No General Descriptions provided.
| continuity | |
| elite migration |
| Preceding: Great Zimbabwe (zi_great_zimbabwe) [elite migration] | |
| Succeeding: Torwa-Rozvi (zi_torwa_rozvi) [None] |
| loose |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| Year Range | Mutapa (zi_mutapa) was in: |
|---|
Term used commonly in Portuguese primary sources, referring to any of the ethnic, political or geographic components of the Mutapa. “The term Karanga is a short form of the term Mocaranga, which appeared in Portuguese historical documents as the name by which these peoples identified themselves…. The most common definitions of the Mocaranga refer to it either as the former or the present “empire” of the Monomotapa.” [1]
[1]: (Roufe 2016, 56) Gai Roufe, “Local Perceptions of Political Entities along the Southern Bank of the Zambesi in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries,” in The International Journal of African Historical Studies Vol. 49, No. 1 (2016): 53-75. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/2ZGBJQ3Z/item-details
If measured in territorial terms, then these dates encompass the general period at which the Mutapa kingdom’s territorial size and power was at its greatest. While the state’s decline had begun during the 1600s the date of 1693 represents the point at which it was obviously – between a succession crisis, foreign intervention and the destruction of its Portuguese trade partners – being dismembered and surpassed in influence by other polities, and after which its decline was most evident. “From the early sixteenth century, the state controlled the northern limits of the Zimbabwe Plateau and the adjacent Zambezi lowlands.” [1] “The state went into decline in the seventeenth century, for a variety of reasons, including the presence of the Portuguese prazeiros (landowners) in the coastal interior and in the state capital. By playing one claimant to the Mutapa throne against another, they progressively weakened the state…. Meanwhile, in the succession crisis following the death of Mukombwe in 1693, the demise of the Mutapa state was hastened when Changamire Dombo backed one side while the Portuguese backed the other. In the ensuing armed conflict, Dombo overran the Portuguese fair of Dambarare, killing all Portuguese traders in it, capturing the gold-rich Manyika territory and becoming the undisputed power in the subregion.” [2]
[1]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1056) Innocent Pikirayi, “Mutapa State, 1450-1884,” in Encyclopedia of African History Vol. 2, ed. Kevin Shillington (Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005): 1056-1058. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/collection
[2]: (Mlambo 2014, 22-23) Alois Mlambo, A History of Zimbabwe (New York, Cambridge University Press: 2014). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/IMR6WQ6M/item-details
Basic chronology given in a variety of sources, though the exact years selected for the polity’s end-date vary. “…one polity… occupied the northern parts of the [Zimbabwe] plateau and adjacent lowlands from the fifteenth to the late nineteenth centuries.…the Mutapa state… chronologically overlaps with Great Zimbabwe and Khami from AD 1450 onwards.” [1] “By the late seventeenth century the state had lost control of areas south of the Zambezi Escarpment…. The Mutapa state shifted toward Dande, north of the Zambezi Escarpment, during the early eighteenth century.” [2] “…the Mutapa state collapsed in the 1820s and 1830s under attack by Nguni groups from the south, under the leadership of Zwangendaba and Nxaba and Maseko. By the 1880s, the Mutapa state was no more.” [3]
[1]: (Chirikure et al. 2017, 170) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “The Mutapa and the Portuguese: Archaeometallurgy and Regional Interaction in Southern Africa,” in Archives, Objects, Places and Landscapes: Multidisciplinary approaches to Decolonised Zimbabwe pasts, eds. Munyaradzi Manyanga, Shadreck Chirikure (Bamenda: Langaa Research & Publishing, 2017): 169-189. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X54CISW6/item-details
[2]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1057) Innocent Pikirayi, “Mutapa State, 1450-1884,” in Encyclopedia of African History Vol. 2, ed. Kevin Shillington (Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005): 1056-1058. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/item-details
[3]: (Mlambo 2014, 23) Alois Mlambo, A History of Zimbabwe (New York, Cambridge University Press: 2014). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/IMR6WQ6M/item-details
