First choice private school, waterfalls.

lower six history class of 2024

question: ASSESS THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ORAL TRADITION, ARCHAEOLOGY AND WRITTEN

introduction
contributions of oral tradition, archaeology and written records to the recovery of Zimbabwe`s
precolonial history can be magnified to a greater extent by taking into consideration their merits.
Complimentary, these sources speaks volumes of the past historic events by covering the loopholes
of each independent source hence becomes more reliable. However, although there are noticeable
demerits of these sources, jointly they cover a broader sense of usefulness towards recovering the pre-
history of Zimbabwe.

To begin with, Oral traditions are verbal recollections of past events that supposedly occurred before
the existence of the informants. These are historical accounts that are transmitted from one generation
to the next through word of mouth. They can be in the form of praise poem...s and songs telling of
the heroic deeds of an ancestor, a clan or a whole community of people. Oral traditions have been
especially valuable in the reconstruction of much Zimbabwe‟s pre-colonial history particularly
because the pre-literate societies did not leave behind any written records that could be used as sources
of history. In the case of the much earlier Iron Age societies even the biased European accounts are
non-existent because the Europeans had not yet arrived on the African scene to observe and write
about some events. Oral traditions have been extremely useful in providing information about the
foundation of the Great Zimbabwe state. Shona traditions speak of the ancestors of the Shona as the
builders of the impressive stone structures at Great Zimbabwe and so many other sites around and
outside present-day Zimbabwe. Therefore, the above sources significantly contributes to the
reconstruction of the pre-colonial Zimbabwean history.

Additionally, the settler Europeans, colonialist historians and settler politicians of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries all disputed the claims of the Shona origin of Great Zimbabwe and chose to
attribute its construction to some mysterious, forgotten white tribe or the Arabs, Egyptians or
Phoenicians. The Shona claims made through oral traditions were subsequently verified by
archaeological findings. Oral traditions have also been very valuable in providing historical
information about the foundation of the Mutapa State. It was founded by Nyatsimba Mutota who had
migrated from Great Zimbabwe with his followers to the Dande region. It is known from oral
traditions that the Mutapa state was an off-shoot of the Great Zimbabwe state which collapsed due
to the shortage of salt and other resources. The names of some of the Mutapa rulers are known to
present generations through oral traditions for example Mutota and his successor Matope. The origins
of the Rozvi Empire have also been preserved in the oral traditions. The names of the early emperors
like Changamire Dombo are well known through orature. Even the nineteenth century histories of
the Ndebele and Shona have been transmitted through oral traditions and these have been useful in
providing an African perspective and countering some of the distortions of the nineteenth century
European writers. Good examples of such distortions include European claims that Ndebele-Shona
relations were characterized by hostility. Therefore, it is beyond any reasonable doubt that oral
tradition plays an unequivocal role in recovering the pre-colonial history of Zimbabwe.
In the same vein, Oral traditions have however proved incapable of providing adequate information
about pre-colonial states such as Great Zimbabwe. There is no accurate information about the names
of the rulers of Great Zimbabwe who have simply been referred to as mambo in many accounts. That
is a dynastic title which unfortunately does not shed any light on the individual identities of the rulers.
One name that is well known in the history of this state is that of Nyatsimba Mutota who supposedly
deserted it with his followers in order to find salt in the Dande region. This helped to bring about the
demise of the state and the rise of the Mutapa state. Oral traditions have had their weaknesses either
due to memory loss or deliberate bias on the part of the informants and this has compromised the
accuracy of the pre-colonial history recovered through this source. Shona oral traditions speak of the
violent and destructive activities of the Madzviti who invaded from across the Limpopo River in the
nineteenth century but the use of the term Madzviti does not clearly establish the true identity of the
Nguni invaders.

