No General Descriptions provided.
| Year Range | Torwa-Rozvi (zi_torwa_rozvi) was in: |
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The former two of these terms will be occasionally found in academic literature referring to either the latter, Rozvi-ruled period of the polity, or the polity generally. Other terms are also (if rarely) used from time to time in academic literature, so those performing research should be aware that other terms may be found referring to this polity. Note that the latter term listed here is frequently found in Portuguese primary sources. See the following. “The Portuguese described Guruuswa as “Butua,” possibly for ease of pronunciation. By the early 16th century, the Toloa/Torwa were widely referenced as rulers of Butua.” [1] .
[1]: (Machiridza 2020, 653) Lesley Machiridza, “Landscapes and Ethnicity: An Historical Archaeology of Khami-Phase Sites in Southwestern Zimbabwe,” in Historical Archaeology Vol. 54 (2020): 647-675. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZRQWX4ER/item-details
The former two of these terms will be occasionally found in academic literature referring to either the latter, Rozvi-ruled period of the polity, or the polity generally. Other terms are also (if rarely) used from time to time in academic literature, so those performing research should be aware that other terms may be found referring to this polity. Note that the latter term listed here is frequently found in Portuguese primary sources. See the following. “The Portuguese described Guruuswa as “Butua,” possibly for ease of pronunciation. By the early 16th century, the Toloa/Torwa were widely referenced as rulers of Butua.” [1] .
[1]: (Machiridza 2020, 653) Lesley Machiridza, “Landscapes and Ethnicity: An Historical Archaeology of Khami-Phase Sites in Southwestern Zimbabwe,” in Historical Archaeology Vol. 54 (2020): 647-675. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZRQWX4ER/item-details
The former two of these terms will be occasionally found in academic literature referring to either the latter, Rozvi-ruled period of the polity, or the polity generally. Other terms are also (if rarely) used from time to time in academic literature, so those performing research should be aware that other terms may be found referring to this polity. Note that the latter term listed here is frequently found in Portuguese primary sources. See the following. “The Portuguese described Guruuswa as “Butua,” possibly for ease of pronunciation. By the early 16th century, the Toloa/Torwa were widely referenced as rulers of Butua.” [1] .
[1]: (Machiridza 2020, 653) Lesley Machiridza, “Landscapes and Ethnicity: An Historical Archaeology of Khami-Phase Sites in Southwestern Zimbabwe,” in Historical Archaeology Vol. 54 (2020): 647-675. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZRQWX4ER/item-details
While during the Torwa period the polity remained relatively weaker than the Mutapa and their Portuguese allies, the polity reached its greatest strength in the initial years of Rozvi rule, up to the death of Changamire Dombo. “By around 1494 a dynasty called Torwa broke away and established itself in Guruuswa in the southwestern periphery of the state…. A political dispute occurred in the early 1640s in the area controlled by the Torwa; one of the Torwa rulers was defeated in a power struggle and forced to flee. The Portuguese intervened in this conflict by sending a small Portuguese army led by Sismundo Dias Bayao. This event is linked to the fall of Khami. The capital area shifted about 150 kilometers east, where the Torwa continued to rule until the early 1680s...//… After 1684 the Karanga, led by Dombo Changamire, replaced the Torwa dynasty. Their followers were called the Rozvi. Dombo Changamire founded a powerful state whose influence reached the areas formerly controlled by the Mutapa State such as Mukaranga, Mbire, and Manyika. Information about Dombo Changamire is sketchy but historical sources suggest he was a descendant of one the Torwa leaders who built his political career through cattle wealth…//… The succession disputes that occurred after the death of Dombo Changamire undermined the power of the state. Many Rozvi migrated elsewhere, with some setting up chiefdoms in the areas they subsequently settled…. [a son of Dombo] crossed the Limpopo River and conquered the territory of the Venda… in the Zoutpansberg. This is the Thovhela State that is mentioned by the Dutch traders based at Delagoa Bay (c.1730)…. Torwa-Rozvi rule lasted almost 400 years in southwestern Zimbabwe. The Rozvi declined following the arrival of the mfecane groups from the south of the Limpopo. Direct attacks by the Sotho and Nguni and the subsequent Ndebele settlement saw the demise of the Rozvi in the 1850s.” [1] .“Changamire II/Changamire Dombo of the 1670s-1696 was the true founder of the Rozvi state….” [2] .
