01/01/2026
EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON 'S GREGORIAN NEW YEAR STATEMENT
As the world bids farewell to 2025 and welcomes the dawn of 2026, we find ourselves perpetuating a tradition rooted in a foreign heritage. The Gregorian calendar, born from ancient Roman traditions, has become an integral part of our lives, shaping our weeks, months, and years.
As Zimbabweans, we must acknowledge the profound influence of Eurocentric culture on our modern lives, even as we celebrate the arrival of a new year. May this moment serve as a poignant reminder of our complex cultural identity and inspire us to reflect on the intersections of tradition, heritage, and modernity.
Our festivals, once a celebration of our own ancestral traditions, now echo with the names of foreign deities who are not our own and even totally unknown to us.
We have inherited a philosophy that is not born out of our own soil, but rather one imposed upon us by the whims of colonialism. Our understanding of the world is filtered through the lens of the oppressors' perspective, our own indigenous knowledge systems relegated to the shadows.
Our languages, once the vibrant tapestry of our cultures, now struggle to be heard above the din of foreign tongues. Our ancient education systems was designed to positively uplift and empower, instead prioritize the learning of another's alphabet and another's thoughts. Aboveall, the current eduado system is explicitly designed, for us to tow foreign strategies, standards and lifestyles which aren't in close intricacy, reciprocation and tranquility with our inner-selves.
Our dear followers, let us not be fooled. We are not merely the recipients of a benevolent cultural exchange. No, we are the inheritors of a legacy of colonialism, one that seeks to erase our very identity.
As Dare Renyika/Idale Lelizwe we say to you, we are not lost. We are not without hope. For we possess within us the spark of our ancestors, the wisdom of our indigenous knowledge systems, and the resilience of our cultures.
Let us reclaim our heritage, fellow Zimbabweans . Let us revitalize our languages, our traditions, and our knowledge systems. Let us redefine our existence on our own terms, rather than those imposed upon us by the forces of colonialism.
We are Africans, and our philosophy is one of Ubuntu – of interconnectedness, of community, and of the inherent value of every human life. Let us draw upon this rich philosophical cm spiritual heritage, to forge a new path. The only one that honors our ancestors and illuminates our future.
As the great African philosopher, Anton Wilhelm Amo, once said, *"The African is not a mere recipient of European culture, but rather a co-creator of human culture."* Let us embody this spirit of co-creation, my friends, and disruptively forge a brighter future for ourselves and for the generations to come.
Let us revisit and celebrate our Traditional calendar which begins with the beginning of the first season of Summer (Pfumvudza).
_We are already in the third _moon/month_ of _the_ ancient new year._
NB: GADZIKWA CHIWANZA III BORN MARSHAL GADZIKWA GUMERA IS THE FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSON OF DARE RENYIKA O/A ZIMBABWE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE.
