WHEN I was asked to introduce myself as a student in the US, in the early 1990s, most American people I encountered were surprised when I said my name is Tony Michael Monda.
Everywhere I went, they repeatedly asked if that was my real name?
Coming from Africa, they all expected me to have an African name such as ‘Kunta Kinte’ or ‘Asante’.
They fully understood when I said it was Atipaishemunyoro Munyaradzi Chikambi-Zvimba.
“Shucks”! they said.
“Such a long name, it’s like the alphabet.
“All it needs is the Q and Z for Zimbabwe and you would have the full alphabet!”
Naturally they could not pronounce it and I remained with my given Christian classification.
Besides the annexation and colonisation of our land, an often omitted aspect of discourse is the destruction of our archaeological heritage and with it the destruction of African design intelligence and cultural knowledge.
The concerted effort by arbitrary white fortune-seekers, hunters, prospectors, explorers, colonial mercenaries, missionaries and ad hoc would-be archaeologists had a greater bearing on the eradication of our sense of identity and the understanding of who we are today.
From its very nascence, Zimbabwe has been a land of mystery, with some archaeological facts and findings still being re-discovered today.
The rubric of our existence unfolds with colonial writings during the early gold rush, where Zimbabwe was known as the land of Ophir, Zambezia or Barbaria.
Enter the Pioneer Column in 1890, with Cecil John Rhodes, Leander Starr Jameson, the pioneer corps, Lord Salisbury and Fredrick Courtney Selous, who have all baptised our country with their names.
The country is thus, consequently, beset with monuments of colonial superiority. Our streets, suburbs, buildings and schools still bear the legacy of these erstwhile colonisers and European imperial lords and masters.
We are, in fact, still branded with their names 36 years after our independence.
Our tourist resorts and hotels, which should ideally communicate our identity and heritage, still resonate with the imperialist-colonial legacy where the shadow of Queen Victoria’s veil still looms large over the Mosi-oa-Tunya and our memory; as does David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley.
Perhaps history will be born again and understood in its rightful terrigenous context when we realise that Harare is Mbire/Harava, Mazoe is Manzou, Nyashanu Chiweshe and as such our names should be reflected in the restitution and spiritual cleansing of our sacred sites
The usurpation of our sacred sites by the transposition of colonial graves and monuments on sites that embody and should reflect our heritage is an abomination beyond description.
Perhaps we do not see the magnitude of the desecration wrought by the Matopos graves of Cecil John Rhodes and that of his gay companion, Leander Starr Jameson.
The desecration of our shrines goes to the extent some bodies were repatriated from Europe to be buried at the Matopos to be near their professed hero, Rhodes, and some members of the Shangani Patrol.
Can we ever revive the spiritual importance of our sacred sites?
Nyika yedu haisati yasunungurwa kubva kumweya yevapambipfumi
One must always be wary of names that might sound the same but are misinterpreted in favour of the colonial worldview.
The same has happened in other parts of Africa and the Americas, where names such as Seattle – Siyatu, a First-Nation chief; New York – Nerwaki or Mamaronek.
As long as we are identified under colonial bastardisations of our indigenous names, we are still under their oppressive yoke.
Resuscitating and reconstructing our identity by re-empowering our ancestral spaces with their original names is leaving the bona fide history, legacy and heritage for our children, who should inherit and enjoy the benefits of self-knowledge that has been denied us by the imposition of distorted, colonial nomenclature.
Only when we have a complete understanding of ourselves as a people and the space we inhabit can we appreciate the magnitude of the First and Second Chimurenga and its importance.
Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) and Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. He is a writer, lecturer, musician, art critic, practising artist and Corporate Image Consultant. He is also a specialist Art Consultant, Post-Colonial Scholar, Zimbabwean Socio-Economic analyst and researcher.
For views and comments, email: tonym.monda@gmail.com