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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 15.6 million[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Zimbabwe | 13 million (2019)[1] |
 Mozambique | 2.3 million[2][3] |
 South Africa | 1–2 million (2020) |
 Zambia | 30,200[4] |
 United Kingdom | 200,000 (2011)[5] |
| Languages | |
| Native Shona languages (mainlyShona) Also English (inZimbabwe,South Africa, andZambia) • Portuguese (in Mozambique) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity,Shona traditional religion (Chivanhu) (Mwari) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kalanga;Venda;Nambya;Tsonga | |
| Person | MuShona[6] |
|---|---|
| People | Mashona |
| Language | chiShona |
| Country | Zimbabwe,Mozambique |
TheShona people (/ˈʃoʊnə/), also/formerly known as theKaranga, are aBantu ethnic group native toSouthern Africa, primarily living inZimbabwe where they form the majority of the population, as well asMozambique,South Africa, and worldwide diaspora. There are six major Shona language/dialect clusters:Manyika,Karanga,Zezuru,Korekore,Kalanga, andNdau.
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The Shona people are grouped according to the dialect of the language they speak. Their estimated population is 22.6 million:[7][8]
During the 11th century, theKaranga people formed kingdoms on the Zimbabwe plateau. Construction, then, began onGreat Zimbabwe; the capital of thekingdom of Zimbabwe. TheTorwa dynasty ruled thekingdom of Butua, and thekingdom of Mutapa preceded theRozvi Empire (which lasted into the 19th century).
Brother succeeded brother in the dynasties, leading to[clarification needed] civil wars which were exploited by the Portuguese during the 16th century. The kings ruled several chiefs, sub-chiefs and headmen.[9]
The kingdoms were replaced by new groups who moved onto the plateau. TheNdebele destroyed the weakened Rozvi Empire during the 1830s; the Portuguese gradually encroached on the kingdom of Mutapa, which extended to theMozambique coast after it provided valued exports (particularly gold) forSwahili, Arab and East Asian traders. ThePioneer Column of theBritish South Africa Company established thecolony of Rhodesia, sparking theFirst Matabele War which led to the complete annexation ofMashonaland; thePortuguese colonial government in Mozambique fought the remnants of the kingdom of Mutapa until 1911. The Shona people were also a part of theBantu migration where they are one of the largest Bantu ethnic groups in Sub-Saharan Africa.[9]
Thedialect groups of Shona developed among dispersed tribes over a long time and further groups of immigrants have contributed to this diversity. Although "standard" Shona is spoken throughout Zimbabwe, dialects help identify a speaker's town or village. Each Shona dialect is specific to a sub-group.
In 1931, during his attempt to reconcile the dialects into a single standard Shona language, Clement Doke identified five groups and subdivisions:[10]
The Ndau dialect, which is somewhat mutually intelligible with the main Shona dialects, has click sounds which do not occur in standard Shona. Ndau has a wealth of Nguni words as a result of the Gaza Nguni occupation of their ancestral land in the 19th century.[11]
The Shona have traditionally practicedsubsistence agriculture. They grewsorghum, beans,African groundnuts, and after the Columbian Exchange, pumpkins. Sorghum was largely replaced bymaize after the crop's introduction.[12] The Shona also keepcattle andgoats, since livestock are an important food reserve during droughts.[9]
Precolonial Shona states derived substantial revenue from the export of mining products, particularly gold and copper.[9]
Traditional clothing was usually animal skins that covered the front and the back, and was called 'Mhapa' and 'Shashiko'.[citation needed] These later evolved when the Shona people started trading for cloth with other groups, such as theTsonga, and native cloths began to be manufactured.
Shona traditional music's most important instruments areNgoma drums and theMbira. The drums vary in size and shape, depending on the type of music they are accompanying. How they are played also depends on drum size and music type. Large drums are typically played with sticks, and smaller drums with an open palm; the small drum used for the Amabhiza dance is played with a hand and a stick. The stick rubs, or scratches, the drum to produce a screeching sound.[13]
The mbira has become a national instrument of sorts in Zimbabwe.[14] It has several variants, including theNhare,Mbira Dzavadzimu, theMbira Nyunga Nyunga,Njari Mbira, andMatepe. The Mbira is played at religious and secular gatherings, and different Mbiras have different purposes. The 22–24-key Mbira Dzavadzimu is used to summon spirits, and the 15-key Mbira Nyunga Nyunga is taught from primary school to university.[15] Shona music also uses percussion instruments such as theMarimba (similar to aXylophone), shakers ('Hosho'), leg rattles, wooden clappers ('Makwa'), and the 'Chikorodzi,' a notched stick played with another stick.[16]
Both historically and in contemporary art, the Shona are known for their work instone sculpture, which re-emerged during the 1940s. Shona sculpture developed during the eleventh century and peaked in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, before beginning a slow decline until their mid-20th-century rediscovery.[17] Most of the sculptures are made from sedimentary stone (such asSoapstone) and depict birds or humans; though some are made with harder stone such asserpentinite. During the 1950s, Zimbabwean artists began carving stone sculptures for sale to European art collectors; these sculptures quickly became popular and were bought and exhibited at art museums around the world.[citation needed] Many of the sculptures depict the transformation of spirits into animals or vice versa, and some are more abstract. Many Zimbabwean artists carve wood and stone to sell to tourists.
