Search

The paper takes its cue from Zimbabwean poet John Eppel's views on his use of satire stated in a recent paper. It explores how his different approaches to writing at different periods of his country's history are reflected in two poems from his collection Songs, My Country Taught Me. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the images of women as portrayed in Zimbabwean contemporary music. The paper compares these images to those found in Zimbabwean literature. What is evidenced in this research is a trend by singers, both male and female, to present a commercialized image of women that hails beauty above intellect. Although the researchers acknowledge the fluidity of meaning and interpretation, a negritudist perception of the 'woman' remains all too apparent in the various representations. Female singers as well are seen to fall into the same conventions which this paper seeks to examine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the view that Dendera or Sungura music can be a powerful form of cultural and historical narratives in Zimbabwe. It draws theory from scholars of autobiography such as Olney, Berryman and Javangwe and it defines the music genre as a narrative form. The paper argues that Simon Chimbetu's work is not only entertaining but also carries historical representations of human experience and his music becomes a cultural metaphor around which a story can be built. Through a tapestry of sonic narratives developing from his short lyrical content, the paper traces nodes of the artiste's life and how he performs his deepest feelings on stage. It the process he unwittingly writes the story of his own life on a very unusual template: on stage through performance. This study of Chimbetu is in essence part of an effort by African scholarship to be actively involved in the interrogation and redefinition of the various images of Zimbabwean music not as an alternative voice in cultural narratives but as a centre of cultural discourses in the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sungura and kanindo are currently very popular forms of music in Zimbabwe, such that Zimbabweans sometimes cannot differentiate between the two genres. Very few people are aware that both forms are related to Kenyan benga music. This paper argues that sungura and kanindo are two different types of genres, in spite of their many similarities, with sungura being a Zimbabwean offshoot of benga that has taken its own sonic trajectory. On the other hand, kanindo remains pure benga, and has been given a new lease of life by Zimbabwean disc jockeys. The benga music of the 1970s has seen a great revival when artistes such as the late Daniel Owino Misiani, the late George Ramogi and Daniel Kamau took it to greater heights. Both genres are assured of a future with younger musicians such as Suluman and Tryson Chimbetu mix with experienced artistes such as Tongai Moyo, Alick Macheso and Nicholas 'Madzibaba' Zacharia to produce more sungura music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key objectives of the seventy-five per cent local content policy introduced by the government of Zimbabwe at the turn of the century was to stem the negative effects of globalization. Although the policy has been credited for growing the arts industry there are concerns that some artistes are importing foreign modes of artistic expression thus undermining the broad objectives of the local content policy. Youthful urban based musicians born out of the local content policy have been accused of imitating Western Hip hop musicians whose style and lyrical content are at odds with local cultural values. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of Western popular music and global culture on the music of selected Zimbabwean urban grooves musicians. The paper also seeks to interrogate the manner in which these urban grooves musicians negotiate global cultural texts in order to suit their own contexts. The study utilizes a combination of qualitative discourse and content analysis to glean insights from the music of three 'popular' and controversial musicians who are all products of the local content policy, namely Maskiri, Stunner, and Nasty Trix. The observation made in this paper is that although urban grooves musicians largely reflect the contours chalked by global popular culture they also draw from their local context and experiences to enrich their music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guerrilla movements in the Third World often espouse anti-Western ideologies. Many Zimbabwean guerrillas in the Zimbabwean liberation war (1966-79) took up noms de guerre that expressed this. However, a number of them took up names from cultural forms that represented the very enemy that they were fighting against; such as the names drawn from motion pictures, popular music and pop art of the time. This is one of the greatest ironies of a conflict where the guerrillas were trying to redefine themselves politically, socially and culturally, and yet they took the names of their adversaries. This paper explores some of these war names that were drawn from western cultural forms and religion. The paper will argue that the nickname as an onomastic category often is a subtle expression of the social, cultural and political environment of the bearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music management and promotion in Zimbabwe are evolving as big business in the live music industry, with some notable personalities who are nearly as recognizable as the musicians and artists they manage or sponsor. Also evolving are systems of management, which can be critiqued using management concepts and methodologies. This paper applies normative management theories, with emphasis on Ubuntu management to the work of managing and promoting musicians. The roles of managers and promoters in the live music industry are examined to determine patterns of music