Chihera in Zimbabwe: A Radical African Feminist Principle 3031124650, 9783031124655

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Chihera in Zimbabwe

A Radical African Feminist Principle Edited by Ezra Chitando Sophia Chirongoma · Munyaradzi Nyakudya

Chihera in Zimbabwe

Ezra Chitando Sophia Chirongoma Munyaradzi Nyakudya Editors

Chihera in Zimbabwe A Radical African Feminist Principle

Editors Ezra Chitando Religion, Classics, and Philosophy University of Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe

Sophia Chirongoma Midlands State University Zvishavane, Zimbabwe

Munyaradzi Nyakudya University of Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe

ISBN 978-3-031-12465-5    ISBN 978-3-031-12466-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the ­publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and ­institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Joe McDonald/Getty Images This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Girl Power Girl power Is seriously coveted power It is contested, hunted and stolen By thieves of girl power Girl power is Endangered From ancient time Laws were enacted to deny girl power Cultures were set up to justify their subjugation Religions were used to sanctify Denying girl power To steal girl power Thieves make her dependent on a man They deny her the chance to be an independent adult By marrying her away before finishing school They release bullets of child marriage, teenage pregnancy Sexual harassment, rape and defilement They even sing fake love songs To steal the girl power Today girl power Is constantly sabotaged By boys who write endless sms texts

To deal with their hormones running amok By Sugar Daddies sticking heads out of their black cars Waiving carrots of Pula notes and cellphones Offering free rides to the girl child All just to steal girl power Girl power Is the right for a girl to grow and dream To dream dreams to life It is the right to be educated and have a career It is her right to earn a salary of her own It is the right to generate her own means of living The right to be an independent thinker and property owner The right to be an established adult Before she is a mother Or a wife Girl power Is the power of a girl To know and identify thieves of girl power It is the power to recognize all the gangs standing by the road It is the power to see the salivating hounds tracking her girl power Seeking to steal her girl power with a million tricks in their books It is the power to say, no and no thanks to cash, car and cell It is the power of a girl to know and love her future dreams It is the power of a girl to keep her eyes on her dreams It is the power to live her dreams, prioritize them The dream to finish school before mothering The dream to be a career woman The dream to be independent The dream to choose This is girl power. Musa W. Dube [email protected]

Contents

1 Introducing  a Radical African Indigenous Feminist Principle: Chihera in Zimbabwe  1 Ezra Chitando, Sophia Chirongoma, and Munyaradzi Nyakudya Part I Chihera in the Spiritual Hierarchy: Traversing Patriarchy  33 2 Chihera in the Ancestral Realm: Exploring Female Ancestry Among the Hera People in Buhera, Zimbabwe 35 Bernard Humbe 3 VaChihera:  A Profile of Ndakaziva 53 Vushebwashe Mhaka 4 Chihera:  Renegotiating the Status of Women in Shona Indigenous Culture in Zimbabwe 65 Silindiwe Zvingowanisei 5 Chiheras’  Twenty-First-Century Profiling: Re-converging from Past Divisions in Monolithic Defying of Traditional Patriarchal Culture 87 Yvonne Winfildah Takawira-Matwaya vii

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Part II From the mouths of Chiheras and Mhofuyokuno: Disrupting Patriarchy 103 6 Ndini Chihera (I Am Chihera): An African Womanist Perspective on the Chihera Identity in Zimbabwe105 Molly Manyonganise 7 Ndini Baba vaChihera (I Am Chihera’s Father): A Narrative of the Chihera Persona121 Levee Kadenge 8 “Please  Understand Me, I Am Chihera”: Issues of Character and Traits Among the Indigenous Zimbabwean Women of the Chihera Totem135 Mazvita Machinga 9 Chihera’s  Story: Keeping Ubuntu Alive Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic145 Mercy Shumbamhini and Chihera 10 Revisiting  Totemic Praise Names: Chihera as Metaphor of Addressing Gender-Based and Sexual Violence in Post-colonial Zimbabwe161 Kudzai Biri Part III Subverting Patriarchy: Chihera Persona in the Film Industry and Advocacy for Gender Parity 177 11 Chihera  in Film: The Subversion of Patriarchal and Customary Laws of Inheritance as Depicted in the Zimbabwean Feature Film Neria (1991)179 Urther Rwafa 12 Genderising  the Social Media: Analysing Chihera’s Antics in the Zimbabwean Context195 Viola Ingwani

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13 Socially  Constructed Discourse on Chihera: An Asset or Liability in Zimbabwe’s Envisioned Gender Equal Society221 Beatrice Taringa and Sophia Chirongoma Part IV Chihera Prototype Navigating the Zimbabwean Genderised Economic Sector 243 14 “If only it wasn’t for me” Chihera as Head of the Family in a Time of Economic Crisis245 Faith Matumbu 15 Patriarchy  and Disability: A Culture of Ubuntu, African Women with Disabilities and Sustainable Livelihoods in Matetsi Community, Zimbabwe265 Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale Part V Confounding Chihera: Patriarchy Fights Back 285 16 T  he Chihera Mystique in Selected Writings by African Women Theologians287 Excellent Chireshe 17 Chihera  as a Game Changer in the African Churches’ Masculine Leadership Hierarchy: A Case Study of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe301 Terence Mupangwa 18 Chihera’s  Matriarchal Traits: A Mirror of Reverse Patriarchy319 Nomatter Sande and Clemence Makamure

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19 Implications  of Consolidating Patriarchy Through Exploitation of “Better” Ways of Conveying Disagreeable Practices to Chihera, the Epitome of Empowered Women in Zimbabwe335 Angela Gubba and Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale Index351

Notes on Contributors

Kudzai Biri  (PhD) is an associate professor. She is a research fellow at Bamberg University on an Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung fellowship. Her area of specialization is African Indigenous Religions (AIRs) and their interactions with Christianity. She focuses on religion and gender and religion and politics. She has published widely on religion and gender and religion and politics. Her recent book is The Wounded Beast: Single Women, Tradition and the Bible in Zimbabwe, which captures the experiences of stigma, exclusion and marginalization of single women, in their varied categories. Excellent Chireshe  is Associate Professor of Religion and Gender in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe. She holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of South Africa. A considerable number of her publications have been published in reputable outlets. She has supervised, to completion, a number of undergraduate and postgraduate students doing research. In addition, she has served as external examiner for doctoral candidates in three universities. She has also attended and presented papers at local and international conferences. Her research interests include religion and gender, sociology of religion, and religion and ethics. Her publications include ‘Christian women’s experiences of domestic violence in Zimbabwe’, ‘Real manhood as perceived by Christian female and male students at a university in Zimbabwe’ and ‘Barriers to the utilization of provisions of the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Act among abused Christian women in Zimbabwe’. xi

