One of the many important contributions that Elizabeth F. Colson made to the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute (in Zambia) and to African Anthropology is her study of the social consequences of the forced relocation of the Gwembe Tonga.

This study was undertaken after the government decided to build a dam across the Zambezi River at Kariba Gorge. But before the dam could be built, the Gwembe Tonga who lived in the area had to be re-settled somewhere. The Rhodes-Livingstone Institute decided to study the Gwembe Tonga unique way of life before the relocation as well as study them again five years after the resettlement. Elizabeth and Thayer Scudder conducted both the pre-location study in 1956-57 and post resettlement study in 1962-63.

In 1971 Elizabeth published her restudy, The Social Consequences of Resettlement. In the book she describes several unanticipated national and international events that had affected the adjustment and adaptation of the Gwembe in their relocation. Furthermore, the study provided a clear confirmation of what she called "an old anthropological message", namely, "that it is folly to allow technology to determine policy."

The Gwembe Tonga study has had an enormous impact on scholars and policy-makers in the fields of development, forced migration, refugees and other displaced populations.

It is not surprising that Elizabeth was later invited to Oxford University where she spent the entire year of 1988-89 as a volunteer at the Refugee Studies Program. Elizabeth now serves on the editorial board of the program. The Program has honored Elizabeth in two ways in recognition of her contributions: first, it sponsors an annual Colson lecture on forced migration; and it has established Elizabeth Colson Lectureship in Forced Migration.

quote from: Antropology Emeritus Lecture Series at University of California / Introductory Remarks by John Ogbu
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Anthro/colson/lecture/intro.html

Dear Peter Kuthan,

I am glad to hear about what you are doing in working with the Gwembe
Tonga in Zimbabwe. I hope there will be a chance to see you. I will be in Zambia, arriving on the
31st of August.

I do not know what is on line of my publications dealing with the Tonga.
Some years ago I had all articles dealing with the Gwembe area, up to
2000, photocopied and bound together and sent a copy to the Choma
Museum. Since then I think I have published about 5 articles, one
in AFRICA; one that was translated into German and published in
PERIPHERIE, 2004; one that has just appeared in a volume edited by
Brendan Carmody, RELIGION AND EDUCATION IN ZAMBIA, which also
reprints two earlier articles; and two others.
If you can link on to the website of the George and Mary Foster Anthropology
Library, University of California, Berkeley, you will probably find a
listing of my publications and an indication of which ones are available on
line. Frankly, I have never bothered to look at it.

I look forward to seeing you.
With best wishes,
Elizabeth Colson

Dear Elizabeth Colson,

I am glad that we have made contact and that there is a chance to meet you soon
in September for some more extensive conversation.
In fact it would be great if you could make it to attend our Mulonga.Net
Festival on 4th/5th September in Siachilaba, a village which is close to
Mlibizi Resort on the Zimbabwean side of The River. The focus of the
festival is on Ngoma Buntibe music "Across the Waters" and we expect Chief
Sinazongwe from the Zambian side with a group of 80 to attend! This will be
the first Ngoma Buntibe festival in the area since many years.
The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the opening of two more computer centres at Siansundu and
Siachilaba Schools and the achievements of the outreach programme so far. We
are emphasising that the modern means of communication are just tools which
should not sideline the traditional way to communicate (see also our "music
and computer" workshop we held last year).
We expect also some musicians from Beira and from Austria who are fond of
Tonga music.
We are planning to visit Choma and Chief Sianzongwe' s area during
the following week which should provide us also the opportunity to meet you
in the Monze area.
I haven' t had the opportunity to meet JoAnn McGregor yet. I just found her recent book on the website:
J. McGregor (2003) 'Living with the River: Landscape and Memory in Northwest
Zimbabwe' in W. Beinart and J. McGregor (eds) Social History and African
Environments (James Currey and Heinemann).

Looking forward to seeing you in early September on either side of The River
Mulonga!
best wishes
Peter Kuthan

My apologies for not responding immediately to your e-mail as soon as I
returned home and had easy access to e-mail. Only now have I cleared
things away and been able to answer.
I read your literature and listened to the
CD and am very impressed with what you are doing to work with the Gwembe
people in Zimbabwe. Your interest and the work with fellow musicians must
give them confidence and pride. They have plenty of talent as you point out.
I confess that budima music has become so good to my ear that through the
record I tended to concentrate on Gwembe playing rather than the way
other musicians were commenting on their themes and weaving in their own
responses to the music. When I go back I hope to gather a few Tonga-speakers
to listen to it with me and hear their response. Of course many on the Plateau
are not familiar with the budima of Gwembe unless they have heard the teams
brought up from the Valley to perform at political rallies. Unfortunately
I wasn't able to watch the DVD -- did not have a player. I left it at the house and hope to be
able to find a VD player when I go back in May.
Many thanks for giving the CD and all to me. I think I mentioned a CD I had
which sounded reminiscent of the nyele of Gwembe. This is: Centrafrique,
RFituels Gbanzili et Mbugu de L'oubangue. It is from the Collection du
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et du Musee de L'Homme,
recordings: Vincent Dehoux. The section that has the note note effect of nyele
comes about 10 minutes from the beginning of play.
It was a pleasure meeting all of you.
Thanks again,
Elizabeth Colson

Many thanks for sending me the newsletter # 42. Very useful indeed. You
are doing a real service to the BaTonga.
Elizabeth Colson