Silence of Great Zimbabwe

Contested Landscapes and the Power of Heritage

AvJoost Fontein

Häftad, Engelska, 2006

Del i serien UCL Institute of Archaeology Publications

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Beskrivning

This book examines the politics of landscape and heritage by focusing on the example of Great Zimbabwe National Monument in southern Zimbabwe. The controversy that surrounded the site in the early part of the 20th century, between colonial antiquarians and professional archaeologists, is well reported in the published literature. Based on long term ethnographic field work around Great Zimbabwe, as well as archival research in NMMZ, in the National Archives of Zimbabwe, and several months of research at the World Heritage Centre in Paris, this new book represents an important step beyond that controversy over origins, to focus on the site's position in local contests between, and among individuals within, the Nemanwa, Charumbira and Mugabe clans over land, power and authority. To justify their claims, chiefs, spirit mediums and elders of each clan make appeals to different, but related, constructions of the past. Emphasising the disappearance of the 'Voice' that used to speak there, these narratives also describe the destruction, alienation and desecration of Great Zimbabwe that occurred, and continues, through the international and national, archaeological and heritage processes and practices by which Great Zimbabwe has become a national and world heritage site today.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2006-02-17
Mått:152 x 229 x 21 mm
Vikt:408 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:UCL Institute of Archaeology Publications
Antal sidor:264
Förlag:Left Coast Press Inc
ISBN:9781598742213

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Joost Fontein

Recensioner i media

'Fontein does an excellent job of describing the ways in which different groups of actors, from the clan chiefs and leaders who contest preeminence at Great Zimbabwe in historical terms, to the archaeologists and curators of National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe who situate the site in contexts of science, nationalism and the economics of tourism, collide and cooperate... [He] has written an important book about the roles that Great Zimbabwe plays in Zimbabwe, the controversies that still swirl around it, and the way in which communities in the area see this place--not merely as an archaeological site, but as a place of continuing religious and historical significance. The value of this approach is not restricted to Zimbabwe, and The Silence of Great Zimbabwe should be read by any archaeologist or heritage manager working on the continent today.' American Antiquity 'Fontein's careful attention to multivocality offers the reader an unprecedented appreciation for the personal and political motivations of each and every stakeholder, and, ultimately, for the fact that the silence of Great Zimbabwe represents a broader problematic that looms over the contemporary horizon of historical discourse as it enters into the field of tourism-driven heritage.' Journal of African History Vol 49, 2008 'This book provides the essential, pioneering platform upon which all future studies will surely build... This book is a good beginning. Hopefully, it will encourage a re-thinking of the current management approach to the site. Zimbabweanist archaeologists and historians can take note and present inclusive and representative local histories that are relevant to those who matter the most-the people of Zimbabwe.' Paul Hubbard, South African Archaeological Bulletin

Innehållsförteckning

List of Illustrations, List of Acronyms, Acknowledgements, Some Notes on Fieldwork, Language and Sources, PART 1: THE SILENCE OF UNREPRESENTED PASTS AT GREAT ZIMBABWE, 1. The 'Zimbabwe Controversy': The Power of 'Fact' Over 'Fiction', 2. Great Zimbabwe in Local 'History-Scopes', 3. 'Traditional Connoisseurs' of the Past, 4. The Silence of Great Zimbabwe: From Mystery and Untold Stories to a Silence of Anger, PART II: THE SILENCE OF ANGER AT GREAT ZIMBABWE, 5. Silence, Destruction and Closure at Great Zimbabwe: Local Narratives of Desecration and Alienation, 6. 'Let us Fight and Rebuild': Nationalism and Great Zimbabwe, 7. 'Mapfupa edu achamuka' (Our Bones will Rise): Nationalist Mythology of the First Chimurenga, 8. NMMZ and Great Zimbabwe: The Professionalisation of Heritage Management, 9. UNESCO and the Power of World Heritage, 10. Beyond 2000: Patriotic History and Great Zimbabwe, Bibliography, Index