The function of songs in the Shona ritual-myth of <i>Kurova Guva</i>

Vambe, Maurice Taonezvi

doi:10.1080/18125980903037393

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…While studies on death-related rituals among the Shona of Zimbabwe abound, they are generally limited to traditional practices like kurova guva (home bringing ceremony of the spirit of the recently dead) (Banana 1991, Cox 1995, Vambe 2009, Saidi 2017. Studies on Christian death-related rituals are limited with most of the publications on this subject focusing mainly on tombstone unveiling (Gundani 1999;Zwana 2000;Togarasei and Chitando 2003) and debates on cremation (Chitando 1999;.…”

Section: Christian Death-related Rituals In the Church Of Christ Zimb...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion and Health in a COVID-19 Context : Experiences from Zimbabwe

Manyonganise¹

2023

Bible in Africa Studies

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BIAS 36 ist an essays collection that explores the intersection of religion and health in a COVID-19 context specifically focusing on Zimbabwe. With the menace of COVID-19 across cultures, this volume places its focus on this pandemic and how it has reshaped the discourse on the way, religion interfaces with health. The book further examines the ambivalence of religion in shaping attitudes towards health-seeking behaviour as well as influencing responses to pandemics. This book, therefore, makes a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge by offering an incisive analysis of how the pandemic has shaped the way religion has contributed both positively and negatively to the discourse on health in Zimbabwe. Such an analysis is crucial in informing policy on the future relationship between science and religion in public health both during this pandemic as well as in the post-pandemic era and the crises ahead. The book contains contributions by Molly MANYONGANISE (ed.) / Vengesai CHIMININGE / Enna Sukutai GUDHLANGA / Bernard Pindukai HUMBE / Angeline Mavis MADONGONDA / Clemence MAKAMURE / Gift MASENGWE / Peter MASVOTORE / Tawanda MATUTU / Tenson MUYAMBO / Bednicho NYONI / Nomatter SANDE / Jane TENDERE / Lovemore TOGARASEI / Lindah TSARA / Silindiwe ZVINGOWANISEI

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Section: Christian Death-related Rituals In the Church Of Christ Zimb...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion and Health in a COVID-19 Context : Experiences from Zimbabwe

Manyonganise¹

2023

Bible in Africa Studies

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“…This is particularly necessary for elderly deceased (Pwiti and Mahachi 1991). The ancestral spirits will, in turn, look after all family members and protect them from harm (Vambe 2009). An important aspect is that dishonour in death applies eternally since death is the stage in a Karanga person's life that links the deceased with afterlife, regardless of the religious belief system the person embraced in life.…”

Section: Situating Death and Death Rituals Within The Broader Shona A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This community attaches particular significance on returning the body kudzosa mufi kumba [home] for a proper and honourable burial with the correct rituals. It is widely believed that failure to do so can eventually turn the deceased's spirit into a wandering spirit that haunts the family (Gelfand 1970;Kapenzi 1974;Vambe 2009). For the Karanga people, death also helps to reinforce a sense of community in the face of disruptive factors such as migration, urbanisation, religion and modernity.…”

Section: Situating Death and Death Rituals Within The Broader Shona A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Death and the sociocultural dimensions of forced relocations: experiences from the Tugwi-Mukosi displacement in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe

