Stories
These stories are based on the accounts of ordinary Zimbabweans - the experts from whom the content on ZimbOriginal is sourced.
Modifying verbs Adverbs are words that modify or describe words such as verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences, and even other adverbs. It is easy to think of adverbs as words ending with -ly, but that is not always the case really. Now, look at the example sentences below which have adverbs (in bold). Tarisai sang badly. Musa … Read more
After reading China manenji hachifambisi I wrote on idioms (madimikira) that the writer, Mordikai A. Hamutyinei, used in the story. I decided to do the same while reading Tambaoga mwanangu. Tambaoga mwanangu is a Shona novel written by Giles Kuimba, and was first published in 1968. Set in ancient times, it is a story about … Read more
Recurring cycle-based religious festivals For this story, I will refer to indigenous religion in Zimbabwe as chivanhu. This is a term used to refer to the traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples of Zimbabwe. It is also commonly used in reference to beliefs and practices of indigenous religion. In indigenous religion, the ordinary … Read more
Tsumo on work tell a story of a hard-working society, and give the picture that agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of the Shona people. The most important activity of the greatest number of people was the growing of crops for food. When the hoe came into existence with the spread of the Iron … Read more
In lay terms, ideophones are words that stand out (are ‘marked’) and whose form betrays something of (is depictive of) their meaning. The following 70 ideophones (nyaudzosingwi) describe the act of breaking. I made reference to the Standard Shona Dictionary (M. Hannan, S.J.) for descriptions. I have given examples that hopefully betray the meanings of the ideophones. … Read more
Culture and language are inextricably intertwined. Over the past year or so, I have done a lot of research and writing on Shona culture and related matters. Consequently, I have also done a lot of research on the Shona language. Lots of people have asked me why I do it, obviously surprised that I studied … Read more
Learning solutions
Get the full ZimbOriginal experience. Library, language learning, and more.
About Shungu

Shungu is the voice behind ZimbOriginal. She has a restless hand and a penchant for discovery. Her upbringing is fairly balanced between an urban and rural setting. The urban - pretty basic and spent almost entirely in boarding school. The rural - not so glorious and filled with all the dreaded chores that come with keeping a rural homestead going. Shungu is a qualified chartered management accountant and currently lives in Harare, Zimbabwe. Learn more.