Karanga Indigenous Religion in Zimbabwe

Health and Well-Being

Tabona Shoko

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317109624
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Tabona Shoko contends that religion and healing are intricately intertwined in African religions. This book on the religion of the Karanga people of Zimbabwe sheds light on important methodological issues relevant to research in the study of African religions. Analysing the traditional Karanga views of the causes of illness and disease, mechanisms of diagnosis at their disposal and the methods they use to restore health, Shoko discusses the views of a specific African Independent Church of the Apostolic tradition. The conclusion Shoko reaches about the central religious concerns of the Karanga people is derived from detailed field research consisting of interviews and participant observation. This book testifies that the centrality of health and well-being is not only confined to traditional religion but reflects its adaptive potential in new religious systems manifest in the phenomenon of Independent Churches. Rather than succumbing to the folly of static generalizations, Tabona Shoko offers important insights into a particular society upon which theories can be reassessed, adding new dimensions to modern features of the religious scene in Africa.

Chapter 1
Ethnography

Karanga ethnography comprises several elements such as historical background, economy, kinship system and customs.

Historical Background

Mberengwa was originally inhabited by early Stone Age people belonging to a Macrolithic culture.1 These were the ‘Bushmen’ or ‘San’, who had extensive knowledge of edible fruits and roots and hunting animals. Their food-gathering economy involved a nomadic life with temporary shelters. They lived in roving bands in groups of about 30–60 people. They had no political organization, no inequality between sexes and had an open and flexible kinship system.2 Some of the distinguishing marks of the Bushmen are rock paintings depicting features of hunting and fishing as discovered at Mnene, Matibi, Buchwa and other sites in the area. The first Bantu people displaced the Bushmen most of whom retreated to the Kalahari desert in Botswana. The Bantu then settled in Mberengwa in the beginning of the second millennium BC.3 The oldest Bantu group in Mberengwa is the Gove clan under the present Chief Negove. The northern and southern parts of Mberengwa came under the influence of the Changamire dynasty called the ‘Rozvi’ which means destroyers or despoilers. Their totem is Moyo (heart). Centred at Great Zimbabwe, the Rozvi ruled the entire area between the Zambezi and the Limpopo until 1830 when the Nguni invaders from the south interrupted their rule.4 Rozvi became the standard totem adopted by chiefs who were given permission to settle in Mberengwa by the Rozvi rulers.5 But today the Karanga groups use original totems like Shoko (monkey), Shava (eland) Hove (fish), Shumba (lion), Shiri (bird), Gumbo (leg), etc. In the southern parts of Mberengwa, influence came from another group of people, the Pfumbi of Venda origin, with the totem Mbedzi or Dziva.6 Then other groups like the Mhari, Duma, Shangaan migrated and settled in the area.

One group which arrived in Mberengwa and settled in the south was the Remba. Their totem is Zhou (elephant). These were allowed settlement by the Rozvi. Originally the Remba had established contact with the Arab traders in Sena in the Zambezi valley and they intermarried and adopted some of the Arabic cultural traits and names. They practice circumcision and ritual killing in which members of the group can only eat meat slaughtered by one of them. They entertain marriage from within the group. They have adopted Arabic names like Hamisi, Hasani, Bakari, Sadiki. This shows tremendous influence from a Semitic culture. The Remba have established their own chieftainship in Mberengwa. However these people are not only confined to Mberengwa, they are also found in the Masvingo province and among the Venda, Sotho and Thonga in the Transvaal in South Africa.7