Basure

Nhodo

Dube

et al. 2021

Anthropology Southern Africa

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This article is an ethnographic inquiry into the cultural dimensions of forced relocations. It is based on the experiences of four resident anthropologists on the forced displacements at Tugwi-Mukosi in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe. Using the concept of death, we question the idea of belonging and what is regarded as an "honourable" way of exiting this world. These are interwoven in the cultural fabric of most Zimbabwean communities and any phenomenon that severs this tie to home is a cause of discomfort and pain amongst local people. Forced displacements have altered issues of honour associated with death rituals. We use death rituals as a window to understand the sociocultural effects of displacement. Novel ways of dealing with death are witnessed as people struggle with lack of a permanent "home." The sacredness of cultural dimensions of death has been reconfigured in ways that have left the displaced struggling to find closure in dealing with the dead. Death rituals give us an opportunity to understand the multifaceted effects of displacement. Through death we experience the pain of displacement, understand the chords that bind the displaced communities together and witness the enduring social bonds that structure life beyond the disruptions of displacement.Este artigo é uma investigação etnográfica sobre as dimensões culturais das realocações forçadas. Este se baseia nas experiências de quatro antropólogos membros na comunidade que sofreu as remoções forçadas em Tugwi Mukosi na província de Masvingo, no Zimbabwe. Usando o conceito de morte, questionamos a ideia de pertencer e o que é considerado uma forma "honrosa" de sair deste mundo. Estas duas noções estão entrelaçadas no tecido cultural da maioria das comunidades do Zimbabwe e qualquer fenómeno que rompa esse vínculo com o lar é uma causa de desconforto e dor entre a população local. As realocações forçadas alteraram as questões de honra associadas aos rituais de morte. Usamos os rituais de morte como uma janela para compreender os efeitos socioculturais do deslocamento. Novas formas de lidar com a morte são testemunhadas à medida que as pessoas lutam contra a falta de um "lar" permanente. A sacralidade das dimensões culturais da morte foi reconfigurada a tal ponto que deixou os deslocados com dificuldades para encontrar o sentido de conclusão ao lidar com os mortos. Os rituais de morte nos dão a oportunidade de compreender os efeitos multifacetados das realocações. Por meio da morte, experimentamos a dor do deslocamento, compreendemos os acordes que unem as comunidades deslocadas e testemunhamos os laços sociais duradouros que estruturam a vida além das rupturas das realocações.

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“…Kugata affirms the notion that death is always caused by something hence it is critical for the surviving members to find a solution to avoid the cause before it wipes every member (Mhaka, 2014;Mwandayi, 2011). They also do it as a way to prepare for bringing the spirit of the deceased back home to rest amongst his own people through kurova guva (Vambe, 2009;Rutsate, 2010;Matiure, 2009;. Mbiti (1975, p.118) and Gehman (1989, p.54) also mention that in African contexts, death is regarded as an unnatural experience and it is alleged that witches, spirits or curses are the primary causative forces behind it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some members of the mourning family can accept while others may remain in denial. In light of the views postulated by Benyera (2014) ;Mhaka, (2014);Mwandayi, (2011); Vambe (2009) and Matiure (2009) Africans conduct rituals connected to death and at certain times they 'jubilantly' celebrate life of the departed relatives through song depicting the deceased's character as memorial acts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflecting on death through song among the Shona people of Zimbabwe

Muranda¹

2018

DANDE

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Singing is undertaken by individuals and the community in dealing with real life experiences including death. Death is a reality which humans and animals are not immune to. It defines the end of life and brings pain to humanity. However, humans have mechanisms to deal with pain caused by death, and singing is one of them. The article examines how song is used to tackle the inevitable incidence of death. In this study, traditional and contemporary popular songs were purposively sampled to analyse and reflect on the nature of music used to cope with death. The study engaged 20 people, among them musicians and the elderly. Basing on Kubler-Ross’ (1969) five stage DABDA model of dealing with grief, the paper contends that Shona people celebrate life and death through song. Through singing, the Shona express ways of dealing with death. Some Shona beliefs in life after death inform the paper with ways of dealing with pain and how subsequently the Shona people come to accept the reality of death. The bereaved also exhibit some spirited embodiment, and reverence of the departed regardless of their earthly conduct. The study concludes that through song, the Shona people draw solace, hope, and peace of mind with regard to life after death. The frame of mind that accepts the imminence of death is embraced by many as they prepare for death through preparatory moves in taking funeral and general insurance policies. The engagement into singing tends to weaken the sting of death.

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The function of songs in the Shona ritual-myth of Kurova Guva

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

Religion and Health in a COVID-19 Context : Experiences from Zimbabwe

Religion and Health in a COVID-19 Context : Experiences from Zimbabwe

Death and the sociocultural dimensions of forced relocations: experiences from the Tugwi-Mukosi displacement in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe

Reflecting on death through song among the Shona people of Zimbabwe

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