promotion and management in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe live music industry is heavily dominated by Harare-based artists and venues to the extent that Harare sets the pace for the rest of the nation in terms of innovations in the relationship between musician and promoter or artist. The major concerns between musicians and their intermediaries were identified as: trust issues, ambition versus capacity, marketing lapses and administrative flaws, with the majority of players in the music industry being preoccupied with trust issues. Trust issues associated with breach of sponsor-musician or manager-musician contracts are so common in the Zimbabwean music industry that normative management principles ought to be encouraged for all involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Songs, musical composition with words, have been sung from time immemorial in different cultures for various reasons. They have been composed for a multi-faceted purpose including celebration, expressing sorrow, as a cultural weapon and for pastime. Songs that have been composed and sung to express political sentiments during war times or times of affliction have, in the same breath, shaped and influenced our history. World War 2 was the first major global conflict to take place in the age of electronically mass distributed music, giving an insight into how songs could be used in periods of the most profound hardships and crisis. By the same token, the Zimbabwean society has used songs, among other things, to galvanize and win their wars, from the first to the third Chimurenga. This paper sets out to describe and analyse how songs have become a sure weapon for Zimbabweans in crisis and, in particular, during the Third Chimurenga. Through desk top and interviews, this research wishes to analyse the Third Chimurenga (Hondo Yeminda) showing a growing connection between song and protest and how song becomes synonymous with victory in the eyes of Zimbabweans. The study also discusses the contents of the songs to establish their connection with the aims and objectives or central concerns of the liberation war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music research in Africa has tended to focus on the analysis of lyrics in search of overt political content. This has yielded enormous and sometimes incisive academic work. However, research in music is yet to explore the political economy of the infrastructure of music production from composition, recording, marketing and paying of royalties. One aspect of music research that has also received little scholarly attention is the role of songs not simply in carrying the messages from composer to audience, but in helping in the creation of new words that are then popularised in cultural communities where these words are absorbed into the community's cultural and linguistic grammars. In Zimbabwe, two momentous historical periods, which are the liberation struggle (1970s) and the era of the Third Chimurenga (from 2000), reveal how the medium of song was used to generate a new vocabulary that has become part of the country's orthography. While some of the vocabulary so created during these periods is yet to enter dictionaries, most of these vocabularies have become the lingua franca in most African communities. This paper illustrates how the three domains of culture, politics and economics have benefitted from the capacity of song in creating, assimilating, appropriating and naming new realities in contexts marked by the inexorable processes of the violent uncoupling between the old political order and the new nationalist political dispensation ushered in by the various and legitimate phases of Zimbabwe's liberation struggles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It has been repeated over the years that Zimbabwean popular music is a male-domain and the best-selling sungura genre is nearly exclusively composed by male musicians. Female musicians have opted for the socially acceptable gospel music, avoiding the secular sungura for fear of stigmatisation. Many other reasons have been provided to explain women's virtual absence from the sungura genre, some of them sound, and yet others purely sexist and ludicrous. Using Cultural Studies and critical political economy approaches, which seek to both critique and transform the current gender demographics of sungura band leadership, vocalism and monopoly of instrument playing, this paper attempts to provide ways of introducing and nurturing female sungura musicians into the recording and performing industry. Such introduction of female sungura personalities is not only to add to the exciting diversity of creative sungura suppliers, but to expand the discursive and democratic spaces in which women can self-articulate, ironically within a medium that has been accused of negatively stereotyping and objectifying them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout history song, in whatever form, has played a pivotal role in the life of man. It has chronicled man's struggles and joys and has acted as a consciousness-raising tool to a nation's, moral, political and social problems. It is a dynamic living art form, which is responsive to developments in a society. Artists have, and still use it as a vehicle of expression of societal values, a medium of information and a popular form of entertainment. In this respect, the economic and political meltdown in Zimbabwe over the past decade have given rise to protest songs as artists became the mouthpiece of a population that is enduring economic hardships. One such artist is Samm Monro, popularly known as Comrade Fatso. He is one of the emerging young musicians who, through his protest music, has become an inspiration to ordinary Zimbabweans from all walks of life because his songs are insightful commentaries on what is happening in their country. This paper discusses the protest discourse that his wide audience