CHAWOMERA AND NYANGWE FORTS

Among the many ruins that have been discovered in Nyanga Park and its surroundings are the remains, a few low stone walls of varying heights, of hilltop constructions. Their function has not been defined with certainty and arouses the curiosity of researchers. If the culminating situation of these buildings seems to indicate that they would have been used as structures of defense, many are the indices which prove the opposite. The small square holes, pierced here and there in the walls and reminiscent of our traditional loopholes, prove to be too narrow to allow arrows to be fired correctly. The large openings in the walls are far too numerous. Moreover, the position of these vestiges, far from any water reserve, rules out any possibility of sustaining a lasting siege, which, for a building intended for defense, is quite a feat! The most commonly accepted theory is that these forts served as observation posts or strategic points from which messages were sent: as megaphones, the men of the time used kudu horns, the sounds of which were echoed in the valleys below. The Nyangwe fort is the largest and best preserved. It is located just over 1 km from the Mare Dam road. Chawomera is a little less well preserved, but its isolated location makes it a very peaceful place.