Symbols of social transformation: BaTonga search for cultural relevance in Zimbabwe

Abstract

How can marginalised groups resolve culture-related conflicts –conflicts that largely have a bearing on identity and survival for an ethnic group? It is not a new phenomenon that reality is a scarce resource and that itself is there to be struggled over. The experiences of the BaTonga are well documented mostly their physical dislocation from the Zambezi shores and the subsequent cultural turmoil associated with such dislocations. Research has had interest in BaTonga search for social as well as cultural transformation as a panacea to the physical dislocations experienced by the BaTonga in history. One area which has sadly received little attention has been the unique BaTonga cultural artefacts which by and large BaTonga have used in their search for cultural relevance in main stream Zimbabwean cultural as well as economic spaces. Using artefactual semiotics this article explores the ncelwa and buntibe pieces as symbolising BaTonga and how in their usage has changed the BaTonga cosmos in Zimbabwe socio-cultural and economic spaces.