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ZIPRA weasel (Maystelid Day 17: African striped weasel)
by Nakamudra
Ferret from an Island
Posted 23 hours ago
My submission for Day 17 of Maystelid 2026: African striped weasel.
I wasn't planning to make a Maystelid piece this early. Realizing that the 17th day involves this specific species, I just went ahead and made full use of my Ascension weekend for this one.
Anyways, for context: the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was one of the main combatants within the Rhodesian Bush War of 1964/1965—1979. ZIPRA was the armed wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo. Together with Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and its armed wing Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), ZIPRA fought the minoritarian regime of Ian Smith.
As with most African organization at the time, ethnicity and tribal politics often overshadow concrete ideology. ZANLA & ZIPRA were no exceptions; ZANLA was made up by the overwhelmingly large Shona population, whereas ZIPRA took in a lot of non-Shona people, but especially Ndebele people. Still, there were significant differences in their ideology. ZIPRA-ZAPU leaned towards Soviet socialism whereas ZANLA-ZANU had a strong Maoist tendency, especially in their protracted war doctrine. Hence, ZIPRA was ed by the USSR whereas ZANLA was propped by China.
After the Lancaster House Agreement, which brought an end to the war, ZIPRA was dissolved as ZAPU (and ZANU) ran for elections. However, in the subsequent years, ZAPU was politically crushed by the ZANU. The sidelining went physical and violent, culminating in the Gukurahundi massacres, which targeted the largely ZAPU-aligned Ndebele population.
I wasn't planning to make a Maystelid piece this early. Realizing that the 17th day involves this specific species, I just went ahead and made full use of my Ascension weekend for this one.
Anyways, for context: the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was one of the main combatants within the Rhodesian Bush War of 1964/1965—1979. ZIPRA was the armed wing of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), led by Joshua Nkomo. Together with Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and its armed wing Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), ZIPRA fought the minoritarian regime of Ian Smith.
As with most African organization at the time, ethnicity and tribal politics often overshadow concrete ideology. ZANLA & ZIPRA were no exceptions; ZANLA was made up by the overwhelmingly large Shona population, whereas ZIPRA took in a lot of non-Shona people, but especially Ndebele people. Still, there were significant differences in their ideology. ZIPRA-ZAPU leaned towards Soviet socialism whereas ZANLA-ZANU had a strong Maoist tendency, especially in their protracted war doctrine. Hence, ZIPRA was ed by the USSR whereas ZANLA was propped by China.
After the Lancaster House Agreement, which brought an end to the war, ZIPRA was dissolved as ZAPU (and ZANU) ran for elections. However, in the subsequent years, ZAPU was politically crushed by the ZANU. The sidelining went physical and violent, culminating in the Gukurahundi massacres, which targeted the largely ZAPU-aligned Ndebele population.
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tMcsausage
~tmcsausage
Great art, interesting subject - really need to brush up on the various militias and paramilitaries of the Bush Wars outside of basic, ittedly Rhodesian-focused sources like Osprey Publishing.
