Zezuru

The Zezuru are a major sub-ethnic group of the Shona people in Zimbabwe. They form the largest subgroup of the Shona, and their dialect, also called Zezuru, is the basis for much of the standard Shona language used in education and media. The Zezuru people live primarily in Mashonaland Central, with communities in Mashonaland East and parts of Mashonaland West, and they are also found in the Harare metropolitan area due to urban migration.

The Zezuru language is a dialect of Shona, part of the Bantu language family. It shares core Shona grammar and vocabulary with other dialects, but has distinct phonological and lexical features. Because Zezuru is widely used in schools and media, it has strongly influenced the modern, standard form of written Shona.

In social structure, Zezuru communities traditionally organize around chiefs and headmen within extended families and clans. Agriculture remains central to rural life, with maize, sorghum, millet, and groundnuts commonly cultivated. Cultural expression includes music and dance, notably mbira performances, and customary practices linked to rites of passage, ancestry, and farming calendars. The Zezuru share many cultural traits with neighboring Shona groups, including religious syncretism blending Christian influences with traditional beliefs.

Historically, Zezuru-speaking communities were part of the wider Shona polities that shaped precolonial Zimbabwe, including the Great Zimbabwe state and later central Zimbabwe histories under the Rozvi and other chiefdoms. In contemporary Zimbabwe, the Zezuru people are a major component of the national population and contribute to linguistic and cultural life across urban and rural settings.