Chronicle Editor
Mzala Tom
The last stage was the father being given a piece of the umbilical cord, which he took to a place near the homestead and buried, offering thanks to the ancestors and asking them to protect the new baby.
The father had the final say on the child’s name after discussions within the family. It must be noted that each clan has its own rituals concerning the disposal of the umbilical cord. For example, with the Moyo clan, the umbilical cord is disposed of by the mother of the child.
The umbilical cord is mixed with various crop seeds like maize, pumpkins, ground nuts, sorghum and many other domestic crop seeds. After mixing it, the mother scatters the mixture in the fields and then uses a hoe to mix it with soil and cover it as if planting.
With the Ndlovu clan, the grandmother or mother of the child buries the umbilical cord right in the middle of the entrance of the house. The Sibanda people tie the umbilical cord on the baby’s waist. After about a month the mother takes it off and places it haphazardly on her waist and thereafter starts walking a short distance out of the yard until it falls off on its own.
The Ncube and Thebe people burn the umbilical cord in a small fire made with twigs of the mbondo tree. The Tshabalala people bury the umbilical cord inside the house on the side where the child’s gender traditionally sits. The Ndebele clan disposes it in a similar way as the Sibanda people except that the mother tucks it in her head gear and walks a short distance outside the yard until it falls on its own.
The Dumane clan buries it at the back of the house. The Khumalo and Mkhwananzi clans dispose of the umbilical cord by throwing it in the lake. This explains why the Khumalo and Mkhwananzi clans are tabooed to eat fish.
Other clans also dispose of the umbilical cord by throwing it inside an anthill.
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