A-Level Notes History - Early Communities Of Zimbabwe - The Economic Organization of Mutapa State
It rested on three major branches of production -agriculture, livestock herding and external trade. Traditional school of thought support the view that it was mainly through external trade that the state developed.
The Economic Organization of Mutapa State
It rested on three major branches of production -agriculture, livestock herding and external trade. Traditional school of thought support the view that it was mainly through Crop Cultivation: Their traditional crops according to Randals (1981) were the three main cereals which are finger millet (rukweza), bulrush millet (mhunga) and sorghum (mapfunde). Several Mutapas were keen to accept new crops from abroad, which is a clear reflection
Trade: Evidence from Portuguese records shows that trade was important in the Mutapa State and it operated through Indian Ocean ports such as Sofala on the Mozambican coast. Initially, this trade appears to have been with the Arab and Swahili merchants, or more precisely with their agents known as 'Vashambadzi', equivalent to modern day sales men.
As the Portuguese became active, they took over from the Arabs. Gold was the main export
However, anyone who acquired such items enjoyed a high status position in the society. Beads, for example, were worn by women and the more beads a woman had, the more important she was and so was her husband. This probably explains why bride wealth is sometimes called 'chuma' in some Shona societies. This in turn reflects the importance of beads as trade goods. Gold mining and external trade were state monopoly, that is, both activities were controlled by the ruling elite. Some Portuguese did directly trade with the ordinary Mutapa people.
One Portuguese writer for example De Conto argues that ordinary people did in fact deal directly with traders. He says, "People are so lazy that they will stop as soon as they find enough gold to buy two pieces of cloth to dress themselves". The statement simply shows that the idea of trade falling strictly under the control of the Mutapa State seems unlikely. However, the Muta pa got a large proportion of the trade and grew powerful and wealthy as a result.
Gold Mining: The Shona were skilled prospectors. Most of the gold mines in Zimbabwe are on or near sites discovered and worked hundreds of years ago. Some ways they might have found gold are:
By studying soil and vegetation.
By examining the soil white ants brought up from under the ground.
By looking at rock outcrops that might relate to what is beneath the soil. By looking in rivers or places where water runs in the rain season.
Once gold was located, the people either panned the gold using square trays or dug shafts. Women and men, indeed whole families took part in mining. It is interesting to note that many mines which have been discovered were closed up .Two reasons for this were: So that the Portuguese would not know how much gold was available and secondly, if in the area of certain vassal chiefs, so that Mutapa would not demand more tribute. However, although the Portuguese wanted more gold, they found that it was a laborious and dangerous process extracting it. They decided in the end to simply wait for it to be brought to them.
Pastoral Economy: Cattle were important not only as payment for the extraction of gold but also as food for the many armies of the Mutapa. Cattle were also important in the court life of the state, since large numbers of people who visited the capital for various reasons had to be fed. Some cattle were herded and looked after for the Mutapa by other people under a system called 'kuronzera'. The person with cattle could use them for milk or labour but could not kill them. The king's herd increased through reproduction, tribute, gifts, and raids. Cattle served several functions among which were; a form of storing wealth, for food during war and famine, for inducing subjects to mine gold and as Mudenge (1998) states, cattle were also used for riding and carrying baggage.
Tribute: It took a variety of forms. There was labour tribute which entailed working in the king's fields. Proctor and Phimister (1997) say it was common for some subject chiefs to forward their sons and daughters to the king to function as purges and wives of the king. There was also game tribute which came from hunters. Certain parts of game had to be surrendered to the king as an expression of loyalty. From the Portuguese came tribute known as 'curva' as a way of their acknowledgement of the authority of the king. There was also visitors' tribute. Every visitor to the king was expected to come along with gifts as a
It is clear that the Mutapa had lesser rulers under him, who from time to time had to show their allegiance to the ruler. This would be shown through the tribute payment which could be in the form of agricultural produce, labour, giving valuable skins, gold or cattle. Cattle were not a one way traffic but rather moved up and down the social classes. The Mutapas received cattle in tribute and they in turn used such cattle to pay for services or to reward their subjects.
Crop Cultivation: Crop cultivation appears to have been one of the major economic activities of the Mutapa State. Crops grown included millet and sorghum. Maize production was a later introduction. The ordinary people relied on agricultural production more than anything else for livelihood. In fact, some scholars have shown that activities such as gold mining took second place to agricultural production, to the extent that such other activities took place outside the normal agricultural season, when crops would have been harvested and stored.
One Portuguese source shows the importance of agriculture saying:
" ... will not exert themselves to seek gold unless they are constrained by necessity for want of clothes or provision, which are not wanting in the land for it abounds with them namelymillet, some rice, vegetables; large and small cattle and many hens. The land abounds with rivers of gold water and the greater number of Kaffirs are inclined to agricultural and pastoral pursuits in which theirrichesexists."
Hunting: Hunting was also key to the Mutapa economy. It served several functions. It supplemented the diet of the Mutapa People. Ivory was used for trade and at the same time hunting helped eliminate elephants which damaged crops. Hunting also helped in perfecting qualities such as bravery, precise shooting and endurance.
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