A-Level Notes History - Early Communities Of Zimbabwe - The Great Zimbabwe State

The Great Zimbabwe State

The Great Zimbabwe State was a Later Iron Age Culture, which flourished  between 1100 and 1500 AD.  (1000 to 1450). This was and still  is a bustling metropolitan state fortified with thick stone walls up the hill cliff down to the valley. The Metropolitan Great Zimbabwe had a population of more than 30,000 people. The major natural  attraction of the state were the Nemamwe Hills and the river Mutirikwi. She also controlled the Save River up to the Limpopo on its confluence. The Great Zimbabwe civilisation  had all what was needed for a modern 21st century state.  From the hierarchical  political  organisation to the social and economic system, the state was efficiently governed with trade and production monitored and supervised.

The elaborate stone wall construction is testimony to the political control of the resources. The monumental  stone walls assembled and laid without dagga suggest a complex organisational  control  and effective supervision.  Considerable human and material sacrifice is evident in the classic narrative of a rock strong state.  Huge if not massive and voluntary labour force explain the benefits of prolonged periods of peace,  stability and resulting  in the massive resource investment into the construction of the Metropolitan State.

Written evidence has been collaborated by various other sources like oral tradition, archaeology, anthropology and ethnography to testify and conclude that the Gokomere people settled  in the area from the 4th century AD till they began construction of the stone wall  monument structure which lasted for 300 years before the city began to decline. The rise of Great Zimbabwe is directly linked to the decline of Mapungubwe in the 12th century due to political  upheavals in Nguni States, ecological changes and economic attractions beyond the Limpopo valley northwards.

Pull factors and theories to the foundation of Great Zimbabwe,  included agricultural, environmental,  religious, trade and cattle activities. These hypothesis are equally important in explaining the decline of Mapungubwe and the rise of Great Zimbabwe. The Eurocentric view which shall  be explained later should be rubbished as mere racial  rhetoric and gibbering for relevance.  The Eurocentric view should not be seen as a controversy but an unfortunate narrative  because Great Zimbabwe's origin  is traceable to Ziwa leopard's kopje, Zhizo,  Bambadyanalo and Mapungubwe

Pre 1420 Zimbabwe Empire

Great Zimbabwe and Mutapa Empires  are successors  to Mapungubwe a Shona civilisation which dates back to the year 1000BC. The first king of Mapungubwe was Tavera (Thovhele) Nemapungwe.  Sacred anscestors through orality help to reconstruct the history of ancestral kings. The Shona in today's Zimbabwe  ,    the Venda and Lobedu in  Northern South Africa attest to Tavera, Thobela,  or Thovhele Nemapungubwe as the first recorded legendary king. This is confirmed through folklore and song as the royal ancestor of the Shona.  '  Tavera Mudzimu dzoka! Vana vanorwara.  Mudzimu dzoka.  Kwaziwayi Tavera!  Mambire Tavera succeded the father and is the father of the lengendery Murenga Pfumojena Sororenzou known southwardsas Thohoyandou.  Murenga is the founder and architecture of Great Zimbabwe or Ruzvingo with the Sone Capital at Mutirikwe River. The lendary ruler was a great warrior that all warriors and even liberation warriors of the modern Zimbabwe emulated and revererd religiously.  Murenga according to oral tradition  was father of Runji, Chaminuka,  Nehanda and Mushavatu.  Mapungubwe was a great empire that paved way to the domination  of Shona through Great Zimbabwe and Mutapa.

The Great Zimbabwe was built by successive great Kings from Murenga,  Chaminuka, Kutamadzoka and Chingwangu Rusvingo. Chingwangwu  was the shrewdest of all. He instructed all people in  his empire to bring five stones (matombo mashanu) bricks including visistors to the capital. On export the the kings exacted 50% of all transaction.  For both imports and exports traders paid tax of 50% to the state.  Highly trained policing officers enforced tradiding laws an were assisted by an equally trained army which protecd trading posts, stone fortresses and routes to the coast. They also collected tribute from all vassal chiefs and defended the empire.  Great Zimbabwe had about 9 recorded great Kings and to confirm to this, 8 birds which were insignia of coronation were discovered for each king. 

These included: 

1} Kutamadzoka ( son of Chaminuka)

2}Chingwangwu  Rusvingo (son of Chaminuka)

3}Chidyamatamba

4}Chimedzamabwe

5}Kangambeu-  Kurima Kwakona ( Dyembeu)

6}Mombemuriwo

7}Mavhudzi  (Chibatamatosi)

