Lemba People - Construction of Great Zimbabwe

Construction of Great Zimbabwe

As evidence of a prehistoric link between the Lemba and Zimbabwe, Gayre cites the following claims:

1. Models of circumcised male organs were found at Great Zimbabwe; (the Lembas introduced that practice into southern Africa);
2. The Lemba bury their dead in an extended rather than a crouched position – i.e., in the same style as in certain Zimbabwean graves, where gold jewellery confirmed their association with the ancient civilization;
3. The old Lemba language was a dialect of Karanga – which is spoken today in the Masvingo area of Zimbabwe; (thus, the Lemba female ancestry must have contained a large MaKaranga element).

Most scholars however, generally agree that Great Zimbabwe was built by the Shona people as part of the 13th century kingdom of Zimbabwe, and successor to the earlier Kingdom of Mapungubwe, also known for its stone ruins.