Ndau festival of the arts in Zimbabwe: staging intangible cultural heritage for revitalising the ChiNdau language

This article explores the transformative role of the Ndau Festival of the Arts (NDAFA) in safeguarding the ChiNdau language as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ndau people in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. As a minority language, ChiNdau is at risk of decline due to inadequate documentation, cultural assimilation, and the dominance of languages like Shona, Ndebele, and English in official contexts. The NDAFA addresses these challenges by providing a space for ChiNdau-speaking communities to perform their music, dance, and storytelling, thus promoting language use, cultural transmission, and community engagement. The study utilises ethnographic fieldwork methods to generate and document data on the festival’s contributions to the revitalisation of ChiNdau and cultural sustainability. The findings reveal that the festival is vital in advancing the Ndau language and cultural heritage, enhancing community involvement, and raising awareness of the importance of their Ndau cultural legacy. The study offers policymakers, linguists, ethnomusicologists, ethnochoreologists, activists, and cultural practitioners valuable insights into language preservation and cultural sustainability. Furthermore, the findings highlight that the NDAFA empowers local communities by adopting a relevant, bottom-up, and sustainable approach to revitalising their linguistic heritage, thereby fostering a sense of self-determination and cultural pride.