Kuenda Mbire the Song and Original Lyrics

Kuenda Mbire

Background

Legend is that, in the old Mbire Province of 16^th Century or even before, that includes the present day Hwedza, there was a small venomous snake that was only found in this area. The venom was so poisonous that  if it fell on green wood or grass, it would dry up immediately. If it bit an animal, the latter’s hooves, teeth and horns would fall off within 24 hours. The Hwedza Mbires were famed for making war weapons such as spears, axes (gano) and arrows, on account of the fact that the Hwedza Mountains were full of iron deposits. The Nembire (Chief of the Mbires or Mwenembire) anointed his weapons with paste made from the venom of the little snake. The effect of the stab or cut from weapon was the same as the bite from the little snake. If ever you offended Nembire, you had nowhere to hide.

Kuenda Mbire, the song was sung by the Nembire’s enemies.

Today, Kuenda Mbire is a spiritual song that can be sung to invoke ancestral spirits, although the song, has been recorded by different artists, for purely entertainment purposes.

 Lyrics

Lead (L)           Kuenda Mbire, kuenda Mbire

                        Baba iwe Moyo

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Kuenda Mbire, Vakomana iwe

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Kuenda Mbire, Vasikana iwe

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Ndiende mugomo monditevera

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndikwire mumuti mondipotsera

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndiende mugomo monditevera

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndikwire mumuti mondipotsera

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndipinde muguru, mahwekwe nemhungu

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndipinde mubako, mondigovha

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Kuenda Mbire, Baba iwe Moyo

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Ndoendepiko kusingasvikike?

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Ndidoti mugwenzi nemago ndure

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Kuenda Mbire, Baba iwe Moyo

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndichiti muchuru ndarumwa nenyuchi

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndipinde mudziva mahwekwe negarwe

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Ndipinde mugonera mondidzivirira

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ndipinde mumvura mondipindira

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Nditizire murugwezhwa ndarumwa nenyoka

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lead (L)           Ndozivepiko, vakomana iwe?

Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo

Lead (L)           Ho-o iye!

 Backing (B)     Ho-o hehwo, kuenda Mbire

Lyrics from Aaron C. Hodza (1974)

Marriage in the Shona Culture Series - 1

Article 1

Lobola/Roora

Lobola/Roora, in the Shona custom of Zimbabwe is the payment, a man makes to his future in laws in order to marry their daughter. This type of marriage is recognized by the Zimbabwean law as a Customary Law union. Those who marry under General Law, are required or expected to marry this manner, before they can proceed to wed in church or by any other marriage officer.

 

The Charging and Payment Ceremony

I have encountered a number of posts on social media asking the list of things that are charged during payment of lobola. In brief, lobola is composed of cash, livestock, clothes and in some cases, groceries.

The main actors in the ceremony are:

Man’s Side

·         Garikai, the man who is going marry

·         Choga, go-between (intermediary) or munyai who speaks and negotiates on behalf of Garikai

·         Garikai’s support team composed of brothers, uncles, aunts and friends. Garikai’s parents do not attend.

Woman’s Side

·         Rutendo, the woman to be married

·         Tete Chenai, Rutendo’s aunt, her father’s sister. Danai, who is Rutendo’s elder sister or cousin can stand in for Tete Chenai

·         Tongai, Rutendo’s elder brother or cousin

·         Mhofu, Rutendo’s father

·         Chibwe, Mhofu’s younger brother

·         MaSibanda, Rutendo’s mother

·         Rutendo’s support team composed of sisters, cousins, friends and aunts

The lead actress is Tete Chenai. She is the one with access to both families on both sides. Tete Chenai has held informal discussions with both sides, prior to this day. She also knows their personalities. Choga speaks on behalf of Garikai, while Chibwe and Tongai speak on behalf of Mhofu.

The charging and payment of lobola is done in 5 stages.

Stage 1, Zvirevereve/Zvirehwarehwa/Zvibinge

At this stage Garikai is introducing himself, proving that he is really interested in marrying Rutendo, he has known her for some time, he is known by the family, he is willing to be fined for anything that Rutendo might have done wrong, he…..

