BY DR TONY M. MONDA
When the first stone was laid as the foundation of Great Zimbabwe’s dry wall complex – it was the result of an artist’s dream and vision.
The grand vision, and the decision to create and construct the fortresses, conical tower and circular enclosures in granite stone, hewn and shaped by hand, attest to the fact that Munhumutapas of MaDzimbahwe were the greatest thinkers, artists, creative designers, architects and builders in south and central Africa.
To fully appreciate and understand the indigenous Zimbabwean’s intellect-the philosophy, aesthetic and creative wisdom informing the cultural, religious, socio-political, economic, agricultural and military aspects of the complex need to be understood and taken into account holistically.
Hence more importance should be attached to the ancillary study of Great Zimbabwe beyond its sheer visual appeal.
The large granite buildings were once the homes of powerful rulers who, exploiting the mineral wealth and agro-botanical resources of their land, created elaborate civilizations.
The land surrounding the city was ideal for cattle rearing and gold mining, and this helped sustain an estimated population of between 18 000-20 000 inhabitants
Located in central southern Africa, MaDzimbahwe/Great Zimbabwe, consisting of several sections, was established around 1250 AD., and emerged as the most complex civilization throughout the region extending to parts of Botswana, Mozambique, the northern half of South Africa, and north into Tanzania. It was recognized by ancient Arab and Portuguese cartographers (circa 1500), as Barbaria, Chicambi or Chicamba. Here, the rulers built permanent stone structures and traded with their neighbours and ultimately established a large trading network throughout the sub-Saharan region, North Africa, Near East and beyond.
MaDzimbahwe became the centre of a large and wealthy global trading network that began with Mapungubwe trading ivory along the Limpopo River to the sea as early as the 11 th century AD. This introduced the Kingdom to world commerce which expanded with the growth of its civilisation into the 15th Century AD.
Intra-regional trade with neighbouring states is evidenced with exchange of copper ingots from as far as Katanga in the DRC and Ingombe Illede in Zambia.
The well beaten trade routes extended to Sofala in the east, Manyikeni and Chibuene on the Indian Ocean seaboard – important gateways to worldwide commerce; to Mzansi (South Africa) in the south, Barotse (Botswana) and Damara (Namibia), in the southwest and Zambia in the northwest.
The nation state Great Zimbabwe had been fully developed by 1450 AD, with a network of over 350 related royal towns fashioned after it. Rhodesian colonial cities and towns, especially provincial
capitals, were built next to ancient Zimbabwean capitals. For example, Harare /Chivero, Marondera/ Tsindi, Gweru/Danamombe and Nalatale, Masvingo/ MaDzimbahwe, Bulawayo/Khami, Mutare/Songo (in Mozambique), among others.
Consequently the colonial city planning system inherited from the Great Zimbabwe planning and even the road network system follows the traditional trade and link routes which had been established to connect these ancient royal capitals and the world beyond.
In modern terms, MaDzimbahwe would be considered the commercial, artistic and scientific capital of east, central and southern Africa which encompassed the SADC region of today. The radial routes leading to and from Great Zimbabwe were not unlike the concentric radial roads of contemporary Paris or Washington DC.
The Great Enclosure at MaDzimbahwe is a walled, circular area below the Hill Complex dating to the 14th Century.
The enclosure’s circumference is 250 meters and the walls are over 9.7 meters high in places. The walls were built without mortar, relying on carefully selected and hand-shaped rocks to hold up the wall. Inside the enclosure is a second wall following the same curve as the outer walls, which end in the commanding stone tower 10 meters high.
The high imposing walls of MaDzimbahwe were not only an external symbol of greatness and ceremonial spectacle, they served as a daunting watchtower to pre-empt any invasions and a deterrent from intruders.
Ideally located on an elevated plateau, MaDzimbahwe, the Palace of Stones, covers an area of 80 hectares. The site, deliberately chosen, was logistically and technically studied prior to its selection for construction. Situated on a hill, overlooking a valley, the geographical, environmental, socio-cultural as well as social-psychological considerations, beyond the basic materials used were taken into account in the architecture of Imba Huru. A natural amphitheatre lay on the lower right of the site where regional traditional ceremonies, rituals and assemblies, sacred Shona séances and national consultations were held.
