HomeOld_PostsThe November enigma ...is it a myth?

The November enigma …is it a myth?

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By Solomon Mujakachi

WHEN I finally made my way to the usual watering hole, which is very rare these days on account of you know what, the usual crowd was very thin on the ground.
But the animation was there alright.
In fact, to say the animation was there is an understatement — there was brouhaha!
Murehwa was just being … Murehwa!
The taut and stretched veins on his neck and temple were testimony to grave agitation.
“It’s just not done, full stop. Which part don’t you understand,” he thundered.
“You see, this is the problem with zvinhu zvenyu zvechibhoyi. Very loud on ‘don’ts’ but thin on explanations, manje taidaro taakutogocha so,” said Chihwa calmly, albeit mockingly.
“What’s so special about November except it used to be the month for bonuses and we got our independence from you-know-who in the same month?”
With my interest piqued, I politely inquired of one Mhofu, seated next to me, what the furore was all about.
Mhofu told me Murehwa’s in-laws wanted to pay part of the remaining bride-price for his sister (vakwasha vaida kubvisa jeredzwa or ‘kujuicer vana tsano’ in street lingo) but he turned them down on account of the month being November (mwedzi wembudzi or again, is it ‘the month of a goat’ according to the late lyricist Paul Matavire).
So, I got musing about this month of November (Mbudzi/Lwezi).
True enough, it is the 11th month on the Roman calendar.
Sure enough, prima facie, there is a glut of kids (mbudzana) around farms and villages.
Verily, there are new shoots on trees and grasses.
But does this warrant the ceasing of all other activities — social or spiritual?
According to Zimbabwean folklore:
There are no traditional marriages conducted in November (including kutizira or kutiza mukumbo).
No serious journeys to holy shrines like Matonjeni/Njelele or others for that matter.
No rituals like kurova makuva, mabira and madoro emvura, among others. These are normally reserved for August and part of September anyway.
Kundotsvagira hakubvumidzwe zvakare (visiting seers, n’angas, masvikiro) and Kugadza masabhuku, madzishe namadzimambo (installing headmen and chiefs) among other taboos.
According to Professor Claude Mararike of the University of Zimbabwe, November is the month when the spirits take a rest.
These spirits include vadzimu, makombwe nemhondoro (ancestral, guardian and territorial spirits).
In matters spiritual, belief is central.
It is critical to believe, be it in religion or tradition.
“Matters of belief are not tested in a laboratory. Society is our lab,” said Prof Mararike.
“Beliefs and customs are unique to a particular group. African epistemology looks at cause and interpretation — why certain events happen the way they do.
“Our children must believe, as much as they believe that the blood of Jesus washes away sin, when we tell them of the prohibitions in the month of November.”
“However, cultural beliefs change with the times. But, there is a danger of altering the fundamentals. Practices may vary, but the fundamentals remain.”
Asked what the fundamentals are in the month of November, Prof Mararike said: “Pamwedzi weMbudzi, the fundamental is the belief that our ancestors and our gods need to rest.
“To Christians, Sunday is Sunday, holy communion is the same, as much as Easter remains just that — these are their fundamentals that separate them from others.”
When further pressed to spell out the actual consequences of transgressions in the month of November, Prof Mararike said our elders do not always spell out everything.
He said: “Chisi hachieri musi wacharimwa. Whether it happens or it doesn’t happen is not the issue, but something, somewhere, somehow will happen. The probability of these things happening is 50/50.”
A case of ‘sins of the fathers being visited upon the children unto the fourth generation…,’ if you ask me.
Remember the case of then Chief Lascious Chitsinde Negomo versus the late Morgan Richard Tsvangirai in 2012!
Tsvangirai was accused of violating the sanctity of the month of November by paying the bride price for his intended Lorcadia Karimatsenga.
The case was highly publicised because people were keen to know the position of Roman-Dutch law vis-a-vis our African living law. Needless to say, the rest of course was history!
According to the lunar calendar, the month of Mbudzi is over and we are already in Zvita/Mpalakazi, but not so with the Roman calendar.
The lunar calendar carries 20-21 days and is dependant on the cycle of the moon.
A visit to magistrates’ courts showed it is business as usual with many marriages being solemnised. However, church weddings were not prominent while this writer did not witness any traditional marriages.
On our roads, the month of November, sadly, witnessed a lot of carnage.
A lot of lives were lost.
Well, I don’t know whether to attribute this to the fact our benevolent guardian spirits were resting while the malevolent ones were on the prowl or not.
Hopefully the spirits are now awake!

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