A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. / This thesis explores various ways in which Kalanga ethnic identity has been (re)constructed, negotiated, manipulated and transformed by different interest groups such as missionaries, colonists, Kalanga cultural entrepreneurs, chiefs and ordinary Kalanga people in Bulilimamangwe district. Using a collection of both primary and secondary sources, the thesis posits that among other markers of Kalanga identity, Kalanga language has been central in the Kalanga clamour for their official recognition by the state in colonial and post-colonial Zimbabwe. It challenges the conventional interpretations of African identities by arguing that pre-colonial Kalanga society was characterised by fluid and flexible identities which constantly shifted boundaries. The study demonstrates how the colonial government, through the appointment of Ndebele chiefs in Kalanga areas fuelled Kalanga ethnic consciousness which was deployed by Kalanga chiefs and their subordinates during the opposition to the implementation of the Native Land Husbandry Act in Bulilimamangwe district. The study further argues that the Kalanga Cultural Promotion Society (KCPS) played a significant role in contributing to the escalation of Kalanga ethnic consciousness especially in post-independent Zimbabwe where ethnicity became an important feature amongst the marginalised groups. As a result of being alienated from the independent state, there was a resurgence of Kalanga ethnic mobilisation which was led by the KCPS and the Kalanga Language and Cultural Development Association (KLCDA), the Associations that lobbied for the recognition of Kalanga language in the education system and in state/public radio broadcasting. The thesis therefore contributes to the scholarship on ethnic identities by elaborating how Kalanga experiences with various factors such as social, political and physical environment contributed to the shifts and fluidity of Kalanga ethnic identity from 1946 to 2005.

This research took an ethnographic view in understanding the relationship between rural people and ZANU-PF in post-2000 Bindura South electoral constituency in Zimbabwe. I seek to understand the complexity with which rural people come to make political choices through discussing ZANU-PF’s techniques in the maintenance of political power despite the loss of political legitimacy. The complicity between ZANU-PF and rural people is uncomfortably created through these techniques which include mobilizing historical claims, youth violence on villagers, partisan distribution of economic resources, surveillance and spying to create subjects who conform to ZANU-PF’s political will. I have argued that rural people’s circumstances should be understood through an analysis of their everyday lives and livelihoods. Findings have shown that rural people make political choices because they are life choices there are slight possibilities for alternative political action in rural Zimbabwe.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Public Management (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Despite all the public pretences of projecting a united country, Zimbabwe is a divided country and this has made genuine peace and unity very difficult to attain. The bruised and polarised relationship between the Shona and Ndebele ethnic groups is deeply rooted in the annals of history, which makes it a protracted social conflict. The Gukurahundi campaign between 1982 and 1987 was part of a chain of catastrophic events, which have emanated from a well-established culture of violence and intolerance between Shona and Ndebele. Efforts to address this culture using a top-down approach under the auspices of the 22 December 1987 Unity Accord did little to curb hostilities. Even though these efforts were commendable, they were not sufficient to make any significant inroads into the polarised relationship of mistrust between the two groups. This thesis applied an Action Research design and specifically used the Transcend dialogue method to explore the possibilities of building mutual respect and understanding among a small sample of young Shona and Ndebele participants. The research found that creating intentional platforms for interaction could have a positive transformative effect on relationships. It is not too late to create more spaces and transformational platforms for people to dialogue, to listen to each other, to share stories, and carry out projects together. Engagement using dialogue can create new synergies, which can make a worthwhile difference to the long journey towards (re) building broken bridges and building new bridges. / D

This dissertation is an ethnographic expository of how Tavirima Traditional Dance Group uses chinyambera traditional dance as a copying mechanism for marginalised communities in Gweru, Zimbabwe. This study contextualises and analyses how Tavirima’s performances of chinyambera reflect the socio-political environment in Zimbabwe and how the music works to bring about social change. It gives further insight into and analysis of how traditional songs metaphorically speak out against the authoritarian government of Zimbabwe led by Robert Gabriel Mugabe, and how dance embodies dissent against the same. The dissertation provides transcriptions and contextual interpretations of chinyambera songs which Tavirima uses as agents for social change focusing on how the songs reflect, contest, resist and mediate in the prevailing socio-political crisis in Zimbabwe. The research also discusses how chinyambera’s roots, expressiveness and energies influence Tavirima to choose the dance over a myriad of other Zimbabwean traditional dances. The theoretical framework for this study is underlined by the African Popular Culture Theory, Alternative Cultural Theory and Positive Deviance Approach creating a vantage point through which the study is framed to analyse the ability of popular arts in bringing about social change and how subalterns take charge of their destiny by defying restrictive and oppressing systems through a metamorphosis of traditional music and dance.