Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014

The Hlengwe people of the south-east Lowveld of Zimbabwe are commonly known as Shangaan/‘Machangana’ or Tsonga. Their traditional livelihood activities such as hunting, fishing, gathering, agriculture and trade were unique to the extent that they could be easily used as features of identity differen...

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Main Author: Chisi, Taderera Hebert
Format: Book chapter
Language:English
Published: Springer 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94800-9_4
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/5064
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author Chisi, Taderera Hebert
author_facet Chisi, Taderera Hebert
author_sort Chisi, Taderera Hebert
collection DSpace
description The Hlengwe people of the south-east Lowveld of Zimbabwe are commonly known as Shangaan/‘Machangana’ or Tsonga. Their traditional livelihood activities such as hunting, fishing, gathering, agriculture and trade were unique to the extent that they could be easily used as features of identity differentiation between the Hlengwe and neighbouring ‘ethnic others’ such as Duma and Karanga. However, the uniqueness of some of these activities has diminished over the years. This chapter is premised on the argument that the livelihood activities of ethnic communities are not static but shift with time in response to changes in the social, political and physical environment. In this context, it analyses the transformation of the Hlengwe livelihood activities from 1890 (the time of British colonialism) to the twenty-first century. Overall, the Hlengwe livelihood activities morphed over the years to a point where, by the early twenty-first century, ethno-commerce or commodification of marketable features of identity such as cultural symbols, art and craft and living cultures remained the main livelihood activity which still reflected Hlengwe ethnicity more than any other activities in the modern multi-ethnic society of the south-east Lowveld.
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spelling ir-11408-50642022-08-03T07:37:04Z Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014 Chisi, Taderera Hebert Livelihoods Ethno-commerce Transformation Identity Hlengwe The Hlengwe people of the south-east Lowveld of Zimbabwe are commonly known as Shangaan/‘Machangana’ or Tsonga. Their traditional livelihood activities such as hunting, fishing, gathering, agriculture and trade were unique to the extent that they could be easily used as features of identity differentiation between the Hlengwe and neighbouring ‘ethnic others’ such as Duma and Karanga. However, the uniqueness of some of these activities has diminished over the years. This chapter is premised on the argument that the livelihood activities of ethnic communities are not static but shift with time in response to changes in the social, political and physical environment. In this context, it analyses the transformation of the Hlengwe livelihood activities from 1890 (the time of British colonialism) to the twenty-first century. Overall, the Hlengwe livelihood activities morphed over the years to a point where, by the early twenty-first century, ethno-commerce or commodification of marketable features of identity such as cultural symbols, art and craft and living cultures remained the main livelihood activity which still reflected Hlengwe ethnicity more than any other activities in the modern multi-ethnic society of the south-east Lowveld. 2022-08-03T07:37:04Z 2022-08-03T07:37:04Z 2022-04-20 Book chapter Chisi, T.H. (2022). Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014. In: Helliker, K., Chadambuka, P., Matanzima, J. (eds) Livelihoods of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Zimbabwe. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94800-9_4 978-3-030-94799-6 978-3-030-94800-9 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94800-9_4 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/5064 en Livelihoods of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Zimbabwe;Pages 67 – 85 open Springer
spellingShingle Livelihoods
Ethno-commerce
Transformation
Identity
Hlengwe
Chisi, Taderera Hebert
Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014
title Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014
title_full Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014
title_fullStr Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014
title_full_unstemmed Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014
title_short Transformations in the Livelihood Activities of Hlengwe People of the South-East Lowveld of Zimbabwe, 1890–2014
title_sort transformations in the livelihood activities of hlengwe people of the south-east lowveld of zimbabwe, 1890–2014
topic Livelihoods
Ethno-commerce
Transformation
Identity
Hlengwe
url https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94800-9_4
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/5064
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