The Village and Great Enclosure of the Great Zimbabwe

2 March 2012

 

 

A Shona family resides in the replica village below the Hill Complex. They live in the rondavels and sell crafts.

 

 

 

 

Members of the family play African drums while

 

 

 

 

other members of the family perform a traditional dance
with dried gourds strapped to each leg.

 

 

 

 

Synchrony

 

 

 

 

 

Phillip bought a pair of bookends, one of a baboon, the other of
a vervet monkey, from the stonecarver of the village.

 

 

 

 

Ascending through village ruins to the Great Enclosure

 

 

 

 

The wall of the Great Enclosure is 11 meters tall and 8 meters thick at the base.

 

 

 

 

Entry into the Great Enclosure is via a narrow passageway to the left.

 

 

 

 

Inside the Great Enclosure

 

 

 

 

The Great Enclosure consists of concentric stone walls
separated by a narrow paved path.
The earliest wall is the most interior. Since the King's wives
lived here and the Queen Mother was the senior wife,
she could ask for favors from the King, including the
building of ever-more impressive walls external to the existing wall.

 

 

 

 

The largest structure is believed to represent a granary
or a phallus. Archeologists have determined that the structure
is not hollow as was once suspected. It appears to be
purely symbolic.

 

 

 

 

Phillip and GR

 

 

 

 

View of the Hill Complex from the Great Enclosure.

 

The tour concluded with a visit to the museum where
artifacts found on the site are on display.

 

Note: All pictures were made handheld with a 24-120 Nikon lens on a D-90 camera body.
Entrance was $15 per person (non-citizen) plus $3 per person for tour guide.
Tour guides should be considered absolutely essential because of their impressive knowledge
of the site and of Shona history and culture.
A gift shop cells souvenirs, hats, water, and soft drinks.
A toilet is situated just behind the Gift Shop.
The Great Zimbabwe is about 24 km south of Masvingo.