[1]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1573) Innocent Pikirayi, “Torwa, Changamire Dombo, and the Rozvi,” in Encyclopaedia of African History Vol. 3, ed. Kevin Shillington (Chicago: Taylor & Francis, 2005): 1572-1573. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/item-details
[2]: (Machiridza 2008, 3) Lesley Machiridza, “Developing the Rozvi Archaeological Identity in Southwestern Zimbabwe,” in Zimbabwean Prehistory Vol. 28 (2008). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2XKVR72R/item-details
All of the information on Torwa is slightly unreliable, but it appears that the state was initially formed by a rebellion against Mutapa, and remained a fairly weak breakaway state until the dynastic replacement by the Rozvi, under whom the polity reached its greatest power, and following which it began to slowly fragment and diminish in power until its dissolution in the 1850s. “By around 1494 a dynasty called Torwa broke away and established itself in Guruuswa in the southwestern periphery of the state…. A political dispute occurred in the early 1640s in the area controlled by the Torwa; one of the Torwa rulers was defeated in a power struggle and forced to flee. The Portuguese intervened in this conflict by sending a small Portuguese army led by Sismundo Dias Bayao. This event is linked to the fall of Khami. The capital area shifted about 150 kilometers east, where the Torwa continued to rule until the early 1680s...//… After 1684 the Karanga, led by Dombo Changamire, replaced the Torwa dynasty. Their followers were called the Rozvi. Dombo Changamire founded a powerful state whose influence reached the areas formerly controlled by the Mutapa State such as Mukaranga, Mbire, and Manyika…//… Archaeological evidence shows the existence of stone buildings in southwestern Zimbabwe dating at least from the fifteenth century. These buildings are characterized by retaining walls built with well-shaped rectangular blocks, on top of which are platforms accommodating circular houses…. The biggest settlement is at Khami, near Bulawayo. Stone buildings of various sizes are located in the area once controlled by the Torwa. The Rozvi continued to build in stone in the same style…. Their capital was at Danangombe and other important centers include Naletale, Zinjanja, and Manyanga. This cultural continuity between Torwa and Rozvi suggests they were the same people…//… The succession disputes that occurred after the death of Dombo Changamire undermined the power of the state. Many Rozvi migrated elsewhere, with some setting up chiefdoms in the areas they subsequently settled…. [a son of Dombo] crossed the Limpopo River and conquered the territory of the Venda… in the Zoutpansberg. This is the Thovhela State that is mentioned by the Dutch traders based at Delagoa Bay (c.1730)…. Torwa-Rozvi rule lasted almost 400 years in southwestern Zimbabwe. The Rozvi declined following the arrival of the mfecane groups from the south of the Limpopo. Direct attacks by the Sotho and Nguni andthe subsequent Ndebele settlement saw the demise of the Rozvi in the 1850s.” [1] .
