TL,DR: Is there a libz.a that can be used by gcc running on Android, and if not, can git be built without zlib support? Answer: no...git requires zlib to build.
Background: I'm using KBOX2, a pseudo-linux system with fakechroot, on Android. In this environment I've installed a port of gcc 4.8 which I've used to build OpenSSL and curl.
Problem: I'm trying to build a git that supports https. This can be done successfully but when I run it I get the following error: fakechroot: dlopen: undefined symbol: dlopen. This, according to KBOX's developer is a drawback of using fakechroot. I'm hoping to work around it by building git statically, but when I try to, make errors on finding a static libz...which makes sense because the only libz in gcc's sysroot is libz.so.
Question: Does libz.a exist for Android...specifically one that can be used by gcc on Android? Can git be built without libz?
I'm seriously not trying to boost points by answering my own questions, I just happened to be more impatient than usual today.
I couldn't find a pre-built static zlib, but the source download is tiny and, according to the website, is very portable. Which turned out to be true...downloading, make and install took, at most, five minutes on my LG GPad