A Shona legend| The Hera chief and a cave
A legend is a traditional story that is believed to be true. Some legends on the origins of the Shona people detail how large societies … Read more
Lifestyle & Social Issues
Polygamy in traditional Shona society, as told in ‘Tambaoga Mwanangu’
A polygamous family I’ve just started reading ‘Tambaoga Mwanangu.’ This is a story about how an eighteen year old boy, Tambaoga, went about trying to … Read more
4 stories on ‘mutupo’ and modern society
1. A breakdown in the transmission of cultural knowledge My grandmother is over a hundred years old. Now too old to live alone, she lives … Read more
The Tembo-Shumba Samaita clan
1. Why Tembo-Shumba? I have come across a number of differing accounts on this clan. In one of them, it is stated that Tembo-Shumba (‘Zebra-Lion’) is … Read more
Goats and the masungiro ritual
Livestock as a form of wealth Sheila buys a goat In 2002 Sheila completed her O’ levels and moved from her rural home to the … Read more
Kudhonza (female genital practice)| When women go to great lengths
A young girl’s story While attending boarding school back in 1989 at a respectable church run institution located outside Harare, Ndaizivei (not real name) was … Read more
Ukama| 5 rules to understand Shona family vocabulary
The Shona trace a person’s descent through the paternal line In Shona society, a person’s descent is traced through the paternal line. This means both … Read more
4 lessons for my daughter, from prior generations of Zimbabwean women
The generational relay Many of the things my mother taught me, she learned from her mother. I, in turn, teach my daughter even without intending … Read more
Mutupo| 6 interesting things you should know about Shona totems, praise names and poetry
This post was last updated on 11 April 2024. Mutupo, chidao and detembo redzinza The mutupo system is an important source of ancestral and family … Read more