Chimoio

Chimoio ʃĩˈmoju is the capital of Manica Province in Mozambique. It is the fifth-largest city in Mozambique. Chimoio's name under Portuguese administration was Vila Pery. Vila Pery developed under Portuguese rule as an important agricultural and textiles centre. The town lies on the railway line from Beira to Bulawayo, near the Cabeça do Velho rock. Located about 95 km from the Zimbabwean border, it has been a major destination for Zimbabwean immigrants looking for employment in Mozambique. The city of Chimoio, capital of Manica Province, lies on the Beira Corridor at an altitude of 750 metres, linking the coast and the interior of the continent. The name Chimoio comes from one of the sons of Ganda, paramount chief of the totemic Moyo clan, who came from M ́bire and settled in those lands. Oral history says Chimoio, who was a great hunter, once killed an elephant in the lands of another clan. Chaurumba, their chief, judged Chimoio's behaviour to be a crime and ordered his immediate execution. Paramount Chief Ganda then requested permission for his son to be buried in Chaurumba's land and for one of his relatives to settle close to the grave in order to tend and watch over it. From then on, all descendants of the guardians of Chimoio's tomb, together with the site of the tomb, came to be called Chimoio (which in the local dialect, Citewe, means “Great heart”). The strategic position of that region made it a privileged centre through which products passed from the hinterland to the coast. The Arabs came up the Búzi and Revué rivers heading towards the lands of the Mwenemutapa Empire, in search of gold and other merchandise. To mark their routes, the traders planted Borassus palms, each within sight of the next. In some places, these ancient palm trees can still be spotted. One of the oldest fortresses along this route is believed to be that found on top of the Zembe Mountains, to the south-east of the current city of Chimoio.