Exact process of succession is somewhat unclear, and evidence is admittedly scarce, but a direct dynastic connection with the rulers of Great Zimbabwe, and a migration away from that state as it declined seem to be mostly agreed upon as the main factors leading to the creation of Mutapa as a large polity. The exact manner in which this happened appears to be a subject of debate, and a variety of slightly different interpretations can be found in the sources. “The occupation [of this region] overlapped with the 15th-century shift of Great Zimbabwe states sites into northern Zimbabwe. The Mutapa state was led by one of the dynasties that moved into the region…. Beach argued that the Mutapa state did not develop out of Great Zimbabwe… Pwiti suggested that the economic and ideological changes in the region led to the rise of the Mutapa state and that… the leadership originated at Great Zimbabwe…. Pikirayi contended that the Mutapa state was the direct successor to Great Zimbabwe.” [1] “The historical Mutapa state is believed to be a direct off-shoot of the state based at Great Zimbabwe…. According to oral traditions, Nyatsimba Mutota is the last ruler of Great Zimbabwe and the first Mutapa king.” [2] “Soper (1990) quite rightly concludes that we do not yet have adequate evidence on how this process took place… // …if the founders of the Mutapa state were expanding from Great Zimbabwe, they were familiar with the potential of two of the state’s several branches of production and how they could be used as sources of power. These are external trade and large-scale cattle herding. If they had possessed large herds of cattle during their expansion, or alternatively had built up herds in the north, then it may have been possible for them to use these as a useful power base among the locals…. Indeed for the Mutapa state, the Portuguese refer to their importance in this regard….cattle rich immigrant communities settled among a people who were not so rich, but who were very keen to use cattle products or own more cattle herds.” [3]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
[2]: (Chirikure et al. 2012, 368) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “When Science Alone is Not Enough: Radiocarbon Timescales, History, Ethnography and Elite Settlements in Southern Africa,” in Journal of Social Archaeology Vol. 12, No. 3 (2012): 356-379. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/U4GGB55J/item-details
[3]: (Pwiti 1996, 46) Gilbert Pwiti, “Peasants, Chiefs and Kings: A Model of the Development of Cultural Complexity in Northern Zimbabwe,” in Zambezia Vol. 23, No. 1 (1996): 31-52. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I4AA8N73/item-details
Exact process of succession is somewhat unclear, and evidence is admittedly scarce, but a direct dynastic connection with the rulers of Great Zimbabwe, and a migration away from that state as it declined seem to be mostly agreed upon as the main factors leading to the creation of Mutapa as a large polity. The exact manner in which this happened appears to be a subject of debate, and a variety of slightly different interpretations can be found in the sources. “The occupation [of this region] overlapped with the 15th-century shift of Great Zimbabwe states sites into northern Zimbabwe. The Mutapa state was led by one of the dynasties that moved into the region…. Beach argued that the Mutapa state did not develop out of Great Zimbabwe… Pwiti suggested that the economic and ideological changes in the region led to the rise of the Mutapa state and that… the leadership originated at Great Zimbabwe…. Pikirayi contended that the Mutapa state was the direct successor to Great Zimbabwe.” [1] “The historical Mutapa state is believed to be a direct off-shoot of the state based at Great Zimbabwe…. According to oral traditions, Nyatsimba Mutota is the last ruler of Great Zimbabwe and the first Mutapa king.” [2] “Soper (1990) quite rightly concludes that we do not yet have adequate evidence on how this process took place… // …if the founders of the Mutapa state were expanding from Great Zimbabwe, they were familiar with the potential of two of the state’s several branches of production and how they could be used as sources of power. These are external trade and large-scale cattle herding. If they had possessed large herds of cattle during their expansion, or alternatively had built up herds in the north, then it may have been possible for them to use these as a useful power base among the locals…. Indeed for the Mutapa state, the Portuguese refer to their importance in this regard….cattle rich immigrant communities settled among a people who were not so rich, but who were very keen to use cattle products or own more cattle herds.” [3]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
[2]: (Chirikure et al. 2012, 368) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “When Science Alone is Not Enough: Radiocarbon Timescales, History, Ethnography and Elite Settlements in Southern Africa,” in Journal of Social Archaeology Vol. 12, No. 3 (2012): 356-379. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/U4GGB55J/item-details
[3]: (Pwiti 1996, 46) Gilbert Pwiti, “Peasants, Chiefs and Kings: A Model of the Development of Cultural Complexity in Northern Zimbabwe,” in Zambezia Vol. 23, No. 1 (1996): 31-52. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I4AA8N73/item-details