finds appealing. The focus is on the lyrics from excerpts of four songs on his album Chabvondoka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music is the main diet of the most popular radio programmes in Africa and yet there are hardly any studies that examine either the ways in which it is programmed on radio, or circumstances under which it is consumed by Africans. This paper critically discusses this nexus by closely examining how a leading Zimbabwean radio station organises its music output to coincide with the daily life of members of its Zimbabwean listening public. Radio Zimbabwe's music policy (including quotas), music programming options and playlists are discussed to illustrate that music can only be relevant if it is scheduled in terms of rhythm with daily life and according to agreed professional judgements, which are supported by policy stipulations and playlists. Firstly, I discuss some general background, theoretical issues on music radio. Secondly, I explore scheduling particularities of some music programmes in relation to Zimbabwean daily life routines. I base my evaluations of Radio Zimbabwe music programmes on fieldwork findings from my research conducted with national broadcasters and listeners in Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored the music performance practices in the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP). The authors examined musical practices envisioned in the ZRP from colonial times to date. The ZRP music section has dance and brass bands, traditional dance, and vocal ensembles. The study focused on the ZRP dance and brass bands since they were subjected to colonial practices. Decoloniality theory was used to interrogate the data. A qualitative research methodology was used to examine the ZRP musical practices. Thirty participants were purposively sampled from current and ex-members of the ZRP. The study collected data through interviews and observations to understand the ZRP musical practices. The study explored topics including sight-reading, harmony, discipline, performance of copyrighted music, European songs, and transcription to explain how they affected the musical practices of the ZRP. The data showed that certain practices, like the playing of "Roast Beef of Old England" depicts the colonial system. Other practices, like playing European calls at national and police ceremonial events did not reflect African contexts. Although the ZRP incorporated indigenous musical practices into their musical renditions, more musical act ivities are needed to replace the fanfare and songs, including "Scipio," "Road to the Isles," and "Waltzing Matilda." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I undertake a literary analysis of Petina Gappah's short story entitled "The Mupandawana Dancing Champion" (2009) focusing on the author's portrayal of the intersection between the dancing body and political power in post-2000 Zimbabwe's crisis period. I draw from Michel Foucault's notion of the docile body to discuss how the politically dominant appropriate and commodify the dancing body of the subordinate for political survival and financial benefit. I argue that Gappah ironically depicts the hypnotic place of kongonya dance among the populace, especially as performed by the pupils from Mupandawana growth point. I further contend that Gappah cynically depicts the transformation of M'dhara Vitalis's dances from a social entertainment performance into a strictly business transaction. A reading of "The Mupandawana Dancing Champion" is, therefore, useful to appreciate how the ruling political elite appropriate enfeebled ordinary people's dance and use its influence to maintain their grip on power and their monopoly on business opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dancehall music in Zimbabwe has become a very popular genre among urban youth. Since its emergence, this localised music genre has reconfigured urban public culture in complex ways. Drawing on popular musical forms (Zimdancehall), this article examines how urban youth use this musical genre to articulate and express their frustrations, grievances, and everyday existential struggles. This article critiques popular songs and lyrics of selected young Zimdancehall artists to show how their musical discourse can be viewed as alternative discursive spaces of counterhegemonic narratives and a critique of the excesses of the post-colonial state. I argue that Zimdancehall music has become a space where young people simultaneously articulate and navigate their existential frustrations and waithood. While marginalised from mainstream socio-economic and political processes, and detached from the corridors of power, young people use music to speak truth to power. They sing about their anxieties with the socio-economic and political injustices metaphorically and creatively. I assert that through music, young people have found a way of (in)directly addressing the political elites who are complicit in their everyday existential struggles. I argue that Zimdancehall lyrics should be read as ideological texts which articulate a specific type of being and becoming, epitomised by the politics of suffering and smiling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zimbabwe’s protracted anti-Euro-American imperialist rhetoric and subsequent draconian policies that imposed a 100 per cent local content on national radio and television birthed a particular type of popular urban youth music genre (urban grooves), which has radically transformed the urban public sphere in the country. In this article, I examine the music and lyrics of one prominent gospel urban grooves artist—Mudiwa “Hood” Mutandwa. I particularly analyse the complex intersections of his musical discourse with prosperity gospel dogma propagated in contemporary Pentecostal Charismatic Churches (PCCs). Mudiwa’s musical discourse resonates with prosperity gospel ideologies propagated