Zimbabwe. Officially the Republic of Zimbabwe (in English: Republic of Zimbabwe) and former Southern Rhodesia, it is a landlocked country, located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the two great rivers Zambezi and Limpopo. Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe according to babyinger.
Zimbabwe borders South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east. The official language of Zimbabwe is English, however, the majority of the population speaks Shona, which is the native language of the Shona people, a Bantu language, the country’s other native language is Sindebele, which is spoken by the Matabele.
Government
The country is governed by President Robert Mugabe, who is accused by rights groups of massive human rights violations. Zimbabwe is currently experiencing a hard currency shortage, leading to hyperinflation and chronic shortages of imported fuel and consumer goods. President Mugabe blames critics of his land reform program. However, Mugabe claims that massive financial isolation through American, British, and European Union legislation, and the 2001 Economic Reform Act as the real cause of hyperinflation. Under ZDERA, The United States has banned any supportive efforts by the International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions, including the granting of loans, credit, or the cancellation of debt for the government of Zimbabwe.
Economy
The current economic situation and food crisis in the country has been described by some observers as the worst humanitarian crisis since independence. It has been attributed, to varying degrees, to economic mismanagement by the government, bans on relief activities by foreign non-governmental organizations, a region-wide drought, and the HIV / AIDS epidemic.
The history of Zimbabwe began with the end of Bush’s war and the transition to majority rule in 1980. The United Kingdom solemnly grants Zimbabwe independence on April 18, 1980, in accordance with the Lancaster House Agreement. In the early 1990s the economy of Zimbabwe began to deteriorate due to mismanagement and corruption. Economic instability led several members of the armed forces to try to overthrow the government in a coup. The most powerful reason seems to have been the expulsion of the citizens of race white, farm owners until Mugabe came to power. These deprived of land nationalized by the government, had to leave the country for the most part.
History
Traces of ancient African civilizations were found in the region that is now occupied by Zimbabwe: mines, terraces, and irrigation canals; about 300 archaeological sites are found among the ruins. The most important are Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe (with its characteristic walled enclosure). The ancestors of the current Shona – Bantu blacksmiths installed before the 5th century – built this wall centuries later.
The Shona discovered gold, copper, and tin, and developed refined techniques for working them. The Arabized commercial centers of the coast – such as Sofala, in what is now known as Mozambique – promoted an exchange that facilitated the expansion of their culture. The mutapas, or kings, spread their influence over most of the region.
The rise of Great Zimbabwe took place between the 14th and 16th centuries. Civilization established trade connections that reached Asia. When Portugal conquered the coastal settlements in the 16th century, Great Zimbabwe was in decline, and the center of gravity of a more evolved Zimbabwean culture shifted north under the Rozyi reign. Khami, in the south, became an important center after the fall of Great Zimbabwe.
XIX century
Shona society was deeply destabilized in the 1830s, following the invasion of the Ndebele from Zululand (in present-day South Africa), fleeing the military power of the Zulu king Shaka.
The Zulu-speaking Ndebele established a kingdom in the southeast through the conquest and assimilation of local, mostly Shona, settlers. In the first half of the 19th century the territory was divided between the Shona people in the northeast and the Ndebele. When the white settlers arrived at the end of the 19th century, they negotiated with Lobenguela, the Ndebele king, who guaranteed the imperial businessman Cecil Rhodes, of the British South Africa Co. (BSA), exclusive rights to exploit land and mineral resources in exchange. of money.
The British government gave the BSA control of the territory and opened it up to settlers; a pioneer column moved to a fortified camp called Salisbury. In 1893 the Ndebele rebelled. The Rhodes ‘police’ attacked and destroyed Bulawayo, their capital. From 1896-1897 a great Shona uprising was brutally suppressed. The country (Southern Rhodesia) became governed by the BSA.
Demography
The majority of the population belongs to the black race. The main ethnolinguistic groups are the Shona and the Ndebele. Whites represent a small percentage of the country’s total population and less than 1% are of Asian descent. The highest densities are found in the upper Veld, around the capital and the cities of Bulawayo and Gweru. Although the official language is English, most of the population speaks Chishona and Sinbedele. Although many of the Africans practice traditional and animistic beliefs, there are also Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Hindu minorities.
Culture
Dance
Mbende Jerusarema Dance
In 2008 the Mbende Jerusarema dance was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List.
Mbende / Jerusarema is a folk dance practiced by the Zezuru Shona people, who live in eastern Zimbabwe, particularly in the Murewa (map) and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe districts.
UNESCO to safeguard the transmission of this cultural asset will promote:
- the organization of workshops for the training of teachers and professors,
- promoting opportunities for young people to learn dance, its history and meaning,
- conducting research and audiovisual documentation of traditional dance forms and the repertoire of movements, accompanied by interviews,
- promoting dance among young people inside and outside the Murewa and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe communities, by requesting the participation of youth dance groups in local schools in Jukinya and in the National Festival of Schools.
Traditional holidays
- January 1 – New Years
- April 18 – Independence Day
- May 1 – Labor Day
- May 25 – Africa Day
- August 11 – Heroes’ Day
- April 12 – Armed Forces Day
- December 25 and 26 – Christmas
Amusements
Night life
Quite limited outside the cities except for restaurants and clubs, but larger cities have nightclubs, cinemas and theaters. The three main tourist areas have casinos.
Sports
Soccer and kriket are the national sports, although tennis, horse riding, rugby are also very popular. For the more adventurous there are clubs for bungee jumping, water skiing, windsurfing and paragliding.
Special events
- February: International Flower Show.
- February: Tourism Fair.
- April / May: Zimbabwe Trade Fair, Bulawayo.
- August: International Book Fair, Harare.
Universities and Study Centers
- University of Zimbabwe
- Africa University (Mutare)
- Zimbabwe Catholic University
- National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe
- Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance
- Institute of Environmental Studies (IES)
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Family Sciences
- Institute of Mining Research
- Mineral Resources Center
- Agricultural Research Council of Zimbabwe
- Institute of Personnel Management of Zimbabwe
- Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Center
- Biotechnology Research Institute
- Building Technology Institute
- Energy Technology Institute
- Environment & RS Institute
- Informatics & Electronics Institute
- Production Engineering Institut
- National Metrology Institute
- Technology Management Division
- Cleaner Production Technology
- Trust Academy
- Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts
