The History of the Shona

The term Shona did not exist to describe any ethnic grouping before the advent of colonialism. The term Shona originates from the Ndebele 'abetshona' meaning 'those from over there' and was popularized by use during colonial times.

Otherwise the people now collectively known as the Shona do not belong to one ethnic origin. What the Shona do is share a set of very similar language dialects but not a common ethnic background. While it is true that the builders of Great Zimbabwe have their descendants among today's Shona people, those not in the know often ignore other tribal groupings not referred to as Shona today but also descendant from the builders of great Zimbabwe. Such a tribe are the Venda who are found in southern Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa.

So referring to the Shona as the oldest tribe, without specifying which particular clan of the Shona you are referring to is wrong. Some of the people now called Shona came into Zimbabwe even after the coming of the Ndebele.

The History of Stone Sculpture in Zimbabwe

The people that we now consider the Shona because of the name given to this grouping of people have been said to have started carving to express personal feelings and tribal beliefs more than 2000 years ago, during the times of Great Zimbabwe.

Their religion is very spiritual and they believe in two kinds of spirits – Shave spirits and the Vadzimu spirits which are considered to be ancestral spirits. The people also believe in good and bad spirits, the bad spirits have to do with witchcraft while the good spirits may inspire individual talents along with healing, music or artistic ability. They use witchcraft and traditional dances to summon the spirits of their ancestors. In Shona sculptures, the artist expresses the fundamental relationships between two guiding forces of Shona life, this being the visible physical world and the unseen spiritual world that exists in various cultures. The stone carvers believe that every rock contains a spirit essence that influences how the stone will be shaped and transformed during carving. "Their job" is to release the spirit in the stone, Thus giving the artist the ability to be truly creative and expressive.

The stone sculptures produced by these artists display great individuality of form and content. Every piece is an original and is valued by even the most astute collector. The art is extremely seductive and amazingly beautiful with each stone containing rich colors and textures which invite one to explore and touch visually, emotionally, physically and intellectually. For the most-part, today’s Zimbabwean stone sculptors are self-taught and for this reason, still able to freely express their true artistic feelings. In doing so they create the most amazing pieces of art and give us a freedom of artistic skill has impressed art collectors and dealers world wide.

There is mounting evidence that the presence of Shona sculpture in the 20th century began not in the 1950s as is popularly believed, but as early as the turn of the century and some would say as far back as the times of Great Zimbabwe over 2000 years ago.

Joram Mariga, who learned sculpting from his father and brothers in the 1930s, recalls being intrigued by a piece of bright green soapstone he found in the fields of Nyanga. He started to carve the stone for the very first time and said his sculptures were little things to please him. A few years later he was introduced to Frank McEwen who became the Director of the National Gallery of what was then known as Southern Rhodesia. McEwen said Joram Mariga ‘brought him a little milk jug carved from soapstone and realized it was an English milk jug for an Englishman who loved his tea’. McEwen then asked Joram if he could carve a head and when he brought the head it was also made for an Englishman. McEwen said ‘If you made a figure for your own family or your ancestors, what would it look like? Oh, that would be different’ said Joram. This time he brought back a head of pure African concept, with an enlarged head, seat of the spirit, a frontal static pose, a visage staring into eternity with formally posed arms and clenched fists; it was in nature, pre-Columbian. Evidence such as this gives credence to the theory of Shona Sculpture existing before McEwen arrived on the scene to initiate a new art form and in the 1950s encouraged a creative phenomenon that was already in process.

The artists that we now see creating in Zimbabwe and South Africa have come a long way from the beginnings of their craft many years ago. We now refer to what was originally called “Shona Sculpture” as Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture. The reason being that to just say the “Shona people” are the only sculptures today would be false. In fact there are many different men and women from all over Africa that have come to Zimbabwe to study from the masters over the last 50 or so years. These talented artists have now become some of the best sculptures in the world and have in fact launched the traditional Shona Sculpture into being the biggest contemporary art movement to ever come out of Africa.

We can debate the origin and outcome of this amazing art until the end of time but one thing we can all agree on is that there is a mysterious, powerful and positive presence in all true Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture that could never be manufactured or replicated. It has to come from long standing traditional beliefs and true artistic expression. For this we are truly grateful to be able to enjoy this wonderful, refreshing work in today’s upside down world.