Page "Kariba Dam" Paragraph 24

The name Kariba is thought to be a corruption of the Shona word for a trap.

Kariva is a little trap and it is believed when those who wished to construct the dam wall wanted to explain the nature of the project to the locals they emphasised that they wanted to build a little water trap-Kariva.

However, the complex pronunciation of the ' v ' in Kariva saw the Western constructors produce a sound much like a ' b ' hence the creation of the word Kariba.