mattocks and swords.
d] Weaving. They wove cotton into cloth.
e] Stone carving
f] Wood carving
g] Leather work
h] Drum making
i] Jewellery making
j] Building in stone
Other Madzimbabwe
-Naletale -Khami
- Munekwani -Ruanga
- Nhunguza -Tsindi
- Chipadze
-There were civil wars in the state, for example, between Nyatsimba Mutota and Chagwa [1450]
leading to Mutota’s migration.
- Succession disputes in the ruling family forced losers to move.
- The state became too big to be ruled by one ruler.
- The rise of new states like Torwa and Mutapa led to its decline.
- Corruption and disunity in the ruling class led to its decline.
- There was emergence of ambitious people in the royal family like Nyatsimba Mutota who also
wanted to rule.
-Wars and attacks from the Sotho and Tswana to the South West of Great Zimbabwe led to its
decline.
- Weaknesses of the army at Great Zimbabwe led to the decline of this state.
- Outdated means of state control led to its decline.
- There was emergence of rivalry in the ruling family.
- The state was one of the late Iron Age states. The origin of Mutapa state is not clear [is
debatable].
- According to oral tradition, Mutapa state was the direct successor of Great Zimbabwe state.
Oral traditions say Nyatsimba Mutota migrated from Great Zimbabwe to the north in search of
salt and settled in the Dande area.
- The shortage of salt represented a general shortage of resources at Great Zimbabwe.
- The rapid growth of population at Great Zimbabwe could have resulted in a critical shortage of
such resources as firewood, pastures, fertile land, game and minerals.
- There was a decline in trade with the East Coast and this could have forced people like Mutota
to migrate northwards.
- There was flourishing trade along the Zambezi River with the Arabs and Swahilis.
- Perhaps, this forced people to leave Great Zimbabwe and moved north to control trade routes.
- Succession disputes at Great Zimbabwe could have forced people to migrate and establish their
own state.
- Mutota had a strong army. He used his army to conquer the Tonga, Tavara and the Korekore.
- They gave him the praise name ‘Munhumutapa’, meaning ‘lord of the conquered people’.
- He established his capital at Chitakochangonya hills near mount Fura in the Dande area.
- Archaeologists however, argue that the direct successor of Great Zimbabwe was the Torwa
state whose capital was at Khami near Bulawayo.
- This was evidenced by the type of ruins and the artefacts similar to those of Great Zimbabwe.
But there is no evidence to support when the Torwa state existed.
- Documents written by Portuguese suggest that the Mutapa state existed before the collapse of
Great Zimbabwe and these states were inter-related.
- Despite the failure to find concrete evidence of Mutapa origins historians agree that that the
state grew into one of the largest and powerful states in pre-colonial Zimbabwe.
- They grew crops like sorghum, millet, rapoko, beans, melons, pumpkins and later
on maize. Maize were believed to have been introduced by the Portuguese.
- They kept animals like cattle, goats and sheep for meat and milk. Cattle were also
used for paying lobola.
- They mined minerals like iron, gold, copper, tin, lead and silver.
- They practised both internal and external trade. Externally they traded with the
Swahili, Arabs and Portuguese. They imported ceramics, jewellery, beads, knives,
cloth, cowry shells and guns.
- The subjects paid tribute to the king in form of gold, ivory, hoes, spears, grain,
animal skins, livestock, baskets and labour.
- Foreigners paid in form of curva for them to be allowed to trade and also for their
protection whist they were in the state.
- They hunted animals like hares and kudus for meat, elephants and rhinoceros for
ivory and cheetahs and leopards for their precious skins.
- They caught fish to supplement their diet.
- They gathered fruits and vegetables.
- They raided other states for grain, cattle, goats, women and boys.
- They did art and craft, that is,
- They did basketry, for instance, they made the winnowing basket.
- Pottery was done producing pots to carry and store water.
- They did blacksmithing.
- They wove cotton into cloth.
- They also practiced wood carving, stone carving, leather work, jewellery making,
building in stone and drum making
Puppet Mutapas
Names of Portuguese nationals [people] who penetrated the Zimbabwean Plateau between
the sixteenth and seventeenth century
-Antonio Fernandez -Goncalo da Silveira
-Francisco Barreto -Vasco Fernandez
-Diego Simeos Madeira -Vasco Homen
-Antonio Caiado -Gasper Boccaro
-Joao dos Santos -Diego da Menes
-Sisnando Dias -Dona Katarina
Problems faced by Portuguese armies during their invasion of Mutapa state in the 1570s
-Diseases w -Hunger
-Resistance from local people -Loss of lives
-Some soldiers were wounded -Heavy armour
-Failure to find gold -Attacks from hostile wild animals
-Crossing difficult rivers
Contribution of the Prazo system to the growth of slavery in the Zambezi valley
-Growth of plantations such as Zambezi Prazos demanded increasing numbers of slave labourers.
-Mining activities in the Prazos required slave labour.
-There was need for slave armies.
-They paid tax called curva to the African kings in the early days but later on demanded tribute
from Africans.
-They traded with the local people giving them jewellery, mirrors, cloth, guns and gun powder.
In return they received minerals, animal skins, salt and ivory.
-They hunted wild animals inorder to get meat, animal skins and ivory.
-They paid curva to the African kings, but later demanded tribute from the local
-They kept animals such as cattle, goats and sheep on their prazos. -They
raided the local people for garin and livestock.
-They sold the local people ro the East African slave traders.
-Acculturation of locals
-Intermarriage was being practiced and that resulted in the birth of a coloured race called
mulatos.
