By Peter Kuthan / AZFA
As far as access to modern information and communication technology is concerned, the actual landscape of the Cyberworld is characterised by a huge digital divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots". This refers not only to the technological aspect of imbalanced information channels and infrastructure, but also to content development which reflects the hegemony of the main players in this field.
On the new world map of the worldwide web Africa in particular has become again (or still is) "the Dark Continent".
The Tonga don't represent the clearly defined site and untouched local cultural tradition which some Western ethnologists, visitors of an exhibition or tourists might be looking for. They have been made to feel the edge of advancing progress and modernisation some 45 years ago. Their cultural identity has had to cope with forced resettlement and the loss of their ancestral homeland. In a way, they have already experienced the kind of deterritorialisation significant for nowadays "glocal" (meaning local and global at the same time) or hybrid cultural conditions of globalisation, exclusion and migration.
The name of the Tonga people is synonymous to "the People of the Great River". It is derived from Mulonga, the traditional name for the Zambezi River along the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. For centuries, this fertile valley has been the spiritual centre and the focal point in the life of the Tonga.
When the huge Kariba Dam was built some 40 years ago, modern technology hit this remote area. Some 280 km of the valley were flooded and the Tonga were forcefully resettled on semi-arid land. What was supposed to symbolically unite the neighbouring countries of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, actually separated the Tonga from their next kin for generations. In order to industrialise the short-lived Rhodesian Federation and to satisfy growing demand in urban areas, more electricity was needed. Contrary to promises made, most of the remote villages of the Tonga, suffering from drought and aridity despite the huge masses of water stored in the lake, have never been connected to the grid.
The life and survival of the Tonga is characterised by their emphatic autonomy, their spirit of resistance and their unique cultural heritage. The art of their Ngoma Buntibe music, played on horns of antelopes and drums, creates sound patterns and spherical movements of dance fascinating in their own spiritual and mysterious way.
While participating in the Festival of Regions in the province of Upper Austria in 1997 under the theme "Kunst.Über.Leben", Simonga, a group from Siachilaba village crossed the mountain range "Totes Gebirge" (Dead Mountains). It was then when, in the echo of the remoteness of the mountains, "...the Karst finally sounded as it had always wished to = sound...." (Diary of Alfred Komarek, journalist).
Concentrating on the district of Binga in Zimbabwe, the project TONGA.ONLINE takes advantage of modern Internet technology to establish direct communication with and among the Tonga. By joining the global information and communication technology, the project is explicitly adressing the social, economic and political effects on local rearrangements, whereever the participants live (be it Siachilaba or Linz, Harare or Vienna).
This link is established via a mobile Internet-Centre based on a lorry -The Big Blue Van- and provided by the World Links for Development Programme WorLD. The WorLD programm´s intention is to reach out to remote areas in developing countries with a training programme sponsored by the World Bank. In the long run, the Tonga are expected to use the new technology independently and sustainably for their own purpose as a permanent tool used in and based on a network of schools.
Under the web address http://www.mulonga.net Mulonga will, from 25th March 2001 onwards, hopefully become a synonym for the constant flow of language and communication within the World Wide Web.
As part of the exhibition "Tracing the Rainbow - Life, Art and Culture in Southern Africa" (1st April to 4th November 2001) in the State Museum of Upper Austria, a project room has been installed where five computers will provide communication via the Internet.
Statement of Purpose
By Keith Goddard / Kunzwana Trust
On the Domainname MULONGA
By Dominic Muntanga