in the emergent and popular PCCs in Zimbabwe. Mudiwa’s music not only creates, but also reinforces a consumerist and materialist culture amongst the urban youth in Harare. Although Mudiwa’s musical discourse runs counter to the grim economic realities on the ground, it enables the deprived urban youth to symbolically make sense of their nostalgic and yet elusive aspirations of being wealthy in an economic and political crisis symptomatic of a postcolonial state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rap and hip-hop are often characterised as musical genres replete with foul language, hyper-masculinity, misogyny, violence and egocentrism. The music of two Zimbabwean rappers Outspoken Tha Humble Neophyte (Tongai Leslie Makawa) and Synik (Gerald Mugwenhi) differs considerably from this stereotypical perception of rap and hip-hop. This article argues that the music of these two rappers is transcendental in its depiction and critique of life in contemporary urban Zimbabwe. Concentrating on two albums by these artists, the article examines how the music goes beyond entertainment as it offers a socio-political and cultural critique and self-reflexive space of thinking through diverse issues afflicting modern-day Zimbabwe. In a country where the public sphere is heavily censored by the state, making open and sincere discussions impossible, the music of these two artists proposes an alternative space to think through various matters. The article contends that music has the “illocutionary force” to unsettle ways of thinking, knowing and understanding the diverse and complicated realities we so often experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article provides an exegesis of selectedsungurasongs sung in the 1990s and beyond by some of Zimbabwe's renowned musicians.Sungurais a Swahili word for rabbit. The word has become so naturalised in Shona to the extent that it now refers to a popular music genre sung mainly in indigenous languages. The beat is fast and furious and with a lot of emphasis on the footwork. The 1990s mark the incubation of new nation-state politics in which the subaltern overtly registers protestations against pauperising state policies. These protestations eventually explode in 1997 and intensify at the turn of the century, clearly marking ‘a paradigmatic rupture’ and solidifying the separation of the state from the citizens (Ndlovu-Gatsheni). As a result,sunguramusicians operationalise art in expressing a national identity characterised by a brand of politics and economics triggering mass dystopia and dystrophy. Remarkably, these direct protests coincide with critical discourses coming from different literary artists and scholars, who also begin to articulate revisionist discourses that indict the nationalist ideologies. Among them are novels such asPawns(1992),Echoing Silences(1997) andMapenzi(1999). In the post-2000 era, there are numerous publications that begin to deconstruct the nationalist ideology with its penchant for heroism and unparalleled political and historical greatness. Among them are the Zimbabwe Women Writers authoredWomen of Resilience: The voices of women ex-combatants, Fay Chung'sRe-living the Second Chimurenga: Memories from Zimbabwe's liberation struggle), Raftopoulos and Mlambo'sBecoming Zimbabwe: A history from the pre-colonial period to 2008and Edgar Tekere'sA lifetime of struggle(2007). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the images of women as portrayed in Shona songs by Zimbabwean male singers. It examines how the singers construct and represent these images. The argument is that song is a popular medium of communication and its message affects people's view of the world around them, including gender relationships. It is therefore necessary to understand the messages that are embedded in the songs and the images they invoke because ultimately, song, like all literature, offers a platform to interrogate the images and reshape people's attitudes.The deconstruction of images of women in song is done through content analysis of selected Shona songs by male singers. The results reveal multifaceted and stereotyped images of women that are largely engrained in the cultural values and expectations of the Shona people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

That the 75 per cent local content policy has transformed the music industry in Zimbabwe is hardly refutable. It is the nature of and permutations of this transformation that have invited competing responses and interpretations. In spite of its controversy, there are no known studies devoted to unravelling the impact of the 75 per cent local content on the music industry. Foregrounding the socio-cultural function of music, this article examines attempts by the government of Zimbabwe to localize musical expression through the 75 per cent local content policy and its impact on the music industry. Empirical data were gathered through interviews with musicians, arts and entertainment journalists, academics, music critics, and representatives of recording companies and policy-making bodies in the country. In addition, archival material drawn from websites and newspapers was also used. The article argues that the impact of the 75 per cent local content on the music industry is contradictory, thus reflecting the complex interaction of forces of globalization and localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article parades those attributes in the Zimbabwean National Anthem that make it Zimbabwean. Having shifted from an anthem for Africa as a continent, ‘Ishe Komborera Africa’, the current Zimbabwe national anthem, eulogizes some sense of patriotism, Zimbabwean hegemony and pride among the Zimbabwean populace. Every nation has its own identity that is mirrored through symbolic historical monuments, artifacts, dress codes and music including the national anthem. Zimbabweans, being the custodians of their identity, have