Exact process of succession is somewhat unclear, and evidence is admittedly scarce, but a direct dynastic connection with the rulers of Great Zimbabwe, and a migration away from that state as it declined seem to be mostly agreed upon as the main factors leading to the creation of Mutapa as a large polity. The exact manner in which this happened appears to be a subject of debate, and a variety of slightly different interpretations can be found in the sources. “The occupation [of this region] overlapped with the 15th-century shift of Great Zimbabwe states sites into northern Zimbabwe. The Mutapa state was led by one of the dynasties that moved into the region…. Beach argued that the Mutapa state did not develop out of Great Zimbabwe… Pwiti suggested that the economic and ideological changes in the region led to the rise of the Mutapa state and that… the leadership originated at Great Zimbabwe…. Pikirayi contended that the Mutapa state was the direct successor to Great Zimbabwe.” [1] “The historical Mutapa state is believed to be a direct off-shoot of the state based at Great Zimbabwe…. According to oral traditions, Nyatsimba Mutota is the last ruler of Great Zimbabwe and the first Mutapa king.” [2] “Soper (1990) quite rightly concludes that we do not yet have adequate evidence on how this process took place… // …if the founders of the Mutapa state were expanding from Great Zimbabwe, they were familiar with the potential of two of the state’s several branches of production and how they could be used as sources of power. These are external trade and large-scale cattle herding. If they had possessed large herds of cattle during their expansion, or alternatively had built up herds in the north, then it may have been possible for them to use these as a useful power base among the locals…. Indeed for the Mutapa state, the Portuguese refer to their importance in this regard….cattle rich immigrant communities settled among a people who were not so rich, but who were very keen to use cattle products or own more cattle herds.” [3]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
[2]: (Chirikure et al. 2012, 368) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “When Science Alone is Not Enough: Radiocarbon Timescales, History, Ethnography and Elite Settlements in Southern Africa,” in Journal of Social Archaeology Vol. 12, No. 3 (2012): 356-379. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/U4GGB55J/item-details
[3]: (Pwiti 1996, 46) Gilbert Pwiti, “Peasants, Chiefs and Kings: A Model of the Development of Cultural Complexity in Northern Zimbabwe,” in Zambezia Vol. 23, No. 1 (1996): 31-52. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I4AA8N73/item-details
Power based on a feudalist principle of clientship, the Nyai system, and constantly varied in its extent and level of control as different rulers succeeded to control of the polity through various means, and the capital of the polity shifted with every new ruler, producing centers of power and peripheries that varied every generation. “Politically [Mutapa] was unstable as seen by quick successions and the civil wars fought between houses contending for the throne. Smaller, semi-independent polities controlled by some subrulers emerged in Dande and Chidima. Despite these, [Mutapa] survived because of its military strength, and ability to adapt….” [1] “The Mutapa dynasty appears to have arisen out of the nyai process…. The… period of political consolidation, was achieved through the gradual expansion… of the principle of clientship.” [2] “Under this succession system, rotation implied that, when a new leader ascended the throne, they did not move into the homestead of their predecessor (see Chirikure et al. 2012). Instead, they ruled from their own home, which became the centre of power. This means that capitals within the state shifted, and that the status of units such as provinces and districts changed depending on the political alignment of the day…. In practice, this principle of political succession was sometimes shortcircuitedthrough military coups and deaths and in cases where rightful successors might not have left offspring. However, an understanding of Mutapa history and archaeology suggests that, in most cases, the principle was that no king ruled from the centre of their predecessor.” [3]
[1]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1057) Innocent Pikirayi, “Mutapa State, 1450-1884,” in Encyclopedia of African History Vol. 2, ed. Kevin Shillington (Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005): 1056-1058. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/item-details
[2]: (Mazarire 2009, 14) Gerald C. Mazarire, “Reflections on Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 850-1880s,” in Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008, eds. Brian Raftopoulos & A.S. Mlambo (Harare, Weaver: 2009). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B9TK7GP8/item-details
[3]: (Chirikure et al. 2017, 48) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship Between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa,” in Cambridge Archaeological Journal Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): 45-66. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X54CISW6/item-details
