The Shona consist of several dialect groups who share a common culture and belong to the same Bantu linguistic unit. They occupy most of Zimbabwe with 60 percent of its population, extending also into Mozambique, Botswana, and Zambia. In the northern region of Zimbabwe are the Korekore. The Zezuru occupies the central part of the country. In the east, around the city of Mutare and into Mozambique, are the Manyika. South of the Manyika are the Ndau. The Karanga group lives around Masvingo and near the Great Zimbabwe ruins. The Kalanga are interspersed among the Ndebele, a Ngoni group who were originally a part of the Zulu, around the city of Bulawayo.
Today’s Shona are linked to the later iron-age Bantu, who moved into the Zimbabwean plateau in ca. 900 CE and who, through trade of gold and ivory, generated substantial wealth, leading to the formation of larger settlements and several states controlling large areas. These original inhabitants of the country were called Hungwe; they were...
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Verstraelen, F.J., Asante, K.W. (2021). Shona: History, Religious Systems Change, and Rituals. In: Mudimbe, V.Y., Kavwahirehi, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of African Religions and Philosophy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-2068-5_351
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