Voices from the Rocks: Nature, Culture, and History in the Matopos Hills of Zimbabwe [Paperback]

Terence O. Ranger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1999

"Terence Ranger's Revolt in Southern Rhodesia 1896-97 opened out decades of important debate about religion and violence in the early colonial encounter. This book is its challenging, much awaited sequel at the very cutting edge of postcolonial studies." —Richard Werbner, Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Manchester

Occupied by humanity for some 40,000 years, the Matopos Hills in Zimbabwe have become the scene of symbolic, ideological, and armed conflict over the last hundred years. Voices from the Rocks is about landscape, religion, conservation, political symbolism, and war in the Matopos Hills—not simply the geography of the National Park there, which is seen by most visitors as a "wild place." Terence Ranger reinstates culture and history into nature.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Terence Ranger is Emeritus Rhodes Professor of Race Relations, Oxford University

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (April 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 025321288X
• ISBN-13: 978-0253212887
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,889,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A walk through a compelling landscape, March 30, 2000

By 

David Stearns (Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices from the Rocks: Nature, Culture, and History in the Matopos Hills of Zimbabwe (Paperback)

Professor Ranger's latest work was one I could not put down. He tells a story which binds you to the place and the people who live there. The individuals and peoples -- of several tribes, African and European -- which populate his book have a vital attachment to their granite hills, and it's fascinating to see that attachment bring them together and divide them. Ranger shows us how complex the reality of inter-ethnic relations are; we see different attitudes toward nature and history be shared or not shared across ethnic and racial boundaries. Cecil Rhodes lives on through this book, and surprisingly, as much more complex than simply a greedy imperialist; after reading this book I can understand better why there's a huge Zimbabwean defense of keeping his body at World's End in the Matopos. This book is a detailed living escape from political history and a thought-provoking study of history and philosophy of nature.