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Centuries-old Zimbabwe Bird completes homecoming
Zimbabwe celebrated the return of its last displaced Zimbabwe Bird sculpture this week, marking the end of a 137-year journey that began with colonial plunder. The soapstone carving, repatriated from South Africa, arrived in time for the country's independence anniversary on Saturday.
Colonial looting and a nation's lost heritage
The Zimbabwe Bird, a revered national symbol, was one of several ancient sculptures removed from the ruins of Great Zimbabwe-a medieval stone city that lends its name to the country. The site, built between the 11th and 15th centuries, once displayed eight of these striking carvings on its walls and monoliths.
European hunters and archaeologists began taking the birds in the late 19th century. German missionary Karl Axenfeld later sold a fragment of one sculpture's pedestal to Berlin's Ethnological Museum in 1907. The most prized specimen, however, was seized by hunter Willi Posselt in 1889 and sold to British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, who displayed it at his Cape Town estate.
Decades of restitution efforts
After Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, authorities launched campaigns to recover the missing birds. In 1981, South Africa's apartheid government returned four sculptures in exchange for a collection of 1,000 insect species from Zimbabwe's Natural History Museum. Germany repatriated a soapstone pedestal in 2003, but the final bird remained in South Africa due to legal restrictions.
A 1910 law, the Rhodes Will Act, barred the transfer of Rhodes' possessions, including the bird. South Africa circumvented this by agreeing to a two-year loan to Zimbabwe, though officials now pledge permanent repatriation. "The bird will never return to South Africa," said South African Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie at Tuesday's handover ceremony.
Human remains and cultural wounds
The repatriation also included eight sets of human remains, exhumed by colonial researchers and held in a South African museum. McKenzie condemned the removals as part of "a misguided colonial pseudoscience," noting the remains were treated as "data" rather than people.
"These are not abstractions, but people... removed from their graves, their communities, and their homeland."
Gayton McKenzie, South African Minister of Culture
Zimbabwe continues to seek the return of anti-colonial heroes' skulls, believed to be held in the UK.
Symbolism and spiritual significance
The Zimbabwe Bird, ranging from 25cm to 50cm in height, is believed to depict either the bateleur eagle (Shona: chapungu) or the African fish eagle (hungwe). Scholars debate its origins, though many link it to the Shona people, who comprise most of Zimbabwe's population today.
"The birds are the most significant archaeological treasures ever discovered in the country," said Plan Shenjere-Nyabezi, an archaeology professor at the University of Zimbabwe. Edward Matenga, a leading scholar on the sculptures, added that the bateleur eagle holds sacred status for the Shona and Venda peoples.
A nation reclaims its past
President Emmerson Mnangagwa hailed the bird's return as "the return of a national icon," urging citizens to visit Great Zimbabwe, where the sculpture will join its seven counterparts in an on-site museum. The site, a UNESCO World Heritage location, remains a potent symbol of Zimbabwean identity.
"Let the children of this great nation see with their own eyes the symbol of their identity."
Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe
For scholars like Shenjere-Nyabezi, the repatriation is a spiritual homecoming. "One should not have to travel to other countries to enjoy their own heritage," she said. Matenga framed the event as a "win-win," offering South Africa a chance to redress colonial wrongs.
