1. Stella Chiweshe was known internationally for her singing and playing of the mbira dzavadzimu, a traditional instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe.
13 Facts About Stella Chiweshe
1. 2.
Stella Chiweshe was one of few female players, and learned to play from 1966 to 1969, when other women did not.
3.
Stella Chiweshe learned to play the mbira from 1966 to 1969, at a time when there were social taboos against women playing the instrument, as well as colonial British prohibitions on cultural activities.
4.
Stella Chiweshe was taught by her great-uncle, after being refused by many teachers.
5.
In 1988 Stella Chiweshe recorded two black liberationist songs, 'Chimurenga' and 'NeHondo'.
6.
Stella Chiweshe performed numerous times in Germany and participated in the WOMAD festival.
7.
Stella Chiweshe was known for her spiritual presence on stage, and for often taking snuff while performing.
8.
Stella Chiweshe died of brain cancer on 20 January 2023, at the age of 76.
9.
Stella Chiweshe's daughter is the mbira player Virginia Mukwesha, whom Chiweshe trained from a young age.
10.
Stella Chiweshe is considered a ground-breaking Zimbabwean musician, not just for her skills, but for the path for women mbira-players that she forged.
11.
Stella Chiweshe was admired for the humanism in her music.
12.
Stella Chiweshe's work was sampled by many artists, including The New Vets, a Zimbabwean activist rap group, who campaigned for land reform using a track Chiweshe sang on.
13.
Stella Chiweshe featured in Panashe Chigumadzi's 2018 work These Bones Will Rise Again.