HERITAGE implies something of value inherited at birth, or any body of information derived from the past or from human traditions.
While we are familiar with historical sites, cultural traditions and ethnic practices as heritage, a neglected component of heritage studies is the geographical feature of the river and the knowledge inherent in our ethnographical indigenous conceptualisation of rivers.
Natural heritage comprises the components of the natural environment that have aesthetic, historical, scientific, geological or social significance or other special values for the present community, as well as for future generations.
While heritage consists of those places and objects that we as a community have inherited from the past and want to hand on to future generations, one important factor that distinguishes natural heritage from broader natural or social values is that natural heritage relates to definable and valued locations or areas of land, climate and water.
Natural heritage is diverse and includes buildings, monuments, places, grounds, bridges, landscapes, archaeological sites, relics, bridges and rivers.
Our heritage gives us a sense of living history and provides a physical link to the work and way of life of earlier generations.
It enriches our lives and helps us understand who we are today.
It is therefore important to understand one’s heritage, our cultural disposition and the geographical spaces and water bodies that form part of our Zimbabwean identity.
For indigenous Zimbabweans, some water bodies are linked to more intangible values, such as sacredness and inviolability, which become part of our cultural heritage.
A river is a long natural stream of fresh water which eventually flows into an ocean or lake.
As such, rivers are part of Zimbabwe’s natural and cultural heritage
In Zimbabwe, we have five major rivers – The Zambezi River, Pungwe River, Buzi River, Save River and the Limpopo River.
There are 27 big rivers and 16 tributaries.
Twenty-six of our rivers have been dammed; the first being Mazoe (Mazowe), which was first dammed in the concrete arch style in 1920 and only completed in 1961.
Today, there are over 8 000 dams throughout Zimbabwe ranging from Kariba, the largest artificial lake in the world, to masonry communal weirs.
The copious flow and rush of the Zambezi River has generated power for much of Central Africa.
While rivers may seem to only represent a geographical feature, hydro-electricity and water bodies for Western minds, for most African people, rivers are replete with socio-cultural, metaphysical and oratorical significance.
Rivers are in fact part of our ethnographical and cultural heritage.
Since the dawn of history, humans have associated with water and water bodies as part of their natural history.
Our orature, mythology, rituals, song and dance are all replete with symbolism, tales of rivers, the inhabitants, their mystery and their illusiveness.
Arab traders were known to have come up the Buzi River and the Devure River, a tributary that flows off the Save River, en route to the Munhumutapa Empire, in search of gold and other merchandise, including slaves.
Rivers have formed borders, such as the over 1 200 km-long Zambezi River in the north, with over 500 species of fish, which also provided refuge and sustenance for freedom fighters during our struggles for independence; and the more crocodile-infested Limpopo River which borders with South Africa in the south.
The fighting that took place on the Mbembezi River and the flooding of the Shangani River during the First Uprising in 1893 provides historical provenance for the events, the first of many encounters with the colonisers that were later to lead to our freedom and independence.
The Umfuli River and Insiza River were other scenes of major skirmishes with colonial forces.
During the bombings of a refugee camp in Chimoio, in Mozambique, in November 1977, many of our fighting comrades survived the hail of bullets and gunfire that rained from the sky by jumping into and swimming in the Chimoio River.
Rivers have been a source of life and survival, and at other times unimaginable sites of disasters, such as the disgorging of the Zambezi into the Kariba Valley, during the building of the Kariba Dam (1958-59), the more recent Tokwe-Mukosi Dam disaster (2010) that destroyed homes and washed away the lives and livelihoods of many.
Suffice to say, in our folklore, rivers are remembered for giving life, such as the legend of Nyami-Nyami, reputed to provide food and water for the people living along the Zambezi River in times of drought and for taking it away.
Rivers tell their own stories.
In our literary arts and folkloric history and memory, rivers are often the setting of romantic tales, or of awesome legends, such as the tale of Nyami Nyami, or the beginning of a season of love.
Rivers are the source of inspiration for many musicians.
Examples that come to mind are the popular songs ‘KwaHunyani’ by the late Safirio Madzikatire and Susan Chenjerai, ‘Mhondoro dzinonwa munaSave’, a traditional ditty that venerated the Save River; the song ‘Parwizi’ by Betty Makaya and Jamal and more recently the song ‘Save’ by Alexio Kawara, as an allegory for overcoming tribulations.
The ripples, flows and ebbs of river waters have provided inspiration to many traditional folklorists.
Rivers have endowed rhythm and melody to mbira music and provided sustenance to man, beast and flora.
In our traditional prose, narratives and poetry, rivers imbued with symbolisms of romance, relief and rejuvenation become metaphors for nature’s capacity for the regeneration of life.
In many socio-religious practices, rivers are used to cleanse people of their evil and many members of the apostolic faith still cleanse and baptise people in rivers and streams throughout Zimbabwe, including the Manyame and Mukuvisi Rivers
The traditional indigenous knowledge that is rooted in the knowledge of the rivers has kept many traditions and generations alive.
Indigenous rivers should indeed be regarded as an invaluable inheritance; the heritage of both past and contemporary Zimbabwean societies.
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