‘ The Zimbabwe Epic’ turns colonial myths on their heads

The Herald April 14 1983

THE history of Zimbabwe had to be rewritten positively and accurately to correct the negative portrayal of Africans in colonial history books, the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Herbert Ushewokunze said yesterday.

Officially launching a publication compiled by the staff of the National Archives in Harare, The Zimbabwe Epic, Cde Ushewokunze said: “The negative portrayal of the African so common in colonial history books can now be turned on its head . . . our young generation can now learn a history that puts their society in positive and accurate terms.

“In this new analysis the primitive rebel described in colonial books, Mbuya Nehanda has become our heroic fighter. And in place of the satanic Marxist leader of darkness so feared and portrayed by Ian Smith, we describe the dedicated leadership of Cde Robert Mugabe.”

“The Zimbabwe Epic” was rewritten history in that it projected the “unjustly suppressed and the unjustifiably forgotten. But for this analysis to be complete, it must be coupled with the intervention of colonisation and the changes and implications it brought for our present and future society,” he said.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

◆ According to Dr Ushewokunze, “The Zimbabwe Epic”, shows the lessons learnt by guerrillas and the heroic battles they fought in pursuit of justice in Zimbabwe.

◆ It portrays the basis of the country’s rich cultural heritage, positive and negative aspects alike that had often been forgotten, denied or taken for granted.

◆ It also gives one an opportunity to reflect upon the achievement of the last 80 years in Zimbabwe, and provides hope that whatever our current difficulties, peace and justice will prevail.

◆ It is unfortunate that the Zimba

bwe narrative remains untold as very few people are coming forward to write the people’s history. ◆ Some of the challenges that writers face is the fear of being labelled as revisionist historians. Other potential writers are not writing because people are not buying books, and the reading culture remains very low.

◆ The National Archives of Zimbabwe, Zimpapers Knowledge Centre, National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe are some of the major national institutions with raw historical data, that researchers can use to write the people’s history from an economic, political, social, cultural and religious perspectives. +263 8677 004323; +263 0242 795771