Liberation War Veterans’ Masculinity and African Traditional Religion in Zimbabwe: Insights into Holistic Health and Well-being

This chapter explores Zimbabwe guerrilla veterans’ acts of violence and bravado. We examine the veterans’ attitude to warfare and argue that they were fired up not only by more than just political ideologies, but also by a religious force. We contend that while the guerrilla veterans’ battlefield successes were those of an army which comprised patriots, who fought for a cause, they were most importantly animated by a religious sentiment coupled with a nationalistic religious fervour that drew African Traditional Religious Repertoire as a source of inspiration. This chapter is thus an analysis of religion-based masculine domination. The liberation war’s ideological structure links power, gender, and religion. We argue that the reintegration of the war veterans for holistic health and well-being in contemporary society requires an investment into appreciating the role of indigenous spirituality in shaping the masculinity of war veterans.