Making sense of cultural nationalism and the politics of commemoration under the third chimurenga in Zimbabwe

Journal of Southern African Studies

Volumn 35, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 945-965

  Ndlovu Gatsheni, Sabelo J ^a   Willems, Wendy ^b  

^a OPEN UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CIVIL SOCIETY; NATIONALISM; PARTY POLITICS; POLITICAL POWER; STATE ROLE; WAR;

ZIMBABWE;

EID: 75749127415     PISSN: 03057070     EISSN: 14653893     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/03057070903314226     Document Type: Article

References (92)

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5. Hutchinson, 'Cultural Nationalism and Moral Regeneration', p. 123.
6. Ibid., p. 122.
7. Ibid., p. 124.
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14. J. Alexander, J. McGregor and T. Ranger, Violence & Memory: One Hundred Years in the 'Dark Forests' of Matabeleland (London, James Currey, 2000).
15. N. Bhebe, ZAPU and ZANU Guerrilla Warfare and the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Gweru, Mambo Press, 1999).
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24. Chatterjee, Nation and its Fragments, p. 6.
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26. Chatterjee, The Nation and its Fragments.
27. E. Msindo, 'Ethnicity and Nationalism in Urban Colonial Zimbabwe: Bulawayo, 1950-1963', Journal of African History, 48 (2007), pp. 276-79.
28. See also J. Muzondidya and S.J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, '"Echoing Silences": Ethnicity in Postcolonial Zimbabwe, 1980-2007', African Journal on Conflict Resolution: Special Issue on Identity and Cultural Diversity in Conflict Resolution in Africa, 7, 2 (December 2007), p. 280.
29. Oral History Index: Oral/2,333, 'Interview with Lawrence Vambe by I.J. Johnstone of the National Archives of Zimbabwe, National Archives of Zimbabwe, June 1983'.
30. See also Fontein, The Silence of Great Zimbabwe, pp. 117-39.
31. P. Garlake, 'Prehistory and Ideology in Zimbabwe', in J.D.Y. Peel and T. Ranger (eds), Past and Present in Zimbabwe (Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1983), p. 15.
32. See also Fontein, The Silence of Great Zimbabwe, pp. 117-39.
33. African Parade, 1962.
34. African Parade, 1963, p. 8. The idea of a 'national dress' was revived in the post-2000 period by Aeneas Chigwedere, who became the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture in 2001.
35. Daily News, 30 July 1962.
36. B. Chinamhora, 'African Popular Music', in K. Sayce (ed.), Tabex Encyclopaedia Zimbabwe (Harare, Quest Publishing, 1987), pp. 261-3.
37. In the early 1980s, ZAPU was accused of plotting a war against the newly independent government. The government's military operation in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the early to mid 1980s - also known as the Gukurahundi - was justified by government under the premise of creating a unified nation in which there was no dissidence. The Gukurahundi resulted in an estimated 20,000 deaths, many of whom were civilians and not former ZIPRA cadres, which undermined the government's stated motives for its military operation.
38. Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace & Legal Resources Foundation, Breaking the Silence: Building True Peace: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands Regions, 1980-1988 (Harare, CCJP & LRF, 1997).
39. Turino, Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe, p. 323.
40. Quoted in: J. Zaffiro, Media & Democracy in Zimbabwe, 1931-2002 (Colorado Springs, CO, International Academic Publishers, 2002), p. 79.
41. Ibid., p. 105.
42. See for example R.P. Werbner, 'Smoke from the Barrel of a Gun: Postwars of the Dead, Memory and Reinscription in Zimbabwe', in R.P. Werbner (ed.), Memory and the Postcolony: African Anthropology and the Critique of Power (London, Zed Books, 1998).
