Archaeological implications of ethnographically grounded functional study of pottery from Nyanga, Zimbabwe

Nyanga pottery and the Manyika ethnohistory: towards a decolonised archaeology of the Nyanga agricultural complex

“…The Manyika ceramic ethnohistorical and ethnographic data elucidates the everyday roles of clay pots in the lives of the Nyanga agropastoralists (see Nyamushosho and Chirikure, 2020 for a detailed discussion). Reconstruction of some of the broken and partially complete pots recovered at Mukondwe, Murahwa, Fishpit, and other upland settlements in the Nyanga National Park revealed a range of functional classes that probably governed the use-life of Nyanga ware.…”

“…Below is part of the Nyanga ware excavated in the Nyanga agricultural complex. Source: Authors own (Ceramic data was adapted from Bernhard n.d. ; Mason, 1933 ; Summers, 1958 ; Manyanga, 1995 ; Soper, 2002 Manyanga and Shenjere, 2012 ; Nyamushosho and Chirikure, 2020 ). …”

“…gate, mbiziro, musudze, pfuko, nhera, mbiya, and hwenga Gelfand (1974) , ( 1977 ) Rufu A funeral ceremony particularly the death of a wife ∗Pots are used to brew beer and food consumed at the ceremony ∗Wife is buried with one of her pots placed near her head in the grave Gelfand (1974) , ( 1977 ) Mahumbwe /Mamhuza Manyika version of playing house aimed at fostering gender roles in minors (5–14 years) ∗Mothers supply cooking pots which are used by senior girls to cook real food Nyamushosho (2012) Marooro /Muchato A traditional ceremony where husband and wife are joined in matrimony ∗Ceremony is celebrated by feasting food & beer. The new wife comes in with new clay pots Gelfand (1974) , ( 1977 ) Nhimbe/jangano A community collaboration or work party in tasks like ploughing, weeding & harvesting ∗Pots are used to brew beer and food consumed at the ceremony Gelfand (1974) , ( 1977 ); Nyamushosho and Chirikure (2020) Kugadzwa humambo Chief inauguration rite ∗Pots are used to prepare food and drink consumed at the ceremony Nyamushosho (2012) Source: Authors own.

Figure 4 Manyika pottery vessels recorded by W. H. Stead more than 72 years ago Source: Adapted from Stead (1947:101) .

…”

“…Randall-MacIver, 1906 ; Martin, 1937 ; Fripp and Wells, 1938 ; Schofield, 1948 ; Summers, 1958 ; Brand, 1970 ; Manyanga, 1995 ; Soper and Chirawu, 1997 ; Soper, 2002 ; Manyanga and Shenjere, 2012 ) that maginalised most of these aspects. This is particularly important to explore if one considers the dearth of such research in southern African Iron Age studies where pottery is generally examined to establish groups identities and their relative chronologies as if it was not active in everyday life ( Beach, 1980 ; Hall, 1983 ; Ndoro, 1996 ; Pikirayi, 1999 ; Mtetwa et al, 2013 ; Nyamushosho, 2014 ; Nyamushosho and Chirikure, 2020 ). Yes, stylistic typologies are vital, but what about the social processes that entangled the pots with the individuals who manufactured or used them in their everyday life?…”

“…Thus, our study builds on recent contributions which attempt to augment the current understanding of the everyday life of the Later Iron Age societies of ancient Nyanga using local epistemologies, ontologies, and practices (i.e. Mupira, 2001 ; Chirikure and Rehren, 2004 ; Murimbika, 2006 ; Shenjere, 2011 ; Nyamushosho, 2013 , 2017 ; Pasipanodya et al, 2016 ; Chipangura, 2020 ; Nyamushosho and Chirikure, 2020 ). Nevertheless, the focus this time is on archaeological pottery which was recovered from the modern-day Manyika territory.…”