Culture, history at the zenith of Bulawayo’s township tourism
LIKE the proverbial phoenix, the present day multiethnic City of Bulawayo rose on the vestiges of King Lobengula’s capital, its tree-lined roads constructed wide enough to permit a team of 16 oxen to make a full turn and skyscrapers to be unobtrusively instituted.
It is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital city, Harare. Bulawayo is a city rich in cultural history and a must visit for anyone coming to Zimbabwe. It is one of the oldest and historically most important of Zimbabwe’s towns.
Certainly no one can say they have experienced the full range of Zimbabwe’s diversity if they have not been to this bustling city in the south-western part of the country of Zimbabwe.
Bulawayo was the capital of the Ndebele State when Lobengula, son of the King Mzilikazi, ascended to the throne. Lobengula’s initial royal town, established in 1872, was located about 22,5 kilometres of the present day city, on a ridge dominated by the Thabas Inyoka — “hill of serpents”.
This town has been rebuilt and is known as “old Bulawayo”. Lobengula eventually moved his royal town, and the locality of the modern Bulawayo city was chosen by King Lobengula and he also named his royal town Bulawayo, which is the Ndebele word for “the place of slaughter”, in recognition of an armed struggle that Lobengula was involved in when he ascended to the throne.
A band of day-trippers invaded sometime this year Bulawayo — this time not to wrestle it from the control of the local people like what happened during Lobengula’s time but to see and appreciate the beauty of the city as a cultural hub of the Ndebele people. The tour was dubbed the Heritage Trail.
The group comprised some people resident in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) officers, representatives from Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, journalists and a Japanese delegation under the Japan International Co-operation Agency. Tour guide of the day, Gordon Chimombe, told the exploratory group going for the Heritage Trail that the undertaking was solely to promote Community Based Tourism (CBT) and create a spirit of entrepreneurship that leads to employment opportunities for the community.
The trail, which started at the City Hall (Market Square) formerly King Lobengula’s Queens Gardens, was going to allow the group to visit some of the key heritage buildings in the City of Bulawayo. The City Hall was completed in 1895 and quickly became the public market.
It was to become the main shelter for the white and non-Ndebele settlers in 1896, a time during which the Ndebele rose against the colonial system.
Still in proximity of the City Hall, there is the 18,3m deep Wishing Well that was dug at the height of the Ndebele uprising ( umvukela) to provide water in the laager in which King Lobengula and his people were staying.
The well was re-dug in 1951 and fitted with modern pipework to allow it to be used as a water reservoir for the present day Bulawayo. Just in front of the City Hall there is a curios market where the visitor can buy souvenirs that give a hint at what the local culture, religion and myths are like.
Sculpting, carving, basketry, beadwork, woodwork and ceramic pottery are skilfully made by local artists and can be purchased from here. From there the next port of call was at the city’s oldest supermarket, Haddon and Sly, which was established in 1894 by two traders who merged their businesses to suppress competition from other entrepreneurs.
The original structure was demolished in 1907 to be replaced by the one that is currently standing although it has also been refurbished recently. The other exciting heritage feature included in the trail is the statue of veteran nationalist Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo famed for his selfless role in the liberation struggle for Zimbabwe. Then there was the National Art Gallery housed in a most attractive turn of the century building, the twostorey Douslin House on Main Street and has a good art shop, restaurant and artists’ studios.
To smother the heat generated from the tour, the group wrapped their exploratory mission by lunching at the Exchange Bar housed in the Exchange Building, which was originally the first Post Office of the city.
It used to be Cecil John Rhodes and his colleagues’ haven. The Town Board acquired the building in 1914. This ornate, sandstone building was occupied by POSB, shared with the Post Office and Customs Department. It was designed by Pretoria Architects, Gibson and Robertson.
Bulawayo is located within the vicinity of Hwange National Park, The Victoria Falls (one of the wonders of the world), Khami Ruins, The Matobo Hills (where Cecil John Rhodes and King Mzilikazi as well are buried) and Matobo National Park so the next time you are en route to see these wonders, remember to create an interlude to appreciate the beauty of this cultural hub of Zimbabwe. — Manicapost.co.zw