Pottery is also a traditionally practiced craft, with the storage and serving pots being the most decorative, contrasted with those used for cooking. In Shonaclay earthenware pots are known as Hari.[citation needed]
Traditional Shona housing (Musha) are round huts arranged around a cleared yard (Ruvanze). Each hut has a specific function, such as acting as a kitchen or a lounge.[18] Also, Shona architecture consists of drystone walling that goes back to the ancestors of modern-day Shona people and also Kalanga and Venda peoples. This drystone walling consists of drystone walls, drystone walled stairs on hilltops and free-standing drystone walls known as great Zimbabwe-type drystone walling (examples: Great Zimbabwe, Chisvingo). Then there are additional types of drystone walling that the Shona people did in Rozvi state that is platform terraces drystone walling. In the eastern province of Zimbabwe there is ziwa-type drystone walling with cattle crawls for an indigenous African species of cattle that still exists today and underground homes with drystone walled verandas.
Sorghum and maize are used to prepare the staple dish, a thickened porridge (Sadza), and the traditional beer known as Hwahwa.[19] Beef is found to be a staple in Shona people's diet due to cattle rearing being very prominent in Zimbabwe. Historically, the wealthy royals would be able to eat beef on a regular (more than three times a week), usually dried; and commoners would eat beef at least once a week, also dried. Cattle was a prized resource, normally reserved for other products like milk. Preserved milk was consumed with Sadza, at the time made by Sorghum. At present, beef is consumed normally mixed with greens, Kale being the most commonly used.
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The traditional religion of the Shona people is centred onMwari (God), also known asMusikavanhu (Creator of man/people) orNyadenga (one who lives high up). God communicates with his people on earth directly or throughchosen family members in each family believed to be holy. At times God uses natural phenomena and the environment to communicate with his people. Some of the chosen people have powers to prophesy, heal and bless. People can also communicate with God directly through prayer. Deaths are not losses but a promotion to the stage where they can represent the living through the clan spirits. When someone dies, according to the Shona religion, they join the spiritual world. In the spiritual world, they can enjoy their afterlife or become bad spirits. No one wants to be a bad spirit, so during life, people are guided by a culture of Unhu so that when they die, they enjoy their afterlife. TheBira ceremony, which often lasts all night, summons spirits for guidance and intercession. Shona religion teaches that the only ones who can communicate with both the living and God are the ancestral spirits or Dzavadzimu.
Historically, colonialists and anthropologists wanted to undermine the Shona religion in favour of Christianity. Initially, they stated that Shona did not have a God. They denigrated the way the Shona had communicated with their GodMwari, the Shona way of worship, andchosen people among the Shona. The chosen people were treated as unholy and Shona prayer was labelled as pagan. When compared with Christianity, the Shona religious perspective of afterlife, holiness, worship and rules of life (unhu) are similar.[20]
Although sixty to eighty percent of the Shona people followChristianity, Shona traditional religious beliefs are still present across the country. A small number of the population practice the Muslim faith, often brought about by immigrants from predominantly Malawi who practice Islam. There is also a small population of Jews.
In Zimbabwe, theMitupo (translated astotems by colonial missionaries and anthropologists, a term which neglects the organizational system) is a system of identifying clans and sub-clans, which are named after and signified by emblems, commonly Indigenous animals or animal body parts.Mitupo (the plural ofMutupo singular) has been used by the Shona people since the Shona culture developed. They have provided a function in avoiding incest, and also build solidarity and identity. They could be compared to heraldry in European culture. There are more than 25Mitupo in Zimbabwe. In marriage,Mitupo helps create a strong identity for children but it serves another function of ensuring that people marry someone they know. In Shona, this is explained by the proverbRooranai Vematongo which means 'marry or have a relationship with someone that you know'. However, as a result of colonisation, urban areas and migration resulted in people mixing and others having relationships of convenience with people they do not know. This results in unwanted pregnancies and also unwanted babies some of whom are dumped or abandoned.[citation needed] This may end up with children withoutMutupo. This phenomenon has resulted in numerous challenges for communities but also for the children who lack part of their identity. It is, however, possible for a child to be adopted and receive amutupo.[21][22]
The Shona people, like many other Bantu-speaking groups in southern and central Africa, do not exhibit evidence of Eurasian DNA. Genetic analyses of ancient remains from regions such as Zimbabwe have not identified archaic Eurasian DNA markers. These findings challenge earlier theories that underestimated the capabilities of African communities.
For instance, a study analyzingmitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variability in Bantu-speaking populations, including the Shona from Zimbabwe, found no significant Eurasian genetic influence. This research supports the understanding that the Shona's genetic heritage is primarily of sub-Saharan African origin.
Additionally, research into the genetic diversity among African populations has revealed greater genetic variation within African groups than between Africans and Eurasians, further emphasizing the deep and diverse genetic history of African populations.[23][24]
... only in Zimbabwe has [the mbira] risen to become something of a national instrument.
Media related toShona people at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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