Chimurenga

For the magazine, see Chimurenga (magazine). For the music genre, see Chimurenga music.

Chimurenga is a Shona word for 'revolutionary struggle'. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice,^[1] specifically used for the African insurrections against British colonial rule 1896–1897 (First Chimurenga) and the guerrilla war against the white minority regime of Rhodesia 1966–1980 (Second Chimurenga).

The concept is also occasionally used in reference to the land reform programme undertaken by the Government of Zimbabwe since 2000 (so-called Third Chimurenga).

The expression is also used in context with modern Zimbabwean music, Chimurenga music.

First Chimurenga

Main article: Second Matabele War

The First Chimurenga is now celebrated in Zimbabwe as the First War of Independence, it is also known in the English speaking world as the Second Matabele War. This conflict refers to the 1896–1897 Ndebele-Shona revolt against colonial rule by the British South Africa Company.

Mlimo, the Matabele spiritual/religious leader, is credited with fomenting much of the anger that led to this confrontation. He convinced the Ndebele and Shona that the white settlers (almost 4,000 strong by then) were responsible for the drought, locust plagues and the cattle disease rinderpest ravaging the country at the time. Mlimo's call to battle was well timed. Only a few months earlier, the British South Africa Company's Administrator General for Matabeleland, Leander Starr Jameson, had sent most of his troops and armaments to fight the Transvaal Republic in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. This left the country's defenses in disarray. The Ndebele began their revolt in March 1896.

In June 1896, Mashaykuma led the uprising of the Zezuru Shona people located to the South West of the capital Salisbury.Mashayamombe worked with the local spiritual leader Kagubi,and during this period a British farmer Norton and his wife were killed at Porta Farm in Norton.

The third phase of the First Chimurenga was joined by the Hwata Dynasty of Mazoe.They succeeded in driving away the British settlers from their lands on 20 June 1896.Three months later,the British South Africa Police regrouped and establish control over the Hwata people after their Mambo (King) Hwata surrendered together with his spirit medium, Nehanda Nyakasikana. Hwata and Nehanda Nyakasikana were sentenced to death and executed.

Mlimo was eventually assassinated in his temple in Matobo Hills by the American scout Frederick Russell Burnham. Upon learning of the death of Mlimo, Cecil Rhodes boldly walked unarmed into the native's stronghold and persuaded the Impi to lay down their arms.^[2] The First Chimurenga thus ended on October 1897.Matabeleland and Mashonaland were unified as a colony of Great Britain and named Southern Rhodesia.

Second Chimurenga (1966–1979)

Main article: Rhodesian Bush War

The Second Chimurenga, also known as the Rhodesian Bush War or as Zimbabwe's liberation war, refers to the guerrilla war of 1966–1979 which led to the end of white-minority rule in Rhodesia and to the de-facto independence of Zimbabwe. African nationalist politicians have always regarded Rhodesia as a British colony that paid allegiance to the British crown with British courts having appellate jurisdiction over Rhodesia. Its physical manifestation was, however, as a conflict between the minority white settler government of Ian Smith Rhodesian Front and the African nationalists of the Patriotic Front alliance of ZANU (mainly Shona) and ZAPU (mainly Ndebele) movements, led by Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo respectively.^[3][4] This is a possible explanation of the failure of all attempts by the minority white government of Rhodesia to reach a negotiated settlement and the substantial success of the British initiated negotiations, which culminated in the Lancaster House Constitutional Agreement in 1979.

Official perspective

This conflict is seen by the present day Zimbabwean Government and the official MDC opposition as a war of national liberation from colonialism and racism. At the time of the conflict, the then Wilson Government in London and Patriotic Front (former military alliance of ZAPU-PF and ZANU-PF) shared this view, along with the OAU, United Nations and many members of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Canada, India, Ghana and New Zealand, China the European Union and the former Eastern Block states.

Perspective of the Rhodesian Front

At the time, however, the Rhodesian government saw the conflict as a fight between one part of the country's population (the minority whites) on behalf of supposedly the whole country, including the majority racially discriminated blacks against another, externally financed party made up of allegedly black radicals and communists in defense of the country and of feigned Western ideals. The Nationalists saw their country as having been occupied and dominated by a foreign power, namely, Britain, since 1980 - even though the British Government, in the person of the Governor General had been expelled in 1964 by the Rhodesian Front government of Ian Smith and had only ruled since the end of the British South Africa Company in the 1920s. However, this expulsion of the British was not recognized by both the British Government and the African nationalists and the rest of the International community who reacted by imposing an economic blockade on Rhodesia. This did not deter the minority Settler-dominated Rhodesian Government to view the Nationalists as Communist agents and their conflict as part of the defense of Western values (Christianity, the rule of Law and (ironically) democracy); they refused to compromise on most political, economic and social grievances as raised by the Nationalists who claimed to represent the majority black Shona and Ndebele population, in part because the Smith Administration saw the traditional chiefs as the legitimate voice of the Shona and Ndebele population and the Nationalists as dangerous usurpers. With no end in sight the Smith Administration attempted to weaken the power of the nationalists cause by acceding to an "Internal Settlement" which ended formal white rule, changed the name of the country to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia and created the country's first nominal black head of government, Abel Muzorewa. However, unsatisfied with this and spurned on by Britain's refusal to recognise the new order, the Nationalist forces persisted.^[5]

The Second Chimurenga/Bush War ended when the white-dominated government democratically elected black Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa) returned power to the British government at the 1979 Lancaster House Constitutional Conference. At the behest of both South Africa (its major backer) and the US, multi-ethnic elections were subsequently held in February 1980. Britain recognised this new government, and the internationally recognised independent country was renamed as Zimbabwe.

In music

Main article: Chimurenga music

'Chimurenga' also refers to a style of music first branded by Thomas Mapfumo, who mixed African rhythmic patterns and instruments such as Mbira (thumb piano), drums, gourd rattles with Western styles (e-guitar) in songs that achieved wide popularity among the protest movement against white minority rule. Today the term Chimurenga music refers to popular Shona music from Zimbabwe.

References

1. ^ What is Chimurenga?
2. ^ Farwell, Byron (2001). The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Land Warfare: An Illustrated World View. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 539. ISBN 0393047709. http://books.google.com/books?visbn=0393047709&id=m-XpP_pdANcC&pg=PA539&lpg=PA539&dq=Cecil+Rhodes+boldly+walked+unarmed. 
3. ^ King Chung, Fay (2006). Re-living the Second Chimurenga: Memories from Zimbabwes Liberation Struggle. Stockholm: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. 
4. ^ David, Martin (1981). The Struggle for Zimbabwe: The Chimurenga War. Harare: Zimbabwe Publishing Company. 
5. ^ Smith, Ian Douglas (2001). The Bitter Harvest/Autobiographie. John Blake Publishing Limited.