risen up to the challenge of composing their own anthem through the late Solomon Mutswairo and Fred Changundega, who provided the text and score, respectively. Through a content analysis research method the article explains the musical elements that make up the Zimbabwean national anthem. From the research done a conclusion has been drawn that themes and ideologies associated with the Zimbabwean national anthem reflect aspects of nationalism, but in terms of musical compositional techniques some concepts such as rhythm, dynamics, and performance directions are inherited from foreign cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mbira dzavadzimu is a musical instrument commonly associated with the Zezuru, a sub-ethnic group of the Shona of Zimbabwe. Its popularity arises from its ability to ensnare the spirits in spirit mediums. It is a common belief that the Zezuru, like any other African ethnic group, have a very strong relationship with their ancestors. This progeny-progenitor relationship depicts an everlasting relationship between the living and the dead and ultimately acts as the basis of the Shona philosophy that death is not the end of life but a breakthrough into a totally new world of the invisible which they call nyikadzimu. In this article the writer will unpack the indigenous knowledge system that informs the Shona cosmology as it relates to mbira dzavadzimu and its space in Shona spirituality. The data that furnishes this article is part of the writer's unpublished Master's thesis (2009) in which he establishes the relationship between mbira dzavadzimu modes and spirit possession. The study adopted an ethnographic paradigm in which empirical data was collected through participant observation during a field study in Chikomba and Hwedza districts. The data was then analysed qualitatively and the findings revealed that both the mbira instrument and the pieces performed on it belong to the ancestors; hence there is a very strong and permanent relationship between mbira pieces and spirit possession. It is from this relationship that mbira music draws the power to evoke spirits in spirit mediums (masvikiro) during all-night ceremonies (mapira). Consequently the whole Shona cosmology greatly depends on mbira dzavadzimu. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article aims to discuss the contradictory principle that informs various functions of songs in the ritual-myth of Kurova Guva among the Shona of Zimbabwe. The discussion of this ritualmyth will focus on selected songs that are sung during the ritual-myth of Kurova Guva. While the Shona are not perceived as a group with homogeneous cultural values, there is general agreement that Kurova Guva is a distinct Shona cultural rite of passage. It will be argued that the ritual-myth of Kurova Guva rests on the acceptance that someone physically dies. However, the physical death of the flesh is not the ultimate terminus of 'human' life. The Kurova Guva ritual-myth ceremony reasserts the continued spiritual existence of the dead person by seeking to bring that person back into the community of ancestral spirits that are recognised by the dead person's surviving family members. During Kurova Guva, which usually takes place on Friday and Saturday, popular songs and drumming constitute the medium through with the ritual-myth of bringing home the spirit of the 'dead' is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that songs from Zimbabwe's war of the liberation (Chimurenga) recorded by Alec Pongweni differ in thrust from the poems written by fellow combatants, Freedom Nyamubaya and Thomas Bvuma. Although songs and poetry are generically related, the songs from the war served a single immediate purpose of encouraging the execution of the war, while the poems allowed the poets a fair share of individual exploration of both official and unofficial perspectives of people in Chimurenga. Thus, while the songs effectively dwell on the immediate business of the war, the poems have the luxury of space to pontificate, establish philosophies and even quarrel with the very idea of Chimurenga itself. It shall also be argued that while the two poets differ from the singing guerrillas, the poets develop in different, even if not necessarily opposed, directions in their understanding of Chimurenga and its aftermath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On Sunday 13 March 2005 prominent Zimbabwean musician, Oliver Mtukudzi performed at the function to celebrate the appointment of Joyce Mujuru of ZANU PF party to the office of Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. There were many conflicting reactions to this action of Tuku, particularly in the context of political polarization in Zimbabwe. This article explores the validity of reactions and concerns of various readers and letter writers to a website called newzimbabwe.com. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents and analyses songs that were created and performed in guerrilla camps in Mozambique during the Zimbabwean liberation war. The article explores the links between music, ideology and popular culture to facilitate analysis of these songs. The article argues that the songs composed and performed were an integral part of the liberation war and remain key narratives of that struggle. These songs were part of the struggle for a new political, cultural and social identity. Selected songs are analysed and discussed in some detail, and bring out certain aspects of the war such as humour and sexual innuendo, treachery and weaponry. The discussion acknowledges its shortcomings in presenting material from only one liberation army — the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). Studies remain to be done for the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of the two contemporary gospel musicians, Hosiah Chipanga and Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave (hereafter referred