Online Reporter
Forward Nyanyiwa in CARLOW, Ireland
GROWING up in Mukarakate, Murehwa, the land of Jerusarema, Dandanda and notably Jiti, l was privileged to be among the golden generation that got cultural, tradition and identity lectures from the village elders.
Hamukwani, the oldest, whose grey beard was seeped in wisdom, was one passionate Jiti loyalist and l reckon he must be turning in his grave right now given the way Jiti is being bastardised.
Jiti was our way of life – we lived it, breathed it and we mastered it, together with the values and cultural weight it carried.
However, never did we confuse Jiti with Jerusarema and never would we ever thought it would be confused to Nyau dance.
Jiti, like any other village tradition, had its own guiding principles and regulations.
There was a strict age restriction of who would make the moonlight nights to attend Jiti gatherings.
No children were allowed!
Jiti nights were a celebration of life, love, community, hard work and togetherness and the settings and songs would carry adult themes so much that children were not allowed near those spaces.
There has been a debate triggered by some critics on whether Baba Harare’s music is slowly diluting Zimbabwe’s oldest music genre.
The critics, which l strongly feel carry some valid points, are concerned that the current self-proclaimed vanguard of Jiti music is actually becoming the “Destroyer-in-Chief” of this sacred genre.
As largely expected, Braveman Chizvino, populary known as Baba Harare, shot back on his Facebook page.
“Jiti did not begin with me. I inherited it. It is deeply rooted in Zimbabwe tradition. It has accompanied our people through celebrations and mourning for generations.
“Traditional dances like Jerusarema have always celebrated life, community, womanhood and manhood.
“Our ancestors were not ashamed of who they were,” wrote Baba Harare on his Facebook wall.
Let me say Baba Harare is right.
He did not create Jiti and it’s also true that he inherited it.
But what he failed to tell his followers was that he did selective inheritance.
He is just a poor copycat.
When he inherited Jiti, it looks like Baba Harare only copied the sexual suggestive dances and combined them with his sexual vocals.
That is not inheritance.
The late music legend Oliver Mtukudzi aptly sang it when he coined “Nhaka Sandi Bonde.”
Inheritance means taking everything from the values, principles, norms, dances and preserving it without diluting with other foreign elements.
Baba Harare missed that part or to him, Jiti is about sexual suggestive dances because even back in the village, Jiti songs were not littered with sexual suggestive lyrics.
It was a combination of celebratory and educative songs.
Baba Harare’s latest release is nothing short of a betrayal to the proud tradition of Jiti.
What was once a genre rooted in communal joy, cultural rhythm, and family-friendly celebration has been hijacked by sexually suggestive lyrics and vulgar innuendo designed purely for online clout.
This is not the Jiti that brought people together in village gatherings; this is midnight music, unfit for family radio, and certainly not for the ears of children.
Let’s be clear – the dances paraded in this so-called Jiti track are not Jiti at all.
They are Nyau — gule wankulu dances — ritualistic movements that carry their own cultural weight and meaning.
To mislabel them as Jiti is to erode the authenticity of both traditions, reducing sacred cultural practices into cheap gimmicks for social media views.
Baba Harare’s attempt to pass off Nyau as Jiti is cultural vandalism dressed up as entertainment.
The vulgarity in the lyrics is not accidental — it is a calculated move to shock, to trend, and to chase clicks.
But at what cost?
Children are being exposed to content that should be restricted to the dead of night, when families are asleep and the airwaves are not meant for impressionable minds.
By pushing this kind of music into mainstream platforms, Baba Harare risks normalising indecency and dragging the reputation of Zimbabwean music into the mud.
True Jiti is joyous, unifying, and deeply rooted in Zimbabwean identity.
What Baba Harare has served up is a distortion, a parody, and a dangerous precedent for young artists who may think vulgarity equals success.
It must be noted that Baba Harare is not the first musician to sing Jiti music.
There are yesteryear greats, the likes of the late Biggie Tembo, a fine Jiti lyrist who blazed a trail pushing the Jiti genre to Wembley nights, a feat only reserved for great musicians back then.
There was Mike Mopo, Mr Bulk, Nevernay Chinyanga a.k.a Muyengwa, Kenneth Chigodora and the list is endless.
Never did these musicians court controversy of this magnitude.
They preserved the Jiti genre with honour and respect.
If this is the future of Jiti, then the genre is being buried alive under the weight of cheap sexualisation.
For the sake of cultural integrity, family decency, and the protection of children, Baba Harare’s latest release must be condemned, restricted, and recognised for what it is and everything that it represents.
And, that is certainly NOT JITI.
