The Shona are a people whose ancestors built great stone cities in southern Africa over a thousand years ago. Today, more than 10 million Shona people live around the world. The vast majority live in Zimbabwe, and sizeable Shona populations are also located in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique.
The Shona have their own language, which the Penn Language Center estimates is spoken by about 75 percent of the population of Zimbabwe. The center notes that the language has multiple dialects and sub-dialects. The Shona work in a variety of occupations, and their artists are well known for their finely carved wooden headrests and stone sculptures.
Traditional Shona religion recognizes the god Mwari "as the creator and sustainer of the universe," wrote Takawira Kazembe, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, in two ethnographic studies published in 2009 and 2010 in the Rose+Croix journal. In the two studies, Kazembe conducted interviews with those who practice traditional Shona religion in Zimbabwe and also witnessed a number of traditional ceremonies and practices.