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Sophia  Chirongoma is a senior lecturer in the Religious Studies Department at Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. She is also an academic associate/research fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR) in the College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA). Her research interests and publications focus on the interface between culture, ecology, religion, health and gender justice. Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale  is a research associate at the University of Pretoria. She is working on a research project titled ‘Gender Studies and Practical Theology Theory Formation’, directed by Prof. Dr Yolanda Dreyer, Department of Practical Theology. She holds a DTH in Practical Theogy from UNISA, Master of Arts Sociology (Cum laude) (UNISA) and Master of Theology and Development degree from UKZN.  Her research focuses on migration, pastoral care, gender, sexuality, disability and religion. She was awarded postdoctoral research fellowship grants from the University of Pretoria in Practical Theology and from the University of Stellenbosch in Gender Units successively. Ezra Chitando  serves as Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Zimbabwe and Theology Consultant on HIV for the World Council of Churches. He is also an extraordinary professor at the University of the Western Cape. Musa W. Dube,  a Humboldtian awardee (2011) and a biblical scholar, is based at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University. She is the continental Coordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (2019–2024). She studied the New Testament at the University of Durham (UK, 1990) and the University of Vanderbilt (USA 1997). Her research interests include gender, postcolonial, translation and HIV&AIDS studies. She is also Professor Extraordinaire of the Institute for Gender Studies, University of South Africa. Angela  Gubba has attained the following academic and professional qualifications: D.Ed. Education Management UNISA; M.Ed. Administration, Planning and Policy Studies ZOU; BA Gen. UZ; Grad. C.E. UZ; Skills Development Facilitation UNISA; Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) Assessor, Accreditation Training Services. She is a research associate in the Department of Practical Theology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Her areas of specialization include education management, gender and migration, migration for higher education, domestic work and children’s education, assessment of students’

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learning and skills development facilitation. Gubba is a well-published writer. She has extensive teaching experience in high school in Zimbabwe and South Africa. She also has taught in primary schools. Bernard Humbe  is a PhD holder in Religious Studies from the University of Free State, South Africa. He is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo. His areas of research interest include African Indigenous Religious Knowledge Systems, Onomastics, Traditional Law and Social Development, Religion and Entrepreneurship, Religion and Social Transformation and Religion and Power. Viola  Ingwani is Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the Great Zimbabwe University. She is a doctoral student with UNISA. Her research interests are Culture, Education, Gender and Religion. Levee  Kadenge  was born and raised in Chivhu in a family of 15 and being the fourth son. He was educated at St Mary’s Secondary School. He joined the Methodist ministry in 1978. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree at UNISA, he went to study in the UK, where he studied at Bristol University, Aberdeen University and Edinburgh University. He did his PhD at the University of Zimbabwe. He also studied at the University of KwaZulu Natal and did post-graduate studies there. He taught African Religion and Culture at the United Theological College for 16 years. He taught at the University of Zimbabwe for two years. He has served in the Methodist Church for 40 years. He became the bishop of Harare West District from 2003 to 2007. He is the author of four books. He has travelled to 34 countries. He retired in 2019 and lives in Norton near Harare. He enjoys faming and writing. Mazvita Machinga  is a qualified psychotherapist and a practical theologian. She is a James Walker Endowed Chair, and she is also a lecturer at Africa University. Mazvita is a scholar, a researcher and an author. Her research interests are in the area of mental health, spirituality and pastoral care. She has 20 years of experience in psychotherapy and mental health. Mazvita also serves as the coordinator of the substance abuse prevention initiative and sits in a number of national boards. She is also a member of the Zimbabwe Psychological Association and is a certified mental health first aid instructor. Mazvita is also the coordinator of faith-based mental health initiatives and trains clergy and churches on mental health issues.

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Clemence Makamure  is a senior lecturer, curriculum designer and chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at Zimbabwe Open University. He holds a PhD in Religion and Social Transformation from the University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa). He has research interests in African Christianity, with a special focus on African Independent Churches and their leadership system, Religion and Politics, Religion and Development, Religion and Disability, Human Sexuality, Human Rights, Religion and the Environment and Leadership and Ethics. Molly  Manyonganise holds a PhD in Biblical and Religious Studies from the University of Pretoria. She is a senior lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at the Zimbabwe Open University. She is a research associate in the Department of Religion Studies, Faculty of Theology and Religion of the University of Pretoria. She is Georg Forster Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Her research interests comprise religion and politics, gender and religion, religion and sexuality, African Indigenous Religion(s) as well as African Christianity. Faith Matumbu  is a teaching assistant in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) within the Faculty of Arts, Culture and Heritage Studies. She specializes in the teaching of African Philosophy and Thought (a University-wide course) for undergraduates in the Faculty of Commerce. Her research interests are based on issues to do with ethics, gender, human rights (with a focus on women’s rights) and religion. As of now, she has co-authored two book chapters with Dr. E. Konyana (GZU), which are due for publication. Vushebwashe Mhaka  is a teacher by training, a pastor by ordination and a development practitioner by passion. He also has interest in peace-­ building and conflict resolution. Mhaka teaches Theology and Development, Systematic Theology and Christian Education, among other courses, at the United Theological College in Zimbabwe. Within the structure of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, he sits in the Episcopal Council of the church as Bishop in the Eastern Diocese. Mhaka is a budding writer who has interest in AIKS and other ­contemporary disciplines. He holds a Master of Theology degree from the University of KwaZulu Natal, where he is registered for PhD. Terence Mupangwa  is a lecturer in the Religious Studies Department at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe. She holds a PhD from the University

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of KwaZulu Natal. Her research interests focus on Pentecostalism, women and leadership, and gender justice issues. Munyaradzi Nyakudya  is a senior lecturer in the Department of History, Heritage and Knowledge Systems at the University of Zimbabwe. He has researched and published on various themes on Zimbabwean history, notably its socio-political and economic dynamics in the areas of ethnomusicology, the Land Question and education; Zimbabwe’s war of national liberation, and peace and security, among others. Some of his publications include the following co-edited books: Victors, Victims and Villains: Women and Musical Arts in Zimbabwe-Past and Present (2018), with Chinouriri and Kufakurinani, and Resilience Under Siege: The Zimbabwe Economy, Politics and Society (2016), with Chitando and Phiri. Urther Rwafa  is a lecturer and associate professor in the Department of Media, Communication, Film and Theatre Arts at Midlands State University (Zimbabwe). He is also a research fellow at UNISA attached to the Department of English Studies and Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Art and Design at Durban University of Technology. He has recently been recognized as an Honorary Rosalind Member of London Journals Press. Professor Rwafa has written articles on film and cultural identity, film censorship, film and the representation of African violence and genocides, the state of creative economies in Africa and the prospects of creative industries in South Africa and Nigeria. His book UN/ MUFFLING VOICES: Film Censorship in Post-­independent Zimbabwe was published in 2016 by the African Institute for Culture, Dialogue, Peace and Tolerance Studies. He is working on a book Tell and Sell. The Business of Filmmaking in Africa. Nomatter Sande  is a practical theologian. He holds a PhD in Religion and Social Transformation from the University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa). He is also a research fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR) in the College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA). His research interests include disabilities studies, Pentecostal theology, religious violence, peace and gender. Mercy  Shumbamhini  (Sr Dr) is a member of an International Roman Catholic Religious Congregation called the Congregation of Jesus (CJ). She is a registered professional clinical social worker, theologian, spiritual director, narrative therapist, safeguarding consultant, lecturer and writer. She has been a regional leader of her congregation for eight years and

