Opinion / Columnist
The legacy of Queen Victoria and Zimbabwean culture
21 May 2013 at 05:18hrs | Views
Canada recently just celebrated Victoria Day on the 20th of May, remembering a woman who is regarded as the longest serving monarch in British History and very well regarded as an embodiment of what the British Empire represented at its zenith. Queen Victoria's name is usually associated with many values such as integrity, morality, feminism, and benevolence. Nevertheless from a Zimbabwean perspective Queen Victoria represents the beginning of "Chimurenga" and Dante's inferno for a Zimbabwean people, a true opening for a Dan Brown novel.
Standing 11pm at night in Toronto on the 20th, watching the fireworks for this fallen royalty I couldn't help but have some sort of thrall for this woman who is highly revered within the commonwealth and the world at large. From an outsider's objective view, she achieved a lot during her reign and should be celebrated for it. Her era saw the rise of prominent figures such as William Gladstone, Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens and Benjamin Disraeli just to name a few; who helped usher in the industrial period from an agrarian era.
Unfortunately because my genetic make-up; is not Anglo-Saxon or British please forgive me for not viewing this matriarch in the same light. From an African Zimbabwean perspective, especially someone who is currently living in the Diaspora; this woman embodies everything bad about the British Empire at its height. Although she was never involved in the tactical issues of creating her empire, Queen Victoria sat on the throne that ushered in the economic and mental slavery of many Africans up till now.
From a Zimbabwean psyche, the name of Queen Victoria revisits nightmares of Cecil John Rhodes, Courtney Selous or Jameson, not to mention the scam tactics of the Rudd Concession resulting in the subjugation of Zimbabweans as a whole. Queen Victoria's reign alone ushered in the rise of linguistic colonization through the medium of imperialism. Whilst Black people in Africa where still fighting for the principles of freedom, only the Boers in South Africa where a notch ahead fighting against cultural domination and language rights.
Fast Forward to 2013 and the effects of Queen Victoria's reign are still felt all over Africa and the world in both good and bad undertones. The held theory of civilizing the barbarians during Queen Victoria's reign has resulted in the slow rise and growth of commonwealth nations within the third world. During Queen Victoria's reign the theory of holding a native language hostage; became refined and perfected.
In British colonial Africa, between 1927 and 1950 various official linguistic committees were set up in each territory that were charged with identifying suitable dominant 'vernaculars' such as Shona or Ndebele, standardizing them following "the recommendations for an international African Alphabet put forward by the International African Institute in 1927, and revised in 1930.
Well meaning, missionaries such as David Livingston or the Chishawashsa Jesuits; somewhat like the anopheles mosquito became unknowing hosts to the policy of Imperialism for Queen Victoria's administration within Zimbabwe.
When developing African languages, Europeans took three main approaches. They pursued harmonization, unification or just totally disregarded a group of related dialect varieties. Linguistically the word, "Unification "seeks to construct a common language for dialects or groups by employing as much as possible, forms which are common to all of the variants in the groups, and where this is not possible, by the use of forms common to the predominant majority of the groups. (Lestrade 1935: 137 quoted in Msimang 1998: 165). This way the various varieties are altered and neutralized and eventually merge into a common (standard language). A case in point is Tswana of Botswana where various related dialects such as Ngwato, Ngwaketsi, Kgatla and Tswana "were unified around the Kwena dialect to form the standard variety." (Msimang 1998: 166)."
The British created the word Shona and then combined all the different dialects under one umbrella so that they could communicate with the natives using English translated "native-speak", Ndebele and newly created Shona became a watered down version, something easy for the British migrants to learn. If you tell a typical Zimbabwean that the word Shona didn't exist before the British arrived, they will laugh at you viewing you as a conspiracy theorist. Why is it that Ndebele and Shona words are transcribed in the English alphabet? Imagine the amount of Zimbabwean words that were discarded because there were no equivalent comparisons of them within the Anglo-Saxon lexicon and grammar. For this we have the Victorian Age to thank for.
