macgonagle mech 3 7/27/07 10:01 AM Page 1 Crafting identity in zimbabwe and Mozambique E “Elizabeth MacGonagle has written an extremely important and meticulously researched historical study of the Elizabeth MacGonagle complex and contested Ndau-speaking region on the Zimbabwe-Mozambican frontier. This excellent study explores the issues of identity formation and memory, crucial for understanding contemporary politics in Mozam- bique. Essential reading for students interested in the history of this strategic borderland.” — allen isaacman, regents professor of history, university of minnesota n an examination of historical patterns over four centuries, Elizabeth MacGonagle reveals both Icontinuities and changes in the crafting of identity in southeast Africa. This work challenges conventional approaches to the study of ethnicity and “tribalism” in Africa by showing that con- temporary ethnicity is not merely a creation of the colonial and postcolonial eras, but has much deeper roots in the precolonial past. By focusing on collective historical experiences that affected ethnic identity before the influence of European colonialism, MacGonagle contends that the long history behind ethnicity reveals African agency as central to the formation of “tribalism.” With this first comprehensive history of the Ndau of eastern Zimbabwe and central Mozam- bique, MacGonagle moves beyond national borders to show how cultural identities are woven from historical memories that predate the arrival of missionaries and colonial officials on the African con- tinent. Drawing on archival records and oral histories from throughout the Ndau region, her study analyzes the complex relationships between social identity and political power from 1500 to 1900. Ndauness has been created and recreated within communities through marriages and social structures, cultural practices that mark the body, and rituals that help to sustain shared beliefs. A sense of being Ndau continues to exist into the present, despite different colonial histories, postcolonial trajectories, and official languages in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. MacGonagle’s study of ethnic identities among the marginalized Ndau sheds light on the conflicts and divi- sions that haunt southeast Africa today. This compelling interpretation of the crafting of identi- ty in one corner of Africa has relevance for readers interested in identity formation and ethnic conflict around the world. Elizabeth MacGonagle is assistant professor of African History at the University of Kansas. Front Cover: Eresi Mashava after an interview with the author in Mhakwe, eastern Zimbabwe, July 1999. Photo by author. Back Cover: The Sithole homestead in Chikore, Zimbabwe, June 1999. Photo by author. Cover design by Adam B. Bohannon. university of rochester press 668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731 ™xHSLFSAy462570zv*:+:!:+:! P.O. Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3DF, UK www.urpress.com ISBN-10: 1–58046–257–X ISBN-13: 978–1–58046–257–0 CRAFTING IDENTITY IN ZIMBABWE AND MOZAMBIQUE Toyin Falola, Senior Editor The Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History University of Texas at Austin (ISSN: 1092–5228) A complete list of titles in the Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora, in order of publication, may be found at the end of this book. CRAFTING IDENTITY IN ZIMBABWE AND MOZAMBIQUE Elizabeth MacGonagle UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PRESS Copyright © 2007 Elizabeth MacGonagle All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. First published 2007 University of Rochester Press 668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA www.urpress.com and Boydell & Brewer Limited PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK www.boydellandbrewer.com ISBN-13: 978–1–58046–257–0 ISBN-10: 1–58046–257–X ISSN: 1092–5228 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data MacGonagle, Elizabeth. Crafting identity in Zimbabwe and Mozambique / Elizabeth MacGonagle. p. cm. — (Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora, ISSN 1092-5228 ; v. 30) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-58046-257-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-58046-257-X 1. Ndau (African people)—Ethnic identity. 2. Ndau (African people)—Social life and customs. 