Online Reporter
Liberty Dube
Post Reporter
A CHILLING discovery has unsettled the quiet Nemashapa community in Chipinge District, where fear and speculation now hang in the air.
Early last Sunday morning, a wooden box eerily resembling a coffin was found at the doorstep of the Marwa family homestead.
Inside the sack that concealed it lay a strange assortment: a gona (traditional charm paraphernalia), a black dress, and a torn blanket. The box itself bore unsettling inscriptions — one side marked ‘Gison Marwa,’ the other ‘Chirandu.’
The bizarre find was made by the family’s gardener, Mr. Lyman Mahesi, as he began his routine chores around 9am, unwittingly stumbling upon what has since become the talk of the village.
The incident has left the community visibly shaken, with villagers exuding fear and concern over the implications of the mysterious coffin-like white box.
Bizarrely, the black dress and blanket are believed to have belonged to the family’s grandmother, and allegedly vanished before her death over 15 years ago. She passed away in 2009 without trace of the dress and blanket.
The incident has brought to the surface a long-standing feud, dating back over 15 years, after traditional healers, consulted by the Marwas, attributed the act to jealousy and unresolved conflicts within the family.
When The Manica Post visited Nemashapa Village under Headman Mabuyaye in Chief Mutema’s area on Tuesday, scores of people – most of them youths and schoolchildren – were milling around the perimeter fence demarcating the homestead, scratching their heads for answers to the shocking discovery.
Our news crew’s visit to the area was initially met with resistance from a rowdy group of villagers, who barricaded the road leading to the homestead, claiming to be the Marwa family’s relatives.
However, after the journalists argued their case, clarifying that they had a right to cover the bizarre incident, the villagers relented and granted them permission to proceed and capture the proceedings.
Some villagers who spoke to this publication were of the belief that someone had deliberately placed the ‘strange parcel’ at the Marwa homestead, though the reason remained unknown.
The villagers picketed as two unidentified traditional healers led rituals to destroy and burn the mysterious box resembling a coffin.
The traditional healers, armed with knobkerries and healing paraphernalia, were hired by the Marwa family to examine and destroy the coffin and its contents.
After conducting preliminary rituals, scrutinising and inspecting the objects, the traditional leaders concluded that the strange items were planted at the homestead by a close and jealous family member.
“This is a case of jealous and long-standing family feud. The small box resembling a coffin and everything inside it were placed by someone within the family who is unhappy with certain relatives, including those in the diaspora. The person responsible feels unappreciated for the help he or she rendered in the past. As seasoned traditional practitioners, we fear nothing about this coffin-like box, and the family should neither fear it either.
“What is needed in the family is unity, and the Marwas need to reconcile,” said one of the traditional healers.
Sources privy to the development disclosed to The Manica Post that the Marwa family feud dates back more than 15 years.
When approached for comment, Mr Lyman Mahesi said the box was inscribed Gison Marwa on one side and Chirandu on the other.
“I live in this neighbourhood and come here every day to work as a gardener. While doing my usual chores on Sunday, I noticed a sack that seemed to contain something. When I checked, I found a white box inside that looked like a coffin. Strangely, one side of the box was inscribed ‘Gison Marwa’ and the other side ‘Chirandu.’
I was utterly shocked and felt weak in the knees. Confused and unsure of what to do, I eventually gathered the courage to approach the property owners, who then reported the matter to the local police.
“The family also informed the traditional leader, who advised them to consult traditional healers. We invited the traditional leaders on Sunday, and they came back again today (Tuesday),” said Mr Mahesi.
He added that the ‘clothes and blanket’ are suspected to have once belonged to a deceased family member.
“We were surprised the clothes were still there. The healers advised the Marwa family to unite and resolve their issues amicably,” he said.
A member of the Marwa family, who requested anonymity citing the sensitivity of the matter, said the dress and blanket disappeared around 2007.
She said the items belonged to their grandmother, who passed away in 2009.
“Our father had two wives, and the tension has always been between the siblings from the two sides of the family. We hope this situation will eventually bring peace and harmony in the family. Over the years, we have had many deaths in the family, some of which have been very strange. The dress and blanket that have been planted together with the white box went missing around 2007 or 2008. They belonged to our grandmother, who passed away around 2009. I was shocked to see them again,” she said.
Nemashapa Village head, Mr Rodgers Nemashapa said the strange occurrence was a manifestation of a deep-seated feud within the Marwa family.
“These people, despite being from the same clan, seem to have a long-standing feud. Their father was polygamous with two wives – both of whom are now deceased. But their siblings and grandsons are divided along the polygamous lines, and it looks like they continue to fight and grow jealous of one another’s success in life. The long-standing conflict is what has led to the planting of the strange objects we are seeing today. At first, we thought the coffin contained human remains, but upon inspection, only clothes and a blanket were discovered. Out of fear, we summoned traditional healers, who destroyed the objects,” said Mr Nemashapa.
A villager, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said the incident has left the local community shaken and petrified.
“We are in a state of shock because this has never happened before in this area. When the word spread, the people were frightened. Some thought it was a bad omen, while others believed it was meant to curse the family. We just hope this can be resolved, bring peace and healing within the Marwa family and the whole community,” he said.
When contacted for comment, Pastor Davies English said it was possible that someone could have performed rituals before dumping the box resembling a coffin at the Marwa homestead.
“Someone may have placed the small box resembling a coffin there as part of a ritual to manage avenging spirits that were troubling them.
“By returning such a coffin, the intention may have been to evoke a spirit of death aimed at the person whose name was inscribed on it. It is evident that jealousy is involved, with one party targeting another. However, the fact that the coffin was successfully burnt may signify the end of the matter,” he said.
