For decades, the Shona people have been our most incendiary tribe, all thanks to former President Mugabe. But while a long history of countless national failures, the Shona people have long been adored as the smartest and most peaceful Africans. While they have remained aloof, enigmatic and outside the star system, I went on an epic journey of cultural discovery for an unexpected epiphany. I first realised my knowledge of African culture had changed dramatically while sitting outside a pub a few weeks ago. It was the point on a Friday night when drinks begin to linger on the table as everyone privately debates whether to go home. It wasn’t a moment worth remembering, but when someone wearing a brightly coloured blazer with matching shoes began to dance, everyone tried to figure out where they were from and what kind of fabric they were wearing. Glasses were moved aside and hand gesturing became the hallmark of a deep conversation.Once I’d seen how visible and existentially critical this conversation was to my own identity, I saw it in everything: the sweat inducing dance-floor performances, the body language among friends, the heart-warming prayers of faithful believers. If you pulled back the curtain, I wondered, how much of our traditional culture has impacted our modern behaviour? I needed to know more about my heritage, and more importantly how that culture has changed me and the more than 9 million of us around the world. In an effort to discover my roots and attract…
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