3. Ndau (African people)—History. I. Title. DT3328.N38M33 2007 305.896Ј3975—dc22 2007012900 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. This publication is printed on acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America. CONTENTS List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgments vii 1 A Mixed Pot: The Crafting of Identity 1 2 The Historical Landscape of Southeast Africa 25 3 Early Exchanges: Political and Economic Contexts 39 4 Ties That Bind: Social Structures and Cultural Practices 53 5 Keeping Up Appearances: Identity and Adornment 70 6 Brewing Beer, Making Rain, and Holding Court 81 7 Memories and Identities in the Shadow of Ngungunyana 91 8 Past and Present in the Ndau Region 106 Notes 115 Glossary of Ndau and Portuguese Words 163 Bibliography 165 Index 185 ILLUSTRATIONS Maps 1.1 Major rivers between the Zambezi and the Save 4 1.2 Early states in the Sofala hinterland, ca. 1700 6 1.3 Ethnographic map showing the eastern Shona region 9 1.4 Twentieth-century ethnographic map of Mozambique 10 1.5 Portion of 1867 map showing the wider Shona region 12 1.6 Portion of 1889 map of Mozambique 13 1.7 Doke’s map of the distribution of Shona-speaking peoples 15 1.8 Fieldwork area in Zimbabwe and Mozambique 21 7.1 Extent of the Gaza state 94 Figures 1.1 Building in stone, Chibvumani ruins in southeastern Zimbabwe 8 7.2 Ngungunyana’s warriors 100 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Chafamba chapenga. One who has set out on a journey cannot help being foolhardy. —Shona proverb Numerous people, both at home and abroad, helped me navigate to the end of this project. Scholars gave generously of their time and knowledge, while friends and family kept watch as a supportive crew. I heartily recognize my mother, Cinny MacGonagle, who has always provided the right charts and the best harbor. Over the past several years, colleagues at the University of Kansas were there to see that I stayed on course. The elders of the Ndau region made this work possible, and I am grateful for their willingness to share a small part of their history with me. I am deeply indebted to my four assistants: Pinimidzai Sithole in Zimbabwe, and Jaime Maconha Augusto, Farai (António Francisco) Raposo, and Pedro Castigo in Mozambique. Their contributions helped ensure successful fieldwork. Looking back, it is difficult to imagine working with anyone else, for these scholars made the many journeys and interview experiences among the Ndau enjoyable and productive. This book began as a dissertation on history and identity in the Ndau region. As a graduate student at Michigan State University, I received support, assistance, and funding from the African Studies Center, Department of History, College of Arts and Letters, and the Graduate School. Advice and encouragement came from many places and professors, including the Africanist contingent of Bill Derman, Elizabeth Eldredge, Harold Marcus, John Metzler, David Robinson, and David Wiley. Peter Beattie, Harry Reed, and Steve Averill helped me explore other regions beyond Africa. Harold Marcus, David Robinson, and Peter Beattie deserve special recognition for seeing the dissertation through to the end with grace and wit. Paul Wendland drafted the original maps, and Darin Grauberger transformed them into their final state at the University of Kansas. Fieldwork in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Portugal in the 1990s was car- ried out with grants from Fulbright-Hays, the Social Science Research Council, the Luso-American Development Foundation, and the National Library of Lisbon. The University of Kansas provided further assistance for viii Acknowledgments writing and fieldwork in 2003 and 2004 with grants from the General Research Fund. A Fulbright to Iceland in 2004 allowed for more time to write. A fellowship with the American Philosophical Society in 2005 enabled me to conduct further research in Mozambique. The Friends of the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas supported publication with a sub- vention award. I gratefully acknowledge all of this financial support. I walked down many paths during the course of fieldwork, and I appreciate the cordial receptions I received at the end of them. In Mozambique, Gerhard Liesegang not only shares his insight into Mozambican history each time I visit, but he also provided me with a place to stay during the elections in 1994. David Hedges, Solange Macamo, Amélia Neves de Souto, Luís Covane, and Benigna Zimba have been helpful fonts of knowledge at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, along with the libraries of the Centro de Estudos Africanos and the Archaeology and Anthropology Department. I would also like to thank Fernando Dava and ARPAC (in Maputo, Beira, and Chimoio) for their support. The staff at the Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique were most accommodating, and this work is enriched by the many sources that António Sopa brought to my attention in the archives. In Machaze, the staff of CARE graciously provided lodging in their compound. The acampamento in Moribane, a very special place, also hosted us. Rachel Chapman, James Pfeiffer, and Wendy Johnson provided good food and company in Chimoio. In Maputo, Carrie Manning, John Fleming, Heidi Gengenbach, Lloys Frates, Anne Pitcher, Martin Murray, Allen Isaacman, Sidney Bliss, Eric Allina- Pissano, Rob Marlin, Daphne Sorensen, Kathleen Sheldon, Sherilynn Young, and Jeanne Marie Penvenne provided support, encouragement, and com- panionship. Research in Maputo would have been an entirely different endeavor without their presence over the years. In Zimbabwe, the Mpofus provided me with a home away from home in Chikore that was much appreciated. I would also like to thank Lorraine and Bill Giles and Mbuya G.