8}Nyatsimba Mutota who did not leave his Bird because he moved to Dande Valley

9}Munembiri  Mudadi 

At the Great Zimbabwe capital  resided the revered spirit of Murenga that departed to Mabweadziva or Matopos apon the succession feud by Nyatsimba Mutota and his brothers Dzugudini who migrated southawrads and Mukwati who followed the Murnga spirit westwards. The legitimate and prepared prince was Nyatsimba Mutotawho was challenged by  Prince  Mukwati who said '  Bva torwa /togwa' and so was given the praise name Torwa/ Togwa. A stalemate in a war that ensued resulted in the abandonment  of Great Zimbabwe. They leftthe cursed capital  under their relative Mudadi. Nyatsimba Mutota built the most successful empire to incorporate his rebel  brothers and relative Mudadi.  His capital  stood at Zvogombwe and Tuuyu Twusere/Tusere and his group was called Korekore by the Tavara because of their large numbers.  Mukwati  built his capital at Khami  near Matopos but eventually peacefully capitulated to Mutota's Mutapa.  Same bloodline without breaking the backbone apon which Great Zimbabwe was built. It was Torwa known also as Butua or Guruuswa that was often mistaken for Mutapa by the Portuguese depending on where they were coming from.  Mutota was a shewed diplomat and conquerer.  He used matrimonial alliances to reign over all vassalage.  Conquest and  and economic surrogation to throttle small  neighbours of life was his art of empire creation and control. 8 Baobab trees were planted to symbolise his 8 member council  comprising the chiefs of the major states' This is were were Mutota and the 8 are buried symbolically for the state.  Mukonohasha was the commader of the Mutapa army and hailed from Barwe .    Manyika,  Uteve,  Manyika, Madanda,  Sofall, Tete and Guruuswa were the major tributaries.

The military institution of Mutapa  numbered not less than 3000 vanyai/soldiers  at any time a could be mobilised within 24 hours. The military wasa unifying factor as mauto/soldiers were recruited from all vassal states. They used horn trumpets and drums as signals in battles. The armies used the encircling formation they called 'Muromo' well  before it was mastered and abused by oher states. They also used guns besides spears,  bows, arrows and  knobkerries. The vanyai defeated the Maravi, Zimba,  Nguni of Xaba and Ndebele in the 1830s.Theories  on the Rise of Great Zimbabwe

Trade Theory

During the existence of Mapungubwe from the discoveries at the hill acropolis, trade occupied the economic centre stage. Thus trade became the mantra and main stimulus for the rise of the great Zimbabwe State of stone, "Zimba ramabwe".  From the evidence abound at Mapungubwe, the volume of trade increased along the Limpopo and the Indian coast. The establishment  of the Great Zimbabwe State coincided with this new wave of economic demand,  along the Save River which was closer to the coast. The shift from declining Mapungubwe to Great Zimbabwe made the new state the trading centre in Southern Africa.  Both rise and growth of Great Zimbabwe may directly be associated with the growth of the long distance trade between the coast and the Zimbabwean plateau, which was promoted by the Swahili Arab traders. This theory has had proponents like Garlake,  Hall,  Pwiti and Cornor. Trade catalysed economic prosperity and development and preservation of a rock solid state. The wealth generated by trade had direct ripple effects into other economic activities which generated more wealth for the state.  Mining and hunting for ivory intensified as others took to smelting,  blacksmithing,  commercial  pottery, craftwork, and basketry. The Great Zimbabwe State prospered with employment and wealth generation.  Political authority was required to be efficient to protect sources of wealth, trade routes and markets.  It was also required to ensure political stability and expand for more resources. The more wealth generated from this new economic dispensation the more power the Zimbabwe kings enjoyed. The transition from a subsistence economy to a commercial one opened huge opportunities for the Great Zimbabwe State.

The discoveries of a huge cache of foreign treasures like cloth,  guns, ammunition,  glass, beads, spoons,  Chinese dishes and bowls,  porcelain,  Islamic ceramic, wine bottles and mirrors attest to a huge trade economic bias.  Glass beads from India and bowls from Persia all attest to the importance of trade at the Great Zimbabwe acropolis.  It is from this new economic world that the beautification on the centre of trade became a priority. The trading centre for Southern Africa  had to be fortified for eternity to secure the new dispensation. Excess capital was wisely invested  in the construction  of the huge dry stone walled fortresses which turned into a bustling trading metropolitan town to service regional and international trade. The rise of rulers at Great Zimbabwe began to be determined by the strength and decline in trade. Wealth from trade increased  people's appetite for power and more wealth.  Succession disputes ensued for control of wealth and power. The wealth and power at Great Zimbabwe are visible from the plush lavish telling hilly acropolis to the spacious and equally expensively built Great Enclosure and the domineering and hovering conical tower.

Great Zimbabwean acropolis was a bastion of elitism, where the meaning was for posterity.

The elite, controlled not only trade and sources of wealth but also religion, to completely impose their will on their subjects. The Great Zimbabwe State had a phenomenal growth that surpassed all  around it from the gold and ivory trade.

The Ecological Theory

The rich economic resource base in Zimbabwe and the education and initiation system made Great Zimbabwe a rich land of possibilities of licking and lickers. The rich endowment from favourable weather, excellent rainfall pattern, a variety of fertile soils, plush woodlands, palatable pastures and foliage,  rich  mineral  resources and game,  made the rock solid state a destination for traders,  explorers and wealth  prospectors. The climatic conditions followed crop cultivation,  pastoral farming and wild animals.  Great Zimbabwe was very rich in  livestock husbandry as evidenced by archaeological excavations of cattle bone dumpsites, which attest to a prosperous livestock rearing economy.  Grave scavenging by earlier archaeologist, who did it for fortune realised from the bone remains and stature of the skeletal  bodies that the Great Zimbabwe people enjoyed a balanced diet of cereal and meat. Valleys and hills at Great Zimbabwe supported large heads of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats that were supported by the availability of the Mutirikwe and Save Rivers. The area was also relatively free from livestock diseases,  like nagana.  Fertile soils supported the growth of a variety of cereal  crops,  melons, gourds,  pumpkins,  nuts, cowpeas and beans.

