Messina/Musina

Founded by white settlers as a copper-mining town in 1904, Musina is located near the Limpopo River on the border of Zimbabwe. The town was originally known as Messina, a colonial misspelling of the name of the Musina people who settled in the region centuries ago following their discovery of copper deposits. In 2002, the town’s name was changed to Musina, part of an ongoing and sometimes acrimonious process of name changes taking place across South Africa. I find this process of redress interesting: if you see history rewritten twice, as has happened in Musina, you become distrustful of the competing narratives, both the old and the new.

Hardback. English. Punctum. 2008. In good condition with worn dw in protective plastic. Book No: 2000638