Shangwe Music for Spiritual Rituals: A Symbolical Enactment

Renias Ngara

The University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, Eastern Cape, South AfricaMobile: 0027844718432; E-mail: rngara@gmail.com

KEYWORDS Dumba. Heritage. Munyai. Mythology. Nevana. Rainmaking Songs

ABSTRACT Anthropological scholars have discussed various myths. The Shangwe community is a ‘web’ of mythologicalsymbols that are orally active but without documentation. It was intention of this ethnography to explore cultural andbiblical symbols embedded in the Shangwe mythology in Gokwe North District in the Midlands Province in Zimbabwe.The results revealed that Nevana sanctified hut housed mythic snakes of various colours and lengths. Only five people hadthe traditional authorisation to enter the hut using the western door, just as there are five virgins in the Bible. Chiefs, justlike the wise men who came from the east in search of the newly born Jesus, have the religious right to sit next to theeastern door which is ever closed. A certain man had the traditional role to stop the rain when it was too much to sustainplant growth. Some of the myths are comparable with certain songs of the Shangwe and other cultures. Folktales and songtexts reflect cultural heritage. The objectives of this article were two-fold. First, it sought to identify, compare, and discusstraditional and biblical symbolism embedded in four Shangwe myths. Second, it intended to examine song texts connectedto certain Shangwe mythology.

INTRODUCTION

Anthropological scholars have discussed vari-ous myths (Barber 2012; Engelstein 2013;Hodzic 2013). Other academics studied mythol-ogy on African rituals (Elsner 2001; Shah andPettigrew 2009; Snook 2013). Besides, Boyce-Tillman (2013) discussed Western Music Edu-cation in the context of Greek mythology. Thearticle aims to document and discuss biblical andritual songs of the Shangwe mythology in GokweNorth District in the Midlands Province in Zim-babwe. The fieldwork interviews1 gatheredamong informants famed for their indigenouscultural practices showed that the community isentangled in a mythological ‘web’ that mirrorbiblical and cultural symbolism. Especially, theGokwe North District is popularly known for itsmunyai (messenger) and the rain spirit, Nevana,and his symbolic rainmaking ritual hut calleddumba, which has two doors. In the Shangwespiritual hierarchy of rain prayers, Nevana spiritis believed to be close to their Supreme God,Mwari. Tevasiira Samson Marariromba,Nevana’s medium, discharges his rainmakingritual process with Gaison Gasura, the munyai.In the Zimbabwean Shona language, the termmunyai refers to a person who mediates marriagematters between the in-laws. Yet in the Shangwemukwerera rainmaking ritual setting it denotes aperson who facilitates rain problems between thechiefs and the rain spirits.

METHODOLOGY

The holistic approach is emphasised in study-ing music-cultures and total participant obser-

vation comes to the fore. Amit (2000: 2) notesthat the “totality” of full participant observationnecessitates holism. According to Sarantakos(2005), intensive participant observation pro-vides favourable opportunities for identifyingunanticipated outcomes. It also exists in a natu-ral, unstructured, and flexible setting. The re-searcher’s personal involvement in Shangwecultural practices that incorporated mukwererarainmaking rituals provided ample time to studyits anthropological and ethnomusicological sym-bols. For Titon and Reck (2009: 542),

The subject of our musical ethnography isthe aspect of the music-culture that is being rep-resented; the topic of your musical ethnographyenables your analysis and interpretation of yoursubject.

The ethnography was based on six informantswho have prominent roles in the mukwerera cer-emonies. Face-to-face interviews, audio-videofilming, tape recording, and the researcher’s fullparticipant observation were the most appropri-ate means of collecting data from elderly culturebearers.

The results of ethnography revealed that theNevana’s hut is unique since it is the only roundhut with two doors found in the entire MidlandsProvince, yet an ordinary round hut has one door.As will be discussed later, biblical and culturalsymbols are implanted in four myths chosen forthis article. Shangwe mythologies are still activebut they exist without a written record. Here, theterm mythology is defined as a legend interwo-ven with unproven symbolic information. Thisparticular ethnic culture is one of Zimbabwe’sfourteen minority groups whose languages do not

© Kamla-Raj 2013 Stud Tribes Tribals, 11(2): 127-133 (2013)

exist in the school curriculum system in orderfor them to be formally learnt.

