Land, Livelihoods, and Empowerment among the San of Western Zimbabwe.
Robert K. Hitchcock
- Osaka-JP : National Museum Ethnology, 2018.
- páginas 251-282: ilustraciones blanco y negro.
- Irregular
- no. 99 (2018)
- Senri Ethnological Studies ; no. 99 .
- National Museum of Ethnology Osaka. .
The Tshwa San of western Zimbabwe, like other San of southern Africa, have been dispossessed of much of their land as a result of the establishment of commercial farms, state forests, and protected areas, notably the Hwange National Park. We discuss the key events that affected the Tshwa in the 19th and 20th centuries and the early part of the 21st century. This chapter focuses on the impacts of hunters and settlers, transformations in land tenure and resource rights, the struggle against white minority rule, the post-colonial genocide known as Gukurahundi, the effects of community based natural resource management initiatives, fast-track land reform, and the economic downturn in the country. In the 21st century, the Tshwa have had to cope with state efforts to assimilate and resettle them. The Tswha sought to form a representative community-based organization, to encourage the recording and teaching of the Tshwao (Tjwao) language, and to expand social, economic, and educational opportunities for Tshwa children and adults. This chapter assesses the challenges facing the Tshwa as they seek to empower themselves as citizens of Zimbabwe alongside other historically disadvantaged populations, particularly given recent changes in the leadership of the country.