The Muaredzi community is situated on the north and south sides of the Muaredzi River where it joins the Urema River, downstream of Lake Urema (Fig. A1.1). Maunza, the nearest town, is approximately 35 km to the northeast and Chitengo, the GNP headquarters, is about the same distance to the west. There is no regular transport from Muaredzi to Maunza and, other than the occasional visit by national parks staff, very few vehicles come to the village.
The village area, comprising all households and fields, is relatively compact, being contained within an area of about 2 km2. Although we do not have a full count of people living in Muaredzi, 40 households were identified in November 2001. These were split roughly equally north and south of the Muaredzi River. The community falls under the jurisdiction of two different Regulos. Regulo Nguinha controls the area to the north of the Muaredzi River and Regulo Nhantaze controls the area to the south. Within Muaredzi, there were four Fumos1.
Residents are forbidden by park regulations to venture to the west of the Urema River. The village area does not appear to have any clear boundaries to the east, south or north.
In addition to the road to Muanza, there are two other tracks leading away from Muaredzi. One leads north for some 18 km along the edge of the Urema flood plain to Goinha (also known as Muanza Baixo). The other is a path that runs for some 5 km to the south of the village, to a crossing point on the Urema River known as Jangada. Across the river, this connects to the road to GNP headquarters at Chitengo. Before the civil war, there was a pontoon here (hence the name Jangada), but now the only means of crossing is by a dugout canoe.
The vegetation of the Lake Urema flood plain area is dominated by open grasslands. Tinley (1977) classified these into short, medium, and tall flood plain grasslands. The short grasslands comprise communities dominated by Sporobolus spp. (particularly S. Kentrophyllus and S. Ioclados) on saline soils, and others dominated by the Cynodon dactylon and Digitaria swazilandensis lawns. The latter form the bulk of the flood plains on the south and northwest sides of Lake Urema. The medium grassland largely comprises two communities, one dominated by Setaria eylesii and the other by Echinachloa stagina. The tall grasslands are characterized by a Vetiveria nigritana community, which grows to 225 cm in height. These different grassland communities occur as a mosaic that grades into the savanna areas above the flood plain. Historically, there would have been a large biomass and diversity of herbivores associated with these grasslands but, during and after the war of independence, these populations were decimated. Only small populations of mostly smaller herbivores, such as impala, now occur in the Muaredzi area. There are, however, infrequent visits to the area by hippopotami and elephants. Tinley also noted an aquatic community based on seasonally flooded pans in the flood plain.
Tinley identified six savanna woodland types growing on the rift valley floor:
Tinley also identified four thicket types and two forest types from the valley floor area. All thicket types (riverine, alluvial fan, tree-base, and termitaria thickets) appear to occur in the Muaredzi area, but the forest types appear to be absent.
As it is situated within the national park, the village is exposed to wildlife. Elephant move within the village area and surrounds and clearly do cause some destruction to crops. A number of smaller animals are also commonly seen close to the village, including nyala, impala, bushbuck, oribi, warthog, and wild pig. Lake Urema is reported to harbor a healthy population of crocodiles, and hippos are also present.
The Nhanchururu site is situated astride the western boundary of GNP, some 15 km southeast of Gorongosa Mountain, and some 25 km northeast of Villa Gorongosa (Fig. A1.2). It is part of the Barue Plateau, the altitude of which varies between about 200 and 340 m above sea level. The terrain is deeply dissected, with rivers draining south to the Mucodza River and north or northeast to the Vunduzi River. The community lies on the upper portion of the rift escarpment, on the watershed between the Mucodza and Vunduzi Rivers.
The vegetation of the Nhanchururu area is largely miombo savanna woodland, but with some evergreen thickets on the deeper sands of the interfluve crests. The dominant woodland species are Brachystegia boehmii, B. spiciformis, Erythrophloeum africanum, Julbernardia globiflora, and Pterocarpus angolensis. There are some narrow patches of thick riverine forest along the Vunduzi and Mucodza Rivers but these are very limited in extent.
Sketch maps drawn by community members provided more specific background data for Nhanchururu. The village area is roughly rectangular in shape, about 10 km south to north and 8 km east to west. Nhanchururu is bounded to the east by the national park, to the west by Nhangeia village, to the south by Nhanthemba village, and to the north by Safumira village. The boundaries with adjacent villages appear to be reasonably clear. These comprise the Mucodza River to the south, the Vunduzi River to the north, and a minor drainage called the Rio Nhachituzui to the west.
To the east, the boundary between the village and the park is less clear. The community members were adamant that the entire village was outside of the park, and that the park started immediately to the east of the village, with the boundary being marked by a line of low hills and the small Rio Nhachiru. However, at the approach to the village along the main access road from the west, shortly after entering the village area, there is an official sign stating that one is now entering Gorongosa National Park. According to this, the bulk of the village falls within the national park. Regardless of this situation, the community members seemed to feel much more secure than the Muaredzi residents, and there was never any suggestion of fears that the park may in future attempt to move them.
In terms of roads and major paths, the main access road follows the watershed between the Vunduzi and Mucodza Rivers, bisecting the village into southern and northern portions. It leads through the village to the Rangers' post, and then continues east into the park (and in former times apparently all the way through to Chitengo). There were no other significant tracks to the east. To the south, there are two routes that cross the Mucodza River, both of which are located towards the western end of the village. One of these is a shortcut to Villa Gorongosa, if traveling by foot or bicycle. As far as vehicles are concerned, this route appears not to have been used for some time, is in a very poor state of repair, and the crossing over the Mucodza would not be passable until late into the dry season. To the west, in addition to the main access road, there is one other footpath that crosses the Rio Nhachituzui and continues to the neighboring village. To the north, there are a number of routes that lead off the main access road towards the Vunduzi River. Two of these reach to the Vunduzi, but neither appears to cross the river.
A total of 107 households were identified within the village, split roughly equally to either side of the main access road. Households tend to be scattered individually rather than clumped. Nhanchururu has four fumos. Of these, Fumo Almeida appears to be the most influential, and the other three of lesser significance. The responsible Regulo lives outside of the village to the south of the Mucodza River.
People were moved from the rift valley areas of Gorongosa National Park in the 1950s to the Barue plateau area, including what is now Nhanchururu. Further disruptions and movements occurred during the war for independence and the subsequent period of continued fighting.