For McNaughton (1982: 487), “Everywherein Africa knowledge and power are integrallylinked”. There is secrecy enmeshed in the Nevanahut and Middleton (1973: 300) corroborates thatsecrecy functions,

as part of social process and change in thestructure of society; as a means to politicalpower; as a way to attain whatever the peopleconsider to be the absolute truth that is not knownto ordinary men but only to Divinity.

According to Nooter (1993: 55), secrecy hastwo attributes. Secrecy has the ability to concealand reveal meanings entrenched to the extent thatthe people will eventually know the truth andbegin to appreciate the symbolism of secrecy.Secrecy is “rooted in the most basic experienceof what it is to live as one human being amongothers, needing both to hide and to share, both toexplore and to beware of the unknown” (Bok1982: 281). For Piot (1993: 353), secrecy, “theintentional concealing of information”, is part ofeveryday life and it is the discourse among theKabre of northern Togo (West Africa). On a simi-lar note, Nevana, the Shangwe rain spirit alsoguarded his secrecy to induce rain. The onlyunique aspect of myths associated with this par-ticular spirit is the concept of biblical and cul-tural parallelisms which are directly comparablewith certain songs. Jensen and Raphael Patai alsoconfirm the conception of biblical-African “par-allels” (Isaac 1964: 87-98).

A puff-adder is renowned for its faithfulnessto live at one chosen habitat. The Karanga inZimbabwe attribute a faithful wife to a puff-adder.Apart from that, when a farmer finds a puff-adderin his field, the snake is a sign of good harvest.Since the snake remains loyal to one place, theKaranga belief is that the farmer will keep thewealth he obtains from the field. The puff-adderis regarded as divisi, meaning herbs used to in-crease the harvest (Aschwaden 1989). Amongstthe Karanga, the puff-adder is an important sym-bol carrier. The snake symbolises rain and fertil-ity. Its skin markings are associated with rain.The puff-adder’s alternate patterns of light anddark chevron resemble a sky covered with clouds(Aschwaden 1989). Aschwaden made great con-tributions on the puff-adder symbolism. The re-search unpacks the mythological symbolism ofthe snakes that abide in Nevana’s hut.

Since the Zame rain shrines in Matabelelandin Zimbabwe are vital to human life, they are

considered as sacred places. These places aredirectly linked to Matopos where Mwari’s voiceused to be heard. In this regard, water is the “ori-gin and spring of life. Mwari is the creator andthis is also why it comes from the rocks ofMatopos. Water is seen by the Karanga as theearth’s God-given fertility. Water is truly life”, itstays elsewhere, and “God, Mwari is water”(Aschwaden 1989: 193). He is the provider offertility and sender of rain. Aschwaden madesound contributions to the interpretation of wa-ter. He was not yet aware that the Shangwe havea rain spirit dwelling in their community. Thesame society is associated with certain myths andcultural elements of even other ethnic groups.

From the African perspective, all human be-ings are too young to speak to Mwari directly(Gombe 1952; Gelfand 1959; Chimhundu et al.2000). The underlying African principle is torespect whoever is bestowed with traditionalauthority. Weber (1962) makes it known that thecommunity acknowledges long-establishedpower despite gender identity. By virtue of thatthe society owes great honour to such a person.A typical example is reflected in one the Shangwemukwerera rainmaking song with song texts Nhaimbonga! Chii chinoriridza?2 According to theinformants, mbonga is a Shangwe virgin ladywho does not customarily marry. A certain chiefoffered her daughter as a mbonga, to the Nevanapriest in order to live with him. The lady pre-pared the food for the rain priest. One of theresearcher’s informants, Evina Marariromba,said the last mbonga passed away in 2004. Inaddition, the mbonga interpreted misfortunessuch as thunder and lightening for the commu-nity during the rainy season as reflected by thestated above song texts. Chiefs, who are the high-est symbols of authority in the Shangwe com-munity, owed the lady great honour. From theinterviews, the status of the mbonga was enviedby many girls in the Gokwe community. The in-formants even compared her position with thatof nuns from the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe(Ngara 2012).

