Heritage Practices for Sustainability

Ethnographic Insights from the BaTonga Community Museum in Zimbabwe

Munyaradzi Mawere

• Publisher: Langaa RPCIG
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9789956763078
• eBook ISBN: 9789956763924
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Cultural & Social Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

Zimbabwean history is rooted in ethnic and cultural identities, inequalities, and injustices which the post-colonial government has sought to address since national independence in 1980. Marginalisation of some ethnic groups has been one of the persistent problems in contemporary Zimbabwe. Of particular significance to this book is the marginalisation of the BaTonga people of north-western Zimbabwe a marginalisation whose roots are right back to the colonial era. Post-colonial Zimbabwes emphasis on cultural identity and confirmation has, however, prompted the establishment of community museums such as the BaTonga Community Museum (BCM), to promote cultures of the ethnic minorities. This book critically examines the effects and socio-economic contribution of the BCM to the local communities and other sectors of the economy. It draws extensively on and problematizes prevalent debates on the biography of things to surface out the primacy of agency in heritage and sustainability.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of figures, tables and maps
• List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Chapter 1 - Theory and Practice: Ethnographic Dissection through the Cultural Capital of the BaTonga People
• Chapter 2 - Merging Theory and Practice in Heritage Studies: A Critical Review
• Chapter 3 - Entering the Field Site: Imbibing from the BaTonga Wellsprings of Knowledge
• Chapter 4 - The BaTonga Community Museum, community and agency
• Chapter 5 - Socio-economic Effects of the BaTonga Community Museum
• Chapter 6 - The BCM on the Move: Some Socio-economic lessons
• Back cover