Zambezia (1983), XI (i).RE SEAR CH RE FOR TTRADITIONAL SYSTEMS OFSOIL CLASSIFICATION IN ZIMBABWESINCE INDEPENDENCE A large number of researchers have scrambled into thecommunal lands of Zimbabwe to investigate agricultural production inrelation to the physical environment as well as the socio-economic structuresof these tribal communities. Many of the researchers are social scientistswhose mode of investigation follows a Farm Systems Research approach. Mostof the workers, by reason of their training or background, or both, do not have aready key for translating vernacular expressions for environmental factors intotheir correct technical equivalents and yet the accuracy of such translations iscentral to the correct interpretation of the implications of such environmentalfactors to productivity. This report seeks to establish a key for use by scientistsworking in communal lands which accurately represents the technicalimplications of soil names.Contrary to common belief, the indigenous population of Zimbabwe had acomprehensive system of recognizing and describing soils and edaphologicalconditions in their environment. Phimister (1975, pp. 13-14) cites referenceson some of the surprisingly detailed geobotanical criteria used by the Shona forthe identification of mineral deposits well before the advent of the Europeans.Ellis (1950, p. 50) noted how, for sodic soils,it was a significant that the natives in that area had dug adrainage furrow down the slope, below the mopani, so that waterwashing off mopani soils should discharge into a vlei, and notwash on to their productive lands.These peasant farmers therefore recognized the salinity of mopane soils andidentified the soils in relation to vegetation.PRINCIPLES OF THE SYSTEMTraditional classifications are of two types. The first used specific names forspecific soil types, usually based on colour and texture. These are soundparameters, even in modem scientific terms, and are frequently used byscientists in field descriptions of soils when laboratory data are not available:thus we find in use such expressions as 'red clays', 'brown sandy loams', andothers. The second type is an ecological one which describes soils in terms oftheir edaphic environment, for example, 'vlei' soils, 'mopane' soils (after thetree; Shona mupani), and so on. This ecological approach also is sound and isborne out in the writings of scientists, such as Weaver and Clements (1938, p.456), who observed that 'The most reliable indicators of the agriculturalpossibilities of a region are found in the native vegetation'; in the same vein,Vincent and Thomas (1961) did an agro-ecological zonation of Zimbabwe inwhich soil vegetation associations were widely used as indicators of theagricultural potential of soils.Of the chemical characteristics, only two were widely used, namelysalinity, and organic matter content. These were, of course, not expressedquantitatively but qualitatively on the basis of the taste, smell and appearanceof the soil. Examples of these classifications are shown in the Table.55TableCORRELATION OF TRADITIONAL TERMS AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE1NantesShona Ndebeleshapa/sapabungurerusekenyaihlabathiDescription and RemarksLight sand\ soil. Associated \egetation: m/hanje (Uapaca kirkiana), mutsatsati (Fauneaspp.). mutunguru rnunhunguru fFIarourtui indie a).unknovn Extremely sandy, usuall} very deep, infertile soil.ndomnvu unknownt>aogaraf)"*e unknownrukangarahwejhishavampunzorondochiombwebukutujihogo\a?chivavaneunknownibambaisiboravuisidhakaisikwakagokoro isimunyuDescriptive of its rheological properties; no strength, and will fail under minimal stress. Lighttextured, gleyed, hydromorphic soil. Associated vegetation: shrub mukute (Syzygium huillenseI Hiern F White]*).Shallo*. g.