[1]: (Pikirayi 2005, 1573) Innocent Pikirayi, “Torwa, Changamire Dombo, and the Rozvi,” in Encyclopaedia of African History Vol. 3, ed. Kevin Shillington (Chicago: Taylor & Francis, 2005): 1572-1573. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AWA9ZT5B/item-details
Appears to have been a loosely-controlled confederacy of chiefdoms, the rulers demanding tribute and allegiance but exercising little greater control. Note that the level of continuity between the Torwa and Rozvi is marked by the continuance of institutions and even elite families, so very little in the structure of governance seems likely to have changed. “… the Rozvi mambo (king)… did not have a monopoly over foreign trade because his vassals paid tribute in ‘cloth, beads, hoes, axes, gold, ivory, skins, cattle, tobacco, foodstuffs and whatever else the various regions could produce’ …. These… items would have had to be acquired through regional exchange mechanisms prior to paying vassalage…. One of the primary ways in which senior Rozvi rulers (mambos) maintained control over the provinces was through the provincial ruler, who in most cases also belonged to the same lineage as the mambos. The subjects of the Rozvi state paid taxes in the form of annual tribute known as mupeta wamambo …. Importantly, historical sources confirm that tribute, if not forthcoming, was exacted through armed force, suggesting that the military played an important role in the power of the mambos…//… rotational succession in the Mutapa and Torwa–Changamire states was in operation by the sixteenth century (contra Huffman 2015). Through a process of rotational succession, power moved from one of these houses to another (see the Mutapa dynastic lists in Beach 1994). After the death of a king, succession often passed to someone who lived in a different district. Control of the distribution and redistribution of land gave kings the power to levy tribute on any production involving underground or aboveground activities. Most kings did not move into the capitals of their predecessors…. There is no record suggesting that all the Mutapa kings listed by Beach (1994) lived in one palace. In fact, there are numerous drystone-walled sites named after former Mutapa kings, such asKasekete, Mutota and Matope, and there are stone-walled sites in every district…//… The political system of … Torwa–Changamire… was not a highly centralised system but a loose confederacy of provinces, districts and villages that were united in their allegiance to the king …. The authority and legitimacy of rulers was underlined by their relationship to ancestry, lineage and kinship. Although there were frequent disputes, leading to succession wars, in principle rulers were appointed through ancestry and were considered to have a divine connection to the land and the people, with the health of the rulers intrinsically linked to health of the region and vice versa…. Although appointed… [the] rulers, the authority and legitimacy of local chiefs derived from their subjects, many of whom were their relatives, and not from their position in relation to the… rulers; local support and tribute were key to the maintenance of regional power structures.” [1] . “Portuguese documents referring to Khami suggest a civil war that involved a Portuguese warlord who was able to assist a Togwa aspirant to the throne before himself retiring to the north-east in 1644. There are no other clear references to any Togwa rulers, but we do know of some dominant Togwa houses, such as those of Tumbare and Chihunduru/Chiwundura, because of the power they subsequently wielded in the Rozvi state as part of the non-moyo Rozvi ruling elite.” [2] . “Both the Torwa and the Rozvi appear to have spoken the Kalanga dialect of Shona and they likely shared the same general worldview in terms of socio-political organisation and use of space….” [3] . “The Rozvi at Khami and Danamombe were at the center of a much larger Rozvi confederacy.” [4] . “The Manyika were apparently politically subordinate to the Changamires, for they say that they sent tribute to the Rozvi kings on an annual or semiannual basis. The Changamires confirmed their kings, though they did not choose them.” [5] .
[1]: (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 18-29) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list
[2]: (Mazarire 2009, 17) 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]: (Pikirayi 2013, 294) Innocent Pikirayi, “Stone Architecture and the Development of Power in the Zimbabwe Tradition AD 1270-1830,” in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa Vol. 48 no. 2 (2013): 282-300. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/K3ENN8GP/item-list
[4]: (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/IXQJ656P/item-details
[5]: (Waite 1987, 202) Gloria Waite, “Public Health in Pre-Colonial East-Central Africa,” in Social Science & Medicine Vol. 24, No. 3 (1987): 197-208. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/N4Z9DU9S/item-list
The Rozvi are identified as Karanga and Kalanga, and the Torwa as likely so as well. “the Rozvi were a mixed and dynamic group of Karanga and Kalanga people of several totems.” [1] . “….occupiers of Khami perceived of themselves as Kalanga… although further linguistic research may still need to be done to establish whether the Torwa people indeed spoke Kalanga apart from perceiving themselves as such.” [2] .