43. J. Fontein, 'The Politics of the Dead: Living Heritage, Bones and Commemoration in Zimbabwe' (forthcoming 2009), ASAOnline.
44. N. Kriger, 'The Politics of Creating National Heroes: The Search for Political Legitimacy and National Identity', in N. Bhebhe and T. Ranger (eds), Soldiers in Zimbabwe's Liberation War (Harare, University of Zimbabwe Publications, 1995), p. 162.
45. Government of Zimbabwe, Growth and Equity: An Economic Policy Statement (Harare, Government Printers, 1981).
46. See also L. Sachikonye, '"From Growth with Equity" to "Fast Track" Reform: Zimbabwe's Land Question', Review of African Political Economy, 96 (2003), pp. 227-40.
47. Government of Zimbabwe, Transitional National Development Plan: 1982/3-1984-5, Volume One (Harare, Government Printer, 1982).
48. S. Dansereau, 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Zimbabwe's Development Impasse', in H. Melber (ed.), Zimbabwe: The Political Economy of Decline (Discussion Paper, Uppsala, Nordic Africa Institute, 2005).
49. In March 2000, Morgan Tsvangirai openly declared that the MDC was not inspired by nationalism and that it sought to build a post-nationalist dispensation. To him nationalism was now captive to a time warp and cronyism.
50. It had become an end in itself. See P. Bond, 'Radical Rhetoric and the Working Class During Zimbabwean Nationalism's Dying Days', Journal of World-Systems Research, 7, 1 (Spring 2001), pp. 52-89.
51. F. de Boeck, 'Postcolonialism, Power and Identity: Local and Global Perspectives from Zaire', in R. Werbner and T. Ranger (eds), Postcolonial Identities in Africa (London and New Jersey, Zed Books, 1996), pp. 75-99.
52. K.M. Askew, Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2002), p. 14.
53. Ibid., pp. 290-1.
54. Advert in ZBC re-launch supplement, The Herald, 30 November 2001.
55. 'Urban grooves' artists comprise musicians such as Flash Gordon, Decibel, Sanii Makhalima, Roy and Royce, David Chifunyise, Roqui, Leonard Mapfumo, Betty Makaya, Extra Large and Maskiri. 'Urban grooves' heavily draws from American music genres such as Rap, Hip Hop and R&B but song lyrics are mostly in chiShona or siNdebele.
56. D. Gandhi and L. Jambaya, Towards A National Agenda on ZBC: Vision 30 Revisited (Harare, Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, 2002).
57. T.O. Ranger, 'Historiography, Patriotic History and the History of the Nation: The Struggle Over the Past in Zimbabwe', Journal of Southern African Studies, 30, 2 (June 2004), pp. 215-34.
58. 'Galas a Reincarnation of Pungwes', The Herald, 26 July 2005.
59. Kriger, 'From Patriotic Memories to "Patriotic History" in Zimbabwe', pp. 1,164-6.
60. B. Raftopoulos, 'Nation, Race and History in Zimbabwean Politics', in S. Dorman, D. Hammet and P. Nugent (eds), Making Nations, Creating Strangers: States and Citizenship in Africa (Leiden and Boston, Brill Publishers, 2007), p. 101.
61. The Solidarity Peace Trust, National Youth Service Training - 'Shaping Youths in a Truly Zimbabwean Manner': An Overview of Youth Militia Training and Activities in Zimbabwe, October 2000-August 2003 (The Solidarity Peace Trust, 5 September 2003).
62. The sour relations between Mugabe and Blair date back to October 1997, when Mugabe approached Britain for funds to finance a land reform redistribution programme during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Edinburgh. Further damage to the relationship between the two governments was done in that year through a letter written by the previous Secretary for International Development, Clare Short, to the Zimbabwe Minister for Agriculture, Kumbirai Kangai, in which she stated the following: 'I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised not colonisers.' See, C. Short, 'How it all Started', New African, 40, 5 (2002), p. 10.
