Mhondoro mbira-playing kids a hit in Matabeleland

NGOMA Yepasichigare Cultural Centre for Kids which is based in Mhondoro, Mashonaland West has embarked on a mission to spread the mbira genre to different parts of the country as a way of preserving culture and educating people on the genre.

Mbira music is one of the common genres in the Shona culture.

Ngoma Yepasichigare has groomed 25 kids below the age of 15 from different communities in Mhondoro under Chief Rwizi. The group is under the tutelage of Alois Mutinhiri who formed the cultural centre in 2020.

Recently, some kids from the centre who are part of the Ngoma Yepasichigare Kids Mbira group were in Hwange, Matabeleland North where they performed at Lanyula Cultural Centre in Lubangwe, much to the excitement of the local Nambya and Tonga community. The kids were Bella Mutinhiri (10), Sowat Nhendo (15), Panashe Marowa (15) and Kuda Mapurisa (11).

Led by Bella (Mutinihiri’s daughter), the kids left the crowd, comprised mostly of village heads and elderly people, wowed by their mastery of the mbira instrument and sensational singing. As they performed, Mutinhiri was merely there playing hosho as the kids played mbira and sang on their own.

Mutinhiri’s ambition is to use mbira music to inculcate cultural values to the younger generation. He said the genre can be spread to other parts of the country.

“Our idea is to preserve culture and educate children to know their culture. We came to this side (Matabeleland North) so that people get to know that kids can be frontrunners in music and can influence their peers to uphold values,” he said.

Mutinhiri said that once they are enrolled at the centre, he trains the kids and encourages them to keep themselves busy with various activities to try and get them to stay away from drug and substance abuse. He said he trains them during weekends and school holidays.

So as to ensure that the centre runs smoothly, Mutinhiri appealed to well-wishers and the corporate world for support to connect water to the centre and funds to buy uniforms for the group.

A recording artiste who ventured into the industry in 1976, Mutinhiri has released some albums with the group Mbira Dzekwasamanyika which he leads with his wife.