The Dzimbahwe Institute of Heritage and Culture has petitioned the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) and the National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) secretariat to introduce a standalone traditional music category, saying the move is critical to safeguarding Zimbabwe’s indigenous artistic heritage.
The petition comes ahead of the 24th Nama awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday at the Harare International Conference Centre.
The institute’s executive director, Milcah Maigurira, told NewsDay Life & Style that a formal submission was lodged ahead of this year’s ceremony.
She described the initiative as “born out of deep respect” for Nama and its role in shaping and reflecting the country’s artistic identity.
“For years, we have observed that while Nama celebrates contemporary and urban art forms extensively, the foundation of our nation’s cultural identity and specifically traditional music and heritage arts, is consistently relegated to the sidelines,” Maigurira said.
She said there was no dedicated competitive category exclusively recognising traditional music forms and indigenous instruments such as the mbira, marimba, hosho and ngoma.
Maigurira argued that grouping diverse heritage expressions into broader categories limits visibility and recognition for practitioners.
“We are simply requesting that Nama elevates traditional music to a distinct and competitive category with the same prestige and resources as other genres,” she said.
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In a letter addressed to the NACZ, seen by NewsDay Life & Style, the institute outlined several reasons for the proposed category.
Among them are the need to formally recognise master musicians and instrument makers, incentivise youth participation in indigenous arts and affirm the centrality of traditional culture in Zimbabwe’s evolving creative economy.
The letter further states that establishing a “Best Traditional Music” category would align Nama more closely with its mandate of promoting and preserving Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage. It also offers the institute’s expertise in developing criteria and frameworks for the proposed award.
Maigurira said the inquiry also sought to understand the existing criteria and processes used to create new award categories. She said the institute was advocating for “equitable representation” rather than preferential treatment.
“This is not a request for preference, but a call for fairness in recognising art forms that define who we are as a people,” Maigurira said.
Some artists and cultural commentators have welcomed the initiative.
Members of the Barikira B Kreative Group described the move as timely and relevant within the broader discourse on cultural preservation.
Mbira player and broadcaster Shumbakadzi also expressed support, noting that she has long advocated for greater recognition of Zimbabwean traditional music at major award platforms.
However, at the time of publication, NACZ had not publicly responded to the submission.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Nama organisers were unsuccessful.
The debate comes as cultural stakeholders increasingly examine how national platforms balance contemporary trends with heritage preservation.
