NDETANGIRA POI…!
News of your passing was unbelievable; for neither mind nor spirit could grasp it.
Zimbabweans who know who they are, who are cognisant of their cultural heritage, who are vanyai vaMusikavanhu thirst for the kind of music you left us.
When the white-man from the British Isles invaded our land 129 years ago, he not only robbed us of our land and material wealth, he also invaded our values, our ethos — everything we hold dear.
The whiteman knew that our strength lay in our very strong belief system, our system of worship which was founded on very strong cultural values.
Because of this strong cultural heritage, the whiteman never defeated us, because we never accepted that white rule was correct or legitimate.
For this reason, the whiteman unleashed a well-orchestrated strategy to destroy our culture, values and ethics.
He was relentless; through the school system this cultural vandalism was institutionalised, through music and the arts.
For him to succeed in subjugating us, we had to stop believing in ourselves; we had to accept the whiteman was superior, thus we would bow down to his rule as natural.
But victory was not to be the white-man’s.
Among us you arose, mukoma Tuku, with all you had you defended our cultural heritage and our soul as a nation.
Throughout your musical career, you relentlessly fought to arrest the cultural erosion resulting from the whiteman’s assault on our culture.
Your life was an example of what it is to be Zimbabwean, one at peace with Musikavanhu and his people, munhu akarurama.
In your 66 albums, never was there to be found a single song denigrating the ways of Musikavanhu, our moral ethical and aesthetic values as MaDzimbahwe.
You never assisted the whiteman destroy our values.
Never were you found defending prostitution:
Dzikamawo wakura…
Nevasikana vasina kuwanikwa zvanzi murume ndewangu…
Varume musaite chiringa…
Tsika dzedu dzakaendepi… in song after song you chided loose morals.
Perekedza mwana kunze kwadoka; in our culture you do not keep a girl overnight, you take her home in good time.
Svovi yangu, your love letter to your beloved Daisy spells the depth of your respect for spousal love; that it is not about bodies but a consonance of spirits; that one to each is the embodiment of the other, completes the other — there cannot be anyone else, anything else.
What a draught of clean refreshing spring water this is in this day when capitalist decadence peddles false values, confining ‘love’ to false eyelashes, artificially induced yellow skin, stiletto bodies, foreign flowing hair, expensive cars and cash.
You decried the problems which arise because materialism from the West has infested and distorted our values about love and marriage.
Mamuramba…wachiwanepi chitsvuku tsvuku, wakawenipi katema tema, kane musana murefu refu …surely it cannot be about the structure of the body or the colour of the skin.
You fought against us being lost in the morass of Western decadence, you consistently redirected our moral compass.
Bvuma wasakara… kuchembera ndizvo, ndizvo… age is a sign of longevity, you defend.
Among our people, the elders are the repositories of knowledge and wisdom. They are paid the greatest respect and honour; they are consulted by the community; they are not objects of ridicule as in the West.
For us, age is a crown of life, an accomplishment in wisdom, a sign of maturity not of weakness.
It is a time when one graduates to be a custodian of all that is sacred in a community. Thus you insisted: Chengetai baba namai avo, the elders are to be protected and cherished not to be discarded and humiliated.
You sang of ordinary Zimbabweans, us, the everyday people Shamie, Shamiso, ndichakutengera pata-pata, ndichakutengera siripasi; you never said I will buy you a car or a house, just a pair of slippers.
How sweet!
This is characteristic of your humility, making everybody feel special no matter their humble station. Chero ukakwira mumbombera… you advised us not to seek the high stations in life but just to accept who we are.
Western cultural imperialism has bastardised our norms and values, making it so normal for women and children to be objectified when in fact it has destroyed the structures that made everybody safe in our communities.
In ‘Neria’ you highlighted this tragedy which arises when norms and values are corrupted by materialism of the West.
Family and community harmony and peace, kuwadzana, is the ideal among our people. You were not silent about this Tuku: Tozeza baba… imi baba manyanya kutuka mai …
We long for and cherish music to which mai, baba, mwana, mbuya, sekuru, mukuwasha and ambuya can enjoy together without being ashamed or embarrassed and Tuku music is just what the doctor ordered.
The spirit force of Zimbabwe cannot remain strong if its people are pre-occupied with that which is immoral and unethical and offends Musikavanhu; you protected the edifice called Zimbabwe Tuku, you left it stronger and greater.
You warned us, your brothers and sisters, never to forget that we are Africans, blacks not whites. Mandiona kusviba mati kuora…., kusvikira rini tichitiza mimvuri yedu…
We should be at peace with who we are. You were at peace with who you were Tuku, you did not abandon our ways, our values and norms. You sang in our language, you made us proud of who we are.
Dada nerudzi rwako, chimiro chako, nedzinza rako, pembedza rurimi rwako… you exhorted us.
When we want to teach the young, we can always turn to you.
You never failed to console: Rufu ndimadzongonyodze and ‘Neria’ are comforting songs.
An incredible guitarist, you produced vibes which moved us all — locals and foreigners alike.
What shall we say about your husky voice and characteristic cough, what about the rhythmic African foot work, except to say the best comes from Zimbabwe, from home!
For all these special reasons, we say Zimbabwe has not lost its moral compass, you are a great national hero because when our enemy struck us in the heart, you came to the nation’s defence and averted the tragedy of our nation dangerously going off the rails. Tozviudza aniko kuti the nation has lost its salt.
Those who crowned you ‘Doctor’ were right on track.
Thank you for living the life you sang, a beacon of moral integrity, we are honoured to be your fellow compatriots.
Farewell Nzou Samanyanga!