[1]: (Machiridza 2008, 1) Lesley Machiridza, “Developing the Rozvi Archaeological Identity in Southwestern Zimbabwe,” in Zimbabwean Prehistory Vol. 28 (2008). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2XKVR72R/item-details
[2]: (Mazarire 2003, 5) Gerald Mazarire, “Who are the Ndebele and Kalanga in Zimbabwe?” … conference paper (2003). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MDRUT5SN/item-list
(1) Mambo or Kings. (2) Provincial rulers. (3) Headmen. (4) Vanyai. Nyai system clearly present, as in Mutapa. This is somewhat of an attempt to codify the complex nyai system 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. “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…//… Portuguese documents referring to Khami suggest a civil war that involved a Portuguese warlord who was able to assist a Togwa aspirant to the throne before himself retiring to the north-east in 1644. There are no other clear references to any Togwa rulers, but we do know of some dominant Togwa houses, such as those of Tumbare and Chihunduru/Chiwundura, becauseof the power they subsequently wielded in the Rozvi state as part of the non-moyo Rozvi ruling elite…//… it seems that the Rozvi ruling class maintained their vanyai under appointed regional ‘governors or representatives’ and kept them in check through periodic ‘visits’, particularly to those vassal chiefs who failed to pay their tribute...//… Thirdly, it must be appreciated that the greatest Rozvi accomplishment was certainly its enlargement of the scale of cliental structures. However, as more vanyai qualified to be Rozvi, their ambition grew to control their own vanyai. In this way, the same structures that defined Rozvi power became the very fissures through which the state cracked.” [1] “… the Rozvi mambo (king)… did not have a monopoly over foreign trade because his vassals paid tribute…. One of the primary ways in which senior Rozvi rulers (mambos) maintained control over the provinces was through the provincial ruler, who in most cases also belonged to the same lineage as the mambos. The subjects of the Rozvi state paid taxes in the form of annual tribute known as mupeta wamambo (Mudenge 1974, p. 382). Importantly, historical sources confirm that tribute, if not forthcoming, was exacted through armed force, suggesting that the military played an important role in the power of the mambos.” [2] .
[1]: (Mazarire 2009, 13-21) 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]: (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 18) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list
A priesthood at the very least composed of spirit mediums was present in this society throughout its known duration. “…the Changamires adopted the Torwa institution, Mwari, used for rainmaking. Mwari was the guardian spirit of the Torwa kingdom and was propitiated through a well-developed priestly organization....” [1] . “A consideration of religion in the Mutapa and Torwa–Changamire states shows the clear separation of religious and political powers (Mudenge 1988). The two roles were essential for the functioning of the state, with spirit mediums (possessed by the spirit of deceased kings) providing spiritual guidance to the incumbent chiefs. These mediums were thus ‘senior’ to ruling chiefs (Lan 1985). They played an important role in prayers for healing, rain, success in battle, and the overall success of the state. Their role extended to virtually all the areas of Shona divinity and spirituality. Often spirit mediums were drawn from the same houses of power (dzimba dzoushe) as the chiefs.” [2] . “Traditions recall the strong link between the Rozvi and the Mwari religion because Rozvi chiefs exploited and elaborated the cults for political purposes. Kuper… highlighted that rainmaking enhanced the political influence of chiefs; as such the ritual position of Rozvi Mambos (Chiefs) therefore became more advanced than any other. Bourdillion… also observed that chiefs political power often arises from the religious power of their ancestors because even those members not related to the chief also speak of spirit guardians of the chiefdom as their ancestors who had the duty of providing rain and caring for the crops.” [3] .
[1]: (Waite 1987, 202) Gloria Waite, “Public Health in Pre-Colonial East-Central Africa,” in Social Science & Medicine Vol. 24, No. 3 (1987): 197-208. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/N4Z9DU9S/item-list
[2]: (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 26) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list
[3]: (Machiridza 2012, 94) Lesley Machiridza, Material Culture and Dialectics of Identity and Power: Towards a Historical Archaeology of the Rozvi in South-Western Zimbabwe, MA Archaeology Dissertation, University of Pretoria 2012. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/RT3ZFDBC/item-list
No polity-owned markets appear to have existed, as the following quote appears to make their existence seem highly unlikely, though local marketplaces were supposedly present. “According to Mudenge (1974), trade in the Torwa–Changamire state was conducted by vashambadzi (Mudenge 1974), with no special market days or market places. There is no evidence to support the view that trade was conducted at the court of the kings (Mudenge 1974). Trading stations or local market places (bares) existed across the Rozvi region, and ‘vashambadzi traversed all that region, bartering for gold from village to village without necessarily ever visiting the Mambo’s court’ (Mudenge 1974, p. 386).” [1] .