Queen Victoria is held highly within the commonwealth for believing that no other race was better than the English Man, to be British in her eyes was the ultimate achievement and somewhat akin to George Bush's theory of "spreading Democracy all over the world". Queen Victoria believed in spreading British Civilization all over the world; in her eyes no good could come to a nation that did not understand English civility and God. Queen Victoria in many manners was similar to George Bush except in the fact that she achieved more and was more genius at doing it without looking racist or stupid.
If you are a Zimbabwean I suggest you search for authors Terence Ranger and Sinfree Makoni, it will be shocking for any Zimbabwean to find out that the Jesuits produced and translated Zezuru, the Dutch Reformed Church produced and translated Karanga, while the Anglicans and Methodists colluded to produce and translate Manyika as a dialect; at the same time creating the monikers associated with Shona dialects. All this was birthed during the reign of Queen Victoria with her implicit approval for the greater good. Imagine Sean "puffy" Combs taking a Thomas Mapfumo song and translating it without any collaboration from Mukanya.
In all honesty I cannot hate a monarch who at the end of the day was looking out for the good of her subjects. The fact that she disregarded other races not British is human nature and should not be held against her. Nevertheless, I as a Diaspora Zimbabwean should be not looked upon negatively for scorning her reign and finding no relevance to my own people's trajectory or sustenance. From an African point of view this woman represents both the good and the bad of empire building and should be a footnote in history for people to know what to look out for when a society begins to rationalize inequality. So many landmarks within Canada and Zimbabwe are named after Queen Victoria yet if someone was to ask what she actually contributed to those individual countries you would find few responses.
As we celebrate Queen Victoria this week let us remember that although she did a lot of good for many people, she also managed to hurt and disenfranchise a huge population of people through the policies of her henchmen. As a Zimbabwean who uses the English alphabet to write my Vernacular language every day; allow me to vent. Please forgive me for being educated at a school named after Queen Victoria; when the British policy was that of educating a few natives to control the rest of the uneducated natives. Please allow me the right to stay at home when you light fireworks for her tonight. Call, tweet, Facebook, or text me when it is Guy Fawkes Day I will bring the lighters.
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Tsungai Chipato is a blogger and free-lance journalist in Toronto, Contact him @: mugaradzakasungwa@gmail.com
Standing 11pm at night in Toronto on the 20th, watching the fireworks for this fallen royalty I couldn't help but have some sort of thrall for this woman who is highly revered within the commonwealth and the world at large. From an outsider's objective view, she achieved a lot during her reign and should be celebrated for it. Her era saw the rise of prominent figures such as William Gladstone, Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens and Benjamin Disraeli just to name a few; who helped usher in the industrial period from an agrarian era.
Unfortunately because my genetic make-up; is not Anglo-Saxon or British please forgive me for not viewing this matriarch in the same light. From an African Zimbabwean perspective, especially someone who is currently living in the Diaspora; this woman embodies everything bad about the British Empire at its height. Although she was never involved in the tactical issues of creating her empire, Queen Victoria sat on the throne that ushered in the economic and mental slavery of many Africans up till now.
From a Zimbabwean psyche, the name of Queen Victoria revisits nightmares of Cecil John Rhodes, Courtney Selous or Jameson, not to mention the scam tactics of the Rudd Concession resulting in the subjugation of Zimbabweans as a whole. Queen Victoria's reign alone ushered in the rise of linguistic colonization through the medium of imperialism. Whilst Black people in Africa where still fighting for the principles of freedom, only the Boers in South Africa where a notch ahead fighting against cultural domination and language rights.
Fast Forward to 2013 and the effects of Queen Victoria's reign are still felt all over Africa and the world in both good and bad undertones. The held theory of civilizing the barbarians during Queen Victoria's reign has resulted in the slow rise and growth of commonwealth nations within the third world. During Queen Victoria's reign the theory of holding a native language hostage; became refined and perfected.
