Understanding cultural
differences between different groups in our country is one of the hardest
things Kurt and I have found about transitioning to Africa. That's because
although the Shona live intertwined in the lives of the white colonials around
them, it is clear that some of their unspoken cultural understandings greatly
differ, both from each other and, in turn, from us strange Americans. Throw in
another tribe, the Ndebele, in the southernmost part of the country, and you
have quite a beautifully complex patchwork.
Race and culture are hard topics in a place with such a background, and
though it would have been helpful for you to have this info earlier in the
blog, my perceptions have changed greatly as we have come to know our country.
Our capital city is what I’ll
talk about because it is what I have been exposed to the most: There are three main groups of people. White
nationals, Shona, and foreigners. (There are also Ndebele people here, though in smaller numbers.) Here are some tidbits about each group. (Please
keep in mind that whenever generalizing, some people will not fit into
descriptions...)
-Foreigners seem predominantly from China or the British Empire,
with a small population of the Americas and other African nations represented
in the minority.) The leaders maintain strong and strange relationships with
China, a country that has a great deal of economic influence and active
investment here. Even the military
college here has been built by the Chinese, and not by the country itself. Because of this, there are many Chinese
immigrants working in the city and a good deal of Asian groceries and
restaurants can be found. Supposedly
Chinese imports do not get taxed here; hence a large percentage of our products
are Chinese in origin.
-“The locals,” as they are called so often that even my three year
old refers to them this way, refers to white colonials whose ancestors moved to
the country, in most cases, generations ago.
These colonial ties come from either British or Dutch (Afrikaaner) origins. For a number of reasons, many of the whites
that used to work or farm in the country have moved. The top five places they have gone: Britain,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Zambia (if they have wanted to
continue farming). Because so many
locals have family and friends living abroad (some trying to wait out current
situations), the ties of our country with the countries listed above are great.
These connections are reflected in flight availability, imports, sports,
fashion, and cuisine. This population is small in size comparatively speaking,
but owns most of the country’s businesses and is by far in the upper tiers of
the economic bracket. They have almost no political representation. When asked,
most locals will tell you they stay here for the luxuries: raising children
with swimming pools, housekeepers, gardeners, large square footage, boarding
schools, and little debt. It is
extremely common for this population to fly to other countries on large yearly
or monthly sprees for goods like clothing, electronics, housewares, and other
luxury items hard to resource in the country.
-The Shona people have a beautiful language of which I am slowly
learning pieces. (In the meantime, our English is evolving into a strange
muddled mess and my child comes home each day with more of a bend toward a
local British colonial dialect interspersed with Shona words.) The Shona people make up the largest
population in the country, and strangely hold both the most political power but
also make up the most povertous piece of the population. The most extremely
wealthy citizens of the country (sort of like the 1% in America) are
Shona. The poorest people in the
country are also Shona. The population outside of our capital city is made up
almost entirely of Shona peoples. The
extended family is important for this group of people. A “sister” or a “brother” or any other family
term used does not necessarily indicate a blood relation in the same way it is
implied in English. Because of often
difficult living situations, family is family by choice here. This population also has the highest AIDS and
HIV rates of any in the country.
Okay. So those are the Cliff’s Notes. You have my permission to stop reading.
But if you want a teeny
bit more background about the indigenous people here, here is some more information,
mostly obtained from a Spectrum Guide of our country:
Intense and carefree,
cosmopolitan and parochial, the vast majority of our country’s people stem from
the great family of Bantu-speaking migrants who first ventured east and south
across Africa some 2,000 years ago.
Iron makers and
agriculturists, they settled on the Highveld, Middleveld, and Eastern Highlands
and began the long process of establishing the distinctive Shona culture that
is so much a part of the country today.
Their Bantu kin- the Zulu warriors of King Mzilikazi –did not arrive
until the first half of the nineteenth century. They form the Ndebele, our
country’s largest minority. Despite
their late arrival, there are many cultural similarities between the two
Bantu-speaking communities, which together form an overwhelming majority.