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former President of the Conference of Major Superiors in Zimbabwe. She sits in a number of Boards and Commissions. She has an extensive background in administration, fundraising, project management, team development, group dynamics and facilitation. She lectures at the university level on social work, theology, pastoral care, community development, group dynamics, leadership, psychology, spirituality, conflict, peace and reconciliation. She has also served as an external examiner for the University of South Africa. She is the mission developmental facilitator of her congregation in Zimbabwe. Shumbamhini’s greatest desire is to give respect and dignity especially to those at the margins including people suffering from depression and anxiety. Yvonne  Winfildah  Takawira-Matwaya  is a Religious Studies lecturer and a researcher in the history of religions and ideologies, religion and gender. Her research interests include historical and contemporary beliefs and practices of religions and cultures and ethics, gender studies with a bias towards gender mainstreaming, peace-building, transitional justice, human rights and reconciliation. Yvonne works closely with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (Zimbabwe) as the Chairperson; she is a lifetime justice and peace promoter and volunteer. Beatrice Taringa  is a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Degree, Master of Education Degree, Bachelor of Education Degree in Curriculum and Arts Education specialising in Indigenous Language Education, ChiShona, all from the University of Zimbabwe. She also attained a Diploma in Education specialising in ChiShona and History from Gweru Teachers College. She is Lecturer and the Coordinator of Research Methods and Statistics at Belvedere Technical Teachers College in the Department of Professional Studies and Contemporary Subjects. Silindiwe Zvingowanisei  is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Religion and Ethics, and in the Department of Peace, Security and Society at the University of Zimbabwe. She is pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Zimbabwe. She teaches Islamic studies, African traditional religion and peace studies. Her research interests include the intersection of religion and the environment, gender and peace and indigenous ways of knowing. She is researching on religion and peacebuilding in Zimbabwe.

List of Images

Image 12.1 Bonus Management Committee Image 12.2 Picture of a couple and the woman is holding a poster inscribed “My ATM,” referring to her spouse Image 12.3 Picture of a woman with a plate full of Sadza (thick corn meal porridge) Image 12.4 Woman with an eccentric dress code Image 12.5 Image of a husband fastened on a leash Image 12.6 Image of an angry woman, in hot pursuit of a man who is running for dear life Image 12.7 Image of a woman riding a bicycle, whilst carrying a well balanced heavy metal container on her head Image 12.8 Woman sitting in a relaxed position whilst the man is cooking, with a baby strapped on his back (role reversal) Image 12.9 Letter from mother in-law to prospective son-in-law Image 12.10 Elderly woman with a huge knife tucked in her belt- ready for any eventuality of violence Image 14.1 Chihera Facts

203 204 205 206 208 209 211 213 214 215 247

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CHAPTER 1

Introducing a Radical African Indigenous Feminist Principle: Chihera in Zimbabwe Ezra Chitando, Sophia Chirongoma, and Munyaradzi Nyakudya

Introduction She saunters around her homestead. She is confident, assertive and commanding. She decides her own life and brooks no nonsense from any quarter, including from the man who might be married to her (our inversion here is deliberate and mirrors her approach to marriage. See, e.g., Chitando (2021)). Whatever patriarchy throws at her, she ensures that it

E. Chitando (*) University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa S. Chirongoma Midlands State University, Zvishavane, Zimbabwe Research Institute of Theology and Religion, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa M. Nyakudya University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_1

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boomerangs and hurts the sender1 even more. She makes no apology for who she is, namely, a black Zimbabwean/African woman with an attitude. She is Chihera. She is the epitome of a liberated woman and the nemesis of patriarchy. Freedom she breathes, controversy she brews, attention she commands and agency she exercises fully. Chihera is the theatre of contestation. Her supporters lionise her. Yet, her critics loathe her for daring to deflate patriarchy. They worry that she will instigate a “shemurenga” (Essof, 2013), that is, a women’s struggle for liberation in Zimbabwe, and by extension, across the continent and beyond. Chihera embodies the idea of African women’s emancipation in African idiom. She unsettles all those who seek to maintain the current oppressive gender order. For example, many male political leaders would rather command and entice citizens to embrace Nehanda, the legendary matron spirit of the anti-colonial resistance and of the same Eland clan as Chihera (Charumbira, 2020: 39) than to popularise Chihera. They may have gauged that Chihera’s restlessness might instigate a gendered revolution that will sweep them out of power on different fronts. Indeed, an older, fully clothed, motherly figure of Nehanda has been experienced as less threatening by the male nationalists (Mawere, 2021) than Chihera. On her part, Chihera represents the trend of African women negating the metaphor of a (non) crowing hen2 and are actively challenging the policing of their bodies, silencing and marginalisation. This volume seeks to deepen reflections on the Chihera phenomenon, idea, concept and reality3 in the context of the search for gender justice in Zimbabwe and Africa. Chihera is an idiom for Zimbabwean and African women’s potentiality. She represents an old concept finding relevance in a new and highly dynamic setting. Whereas Chihera denotes women descending from the Eland (Mhofu) clan within the age-old Shona totemic system, she has been appropriated and deployed in contemporary gender 1  In Zimbabwean/African Pentecostalism and African Initiated Christianity, “back to sender” is a concept where there is a boomerang and the one who sought to inflict harm becomes the one who experiences the pain they intended to cause. 2  Sylvia Tamale (1999: 1) narrates an incident where a man at a rally in Uganda reminded a woman candidate of the saying, “Have you ever heard a hen crow?” This was enthusiastically endorsed by other men at the rally, suggesting that it is “the order of nature” that men must dominate. However, African women theologians, for example, counter this by arguing that the hen also knows the time, but leaves the cock to announce it. 3  We deploy a number of terms or concepts interchangeably. This is due to our openness towards the Chihera phenomenon: it refuses to be pinned down to one dominant idea.

