Identity consciousness among the Ndau people in Zimbabwe: unravelling mysteries, misconceptions and justifications

Abstract

Historians, linguists and politicians consistently describe Ndau people as a Shona sub-group. Ironically, mother tongue lobby and advocacy groups are relentlessly vociferous in asserting a separate cultural, political and linguistic identity from Shona. Such a stalemate over Ndau’s historico-linguistic status particularly in the wake of its recent constitutional recognition as an official language gives rise to the following questions: How does self-ascription work among the Ndau, especially in relation to Shona? How does a sense of ‘Ndauness’ develop among its speakers? How sustainable and justifiable is Ndau people’s belief in a separate identity? In that regard, this article makes a close, critical and dispassionate analysis of the underlying politics behind the crafting and maintenance of a separate Ndau identity in Zimbabwe. It advances that identity consciousness among the Ndau predates colonialism when a sense of ‘Ndauness’ was initially forged. Despite the presence of oppressive linguistic, political and administrative instruments that were meant to assimilate Ndau into Shona during the colonial and postcolonial epochs, the Ndaus succeeded in drawing from their culture, kinship and family ties, traditions and language to project and solidify a powerful and distinct identity unlike other linguistic groups in Zimbabwe.

Keywords:

• Ndau
• identity
• mysteries
• misconceptions
• consciousness

Notes

1. Following the enactment of the current Constitution in 2013, Ndau was made an officially recognized language which offered an eight-hour per week airtime on a national station called National FM. The mother tongue broadcaster Ms Kuda Machiri discusses ‘Ndau topics and issues’ which include Ndau history, language and culture inter alia with her listeners. The programme is very popular not only among mother tongue speakers but also among non-native speakers of Ndau.

2. After Ndau’s recognition as an officially recognized language in Zimbabwe, the department of Linguistics at the University of Zimbabwe hosted a ‘Ndau Lecture Series’ in 2014 where academics (historians and linguists), mother tongue speakers and members of the public made presentations. The programme ended abruptly in 2015.