In British colonial Africa, between 1927 and 1950 various official linguistic committees were set up in each territory that were charged with identifying suitable dominant 'vernaculars' such as Shona or Ndebele, standardizing them following "the recommendations for an international African Alphabet put forward by the International African Institute in 1927, and revised in 1930.
Well meaning, missionaries such as David Livingston or the Chishawashsa Jesuits; somewhat like the anopheles mosquito became unknowing hosts to the policy of Imperialism for Queen Victoria's administration within Zimbabwe.
When developing African languages, Europeans took three main approaches. They pursued harmonization, unification or just totally disregarded a group of related dialect varieties. Linguistically the word, "Unification "seeks to construct a common language for dialects or groups by employing as much as possible, forms which are common to all of the variants in the groups, and where this is not possible, by the use of forms common to the predominant majority of the groups. (Lestrade 1935: 137 quoted in Msimang 1998: 165). This way the various varieties are altered and neutralized and eventually merge into a common (standard language). A case in point is Tswana of Botswana where various related dialects such as Ngwato, Ngwaketsi, Kgatla and Tswana "were unified around the Kwena dialect to form the standard variety." (Msimang 1998: 166)."
The British created the word Shona and then combined all the different dialects under one umbrella so that they could communicate with the natives using English translated "native-speak", Ndebele and newly created Shona became a watered down version, something easy for the British migrants to learn. If you tell a typical Zimbabwean that the word Shona didn't exist before the British arrived, they will laugh at you viewing you as a conspiracy theorist. Why is it that Ndebele and Shona words are transcribed in the English alphabet? Imagine the amount of Zimbabwean words that were discarded because there were no equivalent comparisons of them within the Anglo-Saxon lexicon and grammar. For this we have the Victorian Age to thank for.
Queen Victoria is held highly within the commonwealth for believing that no other race was better than the English Man, to be British in her eyes was the ultimate achievement and somewhat akin to George Bush's theory of "spreading Democracy all over the world". Queen Victoria believed in spreading British Civilization all over the world; in her eyes no good could come to a nation that did not understand English civility and God. Queen Victoria in many manners was similar to George Bush except in the fact that she achieved more and was more genius at doing it without looking racist or stupid.
If you are a Zimbabwean I suggest you search for authors Terence Ranger and Sinfree Makoni, it will be shocking for any Zimbabwean to find out that the Jesuits produced and translated Zezuru, the Dutch Reformed Church produced and translated Karanga, while the Anglicans and Methodists colluded to produce and translate Manyika as a dialect; at the same time creating the monikers associated with Shona dialects. All this was birthed during the reign of Queen Victoria with her implicit approval for the greater good. Imagine Sean "puffy" Combs taking a Thomas Mapfumo song and translating it without any collaboration from Mukanya.
In all honesty I cannot hate a monarch who at the end of the day was looking out for the good of her subjects. The fact that she disregarded other races not British is human nature and should not be held against her. Nevertheless, I as a Diaspora Zimbabwean should be not looked upon negatively for scorning her reign and finding no relevance to my own people's trajectory or sustenance. From an African point of view this woman represents both the good and the bad of empire building and should be a footnote in history for people to know what to look out for when a society begins to rationalize inequality. So many landmarks within Canada and Zimbabwe are named after Queen Victoria yet if someone was to ask what she actually contributed to those individual countries you would find few responses.
As we celebrate Queen Victoria this week let us remember that although she did a lot of good for many people, she also managed to hurt and disenfranchise a huge population of people through the policies of her henchmen. As a Zimbabwean who uses the English alphabet to write my Vernacular language every day; allow me to vent. Please forgive me for being educated at a school named after Queen Victoria; when the British policy was that of educating a few natives to control the rest of the uneducated natives. Please allow me the right to stay at home when you light fireworks for her tonight. Call, tweet, Facebook, or text me when it is Guy Fawkes Day I will bring the lighters.
----------------
Tsungai Chipato is a blogger and free-lance journalist in Toronto, Contact him @: mugaradzakasungwa@gmail.com
Source - Tsungai Chipato
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