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discourses. Thus, “[T]he women from the Eland (Mhofu) family are ‘notorious’ for independent thinking and not easy to cow into submission” (Kufakurinani & Muchenu, 2019: 71). Chihera is now the code name for all women and girls who refuse to be treated as second class citizens by patriarchy. It is thus from these two perspectives that contributors to this volume conceptualise and characterise Chihera, first as simply one who descents from the Mhofu totem, literary, and second, as a symbolic reference to all women who are assertive, fearless and independent thinking, women who do not hesitate to subvert and subdue, trash and defy patriarchy in the quest for their emancipation, women who strive to exorcise the demon of patriarchy. In this volume, we seek to reflect on how this radical indigenous feminist ethic circulating on social media can animate the quest for Zimbabwean and African women’s full liberation from patriarchy and all oppressive forces. We recognise that “[B]y presenting us with images of women, men, and relationships, media advance ideals of what is desirable in women and men” (Wood, 2009: 258). We also explore the implications of Chihera to the women’s movement and its quest to secure health and wellbeing for women in Zimbabwe (Van Eerdewijk & Mugadza, 2015). Through social media (see, e.g., Kadeswaran et al., 2020), ideas relating to Chihera critiquing gender norms and values have circulated widely in Zimbabwe and beyond. To be sure, this has been heavily contested by many men and some women (see, e.g., Biri, 2021: 34) who seek to counter Chihera and promote the status quo (we elaborate on this in a subsequent section below). We recognise that “[T]he internet and social media have steadily normalized hate speech and violence against women” (UNDP OGC, 2021: 1). However, we argue that this consistent focus on Chihera is a valuable opportunity for academics, policy makers, activists and others to intensify efforts to promote gender justice in the country and beyond. Chihera facilitates focusing on African women, citizenship and equality (Pailey, 2020). She highlights the options that are available for African women as they work to challenge patriarchy (see, e.g., Kioko et al., 2020) and overcome oppression. Consequently, this volume utilises the Chihera frame to reflect on Zimbabwean and African women’s quest for full liberation and achieve sustainable development. This is consistent with an emerging trend in African feminism where activists are paying increasing attention to popular culture and gender. Thus:

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Recent, Africa-focused feminist literature has shown an increasing interest in the connections between popular culture and how it either reinforces or challenges social norms and structures. It has looked at how these mediums have been appropriated and refashioned to achieve feminist goals. Pumla Gqola, Stella Nyanzi, Sisonke Msimang and Grace Musila are among the prominent, Africa-based feminists writing in this vein. They have been particularly interested in the idea and image of the ‘ungovernable’ female figure, raging loudly against prejudice, humiliation and marginalisation. (Toyana, 2020: 4)

By utilising the discourse on Chihera (an “ungovernable” female figure as per the foregoing citation) in contemporary Zimbabwean social media and in other settings, this volume seeks to respond to a number of related themes and questions. In the first instance, contributors grapple with the issue of generating culturally sensitive theories and approaches to galvanise the struggle for African women’s liberation in post-colonial settings (see, e.g., Bawa, 2012). As we highlight further, one of the perennial challenges in African women’s activism has been how to indigenise and contextualise theoretical perspectives informing the women’s struggle. Thus, one of the major questions that contributors to this volume have had, either upfront or at the back of their minds, is: “How/Can the Chihera experience be distilled to formulate the contours of a home grown, radical indigenous Zimbabwean (and African) feminist principle?” Other related questions include the following: • How/Can the Chihera spirit be channelled to mobilise women and girls to work for gender justice in Zimbabwe and beyond? • If the Chihera principle and stance were to be adopted in Zimbabwean and African gender relations, what would be the implications for women in the different sectors (culture and religion, politics, economics, politics and others)? • What do the strategies employed by patriarchy to try and suffocate, exorcise, silence, tame or demonise the Chihera spirit tell us about the stakes at hand and what counter strategies can be employed to resist such moves? (see, among others, Maseno & Kilonzo, 2011; Makama, 2013, Maunganidze, 2020; Bruey, 2021).

Putting This Volume into Context This volume is best understood within the context of three related processes. First is the debate on African feminisms (see, e.g., Ahikire, 2014; Dosekun, 2019) as an integral part of postcolonial feminism (Al-Wazedi,

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2021). This debate might be located within the discourse on decoloniality, and some academics and activists within this sector have deployed this concept of decoloniality. Thus, the central question is: “Can African women’s full liberation and flourishing be achieved using foreign/external theories and categories?” The dominant response within African womanism or feminism has been a resounding “no!” There is consensus that home-grown, indigenous African theories are required to inform and bolster African women’s struggle for dignity and liberation, decades after the colonial flags were lowered in Africa. African women scholars who have deployed the concept of decoloniality are united in inviting African women scholars working to promote women’s rights to jettison theories developed from beyond the continent. They converge on the point that it is theories that are brewed in the African pot that are best placed to leverage women’s liberation and development. This is because the colonial project systematically sought to erase colonial subjects. In this regard, “the process of colonization invented the colonized and attempted a full reduction of them to less than human primitives, satanically possessed, infantile, aggressively sexual, and in need of transformation”(Lugones, 2010: 747). Contributors to decolonial African feminism such as Njoki Wane (2011), Akhona Nkenkana (2015), Sylvia Tamale (2020) and others insist that it is vital for African women’s liberation to be inspired by indigenous concepts and categories. In turn, this volume is inspired by these reflections and seeks to mine the Chihera concept in Zimbabwe and tease out its liberating potential for Zimbabwean and African women. We, however, readily accept that the question of the most appropriate label for this struggle remains open (see, e.g., Nkealah, 2016; Amaefula, 2021; Okoli, 2021). Second is the quest for women’s liberation and gender justice in contemporary and future Africa in practical terms. The volume is informed by national, regional, continental and global efforts to challenge the marginalisation and exclusion of women within societies. For example, while the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe recognises women’s rights, economic empowerment and the inclusion of women (AFI, 2019: 3) and notable progress has been made in terms of women’s advancement (see, e.g., Afrobarometer, 2017), serious challenges remain to be addressed. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has women’s emancipation as a priority. Similarly, the African Union’s “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want” puts emphasis on gender equality, as does the African Union’s Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

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2018–2028. While these are progressive steps, women in Africa continue to fight for inclusion. This is particularly urgent in terms of economic development. Thus, “Africa has so much promise. Growth is already rapid in some of its economies, but it has the potential for even better performance if the full potential of African women is unleashed” (McKinsey Global Institute, 2019: 47). The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also prioritise women’s equality and empowerment (see, e.g., Adeola, 2020). In particular, SDG 5 seeks to ensure that all women and girls achieve gender equality and that they are protected from gender-based violence. Thus, this volume’s deployment of the Chihera frame as an entry point for discussing Zimbabwean and African women’s liberation is consistent with national, regional, continental and global development goals. We contend that engaging with the Chihera concept and practice offers valuable opportunities to overcome some of the stagnation characterising contemporary gender discourses in Africa. It opens new vistas and directs us towards new pathways in the quest to utilise local resources to empower women and girls. Third is the urgency of embracing interdisciplinary perspectives to promote African women’s liberation. Contributors to this volume approach the Chihera principle from diverse angles, highlighting its relevance to the quest for holistic approaches to African women’s liberation. The concept of intersectionality has reminded researchers and academics that women’s oppression comes from multiple sources and that all these should be analysed collectively. This has been elaborated as follows: Four main analytic benefits are imputed to intersectionality as a research methodology or theoretical framework: simultaneity, complexity, irreducibility, and inclusivity. In contrast to unitary or additive approaches to theorizing oppression, which privilege a foundational category and either ignore or merely ‘add’ others to it, intersectionality insists that multiple, co-­ constituting analytic categories are operative and equally salient in ­constructing institutionalized practices and lived experiences. (Carastathis, 2014: 307)

