Postcolonial Shona Fiction of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The aim of this article is to apply a version of postcolonial theory to understand the representations of struggles for land in the Shona novel of Zimbabwe. Since the year 2000 there has been an intensification of the use of language that describes land in Zimbabwe in terms that suggest that people have a common way of understanding and relating to this land. This language of oneness between Africans and the land attempts to forestall debate about different perceptions that Zimbabwe has on the emotive theme of the land issue in the country. While politicians insist on a unitary way of viewing the land, Shona authors are at the forefront of demonstrating that within the political centre of the discourse on land, Africans are struggling amongst themselves not only to have access to this land, but also to name it in different ways. A postcolonial reading of Shona novels that explicitly deal with the theme of land refuses to totally endorse the nationalist sentiment that projects Africans as having even levels of access to the land under the controversial land reform. Rereading the "classic" Shona nationalist novel Feso (1956) alongside Vavariro (1990) and Sekai: Minda Tave Nayo (2005) brings out moments of "slippery political significations" (Shohat 1996: 322) in which on the one hand Africans are agreed on the necessity to invest the land in their hands, while on the other hand manifesting intense struggles over the resource. with the consequence of further marginalisation of some Africans in the process.

Opsomming
Die doel met hierdie artikel is om 'n weergawe van postkoloniale teorie toe te pas ten einde die uitbeelding van stryd om grond in die Shona-roman van Zimbabwe te begryp. Sedert die jaar 2000 was daar 'n verskerping van taalgebruik wat grond in Zimbabwe in terme beskryf wat suggereer dat daar 'n gemeenskaplike manier is om die grond te begryp en verwant daaraan te voel. Hierdie taal van eenheid tussen Afrikane en die grond poog om die debat oor verskillende persepsies wat Zimbabwiers oor die netelige tema van die grondkwessie in die land het in die wiele te ry. Terwyl politici aandring op 'n unitere manier om na die grond te kyk, sukkel Afrikane ender mekaar om nie net toegang tot grond te he nie, maar ook om op verskillende maniere name daaraan te gee. 'n Postkoloniale interpretasie van Shona-romans wat uitdruklik oor die tema van grond handel, weier om die nasionalistiese sentiment te onderskryf wat voorstel dat Afrikane ender die kontroversiele grondhervorming gelyke toegangsvlakke tot grond het. 'n Herinter­pretasie van die "klassieke" nasionalistiese Shona-roman Feso (1956) langsaan Vavariro (1990) en Sekai: Minda Tave Nayo (2005) onthul oomblikke van "slippery political significations" (Shohat 1996: 322) waarin Afrikane aan die een kant saamstem oor die noodsaaklikheid daarvan om die grond in hul eie besit te kry, terwyl hulle aan die ander kant intense stryde oor hierdie hulpbron voer - met die gevolg dat sommige Afrikane in die proses verder gemarginaliseer word.