Negotiating national identity in postcolonial Zimbabwe through a national dress

Abstract

A national dress is a reflection of national consciousness towards the nation and its cultural heritage. Instead of simply being functional, a national dress is also a script that exhibits people's identities. This study examines how Zimbabweans identify with the national dress as a facet of achieving national identity. Qualitative research methods and Gramscianism were employed in the study. It is revealed that the majority of Zimbabweans fail to identify with the national dress due to political, cultural and economic reasons. The national dress is perceived as a campaign strategy being used by the state to achieve political expediency and to be seen as champion of moral as well as cultural regeneration. Some participants associate the dress with cultural imperialism and waste of resources. Very few participants take the dress as a positive step towards the decolonisation of cultural spaces and identities. Conclusively, the majority of Zimbabweans find the dress insignificant in their lives and in national identity construction.

Research hotspots and frontiers of ethnic cultural identity——based on analysis of “web of science” database

“…The research features apparently differentiated national and regional characteristics, such as immigration issues in the U.S., South Korea, the U.K., Russia and other countries ( Ha and Jang, 2015 ; Canefe, 2018 ; Grajzl et al, 2018 ; Grigoryan and Ponizovskiy, 2018 ), cultural policy issues in Spain, the Netherlands, Iran and other countries ( Villarroya, 2012 ; Minnaert, 2014 ; Attarzadeh and Seyfodini, 2022 ), post-colonial contexts ( Chitima, 2022 ), religious beliefs ( Younis and Hassan, 2019 ), cultural tourism ( Över, 2016 ), ethnic identity ( Van Der Zwet, 2016 ; Christophe et al, 2020 ). Chinese scholars are interested in cultural festivals ( Zhang C. X. et al, 2019 ), bicultural identity integration ( Long et al, 2021 ), national unity education ( Luo, 2019 ), dual identity adaptability ( Dai et al, 2018 ), collective memory and traditional culture ( Hou, 2021 ), cultural heritage ( Wu et al, 2022 ).…”

“…It is the foundation of cultural self-confidence, national stability and unity for a country to enhance its cultural identity ( Schwartz et al, 2006 ; Li et al, 2015 ; Waechter, 2015 ; Yuan et al, 2022 ). However, numerous studies have shown that it is not easy to construct cultural identity ( Minnaert, 2014 ; Van Der Zwet, 2016 ; Grajzl et al, 2018 ; Chitima, 2022 ). Due to obvious differences between groups and individuals in terms of geographical space, historical and cultural environment, etc., a country has different cultural cognitions, attitudes, ideals, beliefs and even values, profoundly affecting people’s lifestyles, behavior patterns, and emotional expressions, which consequently poses big challenges to form cultural identity and strengthen national unity.…”

“The Museum is for All Cultures”

“…Critical questions across the wide spectrum of interest groups revolve around what a museum for Africa is, whose idea(s) or interests it serves, how the museum engages with the public, and who gains from the museum and how. In Zimbabwe, although the first museums were established in 1901 (e.g., Rhodesian National Museum now the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, and the Queen Victoria Museum, now the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences in Harare), it is only recently that there has been an upsurge in museums and museological scholarship (Bvocho 2013;Chipangura 2014;Chipangura and Mataga 2021;Chitima 2018;Mataga 2014Mataga , 2018Mawere et al 2015;Pwiti 1994;Thondlana et al 2022;Ucko 1994;). In comparison with related disciplines such as archeology, this research gap can largely be attributed to the international and national attention to Zimbabwean archeology stimulated by the popularity of Great Zimbabwe, a major pre-colonial settlement located in southern Zimbabwe (Caton-Thompson 1931;Chirikure and Pikirayi 2008;MacIver 1906).…”