Zimbabwe Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Etymology == {{further|Rhodesia (name)}} The name "Zimbabwe" stems from a [[Shona language|Shona]] term for [[Great Zimbabwe]], a medieval city ([[Masvingo]]) in the country's south-east. Two different theories address the origin of the word. Many sources hold that "Zimbabwe" derives from ''dzimba-dza-mabwe'', translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "houses of stones" (''dzimba'' = plural of ''[[wikt:imba#Shona|imba]]'', "house"; ''mabwe'' = plural of ''[[wikt:ibwe|ibwe]]'', "stone").<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.somalipress.com/zimbabwe-overview/zimbabwe-big-house-stone-1145.html|title= Zimbabwe – big house of stone|publisher= Somali Press|access-date= 14 December 2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110503184153/http://www.somalipress.com/zimbabwe-overview/zimbabwe-big-house-stone-1145.html|archive-date= 3 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Shona Class 5 revisited: a case against *ri as Class 5 nominal prefix|journal= Zambezia|year= 1994|volume= 21|pages= 51–80|author= Lafon, Michel|url= http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/African%20Journals/pdfs/Journal%20of%20the%20University%20of%20Zimbabwe/vol21n1/juz021001005.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Mediated monuments and national identity|author= Vale, Lawrence J.|doi= 10.1080/136023699373774|journal= Journal of Architecture|volume= 4|year= 1999|pages= 391–408|issue= 4}}</ref> The [[Shona language|Karanga-speaking]] Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the modern-day [[Masvingo Province|Masvingo]] province. Archaeologist [[Peter Garlake]] claims that "Zimbabwe" represents a contracted form of ''dzimba-hwe'', which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru dialect of Shona and usually references chiefs' houses or graves.<ref>{{cite book|last= Garlake|first= Peter|author-link= Peter Garlake|title= Great Zimbabwe: New Aspects of Archaeology|url= https://archive.org/details/greatzimbabwe0000garl|url-access= limited|year= 1973|publisher= Thames & Hudson|location= London, UK|isbn= 978-0-8128-1599-3|page= [https://archive.org/details/greatzimbabwe0000garl/page/13 13]}}</ref> Zimbabwe was formerly known as [[Southern Rhodesia]] (1898), [[Rhodesia]] (1965), and [[Zimbabwe Rhodesia]] (1979). The first recorded use of "Zimbabwe" as a term of national reference dates from 1960 as a coinage by the black nationalist Michael Mawema,<ref name=fontein119120/> whose Zimbabwe National Party became the first to officially use the name in 1961.<ref name=ndlovugatsheni113114>{{cite book|title= Do "Zimbabweans" Exist? Trajectories of Nationalism, National Identity Formation and Crisis in a Postcolonial State|last= Ndlovu-Gatsheni|first= Sabelo J.|location= Bern|publisher= [[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang AG]]|year= 2009|edition= First|isbn= 978-3-03911-941-7|pages= 113–14}}</ref> The term "Rhodesia"—derived from the surname of [[Cecil Rhodes]], the primary instigator of British colonisation of the territory—was perceived by African nationalists as inappropriate because of its colonial origin and connotations.<ref name=fontein119120>{{cite book|title= The Silence of Great Zimbabwe: Contested Landscapes and the Power of Heritage|last= Fontein|first= Joost|location= London|publisher= [[University College London|University College London Press]]|date= September 2006|edition= First|isbn= 978-1844721238|pages= 119–20}}</ref> According to Mawema, black nationalists held a meeting in 1960 to choose an alternative name for the country, proposing names such as "Matshobana" and "[[Kingdom of Mutapa|Monomotapa]]" before his suggestion, "Zimbabwe", prevailed.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92goAQAAMAAJ&q=%22What%27s+in+a+Name|title= What's in a Name? Welcome to the 'Republic of Machobana'|journal= Read on|publisher= Training Aids Development Group|location= Harare|year= 1991|page= 40}}</ref> It was initially unclear how the chosen term was to be used—a letter written by Mawema in 1961 refers to "Zimbabweland"<ref name=ndlovugatsheni113114/> — but "Zimbabwe" was sufficiently established by 1962 to become the generally preferred term of the black nationalist movement.<ref name=fontein119120/> Like those of many African countries that [[Decolonisation of Africa|gained independence]] during the [[Cold War]], ''Zimbabwe'' is an ethnically neutral name. It is debatable to what extent Zimbabwe, being over 80% homogenously [[Shona people|Shona]] and dominated by them in various, can be described as a [[nation state]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Mlambo |first=Alois S. |date=2013 |title=Becoming Zimbabwe or Becoming Zimbabwean: Identity, Nationalism and State-building |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43941319 |journal=Africa Spectrum |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=49–70 |doi=10.1177/000203971304800103 |jstor=43941319 |s2cid=127302759 |issn=0002-0397|hdl=2263/41913 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The constitution acknowledges 16 languages, but only embraces two of them nationally, Shona and English. Shona is taught widely in schools, unlike [[Ndebele language (Zimbabwe)|Ndebele]]. Zimbabwe has additionally never had a non-Shona head of state.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-29 |title=From a kingdom to a nation: A Shona awakening |url=https://tradmag.ca/season-1/government/from-a-kingdom-to-a-nation-a-shona-awakening-2/ |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=Trad Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page