Clearly identified as such, including by their connection with Great Zimbabwe. “The founders of the Mutapa Empire were of the Shona group and were both culturally and politically connected to the builders of the Great Zimbabwe.” [1]
[1]: (Ngara 2013, 4) Emmanuel Ngara, “Transformational Leadership and Traditional African Leadership Practice,” (Harare: Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education, 2013). Accessed through Institute of Development Studies OpenDocs. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ATPBED62/item-details
Inhabitants. This is an approximate estimation for the general populations of the multiple zimbabwes known to have been the capitals of the Mutapa. “Portuguese sources refer to Mutapa royal capitals as Zimbabwe. These capitals had an approximate population of 4,000. Archaeological evidence locates most Zimbabwe on the plateau south of the escarpment before the mid-seventeenth century.” [1]
[1]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1057) Innocent Pikirayi, “Mutapa State, 1450-1884,” in Encyclopedia of African History Vol. 2, ed. Kevin Shillington (Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005): 1056-1058. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/item-details
in squared kilometers. Researcher estimate figured from a general map of largest extent provided in Hannaford. Other, general and more qualitative estimates of Mutapan territory of-course do exist, including one placing the polity’s territory throughout the Mid-Zambezi area, encompassing the area of the Zambezi Valley from Tete to Victoria Falls, and the southern tributaries thereof. Note also that much of modern-day Mozambican territory theoretically Mutapan was inhabited, as sub-polities and/or disputed territories by the Portuguese colonial establishment for much of the 16th century. [1] “…an area that was once the heartland of the Mutapa state (1450-1884)79 and a hub of trade and cultural exchange. The area is often described as the middle Zambezi River valley, which includes the area of the river valley near Tete, Mozambique up to Victoria Falls. The Mutapa state also encompassed the corresponding tributaries on the south bank of the Zambezi, such as the Mazowe River and its branches.” [2] “For most of the sixteenth century, Portuguese jurisdiction and extra-territorial privileges were primarily restricted to the major entrepots of Sofala, Mozambique, Sena, and Tete, with all operations in south central Africa under the supervision of the captain of Mozambique. Upon his appointment by the Portuguese crown, the captain paid the Mwene Mutapa a fee of about 3000 crusados in cloth and beads. In return he received a monopoly… and the right to appoint the other Portuguese officials in the area. These were the captains of Sena, Tete, and of the inland markets such as Masapa, Luanze, and Bokoto….” [3]
[1]: (Hannaford & Nash 2016, 8) Matthew Hannaford & David Nash, “Climate, History, Society over the Last Millenium in Southeast Africa,” in WIREs Climate Change (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/DZCHSU86/item-details
[2]: (Mory 2021, 42) Jocelyn Mory, Recentering the Borderlands: Matepe as Sacred Technology from the Mutapa State to the Age of Vapostori. PhD Dissertation, University of Washington, 2021: 42. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/CSKDX2SM/item-details
[3]: (Chanaiwa 1972, 431-432) David Chanaiwa, “Politics and Long-Distance Trade in the Mwene Mutapa Empire During the Sixteenth Century,” in The International Journal of African Studies Vol. 5, No. 3 (1972): 424-435. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T5BNKGK6/item-details
levels. (1) Munhumutapa, or ‘kings.’ (2) House Leaders. (3) Headmen. (4) Vanyai. This is somewhat of an attempt to codify the much more complex nyai system and the indications of the other sources into a clear political hierarchy – it’s a bit more complicated than this suggests, as discussed in the sources below. In reality the vanyai seem to have been similar to the feudal clients of headmen, who might become essentially ‘fief holders’ (to use European terms), later rising to become their own headmen with clients of their own. In addition, a line of descendants from the original king of the kingdom occupied major positions in the polity, and were the pool from which future kings were legally supposed to succeed to the rule of the kingdom. “Kings with the title of Munhumutapa ruled the state with the assistance of numerous officers and vassals. The Munhumutapa was a powerful political, economic and religious leader whose ancestors were important for the well-being of the state….” [1] “Under the arrangements… wealthy men were able to offer their sisters and daughters as wives to young men in exchange for labour. The young men, in turn, established a dependent relationship with their hosts, expanding their activities to become henchmen, guards, errand runners [& etc.]