The kingdom of mutapa sometimes referred to as the mutapa empire, mwenemutara, shona. The kingdom of monomotapa mutapa empire wilsondiop. Mutapa empire 1430 to 1760 was an empire, in present day zimbabwe, extending to the mozambique coast. Although sometimes described as an empire, there is little evidence that the shona people of mutapa ever established such control over the region. The king was known as mwenemutapa which translates to the owner of the conquered lands or munhumutapa which translates to he who conquered. Mwene we mutapa or more commonly and modern munhumutapa. Jun 01, 2017 the most important chiefs in the empire sent their sons, with tribute in form of cattle, gold, slaves and ivory, each year to pay homage to the mwene mutapa as goodwill ambassadors. Start this article has been rated as startclass on the projects quality scale. View notes kingdom of kongo and mwene mutapa from ec 214 at johns hopkins university. The demise of great zimbabwe left the mutapa state dominant in northern.
The mutapa empire information sheet essay free essays and. Monomotapa was a bakalanga kingdom which was centered in the zambezi valley in what are the modern states of northern zimbabwe, north western mozambique and south eastern zambia. They wore or carried as their badge of office a hoe and spear made of gold and ivory. It stretched from zimbabwe to the mozambique coast.
The origins of the ruling dynasty at mutapa go back to some time in the first half of the 15th century. This kingdom was founded in 1425, succeeding the kingdom of the great zimbabwe. A map of the mutapa kingdom stae made by the early portoguese. Abraham, the early political history of the kingdom of mwene mutapa, 8501589, university college of rhodesia and nyasaland, eds. As a result mutota earned the title munhumutapa which means he who conquers andor mwenemutapa owner of the conquered land.
The mutapa state was located on the northern part of modern day zimbabwe. Reasons for the rise of the mutapa state free zimsec. Mutapa state origins around 1425, mutota, king of the shona, embarked on conquest of the inland plateau, the region located between the zambezi river and the limpopo river, to the coast of mozambique. The kingdom of mutapa sometimes referred to as the mutapa empire, mwenemutapa, shona. Kingdom of kongo and mwene mutapa kingdom of kongo and. This kingdom was founded by a royal member from its successor. Mar 20, 2019 the chiefs or kings of the shona held the royal title mwene mutapa, meaning either lord of metals or master pillager and they were, too, the religious head of the kingdom. In as far as religion is an important component of ideology, this suggestion is plausible. The first mwene was a warrior prince named nyatsimba mutota who discovered what was soon to be mutapa when he was looking for a new source of salt. There was a standing army of warriors which was used for defence and expansion of the kingdom.
Mwene matapa historical dynastic title, southern africa. The rise of militaristic and ambitious leaders such as mutota. Mwene mutapa state monomotapa, munhumutapa, mutapa for short. If you would like to participate, visit the project page. Any person who became king of the mutapa kingdom was invested with the title and powers of mwene mutapa to ensure that no activities concerning mining in the land are carried out without his concession. Scarcity of reasons such as salt, pastures etc at great zimbabwe. Revenue from trade was used to run the army and sustain the empire. By the 1630s, the portuguese overran all of monomutapa and appointed a new mwene, mavura mhande felipe, to the throne in 1629. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. The kingdom of mutapa, sometimes referred to as the mutapa empire was a shona kingdom which stretched between the zambezi and limpopo rivers of southern africa in the modern states of zimbabwe and mozambique. The kingdom of mwene mutapa was the aftermath of the decline of great zimbabwe in 1420.
The kingdom of mutapa came to dominate the lands between the limpopo and zambezi rivers and to control trade in the region. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The kingdoms of kongo and mwene mutapa firm agricultural base people began developing skills of. According to oral tradition the first mwene was a warrior prince nyatsimbamutota from great zimbabwe who was sent to find new sources of salt in the north. For those who may not be conversant with the shona language, mwene means owner as in mwene wazvo. The hidden history behind the name mwene mutapa celebrating.
Political organisation of the mutapa state free zimsec. Mutapa aka matapa, mwenemutapa, and monomotapa was a southern african kingdom located in the north of modern zimbabwe along the zambezi river which flourished between the mid15th and mid17th century ce. They traded items like gold, mined iron, salt, copper and tin, soapstone a soft rock, and ivory. Jan 28, 2010 the political leaders of one province, changamire, broke free and began building a successor state to monomutapa. The early political history of the kingdom of mwene mutapa 850. For mwene mutapa, outlying parts of the kingdom broke away in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, forcing the core to become a portuguese protectorate in 1633. The stratigraphy on the acropolis indicates that a social transition from period ii to iii probably occurred at zimbabwe and was not the result of an immigrant group, and the short chronology.
