dyton mupawaenda
Dr Masimba Mavaza
The Zimbabwean Diaspora represents a vast and diverse community that spans across the whole of United Kingdom.
Most of us believe that London is England.
England is a very small kingdom, but very powerful and significant. It survives and draws its strength from four other kingdoms to make what is now known as United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Other kingdoms which make the UK are Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Channel Islands, including Isle of Man and Isle of White. The English do pride themselves in their culture and histories. Yet they have created a system which destroys your culture if you are not strong.
Within this vibrant tapestry, lies an abundance of cultural identities, each contributing unique traditions, languages, and customs.
It is only when you come to this country that you will begin to understand the significance of cultural identity and the collective strength it brings to our community. The system in the United Kingdom glorifies their culture and does not recognise yours.
As a result, many Zimbabweans have been drowned in a culture that is not theirs and became misfits. The great exodus to the United Kingdom by our fellow Zimbabweans has enriched many financially, but destroyed some culturally.
Many Zimbabweans have lost their culture and along with their identity. Understanding cultural identity is vital and it must be sold to our children.
Cultural identity is the foundation upon which individuals build a sense of belonging and connection with their community. It encompasses the customs, traditions, language, and art that are passed down from generation to generation, shaping the unique expression of each cultural group.
For us Zimbabweans, cultural identity represents a deep-rooted bond that unites us despite geographical distances. Through the preservation and celebration of cultural practices, we forge a collective spirit that transcends borders and fosters unity.
The former Mayor of Corby Councillor Tafadzwa Chikoto has been forging a cultural awareness to the Zimbabwean community.
The vast diversity within the Zimbabwean Diaspora may be confused as a tribal division, but it is that division that unites us.
We have some people who are cultural cringe, which is tightly connected with cultural alienation, the process of devaluing or abandoning one’s own culture or cultural background.
A person who is culturally alienated places little value on their own or host culture, and instead hungers for that of a sometimes imposed colonising nation.
We have some Zimbabweans who have changed their surnames to adopt English names. Some who were originally Marufu are now calling themselves Deaths.
Collins Mutema, a friend of mine, has changed his name to Collins Black, trying very hard to run away from the surname of his forefathers.
They want to be different and distinctive, to be “self-made”. They are a member of a group that is systematically disadvantaged and disrespected. They resent it and “want out”.
Some have even believed that anything Zimbabwean is bad and they want to be identified as British.
In the UK, there is no black English person. You can only be British, but not English. It is the same with Zimbabwe. There is no white Zezuru, but there are white Zimbabweans.
This is called Centric behaviour.
Xenocentrism occurs when one has a preference for a foreign culture’s goods, ideas, styles, and traditions over their own culture.
Ethnocentrism, by contrast, refers to the preference of one’s own culture or country over all others. Ethnocentrism is a basic attitude expressing the belief that one’s own ethnic group or one’s own culture is superior to other ethnic groups or cultures, and that one’s cultural standards can be applied in a universal manner.
Culture may play a key role in whether people “like” or “don’t like” others.
The differences are notable among Americans of European descent compared to people of African origin.
“People respond more favourably to others who express the distinct kinds of positive emotions valued by their culture,” said Jeanne Tsai, a Stanford associate professor of psychology.
Tsai directs the Culture and Emotion Lab at Stanford and is one of the lead authors on a study published in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal.
Tsai explained that people tend to immediately like and want to approach some people, but not others. “But the reasons for these fast reactions are unclear,” she said, suggesting that culture plays a role.
It has been researched that cultural values could drive neural responses and preferences for different positive facial expressions – like excited versus calm faces.
“Within cultures, European Americans responded similarly to excited and calm faces, but Chinese showed greater activity in the ventral striatum in response to calm versus excited expressions,” Tsai said.
The ventral striatum is part of the brain involved in emotional responses, particularly those related to the anticipation of pleasure.
“This pattern held regardless of the ethnicity or gender of the face,” Tsai added.
It is considered to be bad manners if you are very loud and on your phone in a public place in UK, yet in Zimbabwe or any other African country, one can scream their lungs.
Psychologists believe that when you whisper to a person, you are really showing that the person is close to your heart. When you shout, it means the person is further away from your heart. As a result, a person shouts loudly when angry.
Another Zimbabwean was reminded not to say sorry when someone is injured unless they are the one who inflicted the injury.
Culture encompasses even facial expressions. Even titles are equated to culture. Someone was fired for not calling his boss madam. He was considered rude. Ironically when he got a job in the council, he was reprimanded for calling people sir or madam.
In fact, Tsai explained, activity in the ventral striatum predicted peoples’ preferences for excited versus calm faces.
“Our findings suggest not only that different cultures value distinct positive expressions, but further that these differences are visible in deep brain circuits implicated in reward and affect, and predict their later preferences for social partners,” she said.
For example, a Chinese might avoid people who express more excitement than calm, Tsai wrote. “People prefer and value those who express the positive emotions most valued by their own culture,” she said.
In Shona, the easily excitable are snubbed as “mhengeramumba”, mentally disturbed, but not mad.
“The Zimbabwean Diaspora is a mosaic of cultures, reflecting the varied histories of Zimbabwe descendants who dispersed across the globe through migration. From the colorful tapestries of Africa to the rhythmic beats of the Caribbean, the soulful melodies of the Americas, and the resilient spirit of Afro-European communities, each cultural group holds a distinct place in the vast diversity of the black Diaspora.” Lindiwe commented on her blog.
It should be remembered that in Africa, a continent rich in cultural diversity, numerous ethnic groups proudly preserve their unique customs and languages. The richness of their heritage is evident in art, music, dance, storytelling, and culinary traditions that have been passed down through generations.
Online Reporter