Chimhundu et al. (2001: 1144) affirm the con-cept of honouring those in authority when theysay: “Kukwira gomo hupoterera”3. As a result,if a young person requests anything from anyelderly person directly, the person is regarded aslacking humanity (Battle 1997). The same con-cept of humanity is also portrayed by the chiefsand the rain priest when they ask for rain from

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God, Mwari but biblical and cultural symbolismsare characteristic of their traditional commuta-tion system. Nyambara (2001) discusses landdistribution in the Shangwe community. A yearlater, Nyambara published another article inwhich he explains various connotations that areassociated with the origins of the term “shangwe”(2002:288). Ngara (2013), in his article entitled,Gender and Sexuality, a Reflection on Rainmak-ing Songs, presents a discussion regarding rolesdemarcation prevalent in the Shangwe spiritualrealm and the world of the living. Nyambara andNgara made profound contributions to the studyof the Shangwe. This paper comes with a sym-bolic dimension. It fills this gap by answeringthe question: How do four Shangwe mytholo-gies and song texts mirror biblical and intangiblecultural heritage, respectively?

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

The qualitative data for this anthropological-ethnomusicological study will be presented andexamined under four subheadings that followimmediately.

Dumba, the Rain Spirit’s Hut

There are sixteen round huts at the actualNevana’s homestead and the rain spirit’s dumbais the seventeenth. All of them are mud plasteredand have grass thatched roofs. These huts arebuilt in a crescent shaped design. The Nevana’srainmaking sacred hut, dumba, occupies the west-ern side of the design. Its grass thatched roof issupported by spaced poles leaving large gaps thatare covered with thatching grass. In other words,the Nevana’s hut has a grass wall. The informantstold the researcher that the hut was the only onein Gokwe North and Gokwe South districts withtwo doors and let alone the Midlands Province.One of its doors faces the eastern side and theother one the west (See Figs. 1 and 2 in the Ap-pendix). The western door is smaller than theeastern one. The two doors are made of thinpoles. Since the rain priest passed away in 2004,four people namely, three of his seven wives, andGaison Gasura have the traditional authorisationto enter in the hut through the western door. Theeastern door is ever closed. All the chiefs sit nextto the eastern door when they come to requestrain, collect various grain crops and to partici-pate in mukwerera song-dance performances.

They sing specific songs such as Changuchakasara nani?4

The culture bearers informed the researcherthat the above mentioned song is sung by the rainspirit, Chinamakwati when it is in control of itsmedium. For the Shangwe, this rain spirit is thelead singer of the song. In the mukwerera rainrite context, Chinamakwati would be sending themessage that he has accomplished his duty toprovide rain. In the informants’ mind frames,Chinamakwati would be wondering why theShangwe are sending rain prayers, yet it is rain-ing. The song texts imply that the Shangweshould now go and work on their fields.

In the researcher’s view, this song is compa-rable with a Karanga ngano (folktale) about aboy called Chinamakwati, who was able to callrain by singing: “Vakuru vava muno vasinamano, voti Chamatowo pfudze mombe.Ndondodzipfudzepi wuhwa kwangu. Nderandera ndera hoye.”5 In short, African folktalesof this nature are mirrors through which one mayinterpret the communication systems that existbetween the world of the living and the spiritualrealm. In other words: African folktales and songtexts are interpreted as intangible heritance whichrequire preservation for future generations toderive benefits.

Nevana’s sacred hut and its contents are cen-tral to the mukwerera rainmaking ceremony.There are many snakes kept in the hut. The fourwho still enter into the hut are not allowed towipe any snake that might wriggle past their feetwhen they are inside it. These snakes are justgiven water to drink from a wooden plate with astirring stick placed in it. The same plate and itsstick were used by Nevana medium during therainmaking ritual process. The Nevana familymembers strongly believe that they are not sup-posed to kill any snake which they might seemoving on their yard.

