The liberation struggle is such an historic event in Zimbabwean history
to an extent that even today, constant reference is made to it in a bid to
remind and challenge the whole nation to safeguard its cause. Efforts have also
been made to enlighten the new generation on the rationale, experiences and
gains of this struggle, with intent to make them appreciate the sacrifices made
by the gallant fighters who made such possible. As such, many history books,
novels, poems and drama texts have been published, all conveying this
significant aspect in history. Although a lot of analyses have been devoted to
how Shona literature captures this significant event, focus has been on the
truthfulness of lack of it as conveyed through the experiences in the given
texts. Interestingly, Shona novelists, in this case Choto, have explored the
Shona tradition of capturing and conveying historical events through naming.
Shona people have, since time immemorial, used the technique of naming to
document and to remind society of significant events in the past. In Vavariro
(1990), Choto exploits this Shona tradition by giving his characters names that
illuminate the experiences, pain, joys and aspiration of the participants in
the second Chimurenga which ultimately brought independence to Zimbabwe. The
paper is therefore an examination of how successful the author uses the naming
technique in telling the Zimbabwean story during and after the war of liberation.
It uses the socio-historical approach as its theoretical grounding.