…. When this arrangement was replicated more widely, it formed a hierarchy growing in scale from village to district to provincial level. Lancaster’s account of the origins of Nyai identity resembles a similar notion where the services of ‘young men known locally as vanyai or kotakota’ became critical…. As they grew older, the vanyai could have been entrusted with lands on the periphery of their patron’s territory so that they in turn became headmen and slowly established themselves as leaders of their own vanyai…. The Mutapa dynasty appears to have arisen out of the nyai process…. As the Mutapa’s influence spread, so did the structures of society that became modelled along the lines of feudal clientelism.” [2] “In historical/archaeological Shona states such as Mutapa (Lan 1987; Pikirayi 1993) and Torwa (Beach 1994), political succession followed the system of ‘houses’, which were basically lineages that descended from the founders of specific political entities. Available historical information makes it explicit that, from the early sixteenth century onwards, Mutapa kings were selected from the descendants ofNyatsimba Mutota, the founder of the state (Lan 1987; Mudenge 1988). Nyatsimba Mutota had many sons, each of whom was given a district to rule in the state. The lineages of these sons, over time, became houses of power (dzimba dzoushe in Shona: see Chirikure et al. 2012), from which future kings, provincial and district leaders were and are still being drawn. Upon the death of the founder, political succession rotated around these ‘houses’, starting from that of the first son to that of the youngest.” [3]
[1]: (Chirikure et al. 2017, 170-171) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “The Mutapa and the Portuguese: Archaeometallurgy and Regional Interaction in Southern Africa,” in Archives, Objects, Places and Landscapes: Multidisciplinary approaches to Decolonised Zimbabwe pasts, eds. Munyaradzi Manyanga, Shadreck Chirikure (Bamenda: Langaa Research & Publishing, 2017): 169-189. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X54CISW6/item-details
[2]: (Mazarire 2009, 13-15) Gerald C. Mazarire, “Reflections on Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 850-1880s,” in Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008, eds. Brian Raftopoulos & A.S. Mlambo (Harare, Weaver: 2009). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B9TK7GP8/item-details
[3]: (Chirikure et al. 2017, 48) Shadreck Chirikure et al. “No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa,” in Cambridge Archaeological Journal Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): 45-66. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/D3A53J92/item-details
Possibly present, as comments by Mazarire clearly imply a military organization of some kind – though not necessarily a fully specialized one. Comments from Portuguese primary records analysed by Livneh seem to more clearly imply specialization, but the European pre-conceptions of the Portuguese documents these perceptions are sourced from may be distorting the reality of the situation. “Mutapa Gatsi Rusere, who succeeded to the throne in 1586, suffered a number of setbacks, among them the Maravi invasions led by Kapambo and Chikanda. These had fuelled divisions in the Mutapa army and subsequently led to a revolt by its high-ranking staff, including the general, or mukomohasha.” [1] “When the Mutapa planned a military expedition, the account goes, he gathered his ‘mutumbus’, who are like dukes, marquises and barons, for a war council. The European titles would denote control over land, and high standing. These, accompanied by the ‘priest’, Simboti (Cimbote), and ‘war counsellors’ decided on the plan of the coming war. Then it was delivered into the hands of the three ‘generals’, who were responsible for carrying out the decisions.” [2]
[1]: (Mazarire 2009, 16) Gerald C. Mazarire, “Reflections on Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 850-1880s,” in Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008, eds. Brian Raftopoulos & A.S. Mlambo (Harare, Weaver: 2009). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B9TK7GP8/item-details
[2]: (Livneh 1976, 112) “Pre-Colonial Polities in Southern Zambesia and their Political Communications,” Doctoral Dissertation, University of London, 1976. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/CWC584VN/item-details
Appears to be present in this society, by the work of Chirikure, and appear to be sufficiently distinct from the state’s rulers. “Furthermore, spirit mediums associated with deceased kings or chiefs (mhondoro) played an important role in royal inauguration, national prayer, dethroning a cruel leader and, among others, communicating with Mwari [God] via ancestors (Lan 1987). The power of chiefs or kings was counterpoised by that of spirit mediums… // …Lan’s study of the spirit mediums in the Mutapa state demonstrated that they resided in their own homes and not at the centres of power. Furthermore, they played an intercessory role between the living and God via royal ancestors. Mediums led prayers for rain, they installed chiefs and were instrumental in dethroning incompetent chiefs. This separation of powers between religious leaders and chiefs was an important balancing act.” [1]