Whereas the “ground zero” setting for Chihera is that of a married woman in a village in rural Zimbabwe, intersectionality and interdisciplinary perspectives enable activists and academics to broaden the range of her applicability. Due to the fact that women’s oppression occurs in many settings

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and from multiple sources, the Chihera persona is needed to animate all these diverse spaces and champion women’s liberation (as we highlight further). Further, the realisation that the struggle for gender justice is not limited to one space or gender creates room for the role of men. Admittedly, this is not an innocent issue, as there is contestation regarding men’s participation in the quest for gender justice. Some critics wonder if the erstwhile oppressors and beneficiaries of the patriarchal dividend (namely, men) can suddenly become passionate advocates for women’s liberation. Thus, while “it has become increasingly clear that a ‘women-only’ approach to gender planning is insufficient to overturn the patriarchal structures embedded in development institutions, and to redress gender imbalances at the grassroots in any fundamental way” (Chant & Guttman, 2002: 270), the role of men remains debatable. However, most contributors to this volume adopt a more or less accommodating stance and consider men as having the capacity to make a meaningful contribution to the struggle for gender justice in Zimbabwe, Africa and globally; as long as they actively resist patriarchy and are willing to sit at the feet of women and girls in order to learn (see, e.g., MenEngage Alliance, 2021). However, it is highly strategic for men to join the movement for gender justice. Thus: The question is, if the gender justice movement is just a kind of fashion, which one can fight and stop, or if it is a wave unstoppable. If it is a wave the alternative is: either you learn to swim, or you drown. The water is no enemy to those who know how to swim, and men who have learned that the topic of gender justice is dealing with their own liberation too, might finally experience that there is plenty of life outside the iron cage of traditional macho-­ masculinity. (Kügler, 2019: 9)

Chihera: A Radical Zimbabwean/African Indigenous Feminist Spirit and Practice In our estimation, Chihera embodies the saying that is popular in South Africa and is connected to the historic Women’s March4: “you strike a woman, you strike a rock” (Ramantswana, 2019). Chihera is a metaphor for Zimbabwean women’s refusal to live to carry the burdens spawned by 4  On 9 August 1956 women in South Africa marched in Pretoria, protesting against the Apartheid pass laws. See, for example, Legoabe, 2006.

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patriarchy into perpetuity. Her antics are many, as the contributors to this volume confirm in their respective chapters. However, we identify Chihera’s consistent challenging of the prevailing gender norms as one connecting thread. She is as disruptive of the status quo as she is creative of the next phase of egalitarian gender relations. She has the potential to facilitate dialogue among African feminists from diverse generations (see, e.g., Assubuji et al., 2021). Chihera is an idea and spirit which comes from Africa’s long past, is active in the present and will continue to inspire many into the remote future. Although steeped in culture, she is countercultural. Thus, for example, Chihera will cycle to the rural service centre to confront her husband’s girlfriend when society expects her to embrace polygyny. Where society expects her to keep quiet (or apologise, even when right) if her husband leaves the shared marital bed to sleep on the floor after an argument, Chihera promises or threatens to “take the argument down” to him. One image of Chihera is of a woman cycling, carrying a big empty drum on her head; with one hand on the handle, the other on the drum. Chihera is also portrayed as a young woman who is building (mostly understood as a man’s job), effortlessly holding two bags of cement in either hand. In another Chihera declaration, she will not leave her four children from an earlier marriage behind when she remarries.5 After all, she declares nonchalantly, “a table is bought with its four chairs.” Simply put, Chihera is a legend and has refused to bow to unjust social conventions that seek to constrain women. Thus, whatever her critics might say, Chihera is a rock. She repels the nonsensical gender norms that society wishes to force on her. Unlike many, Chihera has the audacity to speak and act out her defiance. She is as unbowed (Maathai, 2006), as she is a non-conformist. Where patriarchy actively wants to silence and render her invisible, she is markedly audible and clearly visible. Where religio-cultural dictates want to render her subordinate and timid, she courageously proclaims her equality and agency. Chihera is an eloquent expression of a radical Zimbabwean/African feminist idea and practice germinating on Africa’s very own soil. One recurrent 5  The general trend is that the new husband would be uncomfortable “raising another man’s children/children from another lineage” in “his” home. The number of children, 4, is supposed to induce a sense of shock in the audience. Indigenous wisdom, however, suggests that a man must be willing to receive his wife and dependent children through the notion of “kukweva sanzu nemashizha aro,” that is, “dragging a branch and its leaves” (see Javangwe, 2006: 150–151).

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statement in social media descriptions of Chihera is “Chihera hamuvagoni”6 (You cannot pacify/domesticate/subjugate Chihera). Percy Zvomuya offers the following description of Chihera: If she lives in the village, often she is divorced or never married, in which case she lives on her own or at her parents’ homestead raising her children, daring the men around, including her father, brothers and uncles-­patriarchy’s local representatives; in other cases she is married but it is a well-known fact that in her household it is her word that is law. Unlike most cases in which patriarchy meets a match and throws its favoured epithets of witch and prostitute in the general direction of its targets, chiHera7 is, for some unfathomable reason, spared these categories. Her rebel DNA is a given, it’s just the way these chiHera women are and it’s best that they are left alone. (Zvomuya, 2017)

While Zvomuya’s description is accurate and informative, including presenting Chihera as a “rebel” (see, e.g., Chitando & Mateveke, 2012), we seek to draw attention to two significant developments. In the first instance, Chihera has transcended her rural setting. She can now be the young professional in exclusive suburbs in Zimbabwe’s urban areas. However, we concur that Chihera’s marital status is not a major concern; she is not one to tolerate being bullied in any relationship that she is in. Second, Chihera’s growing popularity has unsettled patriarchy and she is now the target of some vicious attacks, as we highlight below. The jokes, memes and sayings circulating about Chihera on social media and beyond bear testimony that the issue of gender has been firmly put on the agenda in Zimbabwe and in Africa. If previously many African men, for example, could casually dismiss the issue of gender as the ideas of “a few frustrated African women badly influenced by their Western women friends,” it is no longer possible to ignore it in the contemporary period. Chihera prompts reflections on gender and economic development in Africa (see, e.g., Manda & Mwakubo, 2014) and demonstrates the need to address women’s rights more seriously. Chihera is very much integral to this discourse: she steps up to accumulate property in her own right and is an economically empowered African woman. Chihera is definitely not a

6  It is significant that the honorific plural, “Va,” is retained for Chihera, even when her behaviour is portrayed as defying “culture” in every sense. 7  Zvomuya adopts a different spelling.

