THE HISTORY OF GREAT ZIMBABWE NATIONAL MONUMENT

"Great Zimbabwe or stone buildings" is the name given to stone ruins spread out over 9 722 hectares within the morden day city of Masvingo.
The word "Great" distiquishes the site from hundred small ruins around Zimbabwe.The majority of people were speakers of a language known as " CHIVANHU" or "CHISHONA"which consists of many dialects the major ones being CHIZEZURU,CHIKARANGA,CHIMANYIKA AND CHINDAU.
The shona called themselves vanhu who speak a language chivanhu .The popular name shona is a ndebele word derived from "ensthonalanga "which means people of the west named by Mzilikazi.
The history behind the name "ZIMBABWE", has not been established. The word Zimbabwe is clearly from the chikaranga dialect of chivanhu or chishona.The name is a short for for "ZIMBA REMABWE" a shona dialect Chikaranga the term which means the great or big house built of a stone boulder.
A linguistic analysis of the name Zimbabwe clearly indicates that the origin of the name refers to the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe whose huge building were built of stone boulders.
The Chikaranga -speaking shona people are found around Great Zimbabwe in the current province of Masvingo and have been known to have inhabited the area since the great building's inception.
The other argument is that Zimbabwe is contracted form of "dzimba woye" which simply means houses in Zezuru another shona dialect.This term specifically reserved for chiefs ' houses or graves.
It should also be noted that the Chizezuru speaking people are found to the North-east of Great Zimbabwe ,about 500 kilometres away.
The first theory could be said to have the advantage of a linguistic analysis that produced the outcome that it ties in the physical nature of the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe and that is based on language in use today among the people who are found in the surrounding area today.
The second thought of the name Zimbabwe brings in the concept of veneration of the ancient city which is known to be associated with Great Zimbabwe as national monument.However , a linguistic analysis would seem not to as sound as that of the first thought. For example "dzimba woye" in both Chikaranga and Chizezuru ,be sensibly contradicted to become Zimbabwe.
Dzimba literally means "houses" and "woye" is merely a sound used in respectful solicitation .Thus the two words can't lead to the name Zimbabwe.
Moreover the Chikaranga word "bwe" doesn'exist in Chizezuru the word is "dombo". It should be noted that Chizezuru and Chikaranga are merely dialects of one language called Chivanhu or Chishona only a few words lie outside their intersection for example "bwe" and "dombo".The lack of proximity of the Zezurus to the Great Zimbabwe seems to dimiss the second theory as baseless.
The veneration of Great Zimbabwe as a shrine or religious centre started sometime after its inhabitants deserted the palace.The various historians cited the reasons such as overpopulation dwindle of resouces such as fire wood or out break of diseases,due to persistent droughts,forced inhabitants to look for greener pastures for their cattle which was their staple food.The decline in gold trade led people to seek other avenues for trade.Conservation was no longer practiced and some people left the area because they want to form their state ,for example Nyatsimba Mutota.
Great Zimbabwe was associated with the chiefs courts,veneration and religious shrines,for instance there is a venerated stone boulder "dombo ramwari" (stone of God) as noted above dombo is the Chizezuru word for bwe in Chikaranga..
There is also a place known as chibwedziva in nearby CHIREDZI which also indicates a culture of veneration stone structure as well as water in natural dams and lakes.