This paper was conceived with a view to contributing research insights on the recognition and utilization of indigenous conceptions of giftedness in educational programs for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. In a cultural setting where high ability research is scarce, focus on indigenous conceptions of giftedness provides necessary baseline data for further research to advance the cause of giftedness education in the region. This author maintains that there are exceptional students in the region whose gifts are probably going to waste. This essay goes beyond merely focusing on the usual debates on the definition of giftedness to compare Shona and Ndebele cultures of Zimbabwe's conceptions of giftedness as the basis for further research to develop culturally responsive theories and models for advancing the cause of gifted education in the region. First, Ngara examines issues of the cultural situatedness of the construct of giftedness, then considers three separate survey studies carried out on Zimbabwe's major cultural groups (Shona and Ndebele). (Contains 3 tables.)