One of the female informants, EvinaMarariromba, told the researcher that they do notlook up when they get inside the hut. In responseto the question why they do not kill the snakesthe woman said: “It is the ancestor who will bejust walking around.”6 It is an established beliefamong the Shangwe that the snakes arenyokadzimu, meaning ancestral spirit mediums.Therefore, they do not kill any snake they mightsee moving around the yard. When the researcherenquired more about the snakes, she simply saidthat they had various colours and she mentioned

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two functions, rainmaking and fertility. The re-searcher asked the six culture bearers to explainthe rainmaking and fertility symbolism but thatdid not yield any result. The informants couldnot confide such information since it was theircultural treasure that should not be divulged tooutsiders. However, Evina just said: “The snakesfor the spirits are wise”7, implying that the snakesare an insignia of wisdom. Similarly, Genesis 3verses 1-7 tell us that Adam and Eve were cheatedby the serpent to eat the fruits from the tree oflife that was in the midst of the Garden of Eden.Soon after consuming fruits, they began to seethat they were naked hence they looked for some-thing to cover their sexual organs. Shortly, theybecame wise. The serpent was a symbol of wis-dom.

The fact that the Shangwe do not kill snakesoften seen wriggling on the Nevana yard trig-gered the researcher to ask the question: Do youkill snakes in your neighbourhood? The answerswere: “Do you see that Nevana forest? There aresnakes in it. Even our children do not kill themwhen herding cattle. They know that they areancestral snakes”8. The researcher concluded thatthe Shangwe belief in snakes as spirit mediumsworked positively in conserving natural resourcessuch as snake species.

The eastern door is epitomic to the wise menfrom the east. The wise men were in search ofJesus when they heard about His birth (Matthew2 verses 1-12). The chiefs who sat on the easternpart of the Nevana hut are a symbol of wisdomsince they are the ones who collect informationon rainmaking and distribute among their subor-dinates. The five people who were allowed toenter into the hut were representative of the fivewise girls (Matthew 25 verses 1-13). The bibli-cal analogy reminds the researcher of one thechurch choruses with these texts: Vasikana vanegumi tavaona. Vashanu vacho vakangwara....9

The song commonly features during most churchservices in Zimbabwe. It is directly comparablewith the five wise girls who were the holy oneswaiting for the coming of Jesus Christ. TheNevana’s hut epitomises the Holy of Holies sinceonly pure people entered it. Any sinner whowould enter into The Holy of Holies would surelydie. The eastern bigger door represented thewider path which leads the sinners to hell (Mat-thew 7 v 13 and Luke 13 v 24). The researcherobserved that the eastern door was smaller thanthe western one. The smaller western door re-

minded the researcher of the narrow road whichleads to heaven and a small number of peoplewho follow that road (Matthew 7 v 14). The graincrops presented to the chiefs were meant to teachthem the concept of sharing whatever the littlethey might get in life. The same concept was il-lustrated by Jesus when he fed five thousand hun-gry people on five loaves of bread and two fish(Matthew 14 verses 18-20 and Mark 6 verses35-44).

The Rain Priest: A Symbolic Interpretation

The Shangwe rain priest, nyusa, was calledTevasiira Samson Marariromba and his firstmunyai (messenger) was Gaison Gasura. Despitethe locally feared spirits called masengu, the rainpriest and his first munyai, were the only twopeople who had the religious authorisation to goto Nyanhekwe Hill. Since Tevasiira Samsonpassed away in 2004, no one ascends the sacredhill to this day. The priest would ask his munyaito stay at the foot of the hill. He would get at thetop of Nyanhekwe where he requested rain fromGod, Mwari through his ancestral spirit, Nevanawho possessed him. Having finished communi-cation, Tevasiira Samson would then descend thehill to fetch the munyai. According to informants,it used to rain before the two arrived at home.Consequently, they would get home dripping wet.This mythology is analogous to one of theKaranga rainmaking songs entitled Tonaiwanemvura tichibva Zame.10 Zame is one of the rainshrines found in Matopos hills in MatabelelandSouth Province in Zimbabwe where the Karangago to ask for rain from Mwari. According to theculture bearers, the same song is also sung byNevana priest on his way back from NyanhekweHill where he asks for rain from Mwari. In theirinterpretation of the song, the Shangwe, just likethe Karanga, believe that the rain priest’s footmarks are not supposed to be seen when he orshe returns home. Their local thinking is that thefoot prints must be erased. The precipitation is aclear testimony that the community’s rain di-lemma has been received by the God, Mwari.

