The National Anthem of Zimbabwe, also known by its incipit in Shona, "Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe" (English: "Raise our flag of Zimbabwe"), and the final line of each verse in Ndebele, "Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe" (English: "Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe"), was introduced in March 1994 after a nationwide competition to replace the South African-derived "Ishe Komborera Africa" with a distinctly Zimbabwean song. The winning entry was a Shona song written by Professor Solomon Mutswairo and composed by Fred Changundega.[1] It was translated into English and Ndebele, the two other main languages of Zimbabwe.[1] The Ndebele version is mainly sung in the Matebeleland regions of Zimbabwe, while the English version is not commonly sung. Some schools in Matabeleland South have introduced the Sotho/Tswana version.
| English: Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|
 Official sheet music, as printed in the Constitution of Zimbabwe | |
National anthem of Zimbabwe | |
| Also known as | "Ngaikomborerwe Nyika yeZimbabwe" (English: "Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe") "Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe" (English: "Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe") |
| Lyrics | Solomon Mutswairo, 1993 |
| Music | Fred Changundega, 1993 |
| Adopted | March 1994 |
| Preceded by | "Ishe Komborera Africa" |
| Audio sample | |
Instrumental version | |
Lyrics
editThis page is a candidate for copying over to Wikisource. |
Because Zimbabwe has 16 national languages, the lyrics of the original Shona song were translated into the other 15 national languages as part of the 2013 constitutional reforms. The official texts were laid out in the 2013 Constitution, however the final English text in the Constitution varied from the more poetic and metrical version that had been in common usage up to that point and remains so today. Both the new official text and the more common variant are listed below.
In spite of all the translations being official and of equal standing according to the Constitution, the Shona and Ndebele versions remain the two most prevalent variants in regular usage.
English lyrics
edit| English lyrics (constitutional)[2][3] | English lyrics (common, poetic)[4][5] |
|---|---|
I |
I |
Shona and Ndebele lyrics
edit| Shona lyrics[2][4] | Shona IPA transcription[b] | Ndebele lyrics[2][4] | Ndebele IPA transcription[c] |
|---|---|---|---|
I |
1 |
I |
1 |
In other regional languages
edit| Chewa lyrics[18] | Chibarwe lyrics[19] | Kalanga lyrics[20] | Koisan lyrics[21] |
|---|---|---|---|
I |
I |
I |
I |
| Nambya lyrics[22] | Ndau lyrics[23] | Shangani lyrics[24] | Sotho lyrics[25] |
|---|---|---|---|
I |
I |
I |
I |
| Tonga lyrics[26] | Tswana lyrics[27] | Venda lyrics[28] | Xhosa lyrics[29] |
|---|---|---|---|
I |
I |
I |
I |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Often sung as "May our leaders be exemplary".[6][7][8][9]
- ^ See Help:IPA and Shona language § Phonology and alphabet.
- ^ See Help:IPA and Northern Ndebele language § Phonology.
- ^ a b Written in the 2013 constitution as nemoto [ne.mo.to][10] but not often sung as such.[11][12][13][14]
- ^ a b Sometimes sung as nemakomo [ne.ma.ko.mo].[7][9][15]
- ^ a b Written in the 2013 constitution as Phakamisan’ifuleg’yethu yeZimbabwe [pʰa.ɣa.mi.sa.ni.fu.le.gje.tʰu je.zʱi.ᵐba.bwe][16] but almost never sung as such.[7][11][17]
- ^ a b Written in the 2013 constitution as ‘Zisebenzi zename, labantu basuthe [zʱi.se.βe.ⁿzi zʱe.na.me la.βa.ⁿtu βa.su.tʰe][16] but almost never sung as such.[11][12][13]
References
edit- ^ a b "The National Anthem". Government of Zimbabwe. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ a b c "National Anthem Act [Chapter 10:15]". law.co.zw. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (English), WIPO Lex
- ^ a b c "Country Profile". Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe to USA. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ The Official SADC Trade, Industry, and Investment Review. Southern African Marketing Company. 2005. p. 248.
- ^ Dlodlo, Sindile (November 2019). "An Investigation Into Nation Building Through the National Anthem in Zimbabwe: A Sociolinguistic Approach" (PDF). University of South Africa. p. 13 (26 in file).
- ^ a b c RHI Media (2021-04-07). "Zimbabwe National Anthem Everton & Natasha Mlalazi". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ STAND MUSIC (2016-11-25). "STAND MUSIC- ZIMBABWE NATIONAL ANTHEM". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b MICHAEL MUZAMHINDO (2020-05-27). "The National Anthem of Zimbabwe - Michael Muzamhindo". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Shona) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ a b c "Zimbabwe National Anthem" (PDF). Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. 2019. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ a b 263Chat (2016-11-10). "Zimbabwe National Anthem". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b pafoni (2017-12-11). "National Anthem vs Anglican Anthem: Bonda Choir". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ JR videos (2017-03-19). "National Anthem of Zimbabwe (Shona/English)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Bednicho, Nyoni (2019). Abundant Life and Basic Needs: African Religions as a Resource for Sustainable Development, with Special Reference to Shona Religion. University of Bamberg Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-3-86309-664-9.
- ^ a b Constitution of Zimbabwe (Nedebele), kubatana.net
- ^ Mushawakanaka Zimbabwe (2017-12-07). "Zimbabwe National Anthem". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Chewa) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Chibarwe) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Kalanga) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Koisan) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Nambya) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Ndau), kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Shangani) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Sotho) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Tonga), kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Tswana) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Venda) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net
- ^ Constitution of Zimbabwe (Xhosa) Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, kubatana.net