Constructed near the Mutirikwi water way, it was calculated to follow the natural pattern of the landscape interconnecting hill, valley and grazing pastures, all within a suitable and convenient setting. It stands as an early example of contemporary 21 st Century ecological and functional design concept.
The inherent ecological design is an overlooked aspect of the structure. For example, the natural concentric ventilation and heating resulting from the circular design kept the stone edifice warm in winter and cool in summer. The outer stone walls retained the heat of the day to warm the cold nights whilst providing shade during hot summers as well as protection from environmental forces, such as fluctuating temperatures and floods.
The imposing high walls at Great Zimbabwe are constructed on hill slope gradients of over 45 o and have endured for more than a thousand years. Engineering precisions of the tapering walls conform to mechanical standards of rigidity.
The architectural ingenuity of drystone walling (building without the use of mortar), and use of natural ground (without prepared foundations) remains an engineering puzzle for the modern construction industry.
Although tight, the spaces between the granite stones left room enough for expansion from heat, frost, rain, draught and natural weathering. The conical tower and circular walls had a drainage system at the base which facilitated the drainage of flowing water. The drainage systems at these structures especially at Zinjanja near Gweru are profound and require a lifetime study for modern architects.
The security and military features were also clearly considered in the ingenious design of the dry walling. Besides warding off marauding wild predators, the curvature and tapering of the walls from the foundation, made it difficult for intruders to gain grip and scale the walls from outside, which prevented assailants from entering the fortress.
The apex of the enclosure’s outer walls had holes allowing sentinels to see visitors and intruders from afar.
On closer examination, another security feature is evident. The stones on the outer face of the
structure were roughly hewn up to two and a half metres high metres, making it difficult for the
average man to scale. The stones became smoother and more aesthetically formed in the interior and on the wall’s summit. This design ploy was another military security measure in the architecture to deter unwelcome intrusions.
The security at Great Zimbabwe gives archaeologists an insight into the Shona people of Zimbabwe’s ancient way of life.
The well-ordered holistic design of Great Zimbabwe was dictated by traditional Shona aesthetics that embraced the system of beliefs, functions, communal activities and environmental considerations in their entirety; analysed, considered and implemented through a traditional Dare – the democratic process of a Shona debate and public discussion which results in consensus.
Ergonomically designed, the architecture incorporated efficiency, purpose, function, welfare, safety, security, interests and beliefs of the people are coalesced in one all-encompassing design.
The architecture was the culmination of an administrative aesthetic system which analysed a holistic civic organisation and used all-inclusive components of ecological design. The retaining platforms at Khami, the decorated walls of Nalatale, the maze of Nxalanxala and many more such examples all make Great Zimbabwe the home of architecture.
The ancient artists and crafts people (mhizha), potters (vaumbi ve hari), architects, designers,
builders (vavaki), and a host of creative imperial occupational personnel such as military guards
(mawuto ne machinda/majinda ), hunters (vavhimi), musicians (anagwenyambira ne vashauri) ,
singers, performing artists and dancers (vayimbi, vatambi ne vadzani), sages (vapupuri), medicinal herbalists (varapi), husbandry men, economic traders (Vashavi), prophets and soothsayers, still relevant in contemporary Zimbabwe, were accorded prestigious courtly occupancy within the structure and administration of Great Zimbabwe of the middle ages. Indeed, medieval Great Zimbabwe was bigger than contemporary London both in terms of architectural sophistication and urban population.
In 12th Century Mutapa embarked on a full military expansion that gave rise to the Munhumutapa Empire. By 1450 AD, The Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe, from which modern Zimbabwe has its origins had been fully developed together with its extended network of related imperial cities. It was this empire that the Europeans demolished, leaving the much reduced present-day Zimbabwe.
The Shona of Great Zimbabwe was a robust architectural society. They built Great Zimbabwe the largest built structure south of the pyramids. It is the singular largest, longest-surviving dry stone edifice in the world; enlisted in 1986, as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Today, engineers and architects from across the world come to Zimbabwe to study the greatness of MaDzimbahwe’s architecture; yet we continue to replicate uninspiring Western architecture.
Dr.Tony Michel Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA in Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. He is an arts, culture and music critic for Gemnation News. For Comments E- mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
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