Since Gaison Gasura was one of the two maleinformants from Nevana Village, the researcherhad the opportunity to ask him if he had an occa-sion to ascend Nyanhekwe. He confessed that hisuncle never gave him the chance to go up withhim. On a similar note, Jesus Christ used to leaveHis three disciplines Peter, James, and John (Mat-

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thew 17v 1 and Mark 9v 2) at the bottom ofMount Sinai each time he climbed at the top ofthe hill to talk to God. Basing the analogy onthese two incidences, the researcher concludedthat the rain priest, Tevasiira Samson Marari-romba, just like Jesus Christ, had secret knowl-edge which he never disclosed even to his clos-est members. In other words, secrecy is a well-designed mechanism targeted at the concealmentof wisdom so that in the end one retains su-premacy in society.

Mweziko, the Rain Stopper

According to the informants, the rain some-times falls so heavily that crops find it difficultto grow well and they eventually dry up. Whensuch torrential rains persist, Nevana’s secondmunyai, Mweziko, travels from his home at nightand walks quietly past Nevana’s homestead, des-tined to a particular tree that is at the edge of theyard. As soon as he gets near that tree, he takesoff all his clothes, and climbs up the tree naked.Once upon the tree, Mweziko shouts: “The rainis too much! The crops are withering!”11 He thensilently comes down the tree and draws a line onthe ground. Mweziko picks up his clothes to puton and returns to his home quietly. In the nextmorning, the clouds will just disappear. The cropswill begin growing properly. Mweziko is still re-sponsible for stopping the rain up to this day.

Drawing analogies from Shangwe beliefs,their rain spirit moves in the clouds at certaininstances. In their local belief, they describe thesky as: The sky is dressed. The sky is undressed12.The sky’s dress refers to the clouds and the un-dressed one is the clear sky. Similarly, Mweziko’sclothes designate clouds. His naked body is notonly an imitation of a clear sky, but it is a sign ofhumility and the Shangwe community’s vulner-ability to hunger. As the Nevana rain spirit seesMweziko from the clouds above, he becomes shyto look at his naked body and he withdraws therain. Mweziko marks the end of precipitation andthe beginning of evaporation.

The above mythology is comparable with oneof the Shangwe rainmaking songs entitledChamandidanira popo?13 According to the in-formants, this song is sung by a rain spirit in pos-session during the mukwerera rainmaking cer-emony. The ritual participants would have invitedthe rain spirit during the ritual to enlighten themon possibilities of rain in that season. Upon pos-

session, the rain will start pouring down heavily.Consequently, the rain spirit’s singing will besending signals of wonder why the ritual perform-ers and participants would have made an invita-tion yet it will be raining. In the Shangwe mindframework, they would have disturbed the spiritwho was busy inducing rain in the clouds. Sym-bolic songs of this nature are also means throughwhich one may be able to understand how Afri-can communities interact with the spiritual world.Therefore they are intangible inheritances whichneed to be preserved generationally.

The line drawn by Mweziko on the ground isa carbon copy of the rain bow. The rain bow isthe covenant that God, Mwari will not destroythe earth again by floods (Genesis 9 verses 11-19). In brief, Mweziko drew the line to remindNevana spirit to tell God that He was about tobreak the covenant which He [God] signed withNoah that He was not going to destroy the worldby floods again. In a nutshell, the Shangwe fol-low their long established traditional hierarchi-cal mode of conveying pleas to Mwari.

