Chiyubunuzyo Arts and Culture Association (CACA) has launched a digital portal aimed at preserving Zimbabwe’s rich Tonga cultural heritage while taking the community’s traditions, stories and artistic expressions to a global audience.
The new platform, www.chiyubunuzyo.org, is expected to provide a digital archive of Tonga cultural knowledge and improve access to information about the community’s history, traditions and creative work.
CACA executive director Brian Kembo said the digital platform marked a new chapter for the community-based arts and culture organisation, which has spent more than a decade documenting and promoting Tonga heritage.
“We have spent more than a decade working hard to preserve and promote Tonga cultural heritage through arts, storytelling, cultural documentation and community participation. But our challenge was to bridge the gap and reach beyond our community in a beneficial way. Until now, we have resolved to go digital,” said Kembo.
CACA said the portal would serve as a reliable and transparent platform for digitally archiving cultural stories, photographs, publications, project information and other heritage resources relating to the Tonga people.
“We will continue seeking interactive ways to showcase our culturally oriented programmes, community projects, traditional arts, stories, photographs, publications and other activities emerging particularly from the Simuchembu and Nenyunga communities in Gokwe North through such ICT tools,” Kembo said.
The digitalisation of cultural heritage comes as organisations across Africa increasingly turn to technology to preserve indigenous knowledge and make it accessible to younger generations and wider audiences.
For generations, much of Tonga cultural knowledge has been transmitted orally, potentially limiting access to the heritage beyond the communities where it is preserved.
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CACA’s heritage work is rooted in the Simuchembu and Nenyunga chiefdoms, where the organisation documents cultural knowledge, traditional practices, artistic expressions, community histories and oral traditions.
Kembo said the digital platform would also create opportunities for collaboration with researchers, journalists, artists, educational institutions and development organisations while helping ensure that information about Tonga culture is accurately documented.
“By going global, we are simply saying cultural heritage does not have to remain confined to memory, museums or isolated communities,” he said.
“Instead, by leveraging technology, it improves our communication with outsiders, including diasporans.
“As much as they can connect with us, we are able to share our local stories.
“This development gives us a great chance to share the correct information on our culture and heritage, which is often under-represented in mainstream documentation.”
Kembo said CACA was open to partnerships and engagements aimed at strengthening efforts to document and promote Tonga heritage.
“As an organisation, we are inviting the public, researchers, documentary producers, journalists, artists, cultural institutions, development organisations and educational institutions interested in indigenous knowledge.
“To all development partners and members of the Tonga diaspora, they are at liberty to visit us in person or connect with us on the web as we strive to build lasting collaborations that support the documentation and celebration of Tonga cultural heritage,” he said.
In Tonga, Chiyubunuzyo means “revelation”, reflecting the organisation’s ambition to reveal, preserve and share the richness of Tonga culture and community heritage with wider audiences.
Established about 15 years ago, Chiyubunuzyo Culture Centre is situated along the Gokwe-Binga Road in Ward 32, Chiutsi, Nenyunga, Gokwe North, Midlands Province.