In 1860 the Ndebele, a Nguni-speaking group displaced by the Zulu from South Africa migrated into the western part of Mberengwa. They established small-scale settlements. They constructed villages (imisi) most of which were clustered into political units under decentralized chieftainship (isigaba). Their economy was based on shifting cultivation of millet (inyaouti, amabele, rapoko). The family rather than the village formed the basic economic unit. Cattle rearing was also practiced but was secondary to cultivation. Their economy also included manufacturing and hunting.8 Some of the Karanga were incorporated by the Ndebele in varying degrees and subjected to paying tribute. Constant raids were also conducted on the neighbours. This prompted the victims to perceive the Ndebele as ‘bloodthirsty savages’ always harassing the Shona.9 Perhaps this was part of a strategy to obtain sympathy from the Europeans who had started to arrive in the area. In Mberengwa some Karanga groups such as the Rozvi, Remba and Ngowa allied with the Ndebele and were entrusted with keeping cattle. There was mutual influence between the Karanga and Ndebele in terms of language and cultural traits. Since Ndebele became the ‘lingua franca’ in the area the Karanga converted some of their totems into Ndebele: for example, Shoko changed to Ncube, Hove to Siziba, Shumba to Sibanda, Shava to Mpofu. The Karanga also adopted piercing of ears. Since the influence was not only one way, the Ndebele also became influenced by the Karanga in terms of religion of the Mwari cult at Matonjeni.10

All the people who migrated into Mberengwa thus formed different ethnic groups in the area. Notably the groups had a common language, economy, law, customs and religion but grouped under different chieftainships.

Political Structure

The traditional political organization is based on the village or kraal (musha). Members of the clan live together as a group in a village community. The headman is the head of the village. The village consists of a cluster of homesteads. The homes are made of pole and dagga in round shapes and thatched with grass. Today people have adopted four-cornered houses. They are plastered with cement and thatched with asbestos or iron sheets. Iron sheets form natural gutters to collect rain when it falls. This supplies clean water for drinking. The four-cornered houses are deemed spacious and are a sign of prestige since they are associated with modernity. Each homestead has specially allocated houses for members of the family. The wife has her own bedroom. In a polygamous set-up each of the wives has a house for herself in which she administers her household programmes. Boys and girls too have their own separate houses which they occupy in their early teens. They are expected to leave these houses when they mature and get married.11 The male house is called gota while the female one is known as nhanga. Granaries for storing crops are constructed on rock surfaces (ruware). The kraal which accommodates domestic animals like cattle and goats is made of crisscrossed poles. It is situated at a reasonable distance from the central home and usually at the back. Tight security is maintained to ensure the beasts are protected against wild animals and thieves at night. A fowl run and goat pens are located in front of the homestead. Communal grazing lands are situated some distance away from the homestead. When land becomes scarce some grazing land is found in the mountains at a considerable distance away from the homestead. The fields that are cultivated are near the homestead. The husband who is the head of the family acquires his own special plot in the fields but allocates some portions of land to each of his wives. Whilst the husband’s field produces the main crop the land allocated for wives is expected to yield supplementary crops. It is the responsibility of every wife to manage her own household affairs independently of other women.12

The size of a village varies from place to place. Rivers and streams form the natural demarcations of villages between neighbours. When the village grows bigger, the increasing population results in splits among the kinsmen. Some migrate to places nearby. Several factors aggravate splits and migration in the family. The expansion of the village impacts on the land which gets diminished both in terms of cultivation and grazing. Also some social problems trigger splits: such as tensions and accusations of witchcraft, and conflicts of authority and leadership.13

The village headman is the principal head of the family. He is baba (father) and the villagers are vana (children) to him. The village headman performs several duties in the community. He ensures the sustenance of people in the community. He allocates and distributes land amongst the people. The land is of paramount importance. It is never considered an individual property but a collective unit. The whole village has the right to use the land. The village headman is also responsible for conducting religious rituals that yield rain and good crops. But today some of these functions have been affected by government administration. The government has bunched some chiefdoms together for the purposes of collecting taxes. In the process the village headman has become a ‘tax collector’. The traditional title samusha (owner of the village or home) has changed to sabhuku (one who owns the book: the tax register).14

The ward (dunhu) constitutes another unit in the political organization of the Karanga. This comprises a number of villages grouped together and varies considerably in size and population. The ward has distinct, clearly marked borders such as rivers, hills and mountain ranges. Members of the village in the ward enjoy communal rights to grazing land and natural resources such as ‘firewood, wild fruits, honey, game and water’.15 An important element in the ward are the graves of deceased relatives. This feeds a sense of belonging and is of religious value for the Karanga.

