Ephat Mujuru, Mbira Music Art and Performance — Beyond Cultural, Societal and Racial Boundaries

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive scholarly examination of the life, artistry, and legacy of Ephat Mujuru (1950-2001). He was a black Shona Zimbabwean; and seminal figure in the history of the mbira dzaVadzimu, framed within the dual processes of Mbira music development and internationalisation. It argues that Mujuru operated as a pivotal cultural interlocutor, whose music career trajectory encapsulated the tensions and synergies between localised musical practice, national cultural politics in post-colonial Zimbabwe and the global world music market. The analysis situates his work within the broader discourse of musical change, authenticity, transmission, commodification, and internationalisation. Drawing on a qualitative methodology rooted in historical ethnomusicology, the study synthesises existing scholarly literature, archival recordings, journalistic accounts, and recorded interviews to construct a detailed narrative of his influence. The article explores how Mujuru navigated and shaped the development of mbira music through pedagogical innovation, compositional synthesis, and performative adaptation, while simultaneously catalyzing its internationalisation through diaspora engagement, academic collaboration, and commercial recording. The article concludes that Mujuru's legacy represents a complex, agentive model for the sustainable globalisation of a deep-rooted musical tradition, challenging binary conceptions of the local and the global and offering a nuanced case study in the dynamics of cultural flow, resilience, and reinterpretation in the late twentieth century.