Furthermore, Written records have also been used with great success in recovering some of
Zimbabwe‟s pre-colonial history especially from the late fifteenth century onwards. Portuguese
accounts have been a major source of Mutapa history furnishing names of Mutapas, details about
economic and social activities as well as information about trade with Swahili-Arabs and the
Portuguese themselves. Names such as Mamvura, Matope, Gatsi Rusere and Nyahuma are all known
from the Portuguese accounts. Twentieth century historians such as D.N. Beach and S. Mudenge have
all relied on Portuguese documents for information on the Mutapa‟s political organisation consisting
of officials such as the captain of the gates, stewards, chamberlain and the chief priests. Portuguese
records have also proved significant in the recovery of the political, social and economic history of
the Rozvi. The nineteenth century accounts by missionaries, hunters and traders have also been very
important in shedding light on the Ndebele and Shona on the eve of colonial rule. They shed light on
Ndebele raiding activities on the Shona possibly with exaggerations as to their impact. The letters of
missionaries such as Charles Helm, Robert and John Moffat give accurate dates concerning the
founding of mission stations as well as their activities and futile attempts to Christianize the Ndebele.
It is known with certainty that Inyathi and Hope Fountain missions were founded in 1857 and 1870
respectively. It is also known that missionaries engaged in various tasks that included treating diseases
like Mzilikazi‟s gout, mending wagons, writing books on Ndebele and Shona grammar among other
things. Therefore, through written records, pre-history of Zimbabwe is recovered despite being biased
towards the literate.
More so, Archaeology has been extremely important in generating knowledge about the Stone Age as
well the transition to the Iron Age. By digging up sites and examining remains of animals, rocks and
other effects archeologists have helped to reconstruct Zimbabwe‟s stone age pre-colonial past that
was characterized by the use of simple stone and wooden tools for hunting small animals and digging
up edible plant roots. The discovery of ancient iron workings through archaeological excavations also
helped to shed light on the pre-colonial transition from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Iron tools
have been discovered and these include the axes and hoes as well as spears which have enabled the
Iron Age to be distinguished as an era which was marked by the advent of agriculture rather than mere
hunting and gathering of the Stone Age. Cattle, sheep and goat bones were also excavated pointing to
the emergence of pastoralism during the Iron Age. Large settlements such as Great Zimbabwe were
also discovered and this demonstrated that unlike the nomadic and smaller communities of the stone
age, the Iron Age was characterized by larger and permanent, settled societies. Archaeology also
proved extremely important in solving the controversy concerning the identity of founders of the
Great Zimbabwe state. Shona traditions spoke of the ancestors of the Shona as the builders of the
impressive stone structures at Great Zimbabwe and so many other sites around and outside present-
day Zimbabwe. The settler Europeans, colonialist historians and settler politicians of the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries all disputed the claims of the Shona origin of Great Zimbabwe and chose to
attribute its construction to some mysterious, forgotten white tribe or the Arabs, Egyptians or
Phoenicians. The Shona claims made through oral traditions were subsequently verified by
archaeological findings. The conclusions were that the building styles, pottery and material remains at
the site were consistent with the Shona way of life and thus pointed to Shona origins for the state.
While acknowledging the accuracy and significance of archaeology it must be noted that it has its
weaknesses. It has reduced the study of Zimbabwe‟s pre-colonial history to the study of bones, waste
products, rocks and other artifacts. Archaeology has failed to supply names or details about the
languages spoken by the societies then for instance there are no names for any of the Stone Age
communities, the Great Zimbabwe people and language that have been recovered through
archaeological research. In conclusion, the three sources have been very significant in the recovery of
Zimbabwe‟s pre-colonial history. Although they have their limitations these have been reduced by
using them in conjunction rather exclusively relying on one source.
To conclude, contributions of oral tradition, archaeology and written records to the recovery of
Zimbabwe`s precolonial history can be magnified to a greater extent by taking into consideration their
merits. Complimentary, these sources speaks volumes of the past historic events by covering the
loopholes of each independent source hence becomes more reliable. However, although there are
noticeable demerits of these sources, jointly they cover a broader sense of usefulness towards
recovering the pre-history of Zimbabwe.