02082nas a2200301   4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003653001300044653002300057653002100080653003300101653001800134653001700152653001700169653002400186653001900210653001300229653001900242653001900261100001700280245012100297856015400418300001200572490000700584520116900591022002001760       2020                            d10aZimbabwe10acultural relations10agrassroots level10aIntangible cultural heritage10apeace process10apeace-making10apeacekeeping10apolitical relations10aReconciliation10areligion10asocial justice10aspirit beliefs1 aDiana Jeater00aCan spirits play a role in peace and reconciliation projects? Perspectives on traditional reconciliation in Zimbabwe  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85082949055&doi=10.1080%2f02589001.2020.1746755&partnerID=40&md5=942a0aef81dccdd8581a7c63bb88e1bf  a154-1690 v383 aThere is a long history of spirit-oriented systems of reconciliation and healing in Zimbabwe. However, under white rule, this work was marginalised and driven underground. In Zimbabwe today, diverse views on reconciliation, reparation, justice and national healing are producing rich but frequently conflicted initiatives around ‘traditional’ and ‘community’ reconciliation. The article considers contradictions and pressures facing the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and different approaches to ‘spirit-led’ trauma healing work from three grassroots organisations: Heal Zimbabwe; Tree of Life; and the Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation. It indicates how religious, cultural and political affiliations influence participants’ openness to traditional and spirit-led forms of reconciliation; and how this, in turn, constrains how perpetrators, victims and reparation are defined by those working in this field. Rather than identifying specific practices as ‘authentic’ traditions, the article suggests that a continuity of community/cultural approaches can inform contemporary national healing initiatives in Zimbabwe.  a02589001 (ISSN)