George Orwell's satirical novel has such resonance it has been translated into the local Shona language.
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" - this famous quote from George Orwell's satirical novel has found such resonance in Zimbabwe that author Petina Gappah has translated Animal Farm into the local Shona language.
The word chimurenga is a reference to the liberation war fought during white-minority rule that led to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, bringing to power Robert Mugabe, who went on to lead the country for 37 years until he was overthrown in a coup.Petina Gappah says the Shona translation's use of different dialects adds layers and humour to the story for Zimbabweans
The story is about farm animals rising up against their human owner to create a new and equal society, said to be an allegory of what happened under Communism in the Soviet Union. "The youth brigade… are removed from their families and put through courses of political indoctrination in some camps far out in the rural areas and then they are unleashed on an unsuspecting innocent public and they have caused much damage."
"Orwell was able to look into the future, as it were, and was able to forecast the future of our independent nations. Orwell's future is the present that I now graphically seek to capture in The Honourable Minister,"But for Gappah, the Shona translation is less about political comment or resistance and more about making mischief and her love of languages.
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