Mabvuku

The origins of the name “Mabvuku” are not very certain. Possibly from the Shona “bvuku”, ideophone for “emerging”, to denote the water sprouting out of the numerous swamps in the area. Ma (“place of”) + bvuku (“emerging waters”) is a plausible etymology. Mabvuku was the home of the VaShawasha people before colonization. The Shawasha people of the Soko Mbire clan settled in this area about 300 years ago. Mabvuku, as opposed to the present day site of Chishawasha, is the native home of these people. The present site of Chishawasha village became prominent with the establishment of the oldest Catholic Mission Church there. The ancestors of the Shawasha people are commemorated in the street and road names of Old Mabvuku, namely, Tingini, Godzonga, Marembo, Chauruka, Nyamare, Nyahuni, Chatezwi, Nzvere and Shambare.

Mabvuku, Harare, Harare Province, Zimbabwe