https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/102 2026-04-08T03:15:16Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6798 Title: ‘Mukoma govai minda’: Reading Simon Chimbetu’s Compositions on the Land Issue in Zimbabwe Authors: Maguraushe, Wonder Abstract: Ordinary Zimbabweans have remained the subalterns in terms of land ownership. A number are still suffering from the consequences of displacement, exploitation, land conflicts, and redistribution. This qualitative study examines the portrayal of problems associated with the land issue in Simon Chimbetu’s Dendera music. The article is a textual content analysis of six purposively selected popular songs by Chimbetu related to the land question, to elucidate how they speak for marginalized landless Zimbabweans in the postcolony. Analysis is informed by subaltern studies which study the interplay of dominance and subordination to uncover the histories of groups that were largely shunted to the margins in the “binary relationship” between the subaltern and the ruling classes. I argue that Chimbetu is the voice of the voiceless peasantry who have not benefited from the industrial capitalist system and cannot buy productive land but wait in vain to get it allocated to them. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Maguraushe, Wonder https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6797 Title: “Madhunamutuna akatiuraira nyika”. Shona Labels for Oppressive Leadership in Selected Popular Protest Music Authors: Maguraushe, Wonder; Chikomo, Elijah Abstract: In Zimbabwe, political protest music, particularly the musical open letter, has become a cultural means of expression where suffering citizens clash with political leaders after explicitly expressing their discontent with the oppressive Rhodesian Front (RF) and Zimbabwe African National Union-PF (ZANU-PF) regimes who have ruled the country since the colonial period. This article examines the madhunamutuna concept that emerges in popular song lyrics by Zexie Manatsa, Thomas Mapfumo, and Mbira DzeNharira from different epochs of Zimbabwe’s history. The study shows how the term madhunamutuna serves to lampoon Zimbabwean authoritarian leadership in ways that implicitly portray the political leaders as beastly and debauched. This qualitative study employs textual and content analysis of three purposively sampled political protest songs with lyrics composed to associate rulers with tyranny, suffering, and oppression. Analysis is informed by post-colonial theory, which lambasts how subjugated groups ought to right political wrongs and open up spaces for change dialogue by challenging their post-colonial elites who have taken on the role of the colonialist oppressors. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Maguraushe, Wonder Chikomo, Elijah https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6796 Title: Deconstructing Colonial and Religious Interventions in Indigenous Musical Expression in Zimbabwe Authors: Maguraushe, Wonder Abstract: This paper critically explores the interrelationship between colonialism, religion, cultural hegemony, and indigenous music within the Zimbabwean context. It examines how missionary-led colonial enterprises not only dismantled African religious systems but also disrupted indigenous musical and cultural traditions, promoting Western values as superior through religious indoctrination and education. Specifically, the analysis demonstrates that colonial and postcolonial institutions suppressed Zimbabwe’s traditional music and performance practices, leading to a marginalisation of cultural identity. Drawing on postcolonial and decolonial theoretical frameworks, the paper advocates for a reimagined music education curriculum that integrates indigenous knowledge systems with Western methodologies. It argues that rather than rejecting modernity, this integrative approach would promote cultural inclusivity, preserve intangible heritage, and affirm epistemic plurality in Zimbabwe’s educational and artistic spheres. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Maguraushe, Wonder https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6795 Title: The uptake of chromatic marimbas by learning institutions in Zimbabwe Authors: Masamba Gideon; Maguraushe, Wonder Abstract: The Zimbabwe marimba has become a popular school musical instrument since it was designed at Kwanongoma College of Music in the early 1960s. Two types of marimbas played in Zimbabwe are diatonic and chromatic marimbas. Most of the scholars who researched the Zimbabwe marimba focused more on diatonic marimbas, and this study draws attention to the adoption of chromatic marimbas in learning institutions in Zimbabwe. The purpose of this article was to examine the uptake of chromatic marimbas in primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities in Zimbabwe. This study explores the advantages marimba players get when performing on chromatic marimbas, while highlighting the limitations of diatonic marimbas. The researchers used qualitative research methods to carry out this study, targeting learning institutions that offer music as a subject and marimbas as part of their practical performance curriculum. Interviews, document analysis, and participant observation were used as the data collection methods. Findings study show that the uptake of chromatic marimbas in Zimbabwean learning institutions is still very low, with most music departments still using the diatonic marimba sets. The researchers advocate that tertiary institutions equip trainee teachers and music specialist students with knowledge and skills to play chromatic marimbas, as this will enable them to disseminate these skills to their students after training. Chromatic marimba builders are encouraged to promote their sets by offering them to learning institutions at affordable prices for small profit margins that wield potential to attract more patronage. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Masamba Gideon Maguraushe, Wonder