Artists from Zimbabwe and across southern Africa are drawing on indigenous knowledge systems to address today’s environmental challenges through a thought-provoking exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe that reimagines traditional taboos as powerful tools for conservation.
The exhibition, Taboos and Conservation: Back to the Future, opened on June 19 and runs until August 19. Organised by Black The New Green (BTNGreen) in partnership with the museum, it explores how cultural practices that once governed communities’ relationships with nature can help shape contemporary conservation efforts.
The exhibition features works by Agnes Yombwe, Banji Chona, Danisile Ncube, Dumisani Ndlovu, Fisani Nkomo, Fungal Marima, Maves Ndlovu, Nomvuyiso Mabi, Nathan do Chiwanga, Owen Maseko, Sarah Chula, Gankhani Moyo and Victor Nyakayru. Through paintings, installations and mixed-media artworks, the artists examine the intersections of indigenous knowledge, culture, memory and environmental sustainability.
Lead curator Fisani Nkomo said the exhibition was inspired by concerns that traditional environmental stewardship systems are gradually disappearing from collective memory.
“Across Zimbabwe and much of southern Africa, taboos were not simply prohibitions; they functioned as indigenous conservation tools that protected forests, water sources, wildlife and social harmony,” he said.
“Many traditional values that encouraged responsible stewardship are often overlooked or dismissed as outdated. This prompted us to ask whether some of these indigenous knowledge systems still hold relevance today.”
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Rather than advocating a return to the past, Nkomo said the exhibition encourages dialogue on how cultural heritage can inform sustainable solutions for the future.
“The exhibition is not a call to return to the past unchanged, but rather an invitation to reflect on what valuable lessons from our cultural heritage can inform more sustainable futures,” he said.
Among the exhibition’s standout works is Uzilo Lwaloluko by Nomvuyiso Mabi, an installation that explores taboos surrounding initiation knowledge while drawing parallels between safeguarding cultural teachings and protecting the environment. The work highlights each generation’s responsibility to preserve both cultural and natural heritage.
Another featured work, Ukufihla–Ukufihlwa by Owen Maseko, revisits traditional rainmaking and cleansing ceremonies, recalling communal gatherings beneath a fig tree where villagers conducted environmental clean-up rituals before seeking ancestral blessings.
Cultural historian Arnold Nkala described the exhibition as timely, saying indigenous conservation practices remain relevant as the world grapples with climate change and environmental degradation.
“With global warming becoming an increasing reality, many people are losing awareness of how to use natural resources responsibly,” he said.
“Through this exhibition, artists are reminding us that conservation is not a Western concept. We had our own systems long before modern environmental movements emerged. The message is that we should return to our roots while continuing to move forward.”
Nkala said hosting the exhibition at the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe would make it accessible to a broad audience, including schoolchildren, researchers and tourists, helping stimulate wider conversations on environmental stewardship.
The exhibition is complemented by a series of public discussions, film screenings, workshops and community dialogues examining the links between culture, conservation and sustainable development.
For generations, Zimbabwean communities used taboos — commonly known as amazilo — to regulate access to forests, rivers, wildlife and sacred sites, creating community-led systems that safeguarded biodiversity long before the emergence of modern conservation frameworks.