The woodlands were enriched for wild game for meat and ivory.  It also provided firewood and supplementary food like mushroom, fruits, and insects. Anthropological and ethnographic evidence concur that the rise of great Zimbabwe was predicated on pastoralism,  hunting and crop cultivation.

Ecological factors include mineral wealth.  Great Zimbabwe was rich  in a variety of minerals like iron, tin,  copper and gold. This supported an Iron Age Society, for its domestic use and trade. The Nemamwe and Gumanye hills,  provided the requisite stone boulders for the new construction of this great beautiful state.  Ecological factors were enriching for the state,  as it provided the relevant sources of wealth for posterity.  Soil shortage which has been exaggerated  by colonial  historians also cause migration and collapse of Mapungubwe and rise of Great Zimbabwe.

The Cattle Theory

All the theories propounded by various historians like Garlake and Pwiti are both stimuli and accelerators of the growth of Great Zimbabwe. Possession of cattle became a big source of wealth among the Gumanje people and other at Great Zimbabwe.  It was a primary source of wealth and power because it could profitably be exchanged or traded locally with goods.

The elite were honoured with the slaughter of a couple of cattle.  Possession of cattle enabled the wealthy man to be polygamous.  Polygamy further enhanced wealth accumulation through free labour from wives and children. Thus possession of huge herds of cattle enabled the wealthy man to command a huge following and respect. The elite got authority from cattle wealth which gave them political  power.

Pastoralism,  according to Cornor,  led to the development of social  complexity at Great Zimbabwe. The argument is premised on the archaeological discovery of many cattle bones at the site.

At Great Zimbabwe,  complete fortress discovery of acoustic properties enabling one's voice to be carried right to the bottom of the valley, giving an air of mystique.

The cattle hypothesis is also supported by the availability of cattle per enclosure throughout the settlement. Anthropological evidence and ethnography,  have an essential  role in collaborating the cattle theory. Vast pastures and water holes supported cattle production. Cattle production  resulted in the classification and stratification  of the Great Zimbabwe people.  Cattle was used for draught power,  lobola,  hides for cloth,  milk,  leasing (kuronzesa) and as a form of appeasing avenging spirits (Kuripa ngozi).  Ransoms were also paid in cattle together with tribute.  Ritual  and ceremonies were graced with the slaughter of cattle and people danced,  drummed,  recited poems and ate lots of meat. Wars were fought to capture cattle or expand pastures. The choice of the Great Zimbabwe settlement favoured production  of large herds of cattle.

Cereal Cultivating Theory

Pastoralism and cereal  production can be classified under agricultural theory, though it is more prudent to debunk agriculture. The choice of the Great Zimbabwe site was heavily influenced  by fertile soils for crop cultivation  on the vast valleys below the Nemamwe hills. Archaeologists  discovered terraces and canals which attest to a viable and prosperous crop cultivation economy.  Ridges and wells along Lake Mutirikwe,  confirm the importance of crop cultivation at Great Zimbabwe.  Domestication of cereal  crops like rapoko,  millet,  sorghum, pumpkins and gourds,  resulted in surplus production of grain.  Surplus grain fielded classes at Great Zimbabwe as it created elite groups which manipulated the poor, thus enhancing political  power.

Domestication of cereal  crops provided food security and excess for trade and charity which heavily predicated on the growth of the population  and social  complexity.  People bettered their diet as they diversified crop cultivation to include nuts,  beans, cow peas and tubers. More land was sought for cereal  crops and the wealthy cultivators filled in their granaries. Grain was better preserved with ash and soot, to last for a prolonged period from one to five years.  Granaries were also built on high ground,  supported by big boulders of stone to protect grain from moisture.  Large granaries and carbonated seeds were discovered at the Great Zimbabwe site together with a couple of winnowing basalts and grinding stones and pestles suggest the importance of crop cultivation.

Religious Theory

The Shona society was a religious society that worshiped the supreme God,  Mwari or Musikavanhu through ancestral  spirits who manifested themselves through spirit mediums. These were merely spiritual  mediums of communication  between the living  and God. The magnanimous Great Zimbabwe was also a religious shrine for various ceremonies and rituals. The Shona converged at the site for mukwerera (rainmaking ceremony) or mapira enyika which were national  cleansing ceremonies) and healing shrine sessions.  Many Pilgrimages, were made to the mhondoros (National spirit mediums) and n'angas (doctors) and vafemberi / vashoperi  (prophets), at the site.  Pilgrims to the site sometimes came to stay permanently for various social,  political and economic reasons. The population  of the site grew as a complex society and developed, which demanded the rise of charismatic leaders and a very strong social and economic matrix.

Religion played a central role to the rise of Great Zimbabwe as shown by the ceremonial religious symbolic structures like the Conical Tower. The tower stands massively in stone among all other structures to show religious strength of fatherhood,  creation,  and eternity.  Found at Great Zimbabwe are figurines of the fish eagle - Hungwe.  Eight of these big birds were discovered and has since dawned down on historians and anthropologists that the fish eagle figurine on his enstoolment for posterity,  strength,  hope and identity, vitality and prosperity.  In the Shona tradition, the fish eagle only strayed out of the river banks when it sought to warn and inform  people about an impending  phenomenal disaster or signal for a real  phenomenal salvation  like the rise of a great King. The eight fish eagles represent successive kings of Great Zimbabwe,  each protected by the bird. This had a very strong historical  religious connotation. The birds were not inherited,  but by the tradition, were all kept the Great Zimbabwe shrine. They were sacred (dzaiyera). These birds were linked to the Hungwe Dziva lineage and the Great Zimbabwe site was known as "Mabwe Adziva" translating to "Dziva's stone houses". The birds also stood as guardians of the shrine as they were also found right on top of the stone walls which was unreachable to ordinary people.