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charity case and would stridently critique the aid model of African development (Moyo, 2009). Against those who seek to use “culture” to silence the debate on women’s equality in Africa, Chihera emerges as a radical feminist principle from the depths of the African past. Many African cultural nationalists deploy “culture” as a weapon in an effort to resist acknowledging the oppression of women in society. They utilise a very tantalising (but ultimately fallacious) argument that African culture recognises gender difference; hence it promotes a “separate but equal” gender ideology. When it is pointed out that in fact, the reality is that we have a “separate and unequal” gender ideology in Africa, cultural nationalists quickly move to suggest that the whole notion of gender justice is an uncritical importation of Western cultural ideas. However, the fact that the Chihera persona that is steeped in African spirituality insists on women’s rights neutralises the notion of women’s equality as a foreign idea. Mercy A.  Oduyoye, one of Africa’s foremost women theologians, exposes the “African culture” line of argument. She writes: On this continent, the word culture is used to regulate women’s lives and to keep them as “good African women.” Reasoning and discussion stop as soon as the statement “It is our culture” is dropped. Child marriage is our culture; wife beating is our culture; women dressing “decently” is our culture; female genital mutilation is our culture; trokosi8 is our culture; having as many children as nature/God sends is our culture; total subservience to men, elders and “betters” is our culture. (Oduyoye, 2019: 315)

Oduyoye lays bare the systematic deployment of “culture” to appease the god of patriarchy. Women and girls are being sacrificed in the name of “African culture” when only male interests are being served. Equally, Chihera’s persona challenges the ideological deployment of culture and offers an alternative, and in our view redemptive, interpretation, of African culture. She strenuously and consistently critiques all “culture” that does not promote women’s health and well-being. Chihera challenges her husband when he takes her for granted. She confronts “culture” when it seeks to silence her when her rights are violated with impunity. Chihera recovers 8  According to Asomah (2015: 351), “This is a cultural and religious practice that is observed not only in Ghana, but also in Benin and Nigeria. It is a practice where the vestal virgin girls are taken to shrines to serve the gods permanently as a form of ‘reparation for crimes’ committed by their family members.”

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alternative, liberating and life giving versions of culture that are mostly suppressed by the patriarchal interpretations. We are of the view that Chihera’s location within the cumulative tradition of indigenous spirituality accords her greater capacity to be disruptive of gender norms. Being a “daughter of the soil,” it is difficult to accuse her of fronting foreign values. Chihera confirms the reality that the spirit of gender justice is already present within indigenous values and systems; it is only that patriarchy permeates all spaces and has become more dominant. This results in the Chihera tradition being muted or featuring less prominently than the version of gender inequality that is sponsored and abetted by patriarchy. More critically, she dramatises the continuing relevance of indigenous spirituality in contemporary African contexts, even as it must continuously negotiate with globalisation (Agyeman & Awuah-Nyamekye, 2018). To be sure, it should not be assumed that because a concept is associated with ancestral traditions, then it is necessarily liberating. This can be seen in how the ambivalence characterising Ubuntu in relation to women’s rights is beginning to be critiqued (see, e.g., Chitando, 2008; Mangena, 2011; Manyonganise, 2015). In a number of the narratives circulating on social media, Chihera is portrayed as a married woman who is swept by a raging river. When the search party consults the husband, he advises them to look for her upstream. He shares with them the truth he lives with on a daily basis: Chihera swims against the tide! True to form, the search party finds Chihera upstream! In this regard, Chihera signals what African women must do in order to flourish, namely, swim against the tide of oppressive and repressive beliefs and practices that are sanctioned, lubricated and commanded by patriarchy. Chihera stands for the African women who refuse to become victims and villains (see, e.g., Chinouriri et al., 2018).

The Chihera Spirit: Transforming the Key Locales of Women’s Oppression Having asserted Chihera’s indigeneity and revolutionary outlook in the foregoing section, in this section we seek to summarise the areas where Chihera’s spirit needs to blow so that Zimbabwean and African women can breathe more freely. It is important to capitalise on the popularity of the Chihera discourse to secure women’s rights and promote women’s role in sustainable development in Zimbabwe and Africa.

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Women’s Bodily Autonomy Patriarchy thrives on defining, policing and controlling women’s bodies. It has arrogated the responsibility to define what is “decent and acceptable,” women’s dressing and, yes, the right to dictate women’s very being. It is patriarchy that licenses young men to police women’s bodies and to accost them in downtown Harare, and in other urban settings across Africa and globally. Patriarchy interprets “culture” strategically to justify violence against women and girls (see, e.g., Armstrong, 2000). Women’s bodies have become war zones, with patriarchy insisting on dimming whatever it views as “excessive” public displays of sexuality. Pentecostalism has compounded the situation by providing a conservative interpretation of “women’s dignity” (see, e.g., Kaunda, 2020). Chihera loudly proclaims, “My body is my own” (UNPFA, 2021). She does not tolerate anybody setting rules regulating her body. Chihera’s spirit must be activated and invited to empower adolescent girls and young women in Zimbabwe and Africa. In contexts where patriarchy seeks to dispossess girls and women of their right to bodily autonomy, there is need to come up with effective counter strategies (McFadden, 2016). Chihera’s insistence on her dignity and rights as a human being who happens to be a woman is consistent with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol. It was signed in Maputo in 2003 and became operational in 2005. Thus: The AU Protocol is considered one of the world’s most progressive treaties on women’s rights. It addresses specific forms of women’s rights’ violations found in parts of Africa, in addition to more global gender equality issues. … Women’s issues addressed include discrimination against women, ­elimination of harmful practices, marriage and divorce, reproductive rights, widows’ rights, and rights of inheritance inter alia. (Somer & FormanRabinovici, 2021)

Freedom from Oppressive Cultural and Religious Ideologies Chihera is consistent in her critique of oppressive cultural and religious ideologies. She does not accept the patriarchal formulations that seek to constrain her and keep her under control. She asserts her independence and turns the “culture” upside down. Where indigenous and Christian patriarchies combine to reinforce the doctrine of women’s submission

