Dandemutande is a resource for people who love Zimbabwean music and culture around the world.
Dandemutande consists of:
- this web site, www.dandemutande.org;
- a mail order catalog and discography of music, books, and other resources;
- a Copyrights & Royalties Information Center;
- an email listserve for announcements and discussions;
- a resource guide connecting you with people and organizations.
- a magazine of articles about the music and the people who play it;
Paul Novitski began Dandemutande (originally mis-named Utandande) in 1993 as a printed resource guide of Zimbabwean music teachers, performers, and instrument makers. It soon became a monthly calendar of events, and occasional issues published articles on the music and its players. The mail order catalog, Dandemutande Gifts, began in 1996.
In 1997 Dandemutande began its shift to the internet with a web site hosted by Cliff Furnald’s RootsWorld domain. In 1998 Dandemutande got its own domain, still hosted on Pacific Online.
Dandemutande is driven purely by volunteer labor. Paul Novitski updates this website in his Copious Spare Time, administers the listserve, and oversees orders placed with from the catalog. The shipping of catalog parcels has been kindly taken on by a series of volunteers over the years: first Lee Eddy, then Stan Sitnik, then Jaiaen Beck, and now Jan and Helen Six. May heaps of flower petals flutter onto their heads!
Future plans for Dandemutande include acquiring non-profit status, assisting Zimbabwean musicians by producing CDs and cassettes of their music, and creating a scholarship or contest prize to encourage Zimbabwean youth to pursue traditional music.