The word zimbabwe translates from the Bantu language of the Shona to either “judicial center” or “ruler’s court or house.” A few individual zimbabwes (houses) have survived exposure to the elements over the centuries. Within these clay structures, excavations have revealed interior furnishings such as pot-stands, elevated surfaces for sleeping and sitting, as well as hearths.
The Stone Constructions of Great Zimbabwe
The stone constructions of Great Zimbabwe can be categorized into roughly three areas: the Hill Ruin (or Hill Complex, on a rocky hilltop), the Great Enclosure, and the Valley Ruins (or Enclosures).
Plan of Great Zimbabwe showing the different constituent enclosures. Adapted from Chirikure & Pikirayi Shadreck Chirikure and Innocent Pikirayi, “Inside and outside the dry stone walls: Revisiting the material culture of Great Zimbabwe,” Antiquity 82 (December 2015)
Hill Ruin
The Hill Ruin dates to approximately 1250 and incorporates a cave that remains a sacred site for the Shona peoples today. The cave once accommodated the residence of the ruler and his immediate family.
Great Enclosure
The Great Enclosure was completed in approximately 1450, and it too is a walled structure punctuated with turrets and monoliths, emulating the form of the earlier Hill Ruin. The massive outer wall is 32 feet high in some places. Inside the Great Enclosure, a smaller wall parallels the exterior wall creating a tight passageway leading to large towers. Because the Great Enclosure shares many structural similarities with the Hill Ruin, one interpretation suggests that the Great Enclosure was built to accommodate a surplus population and its religious and administrative activities.
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Valley Ruins
The third section of Great Zimbabwe, the Valley Ruins, include a number of structures that offer evidence that the site served as a hub for commercial exchange and long-distance trade. Archaeologists have found porcelain fragments originating from China, beads crafted in southeast Asia, and copper ingots from trading centers along the Zambezi River and from Central African kingdoms. A monolithic soapstone sculpture of a seated bird resting on atop a register of zigzags was unearthed here.
SPIRITS IN STONE Introduction to Shona Sculpture, African Art
Techniques and Materials
All of the walls at Great Zimbabwe were constructed from granite hewn locally. While some theories suggest that the granite enclosures were built for defense, these walls likely had no military function. Many segments within the walls have gaps, interrupted arcs, or elements that seem to run counter to needs of protection. The fact that the structures were built without the use of mortar to bind the stones together supports speculation that the site was not, in fact, intended for defense.
The conical tower of Great Zimbabwe is thought to have functioned as a granary. According to tradition, a Shona ruler shows his largess towards his subjects through his granary, often distributing grain as a symbol of his protection. Archaeological debris indicate that the economy of Great Zimbabwe relied on the management of livestock. In fact, cattle may have allowed the Shona peoples to move from subsistence agriculture to mining and trade. Iron tools have been found on site, along with copper, and gold wire jewelry and ornaments.
Decline and Legacy
By about 1500, however, Great Zimbabwe’s political and economic influence waned. Speculations as to why this occurred point to the frequency of droughts and environmental fragility, though other theories stress that Great Zimbabwe might have experienced political skirmishes over political succession that interrupted trade, still other theories hypothesize disease that may have afflicted livestock.
Great Zimbabwe stands as one of the most extensively developed centers in pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa and stands as a testament to the organization, autonomy, and economic power of the Shona peoples. The site remains a potent symbol not only to the Shona, but for Zimbabweans more broadly.
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The Resurgence of Shona Sculpture
The Shona sculpture movement is deeply rooted in Zimbabwe’s tradition and is recognized as one of the most powerful African art movements. Shona sculpture reflects the rich cultural heritage of Zimbabwe and stands as one of Africa’s most powerful and respected art forms. Emerging from the ancient stone traditions of Zimbabwe sculpture, it continues to evolve, blending modern artistry with centuries of symbolism and craftsmanship.
In 1250, artisans began constructing stone structures at Great Zimbabwe, including royal enclosures and a conical tower. These ruins reveal a strong tradition of stone work. These carvings became national symbols. Today, the Zimbabwe Bird appears on the national flag and previously featured on currency. Although ancient Zimbabwe sculpture faded after the fall of the Monomutapa Kingdom, the spirit of stone carving returned in the 1950s. Today, Shona sculpture is a globally recognized contemporary art form.
Modern Shona Sculpture: Materials and Themes
Shona sculptors use local stones sourced from Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, a 500 km geological marvel. This ridge produces over 200 stone varieties, rich in iron and minerals. In Zimbabwe, sculptors mine their own stone by hand using safe, small-scale open-pit methods.
In 1957, the director of the National Gallery of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) provided tools to a group of Africans and encouraged them to carve in stone. Though not formally trained, these artists began to create work that, in just a few years, caused a sensation on the international art scene. Since then, the fate of Zimbabwean sculptors has risen and fallen with the country’s political fortunes, almost disappearing in the tumultuous years before independence in 1980 and since then making a slow but steady climb back to international prominence.
Many of the pieces draw their inspiration and imagery from the animist traditions of the Shona, the dominant tribe in Zimbabwe, while others show increasing influence from Western artistic traditions, as well as a measure of political commentary on colonialism and other topics.
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Key Figures and Styles
Selected artists and styles are highlighted:
- Henry Munyaradze for spiritually direct forms;
- Boira (Buaira) Matecki as a pioneer of expressive faces since 1959;
- Moses Messiah with sleek black stone and whirlwind motifs;
- Victor Martinguizo integrating pink garnet and green beryl crystals;
- Richard Matecki with pieces such as The Sun Spirit, Sleeping Innocence, Old Chief, and The Shy Child;
- Luke Mugavazi’s Protective Mother and Child in a cubist vein;
- Lazarus Takawera’s Swept by the Changing Winds, reflecting twentieth-century upheavals.
Englishman Frank McEwen is credited largely with sparking the sculpture movement in Zimbabwe. A friend to Picasso and Brancusi and the organizer of sculptor Henry Moore’s first exhibit, McEwen had become disillusioned by the European art scene by the ‘50s, moving from Paris to Africa to become national gallery director in hopes of developing an art that “would not depend on the whims of art critics, but upon some original manifestation of the artistic mind.”
He started the national gallery’s Workshop School primarily with members of the Shona tribe, a group whose carving tradition was long dormant. Several artists took quickly to carving in the abundant local stone (primarily serpentine and soapstone) and by 1963 McEwen was able to organize a show at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in London.
One of McEwen’s fears was the sculptors would be tempted by the marketplace to turn out assembly line “airport art,” and a large tourist-oriented curio market has developed in Zimbabwe. But while Mayes concedes that “commercialization is a danger,” the “good stuff” is still being produced, and she believes the top artists will continue to “push the limits of their own materials and techniques.”
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