[1]: (Chirikure et al. 2017, 48-62) Shadreck Chirikure et al. “No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa,” in Cambridge Archaeological Journal Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): 45-66. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/D3A53J92/item-details
Possibly present, as comments by Mazarire clearly imply a military organization of some kind – though not necessarily a fully specialized one. Comments from Portuguese primary records analysed by Livneh seem to more clearly imply specialization, but the European pre-conceptions of the Portuguese documents these perceptions are sourced from may be distorting the reality of the situation. “Mutapa Gatsi Rusere, who succeeded to the throne in 1586, suffered a number of setbacks, among them the Maravi invasions led by Kapambo and Chikanda. These had fuelled divisions in the Mutapa army and subsequently led to a revolt by its high-ranking staff, including the general, or mukomohasha.” [1] “When the Mutapa planned a military expedition, the account goes, he gathered his ‘mutumbus’, who are like dukes, marquises and barons, for a war council. The European titles would denote control over land, and high standing. These, accompanied by the ‘priest’, Simboti (Cimbote), and ‘war counsellors’ decided on the plan of the coming war. Then it was delivered into the hands of the three ‘generals’, who were responsible for carrying out the decisions.” [2]
[1]: (Mazarire 2009, 16) Gerald C. Mazarire, “Reflections on Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 850-1880s,” in Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008, eds. Brian Raftopoulos & A.S. Mlambo (Harare, Weaver: 2009). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B9TK7GP8/item-details
[2]: (Livneh 1976, 112) “Pre-Colonial Polities in Southern Zambesia and their Political Communications,” Doctoral Dissertation, University of London, 1976. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/CWC584VN/item-details
Noted in passing, but without clear explanation of its presence, in Schoeman. Explicitly confirmed as state-regulated and standardized by Chanaiwa. “According to historical records the shifting Mutapa state capitals, as well as the Massapa trading market, were located close to Mount Fura in northern Zimbabwe.” [1] “…long-distance trade took place mainly in state regulated markets with prices, weights, and measures determined by the state….” [2]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
[2]: (Chanaiwa 1972, 424) David Chanaiwa, “Politics and Long-Distance Trade in the Mwene Mutapa Empire During the Sixteenth Century,” in The International Journal of African Studies Vol. 5, No. 3 (1972): 424-435. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T5BNKGK6/item-details
While not specifically referring to Mutapa, Pikirayi seems to rule out the idea of any polity-managed irrigation system within the traditional and historic societies of the region. “There is no evidence to suggest that precolonial societies, particularly major states in Zambezia, required large-scale irrigation works to manage their arid to semi-arid environments, such as those found in Asian and Central American civilisations.” [1]
[1]: (Pikirayi , 149) Innocent Pikirayi, “Water and Large-Scale Societies in Southern Zambezia, 900-1900 CE,” in Water and Society from Ancient Times to the Present (London: Routledge, 2018): 136-154. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/VP8NIACW/item-details
Form not specified, but some system and presumably structures for the storage of grain implied by comments in Hannaford about the general situation in Zimbabwe culture societies. “Although the documents are relatively silent on communal activity and long-term planning in agriculture at the village level, they do provide accounts of centralized institutional arrangements in the Zimbabwe culture polities, for example labour service and grain tribute. In theory, siphoning off a surplus from the… hinterland then meant that the stored grain could be redistributed in times of drought.” [1]
[1]: (Hannaford 2018, 10) Matthew Hannaford, “Pre-Colonial South-East Africa: Sources and Prospects for Research in Economic and Social History,” in Journal of Southern African Studies Vol. 44 No. 5 (2018) . Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/W3RGNGTN/item-details
Goldmining specifically noted, but without further elaboration, in Schoeman. Copper mines specifically mentioned as a 15th century conquest by Pikirayi. Chanaiwa suggests these mines may have been controlled by the king personally. “The economy in the Mutapa region appears to have been… similar to that of Great Zimbabwe, with cattle, agriculture, gold and trade continuing being key components…. [trade] enabled chiefs to mobilize labour successfully in order to perform a range of activities in the Mutapa area. This included gold mining.” [1] “The Mutapa himself also owned a number of royal mines, which were worked by indigenous labourers….” [2]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