All  hypothesis concur that Great Zimbabwe was a shrine --a temple of the Shona people who converged for prayers and worshipped  in the Great Zimbabwe enclosures, where the conical tower is found,  symbolically depicting masculinity for production and eternity.

The monoliths were also religious symbols found at the site.  Religion for every society is a skirt,  shashiko or nhembe to cover all secrets ... sacred and sanctity, which when removed (kufugurwa),  left people without shame,  in embarrassment  and bereft of identity. The Great Zimbabwe elites and political  leadership depended heavily on the guidance and advice of the mhondoros and svikiros, who helped to clear succession disputes and blessed the incumbent heirs and kings. They cleansed the kings' courts and his pages of any impending dangers and enemies.

Some of the spiritual  leaders were resident at King's court and presided over all religious ceremonies.  Religion,  politics and economics were inextricably intertwined  at Great Zimbabwe.  Rain making ceremonies (mukwerera), were done for good harvests with pomp, fun,  beer, song,  dance and prayers. There is no mono-causal factor on the rise of Great Zimbabwe but multi-causal.  Religion also played a crucial  role among the multi-causal hypothesis given by various scholars on the rise of Great Zimbabwe.

Social Organisation of Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe was a Late Iron Age cultural  city state of more than 30, 000 inhabitants. There was very clear social distinction  between the urban dwellers and peasants. The stratification of the society was evident in the lifestyles of the ruling classes and the commoners in terms of residents,  living space and goods. The rulers lived  up the hills of Nemamwe and Gumanje in luxury and pomp. They lived  large,  in well-furnished houses, imported clothes,  plenty of food,  beef and lots of whiskey.  Plentiful  concubines and women, sometimes up to a 100 wives who took sexual turns to climb up the mountain for conjugal duties. The rulers married from different districts to cement unity and spy on the people. Anthropological  evidence has shown that the ruling elite influenced slaughter patterns as they opted for tender young and prime beef when the ordinary consumed meat from older animals,. Young men (vadzimba) hunted for the kings courts.

The commoners at Great Zimbabwe lived  in the valley complex often unprotected by the stone walls. These were involved  in all forms of production. The rulers supervised the production especially of hunting for ivory and mining of gold, timber and copper. They also supervised and controlled trade and the imports and exports in the state.  Commoners paid tribute to the rulers and often had the king's field at every village whose produce sustained the king's court.  Other rulers like the king's wives and his brothers and other high profile officials lived on the valley complex fortified  by thick and huge stone walls. The uphill complex was more elaborate to accommodate the king,  spirit mediums,  doctors,  prophets, bodyguards, and the Tumbare -- military commander.

The people of Great Zimbabwe respected and revered adult privilege and responsibility. Gender, age and skill determined the social stratum of senior men and women and the other one of young married  men and women. The older generation  symbolised wisdom and maturity whilst the young married men and women symbolised virility and fertility. Figurines found at the Great uphill enclosure reveal the ethos of social education.  Social education is an understatement,  because the elite were also enlisted in this school for political and economic lessons.  Social education from social anthropological evidence was based on  producing a complete man and woman. The female and male figurines where used to teach women that "literally"mugoti  (wooden spoon for sadza), could be used for cooking  sadza in every pot (mugoti wese unoibvisa sadza,  hazvineyi  kuti  poto yakakura sei).  So they were told how to satisfy man of every size. They were taught sexual  positions and  actions to satisfy every size. This reduced incidents of infidelity.    Men were also told to accept these sexual gymnastics and that every pot,  big or small (mugoti wese unobika sadza).  Men had to also help women find best positions to satisfy their conjugal duties. Education was not confined to sex alone but all that made human beings complete beings. Women were taught to bath three times per day. They were taught how to walk properly without provoking men, talk politely and softly without offending others, whisper not shout. They were also taught how to use their eyes and gestures.  Customs, traditions and values were taught to women, to recite their husbands' totems as a way of arousing a man's feelings and encourage men to work more.  Men were psychologically  motivated by totemic recitation of poems to arouse their sexual feelings. They were also taught how to conceive and give birth,  initial  medicines for the mothers and children after giving birth. They were also taught how to cook different dishes and identify staffs without poisoning their families. Also were taught how to dress, wash clothes,  how to make clothes and brew beer,  how to sing and dance.

Young men were taught different economic skills and entrepreneurship. They were taught skills to hunt and track animals. They received lessons on identifying and mining minerals, how to smelt and blacksmith,  make craft and basketry,  drums and tan leather. They were also taught morals and values and often the history of their lineage and country. They had various teachers in various fields. This all led to specialisation on the basis of gender and ability.

Man at Great Zimbabwe paid roora in the form of cattle and iron tools, though the rich could add cloth and utensils. This was a patriarchal  society.  People believed in  ngozi  (avenging spirits) which helped to uphold the sanctity of life.  People lived  according to their lineages and used totems to distinguish their relations.  Marriage of the same totem was discouraged and heavily punishable by a fine of a head of white cattle. All taboos were punishable by banishing or fines.

