Mubobobo: Women have no Sexual Fantasies in their Sleep

Abstract

Mubobobo is a belief among traditional Shona people of Zimbabwe that women cannot have nocturnal emission in their sleep. This study explored traditional Shona women` s experiences of mubobobo from an ethnopsychological perspective. Participants were three men who were alleged to be the perpetrators of mubobobo and three women who claimed to be the victims of mubobobo. The men and women in this study were not related or involved in litigation relating to mubobobo. In fact, the presented cases in this study were isolated individual experiences of mubobobo. In-depth interviews were held to assess the views of participants who were embroiled in the mubobobo controversy as perpetrators and victims. A thematic content analysis of the narratives of the participants was done to establish the reasonableness of participants` convictions about mubobobo in the context of human sexuality. The findings of the study revealed that traditional Shona women experienced nocturnal emission like any other women in the world but due to cultural constraints they could not believe the excitation of their reproductive system in their sleep as real and a normal biological process. Furthermore, research on the sexuality of traditional Shona women could have a special focus on women empowerment in the context of sexual and reproductive health education.

Sexual Desire and Expression among Girls in a Traditional Shona Context

“…The Shona people of Zimbabwe have a culture that portrays sexual desire and fantasy in a subtle manner (Gwandure 2009). Sexual fantasy in Shona culture involves thoughts about sex, wild imaginations about sex and obsession with sexual ideas (Gwandure 2009).…”

“…Sexual fantasy in Shona culture involves thoughts about sex, wild imaginations about sex and obsession with sexual ideas (Gwandure 2009). Thoughts about sex in a traditional Shona context are discouraged among boys and girls until such time society encourages them to think about marriage.…”

“…There are people in society whose role is to develop sexual fantasy in children and adolescents. The category of relatives that can foster wild forms of sexual fantasy or influence the girl to think about sex in a culturally relevant manner are the father's sisters, married or not, called vana vatete, and their husbands, called vana babamukuru and the mother's brothers, vana sekuru (Gwandure 2009). The girls are told at a very young age that they have "husbands" referring to vana babamukuru and vana sekuru (Gwandure 2009).…”

“…Sometimes the girl becomes anxious or cries when she imagines going to bed with an old man with grey hair as her "husband". This teasing of young girls by boys and men who are said to have traditional "sexual rights" over the girl is called "chiramu" in Shona culture (Gwandure 2009). With time, the girl understands the cultural meaning of the practice and enjoys the company of babamukuru and sekuru who would pamper her with praise, admiration and gifts.…”

“…Although most of the studies on adolescents' sexuality and HIV risk in Africa tend to portray teenage girls as victims of sexual coercion, it has now become apparent that teenage girls like boys, have sexual fantasies that can lead to risk sexual practices that sometimes result in the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection (Gwandure and Maseko 2012). In a traditional African context, there is a myth that teenage girls are fertile, sexually healthy and free from sexually transmitted infections (Gwandure 2009). Sexual desire and sexual fantasy even if expressed passively among girls, can lead to HIV risk sexual practices (Gwandure and Maseko 2012).…”