Shangwe Indigenous Knowledge Systems: An Ethnometrological and Ethnomusicological Explication

Scientifically, climate change is the present concern and metrologists are technologically advancing in studying weather patterns. Zimbabwe indigenes, particularly those living in the rural areas such as the Shangwe in Gokwe District, generally relied on the indigenous knowledge systems on rainmaking adopted from their forefathers. The transmission of knowledge on ritual music still is passed on from generation to generation. This interdisciplinary research is on how the Shangwe interpret the natural phenomena constituting the rainmaking process. The interaction approach presented in this article explored the ethnometrological symbols used by the Shangwe in interpreting rainfall patterns during the rainy season. It also mapped out how this ethnic group demonstrated its indigenous understanding on rain formation that offer them hope in their future welfare. Unstructured interviews conducted among six men and five women who were locally renowned as information bearers of rainmaking practices revealed that: a) A particular pride of lions, bats, and certain eagles, called matendera are ethnometrological instruments which they employed to construe climate change in summer. b) There are two rainmaking songs which portray their metaphysical understanding of the Hydrological-Cycle. c) The concept of the Hydrological-Cycle existed among the Shangwe from time immemorial.