[1]: (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 18) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list
Confirmed by Machiridza in an excerpt from Portuguese primary sources which clearly states the present of mines within the area of Torwa. “In 1552 Joao de Barros wrote: ‘They have other mines in a region named Toroa [sic], also called the Kingdom of Butua, ruled by a prince [chief] named Burrom, a vassal of Benomotapa….’ This source implies Torwa was synonymous with Butua.” [1] .
[1]: (Machiridza 2012, 88) Lesley Machiridza, Material Culture and Dialectics of Identity and Power: Towards a Historical Archaeology of the Rozvi in South-Western Zimbabwe, MA Archaeology Dissertation, University of Pretoria 2012. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/RT3ZFDBC/item-list
Presence of stone walls at Torwa-Rozvi sites well documented at multiple sites. “At Khami phase sites like Danangombe, Naletale,and Manyanga among others, it appears P and Q walls may have been for the elite. At the same time it is difficult to interpret the function of R-style walls in the southwest particularly the large enclosure at Danangombe where little evidence of human habitation was found.” [1] . ….
[1]: (Machiridza 2008, 10) Lesley Machiridza, “Developing the Rozvi Archaeological Identity in Southwestern Zimbabwe,” in Zimbabwean Prehistory Vol. 28 (2008). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2XKVR72R/item-details
Religious shrines to the Mwari cult known to have been present. “…as the Changamires built their own kingdom, known as Rozvi… the influence of the Mwari institution also spread. People such as the Manyika and Ndau in the east began sending delegations to the Mwari shrines, which are found only in the Matopo Hills in the core Rozvi area…. The Manyika say that they [presently, as of the date of publication] go to the Mwari shrines when their own tutelary spirits prove inadequate for rainmaking.” [1] .
[1]: (Waite 1987, 202) Gloria Waite, “Public Health in Pre-Colonial East-Central Africa,” in Social Science & Medicine Vol. 24, No. 3 (1987): 197-208. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/N4Z9DU9S/item-list
There are tangential references to at least one specific suspected burial site for the Rozvi period. “Chironde mountain, one of the several mountains that the Rozvi attach their historical origins on. There are claims that several Rozvi burials are scattered on this mountain, but these have not yet been ascertained….” [1] .
[1]: (Machiridza 2012, 111) Lesley Machiridza, Material Culture and Dialectics of Identity and Power: Towards a Historical Archaeology of the Rozvi in South-Western Zimbabwe, MA Archaeology Dissertation, University of Pretoria 2012. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/RT3ZFDBC/item-list
Glass beads. Noted as present among a variety of archaeological sites, but their absence from important settlements suggests they may not have been viewed as an important form of wealth. “The substantial number of glass beads recovered from Khami period sites show that the Torwa-Rozvi state participated in long-distance trade with the Indian Ocean coast.” [1] . “That very little evidence of imports has been found from centres of power, and comparatively more from trading stations, casts doubt on the view that glass beads represented a storable source of wealth for the elite. In fact, the Portuguese themselves mentioned that residents of the Torwa–Changamire state emphasised cattle wealth above the proceeds of long-distance trade.” [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/IXQJ656P/item-details
[2]: (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 18-19) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list
Cattle. Noted to have been present as a major article of the economy well into the Rozvi period, and presumably in the earlier Torwa period as well. This at least implies their presence as a valuable commodity in the community in this period. “Mudenge… argued that cattle, not trade, formed the core of the Rozvi economy.” [1] . “Besides cattle, agricultural produce, salt, iron, ivory, copper, tin and grain were local products that were used in a variety of exchange and consumption contexts…. Grain was also an item of trade but study in the archaeological record is limited by its perishable nature…//… Historians of the… Torwa–Changamire… emphasise that power and ‘wealth’ related to support in followers. In particular it was the number of dependants, followers, and wives that was the real measure of wealth. In some cases, followers could migrate and establish home under a successful ruler without force orcoercion (Kopytoff 1987). The conversion of cattle into political allegiances in the Mutapa and Torwa–Changamire states is comparable to a transfer of wealth-in-things to wealth-inpeople….” [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/IXQJ656P/item-details
[2]: (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 24-25) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list