Music
Landmark
Stella Chiweshe
1946 – 2023
The mbira queen, who learned an instrument women were not permitted to play
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Zimbabwe Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
She learned the mbira dzavadzimu between 1966 and 1969, when women simply did not play it, and became the instrument's best-known exponent anywhere.
Stella Chiweshe was a Zimbabwean musician known internationally for singing and for playing the mbira dzavadzimu, the traditional instrument of the Shona.
She was one of very few women to play it, learning between 1966 and 1969 at a time when other women did not.
She was one of very few women to play it, learning between 1966 and 1969 at a time when other women did not.
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