War and Spirits in Zimbabwe

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes David Lan's "Guns and Rain: Guerrillas and Spirit Mediums in Zimbabwe" which examines both the larger culture of this African nation and the particular ways certain cultural vectors came together during the anti-colonial struggle for independence that extended from 1966 to 1980. The paper shows that during the struggle, thousands of the country's peasants (who were living traditional lives in many ways set fundamentally apart from the formal political life and struggles of the urban population) joined with the pro-independence guerrillas to provide both practical help and psychological support. This support was spearheaded throughout the country by hundreds of spirit mediums, the religious leaders of the Shona people. The paper also presents a history of Zimbabwe from its earliest origins in 800 A.D. to the present day.

From the Paper:

"Much of the population in Zimbabwe is formally educated, unlike the populations in traditional pre-1960s ethnographies. Primary education in Zimbabwe is both free and compulsory, which shapes people's ability and inclination to interact with non-traditional cultural and social institutions and practices. Higher educational institutions include a number of teachers' colleges and several agricultural and technical schools as well as the University of Zimbabwe at Harare. The fact that so much of the population is educated does not " as Lan makes clear " mean that they have turned away from the traditional religion but rather that they have learned to use it (and perhaps to believe in it) in more sophisticated and more complex ways."

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