Should Zimbabwean provinces be renamed? (Mashonaland, Manicaland and Matabeleland)
Words have power. And names have immense power and can be self fulfilling prophecies. Today many Zimbabweans have strange English names that are the butt of jokes in neighbouring countries. Names like Godknows and Knowledge are the source of derision and comedy. If it was up to me it would be illegal to give an African name a non-African name. How many white people give their children African names? How many Arabs give their kids Zulu names? Let us be careful what we name our children. When the British settled in the land between Zambezi and Limpopo they met various tribes living there. They exploited the tribal conflicts and divisions that were already present. The Ndebeles regularly raided and enslaved the Shona speaking tribes. The Shonas were divided and disorganised. To ensure that these African tribes would forever remain divided they gave the provinces tribal names that divided the people along tribal lines. Mashonaland in the north, Manicaland in the east and M...