Ten Categories of Zimbabwe Trivia Quiz

Answer: African palm civet

There are two suborders of carnivores: Caniformia (dog-like) and Feliformia (cat-like). The African palm civet is part of the latter group, and are thought to be so genetically distinct from other civets that they have been placed into a family of their own, Nandiniidae.

They are also known as the two-spotted palm civet, and are found not only in Zimbabwe, but in various regions such as tropical rainforests throughout the African continent. They are solitary animals, but when food is abundant they often gather in groups to feed.

Their diet is omnivorous.

Answer: Nyanga National Park

Nyanga National Park is one of Zimbabwe's oldest national parks, and is situated in the Eastern Highlands, a mountain range that forms the border between Zimbabwe and neighboring country Mozambique. The land in the region is at an altitude of about 1800 to 2600 m (approx. 5600 to 8500 ft), with Mount Nyangani forming the highest point of the whole country at 2592 m (8504 ft). Three rivers begin in the mountain: the Kairezi, the Nyamuziwa, and the Pungwe rivers.

Mutarazi Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in the continent of Africa. Heights vary depending on the source, but some put it as high as 762 m (2500 ft), which would make it the second-highest in Africa, behind only Tugela Falls in South Africa, which comprises a series of five leaps totaling a height of 948 m (3110 ft). However, the World Wide Database estimates the height as only 479 m (1572 ft), which would make it third behind Tugela Falls and Jinbar Waterfall in Ethiopia, estimated at 500 m (1640 ft). Mutarazi Falls is located in the Honde Valley in the Eastern Highlands.

Answer: Southern Rhodesia

The name Rhodesia had been used for region of Zambia and Zimbabwe since 1895, named after Cecil Rhodes, a British colonialist who established the British South Africa Company (BSAC). The land below the Zambezi River was termed Southern Rhodesia in 1901, until 1953 when it was united with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The latter two became independent in 1964 as Zambia and Malawi respectively; the next year, Southern Rhodesia became independent using the name Rhodesia, as now Northern Rhodesia did not exist. It was formally recognized as the Republic of Zimbabwe by the United Kingdom in 1980.

(Basutoland was the name of Lesotho, and British Somaliland was the name of part of present-day Somalia, when both were British colonies.)

Answer: Porridge

Sadza can be made from white or yellow maize, as well as other grains, such as millet. It is always eaten with another dish, such as stew or soup, which can be meaty or vegetarian. Basically, the maize is mixed with water, slowly boiled and stirred until it forms a thick mixture resembling porridge or mashed potatoes. Sadza was made exclusively from millet before the maize crop was introduced to Zimbabwe around the start of the 20th century.

Answer: Stone sculpture

Perhaps surprisingly, stone sculpting is relatively new in Zimbabwe; the art of the Shona people in Zimbabwe was brought to the spotlight by English artist Frank McEwen, who helped found the National Gallery of Zimbabwe (then called the National Gallery of Rhodesia) in 1957. Local artists were encouraged to hone their skills in stone sculpting, and since then the art has become an internationally acclaimed part of Zimbabwe's culture.

Tapfuma Gutsa was born in 1956, and incorporates many other materials into his sculptures, including metal and wood. He was the first Zimbabwean to receive a British Council award, and this allowed him to study for his diploma in sculpting in London. His cousin Dominic Benhura (born 1968) began by polishing Tapfuma's sculptures, before learning the art himself.

Answer: Land reform

Catherine, or Cathy, Buckle and her husband bought a farm in the town of Marondera in 1990. Ten years later, they lost the land in the second period of Robert Mugabe's land reform; in 2000, a referendum was proposed that would have allowed the government to claim land without compensation. This was rejected, but a few days later, a group made up mainly of pro-Mugabe war veterans declared the "fast-track resettlement program", and marched on farmland owned by white farmers, including Catherine's farm.

The war veterans and the Buckles lived together on the land for seven months, during which Catherine says they and their workers were harassed and threatened. They eventually burned the farm down. In 2003, she published "Beyond Tears", in which she wrote about the continuing maltreatment of farm owners who had lost their land, and about how she returned to her old farm and found it had become a squatter camp.

Answer: Tuku

If you didn't know the answer, you may have noticed that "Tuku" is part of Oliver's surname, Mtukudzi. He incorporates myriad styles into his music, including Bantu languages such as Shona and Sindebele, and traditional instruments like the mbira, also called a thumb piano.

He is not explicitly outspoken against the Mugabe government; however, many people regard his song "Wasakara (You Are Getting Old)" as a request that Mugabe retire. A member of the Kore-Kore tribe, Oliver has achieved international success, and also starred in and produced soundtracks for movies such as "Jit" (1990).

Answer: Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai founded the Movement for Democratic Change in 1999, a party opposed to Robert Mugabe and his ruling party. He ran against Mugabe in the presidential elections of 2002 and 2008; in 2002, Mugabe received more votes, but many people think it was rigged, and that voters were threatened into voting for him. In 2008, Tsvangirai received more votes in the first round of the election, but withdrew before the second, arguing that it would not be a fair election due to violence and threats.

He and his wife Susan were involved in a car accident in 2009, in Tsvangirai's first month as Prime Minister. Although he received only cuts and bruises, Susan was killed. Although car crashes are a common occurrence in Zimbabwe, many thought that Mugabe was behind this, as many of his political rivals have been killed in car accidents. Tom McDonald, US ambassador to Zimbabwe from 1997 to 2001, is calling for an outside investigation of the crash, saying he is "skeptical about any motor vehicle accident in Zimbabwe involving an opposition figure". Tsvangirai himself has said it was a genuine accident.

Answer: Benjamin "Benjani" Mwaruwari

Benjani was born in 1978. In 1999, after playing in the friendly match between Zimbabwe and South Africa that commemorated South African President Thabo Mbeki's inauguration, he joined South African club Jomo Cosmos, and then played for various clubs in Europe including Switzerland's Grasshoppers Zürich (on loan) before signing with English club Portsmouth in 2006.

He was the third Zimbabwean to play in the Premier League, and retired from international football in 2010.

Answer: Shona

Although Swahili is the Bantu language with most speakers, most of them speak it as a second language. Shona, also known as chiShona, has an estimated eight million native speakers in Zimbabwe and its surrounding countries, such as Zambia and Mozambique. Like some other African languages, it is distinctive due to its whistling consonants, such as the "tsv" consonant at the beginning of the name of the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, or in the name of novelist and poet, Solomon Mutsvairo, who penned the first novel in Shona, "Feso" (1957), in the Zezuru dialect.