Spirits and Land Reforms: Conflict about Land in Dande, Northern Zimbabwe

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Periodical article

Title:	Spirits and Land Reforms: Conflict about Land in Dande, Northern Zimbabwe
Author:	Spierenburg, Marja
Year:	2005
Periodical:	Journal of Religion in Africa
Volume:	35
Issue:	2
Pages:	197-231
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Zimbabwe
Subjects:	magic land reform customary law land law Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Religion and Witchcraft Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1581535.pdf
Abstract:	Despite its present support for the invasion of (mainly white-owned) commercial farms and emphasis on 'fast-track resettlement', most interventions by the post-independence government of Zimbabwe in agriculture aimed to confine African farmers to the communal areas. In Dande, northern Zimbabwe, a land reform programme was introduced in 1987 that sought to 'rationalize' local land use practices and render them more efficient. Such reforms were deemed necessary to reduce the pressure on commercial farms. This article describes how the reforms caused 'Mhondoro' mediums in Dande to challenge the authority of the State over land, thereby referring to the role they and their spirits played in the struggle for independence. Pressure on the mediums to revoke their criticism resulted in a complex process in which adherents challenged the reputation of mediums who were not steadfast in their resistance to the reforms. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]