Introducing Mhesvi and Ruzivo Rwemhesvi

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. It begins with a discussion of the term mhesvi , the name that vedzimbahwe —the people associated with the zimbabwe (stone building) culture from which the name Zimbabwe came—gave to the insect that Setswana speakers ( vedzimbahwe 's neighbors to the west) called tsetse . After encountering the insect for the first time and being told its name, white travelers then publicized tsetse fly as the official name of the insect. The chapter then sets out the book's purpose, which is to position mhesvi in such a way that the trajectory of knowledge production concerning it can be recovered.