Originally the chiefdom was divided into wards ruled by representatives of the chiefly family. But modern structures have effected changes. After independence in 1980 the government divided chiefdoms into wards which included about 6,000 people. Mberengwa which has a population of 192,000 people obtained 32 wards with six villages of 1,000 inhabitants each.16 The ruling ZANU-PF party has devised its own structures based on party districts represented in parliament.17

The chiefdom (nyika) is a grouping of wards under the domain of a chief (ishe). It consists of thousands of subjects ruled by a traditional ruler. Natural features like hills and rivers form the boundaries of a chiefdom. Each chiefdom is based on the legends and history of its foundation. Most traditions explain the history of migration and ascribe special powers to the founding member of the chiefdom. These powers may be in the form of medicine, magic and witchcraft to strengthen one’s position. This legendary power is associated with spirits who are the guardians of the chiefdom. People from the chief’s clan constitute the largest group in the chiefdom. But people from other lineages (vatorwa) exist within the chiefdom. Members of the chief’s clan in the chiefdom adopt a special insignia, totem (mutupo) which is defined by a sub-clan name (chidawo).18

The chief performs several functions in society. He is the ‘guardian of fundamental values of rupenyu (life) and simba (strength), vitality, well-being’.19 His power and authority are invested in the jurisdiction of land which is linked with ancestor spirits, the guardians of the land. His major role is to mediate between the people and the spirit guardians in the chiefdom. He organizes appropriate rituals such as mukwerere, which is celebrated as thanksgiving after a bumper harvest. The ceremony is a colourful occasion marked by ritual propitiation, music and dance. Then in the case of a drought the chief liaises with spirit mediums (manyusa) in the area and sends gifts to the Mwari cult at Matonjeni. Consultation of spirits is done to ensure rain and fertility of the land. The chief becomes a ‘religious and political ruler’.20

The chief presides over the traditional court (dare). He exercises full jurisdiction over all land and people in the ward. He acts as the last court of appeal for cases referred by the village headmen. In executing his duties, the chief is assisted by his personal advisors (machinda) comprising some elders of the community. They give advice to the chief and help to maintain unity in the chiefdom. In Chief Mataruse’s area Mr Hove from the clan of the ruling family Musaigwa was installed as muchinda in August 2002.21

The chief’s court deals with many cases that involve divorce, quarrels, compensation and breaking taboos. From experience, tensions are prompted by various factors. Divorce is caused by misunderstanding in the family. It may be a result of adultery, usually when the wife is caught red-handed with another man. Divorce may also be a result of domestic quarrels between couples on issues like treatment of children. The chief also deals with some tensions which arise between fathers- and sons-in-law from exorbitant charges of roora. The father-in-law overcharges as a way of compensating for the loss of the girl, her potential to bear children in the family of the husband and educational expenses incurred on her. The chief also grapples with arguments over compensation in the loss of life through murder. Ngozi (spirit of revenge) which comes from the spirit of a murdered person usually demands compensation of a person (soro, lit. ‘head’), in the form of a virgin girl. The chief also deals with plenty of other cases such as theft of cattle. Some specialized thieves mazungura are believed to operate under the influence of shavi (alien spirit) responsible for theft. Other cases may involve breaking of taboos. The most serious taboo is working on a resting day (chisi: short form of chisingarimwi),22 which restricts ploughing and weeding. A special day every week, Wednesday, is set apart and people are not allowed to work in the fields or collect firewood. They are confin...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 Ethnography
• 2 Religion
• 3 Causes of Illness and Disease
• 4 Diagnosis of Illness and Disease
• 5 Traditional System of Therapy
• 6 Independent Church System of Therapy
• 7 Interpretation
• Bibliography
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Index