Great Zimbabwe
The stone city of the Shona kingdoms, where spirit mediums of the ancestors still speak, and where the Zimbabwe birds were carved.
Practised and told of here
Best time: May to September.
Great Zimbabwe was built between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries by the ancestors of the Shona people. European colonial writers claimed that Africans could not have built it, a view since refuted by archaeology.
The Mwari and the mediums
Shona belief holds that the high god Mwari speaks through mediums at shrines in the Matopos hills. Ancestral spirits called mhondoro are carried by mediums, who advise chiefs, find causes for drought and bless land. In the war of the 1890s and again in the 1970s, mediums such as Nehanda and Kaguvi were credited with giving direction to rebels.
Heritage
The carved soapstone birds found at the site are now the national emblem of Zimbabwe. Some local communities regard the site as sacred and the cultural claims over it are disputed with the state.
Visiting
The site is under National Museums management. Ask before photographing local people and respect any signs that mark spiritual places.
A respectful visit to Great Zimbabwe
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- The Hill Complex Climb the steep path to the oldest part.
- The Great Enclosure See the large stone wall.
- The museum See the Zimbabwe birds.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Great Zimbabwe" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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