-Africans were enslaved by the Portuguese. -They lived in mud plastered and
thatched huts
-Trade improved
-A vast amount of minerals like gold was taken away from the Zambezi valley.
-Succession disputes and civil wars led to the decline of this state.
-The state became too big to be ruled by one ruler.
-Some chiefs broke away, for instance, Barwe, Uteve, Torwa, Mbire and Guruuswa who felt
independent enough to start their own kingdoms.
-Some tributary states refused to pay tribute such a Barwe, Manyika and Uteve.
-There were some weak leaders such as Mamvura Mhande, Gatsi Rusere and Nyahuma.
-Exhaustion of gold fields and elephants which provided ivory for trade led to its decline.
-Shortage of salt and other minerals led to decline in trade.
-Outbreak of epidemics killed many people.
-Revolts by vassal chiefs, for example, Changa-ruler of Rozvi.
-Loss of control of long distance trade to other states like Torwa and Rozvi.
-Influence of Swahili traders
-Growth of Portuguese control undermined the authority of the Mutapa kings.
-The prazo system led to loss of land by the local people.
-The Portuguese promoted civil wars.
-Interference in local politics by the Portuguese by installing puppet rulers.
-Interference from Arabs.
-Chikunda raids for manpower also contributed.
-Slave trade weakened the state as able bodied man were sold into slavery.
-The spread of Christianity led to division in the state.
-The Portuguese refused to pay tribute.
-Maravi invasion also led to its decline.
-Invasion by mfecane groups caused its decline.
-The defeat by the Rozvi led to its decline.
-Colonisation by the British led to its final collapse.
THE ROZVI STATE
Origins of the Rozvi State
-The origin of the Rozvi State is controversial. There are two main theories which have been put
forward in explaining the origin of the Rozvi State.
[a] Some historians believed that the Rozvi were once subjects of the Mutapa people.
Their leader Dombo was once a cattle herder under Mutapa Mukombwe.
-He was given some cattle and he managed to grow rich and created his army.
-He is believed to have revolted against the Mutapa when the state was at its decline.
-With his powerful army he was able to conquer and subdue the Torwa people.
-It was the Torwa people who nicknamed his people the Rozvi, meaning destroyers.
-He established his capital at Danangombe [Dhlodhlo] in Matabeleland.
-The capital was transferred to different places by different leaders, for example, to Naletale and
Manyanga.
- At its peak the Rozvi is believed to have covered such areas as Guruuswa, Mbire, Buhera,
Bocha, Duma and parts of South Eastern Highlands.
-In 1695 the Rozvi helped Mutapa Mukombwe to drive away the Portuguese from the
Zimbabwean Plateau.
-The Rozvi took over from the Mutapa as a new force to reckon with in the Zimbabwean plateau.
[b] Other historians have a simpler explanation on the origin of Rozvi. They say that
Rozvi was just a new name.
-They say Rozvi did not originate from a place outside the Torwa state. They say that the Rozvi
and the Torwa were the same people.
-They say that it was only the name that changed. In other words, the Torwa state developed and
changed its name to Rozvi.
-There was no invasion or conquest which took place. The old Torwa state continued but it was
just the name which changed.
-Thus Dombo was a descendant of a Torwa Changamire.
- This was a period of plunder and destruction among the Nguni and the surrounding tribes.
-It was a time of crushing wars accompanied by much suffering among the northern Nguni.
-The Nguni called it mfecane, meaning time of trouble. The Sotho called it defeqane, meaning
time of crushing. Mfecane began towards the end of the eighteenth century.
-During mfecane tribes like the Ndwandwe, Mthethwa and Ngwane were fighting against each
other.
-Mfecane continued even during the time of Tshaka. During the time of Tshaka, Zululand had
become a storm centre.
-A number of people fled from Tshaka and these included the Jere- Ngoni under Zwangendaba,
Gaza-Nguni under Soshangane, Khumalo under Mzilikazi, Kololo under Sebetwane and the
Ngoni under Nxaba.
-The people who fled from Tshaka knew his military tactics so they were able to defeat people in
other areas.
-Soshangane settled in Southern Mozambique and created the Gaza state. Zwangendaba
destroyed the Rozvi capital and crossed the Zambezi River into present day Malawi.
-Mzilikazi and the Khumalo fled north and settled in the south-western part of Zimbabwe.
-Sebetwane and the Kololo settled in Zambia.
- All these groups introduced their way of life and culture to the people they conquered.
Groups and their respective leaders which Tshaka fought during Mfecane
-Ndwandwe under Zwide -Ngwane under Sobhuza
-Ngoni under Zwangendaba -Ngoni under Nxaba
-Khumalo under Mzilikazi -Gaza-Nguni under Soshangane
-Qwabe under Phakatwayo
Causes of Mfecane
-The desire by some individuals like Dingiswayo, Zwide, Ngwane and Tshaka to dominate
others.
-Development of advanced military tactics promoted aggression.
-Overpopulation which resulted in pressure over arable land caused Mfecane.
-Powerful groups wanted to control some hunting grounds.
-Madhlatule drought of 1795 caused Mfecane.
-The desire to acquire more cattle through conquest
-The desire by some individuals to control trade with Portuguese at Delagoa Bay.
-Shortage of grazing land
-The need for creation of large states
-The rise of Tshaka also caused Mfecane.
-Emergence of power hungry men like Mzilikazi
-Bigger powerful states like Ndwandwe, Ngwane and Mthethwa wanted to control economic and
political activities of the people of Nguniland.
-Trade in ivory necessitated the creation of standing armies to hunt elephants and guard the trade
route.
-There was also need to control rivers.
-Boer expansion and Boer slave raids