Great Zimbabwe Economy

The economy of Great Zimbabwe was based on multiple activities. The main economic activities were pastoralism,  cereal crop production, trade,  mining,  smelting,  blacksmithing, tribute, salt extraction  and hunting.  Other productive activities included gathering, weaving, tanning,  drum making,  masonry (building),  pottery making,  carving,  basketry,  craftwork and raiding.  Economic activities were diverse and equally important for people's living.  Prophets, doctors (n'angas) and spirit mediums also earned a living  by making people pay for their services.

Pastoralism

Pastoralism was a very important branch of the Great Zimbabwe economy. They kept mainly cattle which was essential  as a source of wealth,  power, and status.  Cattle were kept for mainly supply of meat to the ruling classes and individuals.  Cattle contributed significantly in bringing food security as meat directly supplemented cereal grains for their diet or staple food. They used cattle for draught power,  ritual  purposes as sacrifice or payment to appease avenging spirits (ngozi). They were the main source of milk.  Cattle were used as bride price in roora and thus played a very significant role to grow the Great Zimbabwe economy and political  power. Archaeologists  at Great Zimbabwe metropolitan town founded multiple cattle pens,  bones and water halls which explain also the theory of cattle over the choice of the settlement at Great Zimbabwe. The pastures and plant foliage throughout the Nemamwe hills and valleys attest for this wealth. Anthropological and oral tradition also confirm the theory of cattle over the growth of Great Zimbabwe.  People did not also trade in cattle but also leased them (kuronzera) to influence and gain control  over the commoners. Visitors to the King's court were treated to cattle meat and milk in abundance. Cattle herders constituted  part of the state officials at the king's court.  Kings received cattle fines and tribute and often distributed them to vassal chiefs as gifts to influence their loyalty. Cattle hides were tanned into loin  leather clothes, dress and shoes (nyatera).  Cattle wealth often resulted in wars to loot them or to expand pastures by kings of Great Zimbabwe.

Cattle ranching determined the type of settlement at Great Zimbabwe. Favourable climatic conditions at Great Zimbabwe and other environmental factors encouraged settlement and livestock production which included goats,  sheep,  and pigs.

Crop cultivation was an integral  component of the Great Zimbabwe economy. The domestication of crops and cattle is attributable to permanent settlement by the Shona people at Great Zimbabwe. They grew a variety of the Sudanese cereal  crops like sorghum, millet,  rapoko,  gourds,  pumpkins,  nuts,  beans, cowpeas and brown rice. The staple crops were sorghum and millet. Archaeological  excavations, founded pots and granaries with a variety of the crops grown at Great Zimbabwe.  Storage pits and ground stores were major features among the settlement sites.  Grinding stones and pestles attest to the importance of crop growing.  It also became the major source of food security and authority through the payment of tribute and land  distribution.  Sadza (paste) cooked from millet,  sorghum,  and rapoko meal complimented a staple diet at Great Zimbabwe. The King was honoured with "the King's field," in every village to guarantee food security in the state.  Evidence of water canals and ridges down the hills indicate relatively the importance of cereal crop production and other crops. The gourds (mapudzi) were not only eaten but used to make cups (mukombe),  make mbira instruments (mateze), as music shackles (magavhu and hosho) and the seeds to produce cooking and body oil.

Great Zimbabwe was a centre for regional  and international trade. The coastal trade with mainly the Persians,  Indians,  Chinese and the Arabs brought huge economic prosperity to Great Zimbabwe. Archaeological discoveries brought out,  Chinese porcelain,  lamp holders, glass beads, Asian bowls,  ceramics,  cloth and rings which explain the hierarchical trade for imports to the metropolitan state. Various other ornaments and luxuries were found at the complex dating  back as far as the 13th and 14th  century AD. Trade became a major source of wealth when more economic activities brought more wealth to the state for political  and economic stability. The building of the magnanimous stone walled Great Zimbabwe is attributable to wealth generated by trade. The Great Zimbabwe economy produced mainly gold and ivory for trade.  Other goods for trade included tin,  copper,  and iron,  hides, feathers,  pottery,  basketry and crafts.

Mining complemented  agricultural wealth  and trade.  Production of iron tools revolutionised the Great Zimbabwe economy.  It provided  hoes and axes to clear forests and till the land for crop production.  More durable tools were then effectively used by everyone to increase production of grain.  Gold, tin,  and copper were mined for exports in either their raw form or ornaments.  Even iron  metals were processed and exported.  Mining shafts were found at Great Zimbabwe in the radius of 25km by various researchers showing the importance of mineral wealth.  Mining then like it is today, was and still is a preserve of specialists who know how to identify and extract the metals and minerals smelt and blacksmith. A few devoted professional families were involved  in  minerals exploration and production which made their goods expensive locally.  Mining of Gold, tin and copper was seasonal as it required use of water for purification.  Kings often received minerals and mineral  products through tribute in  raw form though later the aristocracy controlled large mines and trade in minerals. The Sofala port of export on the Indian coast was the biggest trading market and outlet for exports.

Mining promoted specialisation  in smelting and blacksmithing.  Many people earned a living with the two skills and demand increased with population  and settlement growth.  From the products others took them for trade,  also to earn a living.  Mining brought a lot of wealth and power among people at Great Zimbabwe because it also became a lucrative service of wealth and authority as government began to control  mining and trading activities.

