Chimurenga music is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an popular music genre coined and popularized by Thomas Mapfumo. ''

Chimurenga ''Chimurenga'' is a word in Shona. The Ndebele equivalent is not as widely used since most Zimbabweans speak Shona; it is ''Umvukela'', meaning "revolutionary struggle" or uprising. In specific historical terms, it also refers to the Ndebele ...

'' is a

Shona language Shona ( ; ) is a Bantu language spoken by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The term is variously used to collectively describe all the Central Shonic varieties (comprising Zezuru, Manyika, Korekore and Karanga or Ndau) or specifica ...

word for liberation, which entered common usage during the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. Mapfumo developed a style of music based on traditional Shona

mbira Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal Tine (structural), tines, played by holding the instrument ...

music, but played with modern electric instrumentation, with lyrics characterized by social and political commentary.

References

External links

On the Chimurenga (German)
Music of Zimbabwe Political music genres African popular music Popular music {{Africa-music-stub