-ivclly *cll drained soils which most respondents described as good for rapoko(finger millet). Flic piefcrcnce of this, soil for rapoko is related mainly to the drainage and possiblyis also because there is less competition fn*ni' eedv on these stony soil , making them ideal forbroadcasting rapoko and practising mininm" tillige.Gravelly red soil, iion-aiabK good hir bunding on.Clays that are infertile* but good foi ceramics. Light gje\ in colour. Considered to be goodindicators of sites suitable for location of wells. Associated vegetation, mukute (Syzx^ium spp.),muroro (Annona stenophylla [Eng and Diels|), mtsamvinnga (Ficus im*ens).Red clays, usually very fertile, very slippery when wet Associated vegetation: musasa(Brachyste%ia spitiformis), mutukutu (Pliostigma thnnningii).Vertisol (black cracking clay). Associated vegetation, rnuunga (Acacia nilotica), mubayamiiondoro (Acacia polyacanthaj. kananga (Acacia nigrescens).Very hard sodic to saline soils, usually a medium grey colour Poor permeability, as indicated bystanding water in the rainy season.Much paler in colour and more saline than chivavane/isikakwa1 NamiMil soil n pe\ inihc Table M>: ^ Ł ,ai u 4 mclurii Sho.n a and Ndcbtlc and m a |or dialects but fiirtht »;«kcot btcv it;, tht n.nticsot tncsare given in Shun a <>nl\. folkn^ed b\ the bot.inu ' p imt Ndt-bele and wmm'in tnuiish nanu-s m,i\ hf ->bt lined b-. it ft-nine to tht dictionar- b\Wild (I912f.Vb own in both S^n.i f.f<J Nil' bel^ slaf Ł, term 'dh,i'-,iijniu> un^DISCUSSIONSome of the comments reported in the "remarks' column of the Table show agreat deal of knowledge about the non-agricultural uses of the soils and theirbehaviour in those circumstances. The choice of clay for ceramics, forexample, coincides precisely with the mineralogical properties of those clays:nearly one hundred per cent kaolin, which the modem ceramics industryprefers for its strength and guarantee against cracking. The selection of well-sites in relation to the occurrence of certain hydromorphic soils is afundamental principle of hydrogeology since the soil properties suggest a veryhigh water-table in a zone of good recharge.Very often, where a soil is not good for normal arable agriculture, thepeasant farmer can suggest alternative uses or benefits. For example, whilerespondents generally felt that sodic soils were useless for cropping, they arevery good licks for li¥estock. Similarly, it was suggested that sodic soils cansometimes be improved or even reclaimed by the addition of anthill soil. Anthillsoils often, but not always, have a substantial amount of calcium carbonatewhich is ideal for flushing out the sodium of the more inimical sodic soils.On the whole, there were fewer Ndebele names for soils of wetenvironments than was the case for Shona names. This should not in any waysuggest that the one language has an inherently richer vocabulary than theother but is merely a reflection of the differences in environmental conditionsas well, possibly, as differences in type of agricultural acitivty. Much of thearea in which Ndebele is spoken is arid. In addition, the Ndebele havehistorically been engaged in livestock activity rather than in arable farming.AcknowledgementsMy thanks are due to Messrs A. C. Hodza and S. J. Mhlabi of the Departmentof African Languages and Literature of the University of Zimbabwe, forassistance in collating information on Shona and Ndebele names respectively,and to Professor G. Kahari of the same Department for correcting theorthography,ReferencesELLIS, B.S. 1950 4A guide to some Rhodesian soils, II: A note on Mop an e soils',Rhodesian Agricultural Journal, XLXII, 49-61.PHIMISTER. I.R. 1975 'The History of Mining in Southern Rhodesia to 1953'(Salisbury, Univ. of Rhodesia, unpubl. D. Phil, thesis).VINCENT, V. and THOMAS, R.G. 1961 An Agricultural Survey of Southern Rhodesia:Part I, Agro-Ecological Survey (Salisbury, Federation of Rhodesia and Ny asalandGovernment Printer).WEAVER, J.E. and CLEMENTS, F.E. 1938 Plant Ecology (New York, McGraw Hill. 2ndedn).WILD. H. 1972 A Rhodesian Botanical Dictionary of African and English PlantNames (Salisbury, Government Printer, 2nd edn revised by H.M. Biegel and S.Mavi).University of ZimbabweK. W, NYAMAPFENE57