63. It is somewhat ironic that the revolutionary long-drop toilets prevalent in rural areas in Zimbabwe are known as 'Blair toilets'. These pit latrines were named after the research institute in Zimbabwe that designed them for mass use in the rural areas where cholera and typhoid were a major problem. The latrines are not named after Tony Blair but rather after the Blair Research Institute in Zimbabwe, which has nothing to do with Tony Blair.
64. 'Silver Jubilee: Zim to Honour Distinguished Individuals', The Herald, 15 April 2005.
65. Martin and Johnson, The Struggle for Zimbabwe, pp. 25-30.
66. 'Zim-Mozambique Solidarity Bash Roars into Life', The Herald, 11 October 2004.
67. A.M. Sibanda, The Zimbabwe African People's Union, 1961-87: A Political History of Insurgency in Southern Rhodesia (Trenton, NJ, Africa World Press, 2005).
68. N. Kriger, 'Zimbabwe: Political Constructions of War Veterans', Review of African Political Economy, 30, 96, (2003), p. 323.
69. S.J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 'Puppets or Patriots! A Study of Nationalist Rivalry Over the Spoils of Dying Settler Colonialism in Zimbabwe, 1977-1980', in W.J. Burszta, T. Kamusella and S. Wojciechowski (eds), Nationalisms Across the Globe: An Overview of Nationalisms in State-Endowed and Stateless Nations: Volume II: The World (Pozanan, Poland, School of Humanities and Journalism, 2006), pp. 345-98.
70. 'Thousands Expected At Heroes' Commemorations', The Herald, 9 August 2004.
71. 'President Implores MDC to Repent', The Herald, 16 August 2003.
72. 'Time to Remember Gallant Liberators', The Herald, 10 August 2004.
73. 'Madonko, Innocent, Remain United - President', The Herald, 15 July 2005.
74. S.J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 'Patriots, Puppets, Dissidents and the Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion in Contemporary Zimbabwe', Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, XXIV, 1 (January 2008), pp. 81-108.
75. Solidarity Peace Trust, National Youth Service Training - 'Shaping Youth in a Truly Zimbabwean Manner', p. 13.
76. Ibid., p. 18.
77. C.S. Banana (ed.), Turmoil and Tenacity: Zimbabwe, 1890-1990 (The College Press, Harare, 1989).
78. M. Sithole, 'Turmoil and Tenacity: The Road to the Unity Accord: Essay Review', Zambezia, 18, 2 (1991), pp. 143-52.
79. '16 Years on Zim Remains United', The Herald, 22 December 2003.
80. 'Keep Unity Alive, Says President', The Herald, 8 February 2005.
81. Early 2008, Dabengwa resigned from ZANU-PF to join Simba Makoni's faction, which participated in the March 2008 elections. Subsequently in December 2008, he announced the resuscitation of ZAPU as an independent party.
82. 'Dabengwa Talks Tough on Unity', The Zimbabwe Times, 24 December 2007, http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/page269.htm (last accessed 23 March 2008).
83. 'Remain United: President', The Herald, 30 November 2004.
84. 'Madonko, Innocent, Remain United - President', The Herald, 15 July 2005.
85. M. de Goede, 'Rethinking Cultural Heritage; The Commercialization and Politicization of Great Zimbabwe National Monument 1902-2002', Unpublished MA Dissertation, Leiden University, Leiden, 2002, p. 76.
86. Fontein, The Silence of Great Zimbabwe.
87. 'Masvingo Accidents Blamed On ZANU-PF', The Standard, 16 June 2002.
88. 'Follow in the Footsteps of Father Zim', The Herald, 2 July 2002.
89. 'Remain United: President', The Herald, 30 November 2004.
90. S.J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 'Forging and Imagining the Nation in Zimbabwe: Trials and Tribulations of Joshua Nkomo as a Nationalist Leader', Nationalities Affairs, 30 (June 2007), pp. 25-42.
91. 'ZANU-PF Accused of Using Former Vice President's Death', The Standard, 7 July 2002.
92. Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF), Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS) (Harare, ZARF, 2001).