Zimbabwe’s Exodus: Crisis, Migration, Survival

Abstract

McMahon highlights how slaves and slaveholders adapted to shifting identities in the age of emancipation. Throughout the book she locates the differences between Pemba and Unguja to local conceptions of honour, class and race/ethnicity. she shows shifts in the meaning of the swahili word heshima, which traditionally meant “honour” but became more associated with “respect” after abolition. in addition, the book reveals how former slaves utilized colonial and indigenous resources from education, reputation, kinship, gossip and witchcraft in attempts to form their identity and a sense of belonging. For instance, during the age of slavery heshima was acquired at birth and linked to wealth, lineage and good behaviour. emancipation forced a transition in the meaning of heshima from “honour” to “respect”; no longer aristocratic heritage but personal achievement. ex-slaves and free citizens acquired heshima by converting to islam and through material acquisition, work, education, new kinship alliances, reputation and conspicuous consumption. ex-slaves built new houses, forged new social ties and appropriated old aristocratic privileges and coastal mannerisms. As the British concentrated power in the colonial courts, the courts became a form of local agency and venue for social contestations between men and women, between slaves and their owners, who were all seeking to claim or affirm their reputation. At the same time a number of people, usually members of the old elite, resorted to uchawi, which McMahon sees as all forms of religio-ritual manifestations ranging from “witchcraft” to healing and spirit possession. The Pembans would not necessarily acknowledge they were wachawi (“witchdoctors”) but uchawi came with respect and admiration from the community as a wachawi had the ability to control people (sometimes through fear/violence). in a sense, uchawi became an avenue of renewed power negotiations between the colonizer and colonial subjects, and among the latter a source of alternative power to British rule. This raises some questions. Did the practice of uchawi actually increase during the course of emancipation? were there more witchdoctors in Pemba during the colonial period than the period before 1897 or were there simply more reports due to growing european – colonial and missionary – interest? Could european interest in uchawi have come from a desire to undermine a perceived challenge to their power? McMahon draws on a range of sources and methods. extensive secondary literature on slavery in Africa is enriched by materials from British, Tanzanian and missionary archives, newspapers and personal interviews. By focusing on culture, McMahon takes us on an informative and well-documented exploration of Pemba society. we see clearly how cultural transformations and rituals tie past and present together, and how one particular cultural concept – heshima – is used in negotiating new ideas, new experiences and new forms of social relations. This study will be of interest to historians, anthropologists, economic historians and others seeking to untangle the non-economic basis of slavery in Africa. olatunji ojo Department of History, Brock University, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada tj_balogun@yahoo.com