According to oral traditions, nyatsimba mutota migrated from the declining of great zimbabwe and began his conquest of the northern part areas. Ruled by kings known as mwene mutapa, over time, the kingdom became known by the same title. Origins of the mutapa empire essay 853 words antiessays. This phrase has been preserved in documents as munhu mu tapa, manhumutapa, and the portuguese, monomotapa. Mutapa empire kingdom of mutapa empire was a medieval kingdom which stretched between the zambezi and limpopo rivers of southern africa in the modern states of zimbabwe and mozambique. The following reasons can be used to account for the rise and expansion of the mutapa state. Monomotapa was a shona kingdom which stretched from the zambezi through the limpopo rivers to the indian ocean in southern africa, in what are the modern states of zimbabwe, south africa, lesotho. Trade the mutapa empire traded in copper, ivory, salt, gold, silver, silk and ceramics. He was the overall ruler of the state and all subjects were loyal to him.
Pdf on jan 1, 1993, innocent pikirayi and others published the archaeological identity of the mutapa state. Ravager of the landsalso spelled mwene mutapa or monomotapa, title borne by a line of kings ruling a southeast african territory between the zambezi and limpopo rivers, in what is now zimbabwe and mozambique, from the 14th to the 17th century. News of the south in my previous article entitled dont teach rubbish about mwenemutapa, i bemoaned not only the death of knowledge in zimbabwe about the mwenemutapa leadership, but also the lack of proper acknowledgement of the role mwenemutapa leadership played in defending the land of zimbabweans that included shona people as well as masena, manyanja. The empire was comprised of a karanga majority speaking population. Additionally, the portuguese colony along the coast gained more power at the expense of monomutapa. Kingdom of kongo and mwene mutapa kingdom of kongo 901914 located in west central africa, near lower. It has been suggested by some including the archaeologist peter garlake that religion was also significant to the rise and expansion of the mutapa state. Mwene mutapa, like kongo, had trouble coping under these conditions. Mwene was a warrior prince named nyatsimba mutota who discovered what was soon to be mutapa when he was looking for a new source of salt. Apr 24, 20 the kingdom of mutapa or any kingdom of zimbabwe holds a captivating history.
Mutapa meaning and origin of the name mutapa nameaning. By the 1590s, mutapa had been through many civil wars, leaving the government fragile and weak. For further information on the conquest see donald p. European christians thought that the mutapa land had the goldmines of famous king from the bible, king solomon what is mutapa. Mutotas successor, mwenemutapa matope, extended this new kingdom into an empire which contained most of the lands between tavara and the indian ocean. The origin and rise of the mutapa state free zimsec. The mutapa empire mwene mutapa or in portuguese, monomotapa, also known as great zimbabwe, was a mediaeval kingdom 1250 to 1629 which was located between the zambezi and limpopo rivers of southern africa in an area which currently includes the modern states of zimbabwe and mozambique.
Nyatsimba mutota the first mwenemutapa organised the kingdomstate into provinces which had districts under them. The mwene bantu term for lord, specifically a conquering king was the title giving rise to the state being referred to as mwene mutapa. Oct 08, 2015 the kingdom of mutapa, sometimes referred to as the mutapa empire shona peopleshona kingdom which stretched from across the zambezi in zambia to across the limpopo river of southern africa in. Kingdom of mutapa is within the scope of wikiproject zimbabwe, which aims to improve wikipedia s coverage of zimbabwe and zimbabwerelated topics. Jun 30, 20 the mutapas control in these far away lands was probably peripheral and not regular. Accepted 27 january, 2011 the mutapa empire mwene mutapa or in portuguese, monomotapa, also known as great zimbabwe, was a mediaeval kingdom 1250 to 1629 which was located between the zambezi and limpopo rivers of southern africa in an area which currently includes the modern states of zimbabwe and mozambique. The shona people who formed this kingdom first began acquiring power in the 14th century ce, and ruled for three centuries.
Pdf the archaeological identity of the mutapa state. Chinese blue and white porcelain and indian beads have been found in these excavation sites, revealing that mutapa participated in the transindian ocean trade that helped give great zimbabwe its power. The kingdom of mutapa sometimes referred to as the mutapa empire shona. The rulers were able to mine gold from rivers and streams that were found nearby their empire. Kingdom of mutapa great discoveries in archaeology.
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