Great Zimbabwe specialised on craft production. They made various items from wood, stone and ivory. Various figurines like birds,  people and animals were discovered at the site. They made pots,  plates, and bowls.  One outstanding figurine is that which is said to have been used to collect tribute known as "pfuko yanevanji".  It is shaped like an ox but headless. The Great Zimbabwe fish eagles are unique craft figures with a historical  religious connotation and many smaller ones could be placed on top of high walls for decoration or as spiritual sentinels to eternity.  People also extracted salt from rocks which was ground and used in powder form. They made various baskets like carriages, winnowing baskets (tswanda nerusero ).  Pottery was another popular craft. They made a variety of them for local  use and trade.  Others made drums for the entertainment  industry and communication.

Tanning was also done for loin  cloth and ropes for various uses. Women made pottery from fired clay, decorated them for cooking,  brewing beer and for storage vessels.

At the valley complex as one exits the Great Enclosure,  are four pieces of stone boulders sunk into the ground in a circular form.  Recent research from historians has revealed that the four stones were used for the four seasonal calendar by the Great Zimbabwe people. Change of and disappearance of the stone's shadow at a particular time of the day signalled the dawn or rise of another season. The science and technology behind it surpasses descriptions geography make about the earth's surface.

Political Controversies over the Origin and Construction of Great Zimbabwe

The magnificent  stone walled fortress of Great Zimbabwe has over the years sent Eurocentric archaeologists scampering for evidence to mislead and misinform the world about the origins,  dates,  and the purpose for which  the construction of the stone dry walls were built. Shivers have been sent down the spines of colonial  prospectors to accept a civilisation that surpassed all in Europe to have been the legacy of the Shona.  Many Eurocentric historians included  Rhodes's curators at the Great Zimbabwe,  tried to sway the world with  no evidence of their racial wild claims of foreign origins.  Mind boggling is the fact that even learned  professional  anthropologists and archaeologists have been sucked into this distortions and bias on the building of Great Zimbabwe. The  sinister motive behind the wild claim is the germination of the evil  idea that giving credit to the Shona civilisation would scamper colonial  lies on society painted as "uncivilised and ungodly" to justify their shenanigans.

 Time Controversy

The controversy exposes the weaknesses of archaeological  evidence in that it estimates age of evidence.  Historians are not agreed on the origins of Great Zimbabwe. A particular group of historians concluded from the anthropological,  ethnographic, oral tradition and archaeological evidence that Great Zimbabwe is a direct successor to the Gokomere culture people of central   Zimbabwe plateau.  Others argue about it,  being a successor to leopard kopje and Zhizo cultures. They estimate the dates of the establishment  between the 4th and 6th century AD (300-500 AD). They premise their argument on the foundation of the stones for the Great Zimbabwe monument that it dates back to the 6th century. This is not a wild claim on stones,  because stones from that period could be used any other time after centuries.  Or the Great Zimbabwe started as an Early Iron Age site and politically to engulf the area it occupies today and build the metropolitan stone walled city state between the 9th and 14th centuries AD.  Even the period  before this period does not make Great Zimbabwe an Early Iron Age Site because some other states might have taken longer to migrate to Later Iron Age.  Historians, who place Great Zimbabwe with the leopard's kopje and Zhizo estimate the date of establishment at between 1050 and 1300 AD.  Use of pottery,  mainly to establish dates through carbon and potassium technology is not always perfect. Whatever the case, all Afrocentric and Eurocentric historians agree that Great Zimbabwe existed during this period.

Building Controversy

The hubbub and hulla balloo on the building of Great Zimbabwe has been sickening to Zimbabwean scholars and sundry. The Eurocentric and Afrocentric gibberish perceptions have been put to test in  many fora and debates. The latter argued that the Great Zimbabwe monuments are indisputably Zimbabwean and African. The African  philosophy is evidence in all forms at Great Zimbabwe. The agreed position  is that the magnificent dry stone walled fortress is  100% Shona.

Proponents of the Afrocentric view that it is a Zimbabwean original  monument include archaeologists  like,  Garlake, Thomas Huffman and David  Beach,  Gilbert Pwiti  Mufuka, Chigwedere,  Pikirayi and Tudor Parfitt  .These historians have all concurred and pieced up trading relations between the Shona run Great Zimbabwe with the Arabs, sometimes via the Swahili   middlemen.  Excavations made by David  Randall  Macver between 1905 and 1906 at Great Zimbabwe site had all objects pointing to Bantu Shona origins.  Macver concluded medieval dates for the dry stone wall fortification and temple.  Maclver's findings are confirmed by Getrude Caton -- Thompson's excavations from several dug outs and trenches where she also concluded that the pottery,  iron work, glass beads and gold bracelets confirm Bantu production  and trade.  However, Thompson was deceitful  because she later modified her theory in  1931  to claim an Arab origin of the sites. The controversies on time should be understood and predicated on continuous settlements at Great Zimbabwe from the 5th century to the 15th century. Archaeological carbon and potassium dating of Chinese ceramics,  Persian bowls and Syrian  artefacts place them between 12th and 15th century AD.

