Street Naming as Author(Iz)Ing the Collective Memory of the Nation: Masvingo’s Mucheke Surbub in Zimbabwe

Through a qualitative analysis of selected street names in Masvingo’s Mucheke suburb (Zimbabwe), the paper undertakes an interdisciplinary engagement with urban studies, communication, cultural, historical, linguistic and nationalist discourses to show that the urban landscape has been exploited to promote an African worldview, create and celebrate hero(in)es, author(ize) history and narratives that commit to posterity, historical figures, places, episodes, ideals, values and ideologies. It is premised on the notion that nations are complex and contradictory entities whose very existence is largely in the imaginary domain and they depend on the ability of the ruling elite to elevate determinant memories to national prominence pursuant of fostering a shared national vision/interest. Onomastics is fore grounded to demonstrate the impact of ondonyms on the construction of post-colonial discourses about the nation, socio-political organization, negotiation of power relations, national identity, linguistic and cultural heritages. The act of naming is a signifier of authority and power over the discursive space and is therefore influenced by vested interests. Naming is an artistic exercise in communication and involves creative use of the language plus selective promotion of a collective memory geared at influencing residents’ perception of themselves in the national project in relation to the landscape.