The Dove Symbolism

The dove myth is very important among theShangwe. The informants told the researcher thatif a man or a child comes across a dove cooingand turning around along the path, the personwill immediately return home to tell the motherabout the bird. The children are taught the dovesymbolism from youth. Among the Shangwe andeven the Karanga, there is a song entitled Inodyaichirira njiva.14 It is sung at various occasions.Young children normally sing it as a game song.It also features during a grain threshing ritualcalled jakwara. In this context, its main purposeis to energise the threshers.

From the Shangwe interpretations, the dovesignifies a visitor. Consequently, if it is a womanwho would have seen the dove, she would beginto prepare for the inevitable visitor. In the eventthat it is a man who had come across the dove,he would inform his wife to get ready for theguest.

Luke 1: verses 11-38 announce the births ofJohn the Baptist and Jesus and the dove symbol-ism. In both instances, Gabriel mentions the HolySpirit saying to Zechariah, “. . . and he will befilled with the Holy Spirit” (verse 15), and thento Mary who was still a virgin, “The Holy Spiritwill come upon you” (verse 35). Still in Mat-

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thew 3 verse 16 and Mark 1 verse 10, the HolySpirit is identified as a dove. During Jesus’ bap-tism, Luke says, “And the Holy Spirit descendedupon him in a bodily form, as a dove” (3 verse22). According to Larkins (1981: 14), Gabrielreminds us that: “The dove is a bearer of goodnews”. The dove continues to be a sign of heav-enly presence, now symbolising the third mem-ber of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION

Biblical and cultural symbols are entangledin Shangwe mythology. These symbols are evi-dent in mythological works executed by the rainstopper and priest. The rain spirit resides in asacred hut of its own kind. Furthermore, the sameshrine is home to various snakes of symbolicfunctions. Since the snake symbolism is impartedin young people from youth, this belief is posi-tively increasing the number of snakes in theNevana neighborhood. It is an affirmative de-velopment on the conservation of nature. Thereare certain songs that have some relationshipswith myths and the rainmaking ceremonial rite.Folktales and songs form part of heritage whichis passed on generationally.

RECOMMENDATIONS

On the whole, rain spirits are believed to re-side in places such as mountains, hills, rivers,trees, and caves. The ethnography revealed thatrain spirits can also dwell among family mem-bers but in hallowed symbolic ritual huts. Theresearcher then suggests that academics need tofind out other shrines that exist among minoritycultures. Shangwe belief systems have a posi-tive impact in safeguarding nature. Given this,the researcher would like to propose that aca-demics at tertiary institutions which offer anthro-pology as a discipline, should work towards de-signing a curriculum on African beliefs and na-ture preservation. In general, ethnomusicologistsdiscuss ritual songs of various ethnic groups. Itwas established from this study that there arecertain songs connected to mythology and rain-making rituals. It is recommended that there maybe need to investigate how other African culturalpractices are related to myths and music. Thefindings of the study also revealed that song textsreflected the wisdom on tangible heritage. It isthen suggested that research may be conducted

on African rituals that are still passed throughoral means in order for them exist written records.

NOTES

1 Compiled from Evina Marariromba, Gaison Gasura,and Obert Marariromba and Kwuti Takavadii, PhineasMaenzani, and Silindeni Makunga, Nevana andKufahazvinei villages, 25 and 27 June 2010,respectively. (Transcriptions in author’s possession)

2 Hey the unmarried lady! What is making noise?3 To climb a mount in a meandering way.4 Who remained with mine?5 Elderly people who are here do not have wisdom.

They ask Chamatowo to herd cattle. Where am I goingto herd them. Ndera ndera hoye.

6 Ndisekuru vanenge vachizvifambira zvavo.7 Nyoka dzimu idzi dzakangwara.8 Unoona sanga raNevana iro? Mune nyoka dzirimo.

Chero vana vedu havadziurai pavanodziona vacifudzamombe. Vanoziva kuti inyokadzimu.

9 We have seen the wise ten virgins. The five are wise.Implying that the other five are not.

10 We are being soaked by rain on our way from Zame.11 Mvura yawandisa. Zviyo zvava kuoma.12 Denga rakwidibira. Denga raoma.13 What have you invited me for?14 The dove coos whilst eating.

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Fig. 1. The western door Fig. 2. The eastern door

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