Anthropological  support and evidence from pottery tradition,  oral traditions and ethnographic evidence all point to a Shona culture and language,  religion and art. The objects discovered at Great Zimbabwe point to the inhabitants of the site to have descended from Gokomere culture,  a Bantu Shona subgroup that was dated 500 AD. Gokomere culture is a bit complex because it is  related also to the ancestry of the Lemba, Venda,  and Mapungubwe in the North Eastern South Africa.  In spite of all the "jelo jack," claims about Great Zimbabwe by foreigners, one only needs to sombre up and visit the hundreds other MadZimbabwes scattered all over the plateau.  Outstanding of these dry stone walled structures include,  Rusvingo in Rusape, Ziwa in  Nyanga,  Gokomere, Zhizo, Bambadyanalo,  Mapungubwe,  Khami,  Matopos,  Nalatale, Zinjanja,  Dhlodhlo Mapela and the Great Zimbabwe Monument and dismiss the plateau claims by phantons.

The art left by the Great Zimbabwe Shona inhabitants of circular structures depicting the circular world,  circular sun,  circular stars and moon can never be contested and lost to European shameless deceit. The philosophy of the inhabitants  is glaring,  all the complex enclosures are circular.  In the enclosures were strategically  planted replicas and symbols of the Shona religious philosophy of totems, the Hungwe bird (fish eagle), the guardian of the skies,  rivers and the land.  Recent discoveries have shown that the eight big fish eagle figurines represent eight of the successive Great Zimbabwe kings. The artistic decorations on the figurine birds of the chevron -- the zigzag pattern on round shapes in between have always been symbols of womanhood  (zigzag)  and manhood (round ball).  On Zimbabwean, clay pots,  baskets (rusero and tswanda),  huts,  knobkerries,  plates, drums and mats,  are found, with decorations of the Shona culture and origins. These decorations evolve into the checked,  cord,  herringbone and bands at other sites like Khami,  Nalatale, Zinjanja and Danamombe.

The tribute basket (pfuko) yanevanji found at Great Zimbabwe and all other sites explain the inextricable interrelatedness of the cultures of Zimbabwe especially the architectural cultures.  Pedestrian  conclusion to falsify and manipulate the Zimbabwean  history to suit the Darwinist thin orbit of Europe is unethical  and historical gutter fallacy.

The biggest casualty to the Eurocentric myopia has been Europeans and Asians who have been bombarded with mafia trash of the agents of imperialism.  Researchers from beyond the seas have been sent to reproduce documents to misinform the world that Great Zimbabwe was built by the Jews. The Semitic claims are not Semitic but Caucasian.  In the web of their confusion they also associate the ruins with the Phoenician or Arabic civilisations when there are no records or Phoenician  claim to that effect. They also argue that the monuments resemble the Egyptians. Yes Egyptians because pyramids were built by the Bantu before the Arabisation of North Africa.

Interrelatedness of African culture cannot be overlooked though pyramids and the dry stone walled fortress are worlds apart.  It only shuts the narrative of deceivers. Another joke of a claim  is that they were constructed by the Russians, those who knew not to colonise beyond Europe and Asia. The claim is on the Zimbabwe monuments resembling the Kremlin, the modern Russian centre of power.  If so, then the Russians owe Zimbabwe not an explanation but compensation to have stolen our heritage rights (property rights).

J.  Theodore  is  one prominent  Eurocentric prot~g~ wh o was befittingly  employed  or sponsored  by C.  J.  Rhodes to peddle lies  on the claim  that Great Zimbabwe  is  a product of the Arab-Phoenician  origins.  These are fairy stories.  Theodore  was supported  by another sponsored  agent Bent who wrote  racist thesis  "The  Ruined City of Mashonaland  in  1891." These obscure  phantom  stories  were collaborated  by Karl  March who purported the Eurocentric theory of the monument  having been built by Queen of Sheba or Solomon.  Bent was a bit criminal  and evil  because  he even claimed that the wooden  Lintel  at the complex was Lebanese,  cedar brought to the site by Phoenicians.

The Eurocentric gangsters  further through  Robert  Dick,  Read claim  in  their myopic thesis "The  phantom  voyagers"  that the ruins were built by Indonesian  mariners  or sailors  hog wash.  Dick claims that Khami  and Nyanga  monuments  are on Madagascan  structures,  and further  unorthodoxly  claim  that the name Zimbabwe  is  a derivative  of the Indonesian  word "Zombabe" which also means houses of stones.  Dick's story ends with  Dick.  Zimbabwe  is a derivative  of mabwe or matombo,  stones.  Zimba,  or imba,  is  a house in  Shona,  therefore Zimba or lmba  of stones translate  to imba  or zimba  ramabwe,  the house of stones  hence Zimbabwe.

The main issue  to the Eurocentric debate  is  not about who says it  but why they say it.  The issue  is  on civilisation.  The pillar of all states is  on its  civilisation  and its  hegemony,  and its ability to dominate  other civilisations.  In  misleading  and misinforming  the world  about Zimbabwe,  the narrative  was to weaken  the soul  of the nation,  to divide people on their abilities  and skills.  To also bury their legacy  and heritage  and make them  hopeless,  because they claim they had hopeless  past. In  the Zimbabwean  stone wall  is  the Zimbabwean  soul, vitality and strength. The spiritual  realm is written on the walls. This Christianisation and so called civilisation,  is a history premised on slave trade,  and could not be premised on any truth because colonisation was a justification of the abolition of slave trade hence all peddled lies about Great Zimbabwe were done to promote an evil  culture to demonise and correct correction which was replacement of one culture by the other. When the world  is in the hands of the devil then the devil  calls himself God.  Rhodes contracted Richard Hall for the sole purpose of misleading.

