The genuine Shona : survival values of an African culture PDF
Preview The genuine Shona : survival values of an African culture
Michael Gelfand Ii_- i GENUINE SHONA 1’^ J> irMl ■Art y-: ■'" ■■:‘-t8ffl ■ .iJ ■ ' 'Mi f-.-' f^‘ . Book ' Centre ^ ;-'i^'S3 Oj _ ö- o THE GENUINE SHONA SURVIVAL VALUES OF AN AFRICAN CULTURE by MICHAEL GELFAND MAMBO PRESS MAMBO PRESS Gweru, P.O. Box 779 Harare, P.O. Box 66002, Kopje Gokomere, P. Bag 9213, Masvingo Photos by the author First published 1973 Reprinted 1976, 1982, 1984, 1987 Copyright © 1973 Michael Gelfand All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior per mission from the publisher. Printed and published in Zimbabwe by Mambo Press, Senga Road, Gweru 1987 To The Rev. Father M. Hannan S.J. 'Ш ■0 •» '^5 >?î ' ?\ -■"' -f.îïî PREFACE The rich beauty of the Shona ethical code stands out in sharp contrast to the material individualism of the West. The Shona possess much that is worth retaining and the prospects are that they will save a good deal of it for suc ceeding generations. They will have to devise means of blending this with what ttie West has brought them. The concept of brotherhood, the love of a good family lifeVith close support for its members and good neighbourliness are the pillars of Shona culture. Africa has something to offer the world in human behaviour and this the Shona man and woman can give by their fine example. About six years ago, I planned to study Shona moral philosophy. This I was able to do by visiting regularly various tribal trust lands. Through the help of Major L. Taylor of the Salvation Army at Howard Mission, I was introduced to elders of the Chiweshe people. In Chikwaka Tribal Trust Land I visited Chief Chikwaka regularly for several years and I also attended his court {dare) where I gained first hand experience of customary practices of the Shona. I also listened to the judgements of Chief Mu- toko and those of Chief Chihota and the late Cinamhora these visits helped me to enlarge my knowledge of ethical conduct. Among the Whesa and Vabarwe at Katarere, I studied the practices of these clans thanks to the Rev. Father P.S. Egan O. Carm. of Avila Mission. I was also a constant visitor to Regina Coeli Mission in Inyanga North and Subchief Sanyamaropa did much to further my knowl edge of Shona moral behaviour. Whilst all this was going on I held numerous discussions on the philosophy of the Shona people with the seminarians at the Chishawasha Catholic Seminary. Without this dialogue I would not have been able to appreciate ttie meaning of the traditional practices. Armed with this understanding I was in a position to know how to proceed when I went to the tribal trust lands. These discussions at Chishawasha continued for over foin: years and they would not have been possible without the en thusiastic support of the Rev. Father P.G. Moloney, S.J. and that of the late Rev. Father J. Wallace, S.J.; I could never have reached the stage I did in my research without this help. I am greatly indebted to those seminarians who patiently explained the Shona point of view and I fervently hope that what I have postulated is a measure of the deep thinking that characterises Shona life. Once again Father M. Hannan S. J. took a personal interest in this study and he, with Father Moloney, made many valuable suggestions on the manuscript. Part of this research was made possible by a grant from the Research Committee of the University and the State Lottery Trustees helped towards its public ation. Michael Gelfand INTRODUCTION The Nile, the Niger and the Congo are greater African rivers than the Zambesi. Ev^ so, the Zambesi flows from fairly far west of the centre of Africa down to the Indian Ocean. Between the Zambesi and the Limpopo, of g^^at, green greasy fame, lies a land that is high in the middle and slopes both north and south to meet the rivers that bound it. Great Zimbabwe is the climatic centre of this land. North, South, East and West of Zimbabwe live the Shona people, the largest ethnic group in Zimbabwe. The Shona do not call themselves Shona. They are called the Shona because they speak one or other of the dialects of what the ling^nsts call the Shona cluster of Bantu languages. Mashonaland, savanna country bounded on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn, is a patchwork of chieftaincies (nyika). Very broadly speaking all the Shona living in any one chieftaincy are members of the same sub-clan. They all have, not only the same totem, but also the same ceremonial greeting which differentiates them from other members of the same totem who have different ceremonial greeting forms. Marriage is not allowed between members of the same sub-clan. A large chieftaincy may have more than one district or ward {dunhu) and each district has a number of villages (musJM). One village may also have several homesteads (mana). IVaditionally the people of a homestead lived from hunt ing and from shifting agriculture. Among the changes brought about colonisation must be numbered the sta bilising of agriculture, in the sense that there is no longer available the amount of land that shifting agriculture re quires. Hunting too, is no longer a reliable source of food. Moreover the need for cash, in the new economy, though it has led to considerable improvement in agricultural methods, has brought it about that most of the adult males are absent from the homesteads for the greater part of the year. They go to work in the cities, on the farms and in the mines. Very few become detribaJised completely. Even those who have lived in a city for many years stUl have their roots in the homestead where they were bom. This present book attempts to indicate some of the values, especially moral values, that have enabled the Shona to survive and to retain their identity over so many centuries in what has been a fairly hostile environment.
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