Place naming and the discursive construction of imagined boundaries in colonial Zimbabwe (1890–1979) : the case of Salisbury

Abstract

This article explores the identity-construction capacity of place names. Since place names are icons of identity, and symbolic representations of a people's memory and belonging, the article analyses the use of place names in the creation of distinct racial identities for places in Salisbury (the presentday Harare) during the colonial era in Zimbabwe. This article views a place as a concept which goes beyond the physical dimension, since it is discursively constructed. The article gives special attention to Salisbury because it was the capital city of Rhodesia. As such the place-naming trends in Salisbury were repeated throughout the country. Place naming is part of the wider process of attaching an identity on the landscape partly because place names carry aspects of the lived experiences of a particular people. In addition, a name is a cultural symbol which projects fears, hopes, aspirations and the general belief system of a people. It is a critical component of the intangible heritage of a people. Rhodesia had a rigid system of racial segregation. The article examines the nature of the relationship between place naming and the colonial separate development policy given that the same colonial administrative system also superintended over the official place-naming system through approving and standardising all official geographical names. The article analyses three components of the built environment, namely street names in residential areas, names of residential areas and school names.

‘Kutonga Kwaro Gamba’: Politics and the renaming of defence cantonments in the ‘Second Republic’ in Zimbabwe

“…Mnangagwa's government introduced aspects of novelty to the process of commemorating the past that marked a break from the Mugabe tradition. The reinscription efforts of the cultural landscape by the Mugabe regime has received adequate scholarly attention on onomastic studies in Zimbabwe (see, for example, Mamvura and Mashiri 2016;Mamvura et al 2017Mamvura et al , 2018Mamvura 2019;Mangena 2018;Pfukwa 2018). There is no study, to the best of the researcher's knowledge, that has looked at the place renaming exercise by the Mnangagwa administration.…”

Recognition, Regulation, Revitalisation: Place Names and Indigenous Languages: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Place Names 2019

“…Much as toponymy in the English language represents that English is another language known by the Basotho and it is an official language in Lesotho, its use over the original names eradicates the Basotho sense of identity. Mamvura et al (2017) state that the attachment of racial identities for places was part of the larger process of attaching meaning to places. For instance, the European urban areas built in Zimbabwe were given European names.…”

“…In the process, this obstruction degrades place naming in Lesotho. For Mamvura, Mutasa and Pfukwa (2017), place naming is one significant way in which people imbue the landscape with meaning. Roma town is therefore an interesting place in Lesotho with regard to the re-naming of places.…”

“…This study is also This study is worth pursuing because it contributes to the body of literature on colonialism and gender in gendered colonial states such as Rhodesia. Existing literature on place naming in Rhodesia has looked at the role of place names in the social construction of places (Mamvura 2014), the toponymic construction of imagined boundaries in the settler state (Mamvura, Mutasa & Pfukwa 2017), and the role of place names in facilitating dialogue between the Rhodesian settler community and Africans (Magudu, Muguti & Mutami 2010). The general trend in these studies is to view white women as part of the homogenous and hegemonic white community.…”

The death of the author in place names: A Barthesian intervention into critical toponymy

“…This conception of street names as a tool for the dissemination and naturalization of the ideological worldviews, and for the proclamation of revolutionary changes continued to influence many studies during the 2000s (Azaryahu, 2011(Azaryahu, , 2012aAzaryahu & Golan, 2001;Azaryahu & Kook, 2002;Bigon, 2008Bigon, , 2009Byrnes, 2002;Drozdzewski, 2014;Gill, 2005;Guyot & Seethal, 2007;Horsman, 2006;Joenniemi, 2003;Kadmon, 2004;Light, 2004;Light et al, 2002;Mamvura et al, 2017;Palonen, 2015;Saparov, 2003;Young & Light, 2001). In addition, there were also a few studies that evaluated place names within the framework of hegemonic masculinity (Forrest, 2018;Mamvura et al, 2018;Riazi, 2019).…”