Tonga.
The Tonga of Zimbabwe live in isolation in a very inhospitable area along the shores of Lake Kariba in northwestern Zimbabwe. Casual contact with the outside world is limited because of the terrain. Three distinct zones are being occupied by the Tonga: the region along the lake shore and tributaries that feed into the lake, the region along the low lying hills and valleys further inland from the lake, and the region on the higher plateau above the escarpment and in some valleys over the mountains. Only the Tonga people seem to thrive on the heat in these valleys. Most of the people live in the mountain valleys.
Tonga Yesterday.
Before the construction of Lake Kariba in the late 1950's, the Tonga used to cross the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, cultivating fields on the opposite bank, collecting food where it was plentiful and visiting relatives. Intermarriage across the river groupings was a common sight. With the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in the 1960's in Zimbabwe, any further crossing of the lake was banned. Lake Kariba became the international boundary between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Tonga Today.
Because of their separation by the lake from the Zambian Tonga, the Zimbabwean Tonga is considered a separate people group. In comparison with their Zambian neighbors, the Tonga of Zimbabwe has suffered much in economic terms. Their language is also a bit different; however, it is mutually intelligible. Tonga men stopped knocking out their front teeth during the colonial period; however, this practice continued among the women. Very often other forms of ornamentation, such as pieces of bone through the nose, are worn by some of the elderly woman.