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(see, e.g., Chisale, 2020), Chihera is defiant and stands tall. She is so confident that in one meme during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in Zimbabwe in 2020, she (is said to have) had the audacity to write, on a plain sheet of paper, informing the police that they had to let the bearer of the letter get a safe passage into town, as she had authorised him or her. Chihera has authority and will not acquiesce to oppressive cultural and religious ideologies that hide behind the veneer of sacredness to deny abundant life to women and girls. We concur with Anastasia Arabome (2017: 22) when she charges that “[I]n culture as in religion, the roles, dignity, and identities of women have suffered neglect and contempt.” We are convinced that Chihera’s spirit is desperately needed in the struggle against child marriage, violence against women, denial of women’s right to inherit and other practices that stifle women’s quest for health and wellbeing. Where the dignity of single African women is impaired due to cultural and religious ideologies that put a lot of value on marriage (see, e.g., Biri, 2021), Chihera insists on the dignity of all. Where a woman who was previously married is treated with contempt when she remarries, Chihera sets new rules and demands to be respected when she brings her children to the new marriage. She is a trailblazer and will not allow conventions to hold her back. With Chihera, culture and religion must be resources for women’s advancement. Culture and religion should not be millstones around the necks of women and girls. Chihera’s radical and independent spirit promises to unlock women’s rights in the context of stifling cultural and religious ideologies in Africa and elsewhere. The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (the Circle) has been unrelenting in exposing how culture and religion have been deployed to prevent women and girls from flourishing. In particular, the Circle has identified violence against women and girls as an evil that must be confronted with courage. Circle activists have also highlighted how some women characters in the Bible refused to be silenced, effaced or sacrificed. They mine the Bible for these foremothers, who can be regarded as versions of Chihera. Thus, for example, the daughters of Zelophehad, who demonstrated courage in demanding their right to inherit in Numbers 27: 1–11, can be regarded as exhibiting and modelling the Chihera spirit. Chihera challenges injustice and sets new cultural, religious and legal codes (see, e.g., Manyonganise, 2021: 105–109 and Resane, 2021 for interpretations of the narrative on the daughters of Zelophehad).

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Women’s Political Participation and Leadership Women continue to be excluded from political processes in Zimbabwe, and indeed, throughout Africa. When they are included, it is mostly to support male politicians, or, in the few instances where some women rise to top political positions (such as becoming Presidents in Liberia, Malawi and Tanzania). However, only the most naïve of commentators would insist that women’s political participation in Africa is satisfactory. Toxic masculinities that seek to disgrace women in politics (Mateveke & Chikafa-­ Chipiro, 2020; Ncube, 2020) and to caricature as “whores” women who dare to venture into the political space have marginalised women. The Zimbabwean political space remains dominated by men, takes on a “hard hat area” outlook and is very violent. Women politicians in Southern Africa (see, e.g., Geisler, 2004) and the continent also struggle to gain acceptance due to the impact of patriarchy on people’s perception of a leader. Chihera’s spirit is urgently required to detoxify Zimbabwean politics and enable women to participate as equal players. Having a progressive constitution is not enough when flesh and blood women are unable to exercise their right to political participation due to violent masculinities (Bhatasara & Chiweshe, 2021). Chihera’s defiance, ability to strategise around obstacles and disruptive capacity will facilitate women’s enhanced participation in politics. She channels her agency to open up spaces for women where the default position has been to shut them out (Gudhlanga, 2013). Activist women’s organisations such as Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) which challenged former president Robert G.  Mugabe (see, e.g., Mapuva, 2013) modelled Chihera’s spirit. Implementing strategic interventions to address violence against women in politics (UN Women, 2021) will go a long way in enabling more women to participate in politics at all levels in Zimbabwe, Africa and globally. Chihera demystifies the dominant paradigm of women being socialised for followership. In one of the popular memes, she is being socialised by her aunt to remember to acknowledge that her husband is the head of the house. Well, Chihera reasons, if he is the head, then she is going to be the beret on top of his head! Chihera will interrogate her exclusion from traditional leadership (Dodo, 2013), as well as from leadership in business, faith institutions, academic institutions and other sectors in society.

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Women’s Economic Empowerment Without women achieving high degrees of economic emancipation in Zimbabwe, Africa and globally, the struggle for women’s rights will remain frustrating. Due to historical, cultural, religious, political and other reasons, women continue to be excluded in mainstream economic activities in Zimbabwe. Although there have been some positive developments, such as women entrepreneurs inspired by Pentecostal theologies (see, e.g., Mapuranga, 2018) and some successful women resettled farmers (Tekwa & Adesina, 2018), much more remains to be done to promote women’s entrepreneurship (see, e.g., Derera et al., 2020) and economic advancement. Chihera provides a valuable model of women’s economic empowerment. She owns property and does not regard marriage as a form of social security, or see herself as surviving on her husband or partner’s generosity. She is an entrepreneur, astute businesswoman and competent administrator. While her independence might unsettle some conservatives who seek to maintain the status quo, we regard her economic independence as critical for African women’s advancement. Chihera highlights African women’s contribution to economic growth and development in post-colonial Africa (see, e.g., Akyeampong & Fofack, 2013; Klaa, 2020).

Patriarchy Pushes Back: Critiques of Chihera In the foregoing sections, we have interpreted the Chihera phenomenon in contemporary Zimbabwe positively. We posit that the Chihera spirit can be appropriated and deployed in positive ways to improve women’s wellbeing in specific areas in Zimbabwe and throughout the continent. However, one would be forgiven for assuming that there is consensus that the “Chihera uprising” is a righteous gender revolution to liberate women and girls. Patriarchy would have been long extinguished if it did not have mechanisms for self-perpetuation and strategies for countering resistance. It has demonstrated its uncanny ability to counter resistance by seeking to pacify the Chihera spirit. Although a longer narrative is needed to do justice to this theme, in this section we will strive to highlight some of the key strategies that patriarchy has deployed in this quest. First, as we hinted in “Introduction,” Chihera has been suppressed in official exhortations of “respectable and responsible women” in Zimbabwe (see, e.g., Hinfelaar, 2001; Chitando, 2021: 147). The version of womanhood that receives official backing is the one that poses the least threat to

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patriarchy. Patriarchy rewards “obedient and faithful” women, while demonising fiercely independent and disruptive women such as Chihera. Official celebrations of women are calculated to nurture “mothers and decent” women, that is, those who do not threaten the status quo. We contend that there are efforts to curtail or dim Chihera through official non-engagement. Second, patriarchy has sought to strike back through demonising and trivialising the Chihera persona on social media. Self-appointed social media police, mostly younger men (but also a few women deployed by patriarchy), have responded swiftly by generating narratives and images that seek to defuse Chihera’s revolutionary potential. Thus, they seek to make Chihera appear less impressive than she is. One way of doing this has been through jokes where Chihera is portrayed negatively. This is consistent with the general negative portrayal of women on social media during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Zimbabwe (Vurayayi, 2020). The images of Chihera that were circulating sought to project Chihera as an extremist who, for example, would count the number of pimples on her husband’s face before he left home to get into town and would inspect him closely upon his return. Adopting a Eurocentric perspective, Chihera is also presented as failing to understand the intricacies of the English language. She continues to wait in the queue at a public facility when her turn comes because she imagines that, “next” is one of the totems in Zimbabwe. To mobilise communities to resist Chihera’s spirit, she has been projected as positively dangerous (see, e.g., Chitando, 2012). On seeing the Nyaradzo (a funeral services company) bus, she muses that a smart woman must kill her husband as soon as he has finished educating the children and building a suburban home. This imaging of Chihera as a cruel and calculating woman who eliminates her husband at her earliest convenience perpetuates the whispered “truth” that as soon as the contemporary urban Zimbabwean man has completed (contributing towards) building the house and educating the children, he is destined to be taken out by his ungrateful wife.9 Since Chihera threatens patriarchy because of her identity as a transgressive woman, patriarchy proceeds to associate her with danger and witchcraft (see, e.g., Baruah & Thakur, 2019). In yet another attempt at demonising Chihera, it is said that if China, where COVID-19 9  There is no effort to review most men’s poor health seeking behaviour, the contributions of the very same wives to household income, the global reality of lower life expectancy for men and other possibilities. Women are the most readily available scapegoats.

