Stella Chiweshe, affectionately known as the "Queen of Mbira," was a pioneering Zimbabwean musician whose career defied social norms and colonial prohibitions. Born Stella Rambisai Chiweshe Nekati in Mujumi Village, Mhondoro, in 1946, she was one of the first professional female players of the mbira dzavadzimu—the traditional Shona "thumb piano"—an instrument previously reserved for men. Despite facing immense resistance from her community and the ruling colonial regime, which banned traditional cultural activities, she relentlessly pursued the instrument from 1966 to 1969 after an intense, spiritual calling.
Her career as a recording artist began in 1974 with the single "Kasahwa," which went gold and established her locally. Her music, which often supported nationalist and women's rights causes during the 1970s, introduced the traditional spiritual sounds of the mbira to a commercial audience. After Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, she joined the National Dance Company of Zimbabwe, touring internationally and taking on the starring role in the film Mbuya Nehanda. She went on to achieve global recognition, particularly after forming her band The Earthquake and releasing her first international album, Ambuya?, in 1987. Chiweshe spent much of her later life between Zimbabwe and Germany, continuously performing, recording, and championing Shona culture through her music until her death in 2023. Her legacy is that of a groundbreaking artist who not only mastered a male-dominated tradition but also used it to preserve and promote the spiritual depth of her culture on the world stage.