What do you do on a warm, sunny September day, with the azure cloudless sky stretching as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still very much amongst us, the new normal for me and pretty sure everyone else has been to work, study, play and spend the bulk of the day within the confounds of our homes. But it can become draining and dull with all the fun and interesting places being inaccessible due to the lock-down. I needed a break from the new norm, so I decided to reconnect with the city I grew up in, Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe.
They did not nickname it the ‘Sunshine City’ for nothing. Not trying to brag but Harare has some of the most comfortable weather throughout the year. Apart from the warmest months starting from mid-September to early December with an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit). October is the hottest month and July is the coolest. Note, I wrote coolest not coldest and this is what makes Harare so special it is neither too hot nor too cold something that is uncommon for a semi-arid climate.
I live in a suburb in the south of Harare, a 15 minute trip by car to the central business district (CBD) also referred to as downtown Harare. The CBD is normally a hive of activity on any given day but this time around the city centre, to an extent, resembles a ghost town. All I could see were a few masked men and women going about their business. I chose to explore the outskirts of the CBD and visited two historical places namely the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences formerly known as The Queen Elizabeth Museum as well as Kopje (pronounced Koppie) the highest hill in Harare. My trip lasted for about three hours.
My first stop was at the museum, situated in an area referred to as the Civic Centre, it is a stone’s throw away from the Harare City Library and the Zimbabwe College of Music.
Why you should visit?
The museum is an archaeological and ethnographical vault of the indigenous Shona people’s way of life during the pre-colonial era. The exhibitions haven’t changed much over the years. It showcases the Stone and Iron Ages era, and there is a sample of a typical Shona traditional homestead, traditional Shona instruments, traditional foods and an open gallery of common flora and fauna in Zimbabwe. As an artist, I find museums to be fascinating as I draw inspiration for concepts and ideas from there.
After a two hour tour of the museum and absorbing as much information as I could, I feel more enlightened and knowledgeable about the Shona’s way of life prior colonisation. However, I would like to highlight that the museum could do with a bit of a ‘facelift’. It should be more interactive with some videos for visitors to watch and maybe reading material in the form of brochures amongst other things. The lighting was bad and even non-existent in some areas and there was no where to sit in the open galleries. With that being said the museum is still a worthwhile visit and its affordable at US$3 for adults and US$1 for children.
Kopje and Its Historical Significance
My next stop was Kopje, the highest hill with a panoramic view of Harare. The hill is a 15 minute walk from the museum. Prior to being named Kopje (which means small hill in Afrikaans), the place was called Chihoka Hill.
In 1890, the British settlers lifted the Union Jack after they displaced Chief Neharawa who occupied the hill. Neharawa used it as a vantage point for his hunting expeditions. Some sources claim that Chief Mbari lived at the site prior to the colonial occupation whilst Neharawa lived in the modern day Seke area. However, the term Harare is believed to be the corrupted name of Chief NeHARAWA.
The story I grew up hearing from my grandfather was that the origins of the term Harare stems from the Shona word ‘haarare’ a rough translation means ‘he or she does not sleep. Chief Neharawa is believed to have always been prepared for his enemies when they came to attack whether is was daytime or nighttime. When I visit Kopje my grandfather’s story makes sense to me, and in my imagination Neharawa was always prepared for battle because he occupied the vantage point of the area and on a clear blue cloudless sky he would be able to spot anything or anyone approaching. To this day this story is more appealing tome and I am most likely going to pass on that tale to anyone that asks me about the origins of the name Harare.
A Brief History of Harare
The capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare is located in the North-Eastern part of the country and is above 1 483 meters above sea-level. The city was established on the 12th of September in 1890 by a military settlers known as the Pioneer Column. This British South African military force was bankrolled by the British businessman and former Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in South Africa, Cecil John Rhodes. Their mission was to colonize the region north of the Limpopo river. Zimbabwe’s colonial name Rhodesia is originated from the name Rhodes.
Initially, the ‘new’ settlement was called Fort Salisbury in honour of the third Marquess of Salisbury, Robert Talbot, Gascoyne-Cecil who was then the British Prime Minister. In 1897, it was upgraded to a municipality and the term Fort was dropped as the settlement had achieved some major developments such as the completion of a railway line in 1899 that linked Salisbury to Port Beira in Mozambique turning the municipality into a mining and trading hub.
Salisbury was officially given city status in 1935. It served as the capital city of the Federation of Rhodesia as well as Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953 to 1963. On the second anniversary of Zimbabwe’s independence on 18 April 1982, the new black majority government in a bid to leave behind the country’s colonial past, officially changed the name to Harare in honour of Chief Neharawa.
Apart from the lovely whether I cannot stop writing about, Harare is a very beautiful and laid-back city. There are also a wide range of site-seeing spots such as the Domboshava Caves or the Heroes Acre Museum (which I intend to visit next month) as well as wildlife and game reserves for adventure lovers like the Mukuvisi Woodlands, historical and monumental landmarks such as the Unity Square and the Botanical Gardens. Those that love Shona sculpture and art can drop in at the Shona Sculpture Gallery in the outskirts of the city and the Harare Art Gallery (in the city centre).
Disclaimer. The depiction of the British South African Military as well as the image of Salisbury from the Tony Ward Collection are not mine. They are only used for informative and not monetary purposes.
For more lovely images of Salisbury and Rhodesia I recommend you visit www.rhodesia.me.uk/salisbury
Shamiso Travels 