On the other hand Rutendo has to confirm that indeed she is freely willing to marry Garikai. Tete Chenai and MaSibanda also confirm this.

The following items are charged in Stage 1

·         Kupinda mumba –  literally, entrance fee to allow Choga to come into the room where every one is assembled. Rutendo is not in this room at this stage

·         Vhura muromo – literally, opening the mouth or request for dialogue

·         Kusunungura homwe – literally opening the purse. You cannot go into other people’s home and open your purse, you have to ask for permission to do so.

·         Ndiro – all the cash is placed in a plate, which by custom belongs to MaSibanda. There is a charge for that plate

·         Mutete/Bute – snuff

·         Makandinzwaani – literally, a question to Garikai, how he knew that Mhofu has a daughter called Rutendo.

·         Dare – travel expenses etc for people who came to participate or witness the ceremony

·         Pwanyaruzhowa – literally breaking the security fence. These are damages that are paid if Rutendo is pregnant.

·         Mafukidzadumbu/Mapfukudzadumbu –  Literally covering the pregnancy and for unborn baby kicks in her mother’s womb. This is payment for MaSibanda for the pregnancy with Rutendo

·         Matekenyandebvu – literally for playing with the father’s beard. As a baby, toddler, girl and woman, Rutendo might have disrespected her father.

·         Kuripa –  Fine for miscellaneous offences. The offences are not literal. There is no defence. Garikai might be fined for having met Mhofu in a bar and buying him or not buying him a beer.

·         Musikana kunhonga – at this point Rutendo is invited in to confirm that she wants to get married to Garikai. She does that by taking some money that would have been placed in the plate.

·         Tete Chenai will do the same to concur

·         MaSibanda will also do the same to concur (in other cultures, the mother is not required to confirm)

At this point of Stage 1, no marriage has taken place. If any of the two withdraw, it is not considered a divorce.

 

 Stage 2            Rusambo/Rugaba

Rusambo/Rugaba – this is the big one. This is THE LOBOLA. After the payment of rusambo/rugaba, the couple is now considered married. 

Stage 3.

 Garikai and support team are called into the room. The following payments are made:

·         Mauchiro –  literally clapping. A son-in-law is required to clap hands in a certain way when greeting or calling for the attention of his father or mother-in-law. This clap is called gusvi. Mauchiro will give Garikai the permission to do the gusvi as and when required.

·         Pasuru – groceries. The groceries are a selection of food and other essentials that are presented to the in-laws for use at the ceremony.

Stage 4. Clothes for Mhofu and MaSibanda

 At this stage Mhofu and MaSibanda outline the items they want, colour and sizes. These are to be paid later. The list usually includes:

For Mhofu

·         Suit

·         Shirt

·         Shoes

·         Overcoat

·         Socks

·         Belt

·         Hat

·         Umbrella

For MaSibanda

·         Suit

·         Hat

·         Shoes

·         Blanket

·         Black Shawl

·         Wrapper

Stage 5. Livestock

This is charging only as the livestock can only be delivered at a later date.

·         Mombe dze Danga – the number of cattle

·         Mombe yehumai – Heifer for MaSibanda. This is heifer is considered sacred. We shall cover it in more detail in later articles.

·         Mbudzi dzemunongedzo – goats

·         Imbwazukuru – goats for the maternal grandmother

·         Jongwe – a cock that is brought on the day that the cattle are delivered

There are a lot of variations to the above per Shona subgroups or geographical location. The general rule is that the man follows the woman’s custom. That is where Tete Chenai comes in. She makes sure that each side knows the customs of the other.

Unfortunately, due to many factors, the formality, anticipation, surprises, thrill of negotiations etc  have now been compromised because lists are emailed, cash is electronically transferred, Garikai or Rutendo might be abroad, Tete Chenai has never met Rutendo and so on. Other customs are also being roped in, for example you will find that Garikai and Rutendo wear matching African print outfits!

After reading this, I am sure you are wondering what this is all about. Your head is spinning with strange concepts such as entrance fees to a place that is not a night club, frivolous fines for non-existent offences, payment for pregnancies and scratching beards etc. and your answer is GREED. The  next article, will unpack the significance of lobola and some of the items outlined above.

#paylobola

#don’tmarryinNovember