to simply as Fungisai), emanates from a desire to critique the discourses of emancipation in gospel music from a sociological perspective in Zimbabwe's crippling context. The idea is to have some contrasting discourses from a male and female perspective and critique how the two musicians deal with the internally and externally induced challenges confronting the young nation of Zimbabwe. The two singers both hail from the eastern border town of Mutare. While Chipanga claims to be a Christian prophet, Fungisai's music has its basis in the scriptural passages from the Bible that singers are routinely using to make sense of the challenges facing Zimbabweans today. The article therefore seeks to reveal and critique how the two singers have risen to the challenge of inspiring and empowering their audiences to appropriate pragmatic strategies so that people may survive to salvage something of value from an already threatened existence. The prominence of the two musicians has also been heightened by their participation at the national all-inclusive music galas, such as the Independence and Heroes Splush galas, which have been held annually from about 2000 to commemorate and celebrate Zimbabwe's milestones. Significantly, the singers are gospel musicians who appear to be participating in secular ceremonies in an effort to raise their audiences' consciousness about personal emancipation and empowerment, instead of just dwelling on spiritual salvation. Their music is designed to capture the defining moments in the unfolding sociopolitical life of the Zimbabwean nation. Because of their active involvement in and prominence at these national music shows, one may suggest that Hosiah Chipanga and Fungisai's music provides some critical interrogation of the social fabric of Zimbabwe's national and cultural formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That music is a potent communication tool with a vast potential to cement or unsettle social relationships is now widely acknowledged. The subtleness and pervasiveness of musical messages, however, results in the power of music being taken for granted. This article examines the representation of women in male produced “urban grooves” music in Zimbabwe. The article uses content and discourse analysis to ascertain whether such representation empowers or disempowers men and women. The article also examines the possible impacts of such representation of women on consumers of such music. It is argued here that the lyrical content of male-produced “urban grooves” music celebrates negative stereotypes of women, violence against women, commodification of women, and other negative representations which undermine the empowerment of women in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most serious health concern in Zimbabwe today is the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS. Since 1987, the state radio stations, television channels, public and private print media have been at the forefront, giving information about the AIDS pandemic to the people. But as Danlabi Musa observes, 'diversity' and bigger audience are not the function of channel multiplicity' but have also to do with “...access and programming” (Musa, in Gecau et al. 1996:23). This chapter looks at how the prevalence of AIDS in Zimbabwe is influencing the construction of the identity of black women in Zimbabwe, as is revealed in the popular songs and some oral poems. Unlike television, which only the rich have, access to newspapers, messages which depend on the taught skill of reading, songs, oral poems can be more open and democratic forms. Both are oral and aural and can break the boundaries imposed by writing or reading. Anybody can appropriate them for different purposes. Although male or female singers in Zimbabwe have been singing about the plight of women as minors in private and public circles, negative images of black women continue to be produced, circulated and consumed through song and some oral poetry. This chapter argues that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe has produced a new moral discourse in which women are objectified as “dangerous” and “loose” on the one hand, and are expected to become “respectable” and “disciplined” to attain the newly projected status of a “proper” women on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zimbabwean musicians continue to struggle to earn a living and respect decades after ushering in the country's independence in song and dance. This article locates the roots of the problem in the independent state's ill-conceived cultural disposition, which failed to appreciate the country's music as an important cultural and economic activity. It argues that the government's policy towards music was characterised by apparent indifference - an inappropriate stance towards the needs of an expanding sector that absorbed multitudes of unemployed Zimbabweans. It exposes the facade behind the proscription of most 'foreign' music from the country's broadcasting media after 2000, under the guise of promoting 'local' talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death and bereavement have become everyday occurrences in Zimbabwe, due mainly to the escalating statistics of victims of HIV/AIDS. No sector in the country has been left unaffected by the scourge. In this situation of suffering and bereavement, Christian men and women, inspired by their faith, provide relief, comfort and care to the sick in homes, clinics and hospitals. However, it is mostly women who give colour and life to the period of mourning. In support of the bereaved families that have lost a beloved member, they sing and dance for days and nights leading up to the funeral. In this article we examine the songs that are commonly sung at such occasions. We also interrogate the reasoning behind the choice of such songs, as well as the theology that underpins them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]