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Othnell "Mangoma" Moyo is a Zimbabwean multi-instrumentalist, composer, cultural educator, author, and founder of the Ngoma Ingungu Cultural Arts Center. Internationally recognised for his dedication to preserving, performing, documenting, and reimagining Zimbabwe's rich musical heritage, he has built a career that bridges traditional knowledge and contemporary artistic expression.

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With over 1,500 performances across Africa, Europe, North America, and beyond, Othnell has established himself as one of Zimbabwe's leading ambassadors of indigenous music. His work encompasses solo concerts, international festivals, theatre productions, educational residencies, and collaborations with musicians, dancers, researchers, and cultural institutions. His performances feature a remarkable collection of Zimbabwean traditional instruments, including multiple types of mbira, matepe, valimba, ngororombe, chipendani, hosho, and traditional drums, creating immersive musical experiences rooted in ancestral traditions while speaking to contemporary audiences.

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The Newsday newspaper first described him as "Mangoma the man of many talents" and later described him as ,"Mangoma, a national treasure". on the other hand The Herald newspaper praised his work as "Mangoma schooling the world in African tribal sounds"

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Alongside his performance career, Othnell is a passionate educator and researcher. He has taught workshops, masterclasses, lecture demonstrations, and artist residencies at more than 50 universities and educational institutions worldwide, including the University of Missouri, Duke University, Dartmouth College, the University of Florida, Lewis & Clark College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Skidmore College, Union College, UNISA and many others. His teaching extends beyond performance to include instrument construction, oral traditions, dance, storytelling, rhythm, and the cultural philosophies that shape Zimbabwean music.

 

Othnell's work as an author is closely connected to his commitment to documenting and preserving Zimbabwe's musical traditions. In August 2018, he published the first book in his Zimbabwe Ngoma Rhythms & Songs series, Zimbabwe Ngoma Rhythms & Songs, Book 1: Bulawayo Township Rhythms & Songs, 1995 to 2010 (ISBN 978-0-7974-9249-3). The book documents a significant period of Zimbabwean urban musical culture and forms part of his broader effort to preserve musical knowledge through written documentation.​

In July 2026, he published his second book, Matepe Book One: A Thunderstorm in the Deze, Echo of the Ancestors (ISBN 978-1-77932-505-1). The book focuses on the matepe mbira, exploring its musical structures, playing traditions, cultural context, history, and relationship to Zimbabwean indigenous knowledge. Through his writing, Othnell combines practical musical knowledge with cultural research and lived experience, making his work accessible to musicians, educators, researchers, students, and future generations.

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In 2024, Othnell founded the Ngoma Ingungu Cultural Arts Center in Domboshava, Zimbabwe, a space dedicated to safeguarding indigenous knowledge through study camps, artist residencies, instrument making, performances, and cultural immersion experiences. The centre welcomes participants from around the world to experience Zimbabwean music, dance, language, food, and traditional ways of learning directly from community practitioners.

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Othnell is also the creator of Saungweme, an innovative solo performance that combines up to eleven different mbira types with percussion, voice, and storytelling into a powerful contemporary concert experience. His work demonstrates how traditional Zimbabwean music continues to evolve while remaining deeply connected to its ancestral roots.

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His contributions to arts and culture have earned international recognition, including the ILO Green EnterPRIZE Award (2019) and a Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA) nomination (2023). Whether performing on major festival stages, teaching in universities, documenting musical traditions, building indigenous instruments, or working within rural communities, Othnell's mission remains the same: to preserve, celebrate, document, and share the living traditions of Zimbabwe with audiences across the world, creating meaningful cultural exchange through music, education, research, and community.