adminStephen Ephraem
IN the previous article, we discussed the factors that lead to cultural cringe or inferiority complex worldwide. From a local point of view, we discussed a particular case of the Tsonga or Shangani people who are being regarded as backward and inferior by some sections of society.
Being a minority people in Zimbabwe, the Shanganis have been on the receiving end and their case is so sympathetic. The question that still remains is that: Is there any culture that is backward and inferior? Can we really say that the following Shanganis culture is backward and inferior?
Food
Shangani people’s staple food is just similar to that of any other native culture in Zimbabwe. Despite the drawback of little rainfall they receive in their regions, Shangani people are hardworking farmers whose crops include rapoko, millet, sorghum and maize. They don’t have any restrictions of on food like pork as other cultures do. They have a unique part of their menu in form of bull frog meat.
The best and remarkable recipe for bull frog meat is found in Shangani communities. Although most African people look down upon this part of Shangani culture, cultural tourists descend on Shangani communities each year to experience the bull frog dish.
The Malilangwe Trust which runs The Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in Chiredzi has partnered a Shangani community to give cultural tourists a treat of Shangani lifestyle that includes bull frog meals. In Shangani culture, bullfrog meat is called “Homba ya Tatani” meaning father’s royal dish. Is something that cultural tourists pay homage to experience really backward?
Initiation ceremony
When a child graduates into adulthood, he/she is expected to undergo an initiation ceremony. During that process, a boy is taught how to become a dependablemanin society as a girl is taught how to be a responsible woman. They are both preparedfor family errands. It is during the initiation ceremony that boys undergo circumcision. The circumcision act is an indicator of cultural graduation.
Those who used to smear circumcision as a backwardShangani culture were left with an egg of their faces. Health institutions in Zimbabwe are campaigning for males to undergo circumcision as part of a healthy lifestyle. The question now is: Which cultureshas been promoting circumcision in Zimbabwe from time immemorial? Aren’t they the “backward and inferior” cultures that are credited with circumcision?
Piercing of ears
Most elderly Shangani and Ndau men are identified with pierced ears. Ear piercing is regarded as ideal for women in “superior” cultures. So when a culture has men with pierced ears, most people regard that as a backward value. How didear piercing become part of the Shangani and Ndau culture?
Shangani is a collective term for all Tsonga tribes that were conquered by Soshangana’s Nguni people and were assimilated into the Ngunis in the 1820s. The Ndzawus or Ndaus were also assimilated into Ngunis. When King Soshanganaformed an empire which he named Gaza after his grandfather Gasa, he renamed his people Shangana or Shangani after himself.
When King Soshangana died his sons,Mawewe and Mzila, fought for the throne. Although Mzila was supposed to be the heir, he fled Mawewe to Swaziland. The Portuguese later came to Mzila’s rescue as they fought on Mzila’s side and dethroned Mawewe.
Mzila became king and demanded that all men under his kingdom show loyalty by piercing their ears. Any men found without a pierced ear was regarded an outcast. King Mzila was succeeded by his son Ngungunyana. King Ngungunyana also adopted the ear piercing act as part of the Shangani people’s culture.
Dressing
A multi coloured attire made out of various cloth pieces called Chikisais a unique part of Shangani people. Chikisa also identifies the Ndau people since the Ndaus were assimilated into Soshangana’s people.The Chikisa dress is a unique attire worldwide. It is mainly found in south east Zimbabwe, north and eastern South Africa and southern Mozambique communities. While Zimbabwe is claimed to have no national dress, isn’t it that Shanganis are already a step ahead with their Chikisa as their cultural dress?
Traditional headship
Shangani communities have maintained a traditional setup where a chief still commands respect. One has to be a cultural tourist to Tshovani, Sangwe, Sengwe and Matibi 2 communal lands to witness how Shangani communities are threaded.
Men and women still hold respect for each regardless of what human rights activistsare campaigning for women to do this day. Shangani women understand their men. The men also understand their women as not cheap and useless like what some outsiders might want the world to believe. How many cultures still have men and women commanding a two-way respect process?
Traditional fishing ceremony
Every year, cultural tourists travel to south east Lowveld of Zimbabwe to witness the Shangani traditional fishing ceremony called Saila. Conservancies and lodges around Chiredzi have been benefiting during Saila period. The Shangani people still understand the value of sharing. After each traditional fishing ceremony, everyone who will be present at the Saila would get a share of their harvest withoutfightingor greedy. Is a culture of sharing backward and inferior?
Contacted for a comment, co-ordinator for Centre for Cultural Development Initiative in Chiredzi Mr Hebert Hasani Phikela indicated that it is wrong to regard any culture as backward and inferior. Said Mr Phikela: “There is nothing like a backward and inferior culture in the world. People should not mistake being a minority group to be inferior.
The problem mainly lies with us Africans. We applaud foreign minority cultures as “superior” at the same time despising fellow African cultures. What we have here are intricate aspects some people are failing to embrace. We need time and cultural lenses to comprehend the so-called backward and inferior cultures. Communities should be interconnected. Whereone culture is left wanting, the other one should fill the gap.”
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