The Decline of Great Zimbabwe 

The Great Zimbabwe State thrived for more than 300 years as a city state and for more than a 1000 years as a settlement,  if archaeological findings could be relied upon.  Dates from 500 AD on some artefacts to 14th century explain the development of the Iron Age culture into a lucrative regional  and international  centre for trade as a city state.  Proffered reasons for the decline and abandonment can be interrogated.  From sources of anthropology,  oral tradition,  and ethnography the most probable reasons include the extent to which the state had grown.  It had become too large and complex for weaker rulers to administer. Vassal tributary chiefs rebelled,  notable which were the Torwa,  Chidima and Barwe when it eventually capitulated around 1450 AD. The vastness of the state,  made it very difficult to enforce payment of tribute and any form of commercial tax in their land. This adversely led to the decline of Great Zimbabwe and power of the rulers.

Economic and political factors led violent succession disputes which weakened the state apparatus. Archaeological findings point to a violent revolution at Great Zimbabwe as there are burnt houses and granaries. The storming of Great Zimbabwe resulting in its destruction forced many people who survived to migrate to more secure and safe territories especially to the north and eastern parts of the plateau.

The decline and eventual abandonment of Great Zimbabwe was facilitated by disgruntled vassal tributary princes,  Nyatsimba Mutota and Chaguve of the Torwa, who broke away and declared independence from Great Zimbabwe. The two chief princes,  established the states of Mutapa from the Zambezi escapement, the Dande valley on the north of the plateau and Chagwe established the Torwa State from the metropolitan Khami  City State.  Mutapa State of Nyatsimba Mutota Chibatamatosi,  later on absorbed the Torwa and Great Zimbabwe.

The name Torwa is an acronym Shona name for stranger and the name Mutapa is also an acronym from the Shona Tavara name for a pillager or looter or raider, which explains the chaotic political  upheavals on the plateau. The two states of Torwa (Butua) and Mutapa deprived  Great Zimbabwe of its economic lifeline with the Arabs, of trade as they called the Portuguese Zambezi trade.  Decline of the economic control  of trade led to the demise of the Great Zimbabwe political  power. The new states rivalled  Great Zimbabwe and became more powerful to control the Indian  Ocean coastal trade. Trade naturally shifted from the Save and Limpopo valleys to the Zambezi where the Portuguese had put a trading foothold. To rival  Great Zimbabwe, the Mutota,  Mutapa State, established its regional and international  commercial  market capital  in the Chidima,  Dande area in the Zambezi valley at Chitako Changonya.  Both Arab and Portuguese traders flocked to the new bustling state and capital along the Zambezi valley trade route,  rendering Great Zimbabwe a white elephant and a bull  in a Chinese market. Shifts of trade routes and markets weakened and rendered Great Zimbabwe irrelevant and unimpotant,  hence its abandonment.

Various reasons are given for the decline and abandonment of Great Zimbabwe.  Religious reasons also contributed in that the problems at the city state capital  rendered the settlement site cursed. The conflicts and civil wars became the omen that many leaders abandoned the site. The Hungwe birds migrated from Save River to the Zambezi  River which the spirit mediums and spiritual  leaders interpreted as a demonstration of the ancestors' "anger and unhappiness" of the situation at the site. This was compounded by a series of droughts, especially the Shangwe devastating drought.The Shangwe drought devastated Great Zimbabwe area and anthropological  evidence attest to the death of thousands of human and animal  life.  Crop failure resulted in the migration of many people from Great Zimbabwe to the West and Northern regions of the plateau. The situation became direr with the outbreak of plagues of locust,  birds and caterpillars.  Cattle diseases also killed thousands of animals forcing many to abandon the site for other greener pastures.

Ecological factors took centre stage to the decline and abandonment of Great Zimbabwe. Depletion of natural  resources like water,  pastures, water, fertile soils,  minerals and wild animals, woodlands and salt played a significant role in the migration from Great Zimbabwe. The desertification  of the region impacted  negatively on economic prosperity, forcing people to migrate. The region began to dry up during the 15th  century resulting from incessant periodic droughts after every ten years as recorded by the Boers of Jan Van Riebeck from 1652 in South Africa,  pastures dwindled resulting  in the decline of livestock wealth and the power of the elite .The Dande-Chidima-Zambezi valley was awash with vast foliage and pastures for livestock.  Exhaustion of fertile soils reduced crop cultivation  and yields which impoverished  people to migrate.  Other resources depleted as a result of exploitation for trade.  Minerals became scarce and impacted  heavily on trade, forcing people to migrate northwards and Westwards.  Ivory trade picked up during the turn of the 14th  century and hence resulted in the over exploitation  of game.  Depletion  of game induced  people to migrate to hunt in the Zambezi Valley.

The salt theory is like folklore.  It is supported by historians like Moyana,  Mudenge and Mukanya. This one is exaggerated  by the Eurocentric historians who use it to demean Great Zimbabwe.  Great Zimbabwe had grown to mine salt in  Botswana and dry the salt waters of the Indian  Ocean.  Salt should be seen as the other ecological factor because the Zambezi Valley was a tributary of Great Zimbabwe. This theory suffers many weaknesses for the king does not need to migrate to a salt region to control the region or salt mining. The king also does not mine salt. Even Portuguese accounts do not attest to salt mining in the Zambezi Valley.  Neither is the theory supported by anthropology nor archaeology which makes it more mythical to believe.  Many people remained in  Great Zimbabwe to dispel the salt theory. The decline and abandonment was caused by a plethora of reasons,  social, political and economic.