[2]: (Chanaiwa 1972, 430) David Chanaiwa, “Politics and Long-Distance Trade in the Mwene Mutapa Empire During the Sixteenth Century,” in The International Journal of African Studies Vol. 5, No. 3 (1972): 424-435. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T5BNKGK6/item-details
Noted in passing, but without clear explanation of its presence, in Schoeman. “According to historical records the shifting Mutapa state capitals, as well as the Massapa trading market, were located close to Mount Fura in northern Zimbabwe.” [1]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
Fortifications built of multiple materials a noted part of the archaeological record from the latter half of the Mutapa period. “Fortifications arose in most parts of the state, and this is confirmed by archaeology. In the Ruya-Mazowe basin, more than 100 poorly coursed stone enclosures with loopholes… are located on hill and mountaintops.” [1] “During the late 15th century, the Mutapa dynasties in northern Zimbabwe conquered the copper mines of the northwestern plateau…//…Stone-walled settlements architecturally similar to Great Zimbabwe have been located in the region, dating from the 15th century onwards. Some of these Mutapa capitals were still being constructed in stone when the Portuguese arrived on the Zimbabwe Plateau in the early 16th century.” [2]
[1]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1057)Innocent Pikirayi, “Mutapa State, 1450-1884,” in Encyclopedia of African History Vol. 2, ed. Kevin Shillington (Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005): . Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/item-details
[2]: (Pikirayi 2013, 31-32) Innocent Pikirayi, “Great Zimbabwe in Historical Archaeology: Reconceptualizing Decline, Abandonment, and Reoccupation of an Ancient Polity, A.D. 1450-1900,” in Historical Archaeology Vol. 47, No. 1 (2013): 26-37. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/642PWKV7/item-details
Sources note major trading and political relationships between Mutapa and the Portuguese, and these would produce at least some presence of Portuguese goods and currency within the Mutapa territory, most likely. “…the Portuguese invaded the Mutapa state with 1,000 soldiers under Francisco Barreto in 1568 in support of a rival claimant to the throne, Mamvura, who was then prevailed upon to sign treaties accepting vassalage to the Portuguese. Meanwhile, despite these upheavals, the Mutapa state continued to thrive and became the hub in the interior for trade with the Indian Ocean in silk, ceramics, silver, and glassware, among other imports, in exchange for gold, ivory, skins and local cloth known as Machira, woven from local cotton. The Portuguese maintained their presence in the state, benefitting from working with several puppet Mutapas and maintaining vibrant trading stations at Dambarare, Luanze, Massapa and other places.” [1]
[1]: (Mlambo 2014, 22-23) Alois Mlambo, A History of Zimbabwe (New York, Cambridge University Press: 2014). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/IMR6WQ6M/item-details
Given the importance of cattle in regional traditions as a form of wealth, and their presence in the archaeological record of Mutapa, it seems a reasonable inference to include them as a form of monetary article. Pwiti agrees with this assessment, suggesting that cattle may have been of great importance in the state. “The economy in the Mutapa region appears to have been… similar to that of Great Zimbabwe, with cattle, agriculture, gold and trade continuing being key components.” [1] “… if the founders of the Mutapa state were expanding from Great Zimbabwe, they were familiar with the potential of two of the state’s several branches of production and how they could be used as sources of power. These are external trade and large-scale cattle herding. If they had possessed large herds of cattle during their expansion, or alternatively had built up herds in the north, then it may have been possible for them to use these as a useful power base among the locals…. Indeed for the Mutapa state, the Portuguese refer to their importance in this regard….cattle rich immigrant communities settled among a people who were not so rich, but who were very keen to use cattle products or own more cattle herds.” [2]
[1]: (Schoeman 2017) Maria Schoeman, “Political Complexity North and South of the Zambezi River,” in Oxford Research Encyclopedias Online (2017). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4UBRHU5H/item-details
[2]: (Pwiti 1996, 46) Gilbert Pwiti, “Peasants, Chiefs and Kings: A Model of the Development of Cultural Complexity in Northern Zimbabwe,” in Zambezia Vol. 23, No. 1 (1996): 31-52. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I4AA8N73/item-details