https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5410 Sun, 24 May 2026 23:47:43 GMT 2026-05-24T23:47:43Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6722 Title: In pursuit of heritage-based philosophies: African oral literature in nationalism and politics in Zimbabwe Authors: Matiza Vimbai Moreblessing Abstract: Since time immemorial, indigenous communities have always perceived their philosophies as a complex web of survival. These communities have always relied on the indigenous knowledge systems through proverbs, folk stories and songs to instill life affirming values and caution people. They have played a pivotal role in the understanding of nationalism and politics on the African continent. The philosophies of life that are valued by the indigenous people are embedded in these art forms. Thus, they have continued to be vehicles through which all the values that concern African people are communicated and transmitted. The study, therefore, sought to investigate and demonstrate the role of heritage-based philosophies in the understanding of nationalism and politics in Zimbabwe. The research was a qualitative enquiry where purposive sampling of 40 elderly and 40 youths from Mashonaland Central and Matabeleland North provinces were conducted. The researcher sought ethical clearance to conduct the research and it was reviewed and granted by Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNet) committee under number EA0238. Guided by the Ubuntu philosophy, the article comes to conclusion that oral literature emphasizes the African way of life of the people and it has contributed to the practice and handling of nationalism and politics in Zimbabwe. It further points out that these philosophies are significant agents of change capable of directing, provoking, overturning and recasting perceptions of social reality. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6722 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Matiza Vimbai Moreblessing https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6721 Title: “The Devil’s Cataract”: Demonising the Tonga people’s spirituality through colonial naming Authors: Matiza Vimbai Moreblessing Abstract: In Zimbabwe, African spirituality is contentious as the majority of Christians generally associate it with evil. However, it is paradoxical that most of these Christians practise African spirituality in their private lives. Most of African Christian doctrines imagine African spirituality negatively, while their members engage with it in various ways. These Christian views on African spirituality are based on the colonial images of African culture as savage. This study engages with Afrocentric reasoning to demonstrate how Tonga spirituality is seen as evil spirituality through the nomenclature “Devil’s Cataract” at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. This qualitative research used purposive and snowball sampling to find a target population for interviews. It further utilised a desk review survey for data collection. Guided by the Afrocentric principle of nommoic creativity, the article establishes that the name given to a part falls is a reflection of the negative and savage images of African spirituality in Christendom. It traces the etymology of the name to the rainmaking and thanksgiving ceremonies performed at the falls which were regarded by the white Judeo-Christian namers as devil worship. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6721 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Matiza Vimbai Moreblessing https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6720 Title: An analysis of pre-recorded street audio adverts in Zimbabwe: A dariro perspective Authors: Gijimah Tevedzerai; Tembo Charles Abstract: Street vending has become the order of the day in Zimbabwe. Because of the popularity of vending, vendors have come up with various ways of making their goods visible in a highly populated market. Audio advertising is one of the most prominent ways used by vendors to reach their customers. Through an Afrocentric lens of the dariro theory of performance and participation, the study analyses the presentation and usage of discourse in the advertisement of goods by street vendors in the city of Gweru, Zimbabwe, through pre-recorded street audio adverts. The study analyses discourse and makes a critical appraisal of the implications of the discourse to the target audience. Steeped in discourse analysis, the study analyses recorded audio adverts in the context of their power to attract clients. The study establishes that vendors creatively and strategically deploy street audio adverts to attract customers in an environment that is densely populated and marked by stiff competition. The adverts are meant to draw the attention of consumers to the advertised goods. It concludes that using audio adverts conveys messages regarding goods on the market to the target audience, who upon receiving the messages act accordingly, which epitomises dariro. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6720 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Gijimah Tevedzerai Tembo Charles https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6719 Title: Ophir in a Postcolony? Metaphor, Coloniality and Decoloniality in Paul Freeman's Rumours of Ophir Authors: Mutekwa, Anias Abstract: This article offers an exegesis of Paul Freeman's crime/detective novel, Rumours of Ophir, set in Zimbabwe in the 1990s. The argument contends that Freeman's deployment of the Western crime genre, the imperial and colonial Ophir metaphor, and the Sherlock Holmes-like detective entangles the plot and sub-plots in coloniality even though the implication is decolonial, its reliance on metropolitan literary tropes making it an ambivalent medium for a project of decoloniality. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6719 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Mutekwa, Anias