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5 uncommon death and funerary customs of the Shona

March 21, 2025March 20, 2024 by ZimbOriginal

The Shona have a number of beliefs and practices that relate to remembering and respecting the dead. These may differ in one way or another … Read more

Categories Beliefs & Religion Leave a comment

Indigenous religion in Zimbabwe| 5 key ‘chivanhu’ ritual festivals

March 20, 2025March 30, 2021 by ZimbOriginal

Recurring cycle-based religious festivals For this story, I will refer to indigenous religion in Zimbabwe as chivanhu. This is a term used to refer to … Read more

Categories Beliefs & Religion 17 Comments

Tsumo| 20 Shona proverbs to inspire good work habits

March 21, 2025November 30, 2020 by ZimbOriginal

Tsumo on work tell a story of a hard-working society, and give the picture that agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of the Shona … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language 10 Comments

Nyaudzosingwi| Breaking down 70 ideophones of breaking

February 20, 2025October 29, 2020 by ZimbOriginal
broken eggshells

In lay terms, ideophones are words that stand out (are ‘marked’) and whose form betrays something of (is depictive of) their meaning. The following 70 … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language Leave a comment

My 5 ingredients for helping children with Shona language learning

February 20, 2025September 12, 2020 by ZimbOriginal
ingredients-recipe

Culture and language are inextricably intertwined. Over the past year or so, I have done a lot of research and writing on Shona culture and … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language 4 Comments

63 Shona words you didn’t know were borrowed from Afrikaans

February 20, 2025August 15, 2020 by ZimbOriginal
shona afrikaans word bubbles

It is common knowledge that a few Shona words have an Afrikaans influence. I recently came across one that I found surprising, leading me to … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language 10 Comments

35 different sorts of sadza. Or, is it porridge?

March 21, 2025July 19, 2020 by ZimbOriginal
sadza and milk

There is more to porridge than a simple breakfast cereal dish. Sadza, generally described in English as a stiff meal porridge, is the highlight of … Read more

Categories Cuisine 4 Comments

Tsumo| 6 things I have learned through analysing over 200 Shona proverbs

March 21, 2025July 13, 2020 by ZimbOriginal

Over the past few months, I have taken time to analyse over 200 Shona proverbs, just out of interest. Some of them have motivated me … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language 2 Comments

Tsumo| 25 Shona proverbs inspired by children

March 21, 2025June 30, 2020 by ZimbOriginal

Shona proverbs that relate to children help portray what the Shona understand about children and childhood. Below are 25 such proverbs. 1. Chikomo shata divi, … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language 2 Comments

5 reasons children struggle with Shona language learning

February 20, 2025May 15, 2020 by ZimbOriginal
Children playing 'nhodo'

I have seen corporate advertisements with glaring irregularities, following a poor attempt by salesmen and marketers to communicate in the Shona language. In almost similar … Read more

Categories Language, Shona Language 12 Comments
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Recent Posts

  • Why Shona learning matters, and how to make it easy
  • What do ancestors have to do with the indigenous religion of the Shona?
  • 5 uncommon death and funerary customs of the Shona
  • Nyaudzosingwi| Many Shona words for 101 English verbs
  • Madimikira| 28 idioms from the 1968 novel ‘Tambaoga Mwanangu’

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  • ZimbOriginal on Madimikira| 28 idioms from the 1968 novel ‘Tambaoga Mwanangu’
  • Nicholas Mkaronda on Madimikira| 28 idioms from the 1968 novel ‘Tambaoga Mwanangu’
  • Mukuwe Moyo on Indigenous religion in Zimbabwe| 5 key ‘chivanhu’ ritual festivals
  • Kupfuwa on Mutupo| 6 interesting things you should know about Shona totems, praise names and poetry
  • Chipfuvamiti on Mwedzi| Shona names of months and Zimbabwean life in traditional society

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  • Why Shona learning matters, and how to make it easy January 9, 2025
  • What do ancestors have to do with the indigenous religion of the Shona? April 7, 2024
  • 5 uncommon death and funerary customs of the Shona March 20, 2024
  • Nyaudzosingwi| Many Shona words for 101 English verbs March 2, 2023
  • Madimikira| 28 idioms from the 1968 novel ‘Tambaoga Mwanangu’ February 9, 2023

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