Displacement, Elimination and Replacement of Indigenous People: Putting into Perspective Land Ownership and Ancestry in Decolonising Contemporary Zimbabwe

Description

Colonial scholars have taken immense pleasure in portraying Africans as possessed by spirits but as lacking possession and ownership of their resources, including land. Erroneously deemed to be thoroughly spiritually possessed but lacking senses of material possession and ownership of resources, Africans have been consistently dispossessed and displaced from the era of enslavement, through colonialism, to the neocolonial era. Delving into the historiography of dispossession and displacement on the continent of Africa, and in particular in Zimbabwe, this book also tackles contemporary forms of dispossession and displacement manifesting in the ongoing transnational corporations land grabs in Africa, wherein African peasants continue to be dispossessed and displaced. Focusing on the topical issues around dispossession and repossession of land, and the attendant displacements in contemporary Zimbabwe, the book theorises displacements from a decolonial Pan-Africanist perspective and it also unpacks various forms of displacements – corporeal, noncorporeal, cognitive, spiritual, genealogical and linguistic displacements, among others. The book is an excellent read for scholars from a variety of disciplines such as Geography, Sociology, Social Anthropology, History, Linguistics, Development Studies, Science and technology Studies, Jurisprudence and Social Theory, Law and Philosophy. The book also offers intellectual grit for policy makers and implementers, civil society organisations including activists as well as thinkers interested in decolonisation and transformation. Cover Title page Copyright page About the Contributors Contents Chapter One - Theorising Displacement, Elimination and Replacement: An Introduction to Decolonising Land Issues Introduction Spirit Possessed but Materially Dispossessed? The Colonial Legitimation of the Displacement of Africans Displacements from Nation States to Virtual Spaces and Eliminating Ownership Rights over National Resources Chapter Outlines References Chapter Two - Land Dispossession and the Genesis of Crises in Zimbabwe: Implications for Sustainable Livelihoods and People-centred Development as Depicted in Selected Zimbabwean Fictional Narratives Introduction Labyrinthine link between Literary Depictions and Theoretical Frameworks-Grounding vis-à-vis deeply-held Land Perceptions/Prejudices The Post-2000 Land Conundrum and Crisis in Selected Narratives: Appreciation of Crises, Acrimony and Sustainable Development Conclusion References Chapter Three - ‘Mapfupa angu achamuka ’ (My bones will rise again): Spirituality, History, Memory and Ancestry in Land Ownership ‘Debates’ in Zimbabwe Introduction Liberation War: Multidimensional Concepts of Land among the Shona and/or Zimbabwean People The Role of Spirit Mediums and Ancestors in Life amongst the Shonas The Link between Land and Ancestry: Spiritualism and the Liberation Wars in Zimbabwe When the Sins of the ‘Ancestors’ Haunt the Grandchildren: Politics of Entitlement, The Third Chimurenga and the Discourse of Land Appropriation Without Compensation Conclusion References Chapter Four - Pegging Out Claims in Space and Place: The Theme of Land Redistribution in the Music of Simon Chimbetu Introduction Why Chimbetu? Some Theoretical Considerations Orality and the Past The Zimbabwean Land Redistribution Chimbetu’s Cultural Context Performance and Entertainment Metaphor in Chimbetu’s Music Conclusion References Chapter Five - Of Mothers, Umbilical Cords and Tongues: Land Ownership, Language and Identity in Chirikure Chirikure’s Rukuvhute Introduction Background Theoretical Framework Of Mothers, Language and Identity The Mother Tongue and Identity in Chirikure Chirikure’s Rukuvhute The Land and Umbilical Cord in Chirikure Chirikure’s Poetry The Land and the Umbilical Cord in Chirikure’s Rukuvhute Post-colonial Hybridity and Identity in Rukuvhute Conclusion References Chapter Six - Discourses of Colonial Displacement: The Impetus of Selected Historical Novels Introduction Theoretical Framework Humans and Environmental Degradation Nature as an Agent of Destruction Convergence of Post-colonial and Environmental Issues General Colonialism in Africa Power Structures The Significance of Land Ownership and Identity Man and the Environment in Waiting for the Rain (1975) Induction and Ramification of Colonialism in Waiting for the Rain Man and the Environment in The Grass is Singing Ramification of Colonialism on the Coloniser Conclusion References Chapter Seven - Spatial Marginalisation: (Re)reading Musaemura Zimunya’s Gendered Space and Place in Country Dawns and City Lights Introduction Background Contextualising Space and Place Theoretical Framework The Country in Country Dawns and City Lights The Woman and the City Spatial Marginalisation: The Woman, the Man and the City Weaknesses of Zimunya’s Anthology Conclusion References Chapter Eight - The San People of Zimbabwe: Decades after Land Dispossession Introduction A Historical Background of the San People of Southern Africa Are the San People of Zimbabwe Indigenous to Zimbabwe? Dispossession of Land for the San People of Southern Africa Global Marginalisation of Indigenous Communities Loss of Ancestral Lands by Indigenous People Loss of Bio-cultural Diversity, Traditional Knowledge and Culture Tshwa Culture after Decades of Land Dispossession Conclusion References Chapter Nine - Interrogation of the Nexus between Land Restitution and Poverty Alleviation in Contemporary Zimbabwe Introduction Rationale for Land Restitution and Relationship to Poverty Alleviation Contextual Background of Land Restitution in Zimbabwe The “New” Land Policy of the Second Phase The Case Study of Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe Impact of Land Redistribution in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe Conclusion References Chapter Ten - The Gendered Dispossession of Land in Colonial Rhodesia: An Analysis of Thomson Kumbirai Tsodzo’s Pafunge and Patrick Chakaipa’s Dzasukwa Mwana-Asina-Hembe Introduction Contextualising the Gendered Dispossession of Land in Colonial Rhodesia Theoretical Framework The Colonial Farm as a Form of Gendered Dispossession of Land in Dzasukwa-Mwana-Asina-Hembe Religious Hypocrisy and Gendered Land Dispossession in Pafunge Conclusion References Chapter Eleven - Fictionalising Resistance to Land Repossession: Political Economies of Displacement and the Imagination of a Better Zimbabwe Introduction Literary Evocations of the Land Problematique in Three Short Stories Conclusion References Back cover