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was initially discovered in the city of Wuhan, wants to know the equivalent of the virus in Zimbabwe, it should not struggle: Chihera is clearly the answer. Patriarchy thus portrays Chihera as a dangerous being, as dangerous as the virus. Chihera is also portrayed as an awkward, uncouth and less sophisticated woman who is out of her depth in her interface with modernity. She will pack her husband’s lunch in a tiny shoe polish container without any challenge. Further, she is also described as not marriageable on different grounds. Men aspiring to marry are advised to exercise due diligence and avoid Chihera. Also, the other serious misfortune that we face for having been born in Zimbabwe is the tragedy of having Chihera in our midst. Thus, in a context where (a “successful, stable and happy”) marriage is touted as one of a woman’s highest achievements, superseding all other accomplishments and singleness is heavily stigmatised (Biri, 2021), patriarchy often presents Chihera as unmarriageable. One recurrent, rhetorical question written beneath Chihera memes has been, “Anorooreka here mukadzi akadai?” (Is such a woman marriageable?). The audience is being recruited or conscripted to chorus, “no!” This is meant to seal Chihera’s fate: a woman who is not “marriage material” is not supposed to inspire anyone. This patriarchal valorisation of heterosexual marriage and intimidation of determined single women is also experienced in other African contexts (see, e.g., Kwachou, 2020: 12–13). Third, some versions of Pentecostalism actively seek to exorcise Chihera’s spirit. Pentecostalism generally seeks to promote a theology of “equal but separate” in relation to gender. Pentecostal discourses of femininity in Zimbabwe are very aggressive towards Chihera. For some Pentecostal preachers, Chihera represents the spirit of stubbornness that some women inherit from their foremothers and aunts. The best strategy, according to this line of thinking, is to have all girl children and women who are predisposed to the Chihera spirit undergo deliverance. Through deliverance, prayer and power (see, e.g., Akinande, 2020), African Pentecostals hope to overcome all the spirits and forces they deem dangerous. To be fair, this fear of the Chihera spirit is not limited to Pentecostalism, but is found across the various strands of Christianity and other religions in Zimbabwe. The patriarchal influence pervading all these religions sponsors the antipathy towards Chihera.

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Building on the Chihera Momentum: An Overview The backlash against Chihera that is driven by patriarchy seeks to retain the status quo. Chihera’s antics and worldview threaten to destabilise patriarchy and enable women and girls to have greater breathing space. However, as advocates of gender justice, we hold that the effort to subdue Chihera’s spirit should be resisted. Instead, we are convinced that the momentum created by Chihera presents gender justice activists, development practitioners and academics devoted to gender transformation with an opportunity to strategise further for women’s rights in Zimbabwe and Africa. In this section, we summarise some of the strategies that could be used to counter the patriarchal backlash and facilitate the attainment of SDG 5 and the AU’s commitment to women’s advancement. First, there should be an active appropriation and acknowledgement of the liberating potential of Chihera’s spirit on social media. Young women’s activism in Zimbabwe has embraced social media (Van Eerdewijk & Mugadza, 2015; Mpofu, 2016; Toyana, 2020). Other marginalised social groups, such as the LGBTIQ community in Zimbabwe, have also utilised social media to express themselves (Mhiripiri & Moyo, 2016). The critique of Chihera by patriarchy should be contested on social media and her revolutionary potential extolled. This should also be accompanied by blogs that analyse Chihera as the embodiment of freedom and dignity. Social media can play a critical role in popularising the revolutionary potential of Chihera. Second, but related to the foregoing, it is strategic to remove Chihera from the toxic online battles between, “the sons of Satan” (women’s unflattering descriptions of men) and “hama dzaEva” (“Eve’s relatives/ descendants”; men’s polemical term for women). There is need for honest and purposeful engagement whose ultimate goal should be the full liberation of women. Patriarchy in online platforms is at its vicious worst, opening its misogynist fangs to demean and demonise women due to the anonymity provided by capitalists who are not interested in accountability. Debates on Chihera and women’s liberation are meaningful to the extent that the parties are committed to social transformation, not futile name calling online. The struggle for women’s liberation is far too serious to be undermined by faceless keyboard warriors high on steroids. Third, Chihera’s immersion in indigenous Zimbabwean spiritual traditions suggests that traditional leaders can play a strategic role in promoting her stance on women’s issues. Traditional leaders remain important in

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the country’s political and administrative spheres (see, e.g., Chigwata, 2016). Through well-designed consultative processes and culturally sensitive approaches, they can be champions of gender transformation in Zimbabwe. The notion that traditional leaders are resistant to change is an unfortunate one. They can promote Chihera’s commitment to gender justice and couch the message in indigenous idiom. Fourth, the hesitation to embrace the ideals of gender equality by mostly male and some women religious leaders can be addressed through campaigns that draw on the values espoused by the faith communities. Christianity enjoys a large share of Zimbabwe’s spiritual market. It is important to locate Chihera within the progressive/liberating strand of Christian theology. Thus, Chihera underscores the idea that as a woman, she is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139: 13–14). She espouses the ideology of equality between men and women (Galatians 3: 28) and that there must be justice in relations between women and men in families, communities and nations. Thus, it is possible to have campaigns popularising Chihera and the qualities she radiates within the faith communities in Zimbabwe. It is possible to engage with the Bible as an important resource for addressing gender troubles in Africa (see, e.g., Kügler et al., 2019).

Structure of the Book We have arranged the book into five fairly distinct but related sections as follows. Part I: Chihera in the Spiritual Hierarchy— Traversing Patriarchy This part has four chapters that speak to the Chihera phenomenon from a broadly spiritual perspective. Drawing on the cultural totemic significance of Chihera, the chapters variously demonstrate how Chihera characteristics help her negotiate her way through the constraining restrictions imposed on society by patriarchy. In Chap. 2, Bernard Humbe explains how the Chihera ancestor is a source of security as the Chihera spiritual ancestry value the role of a woman who is perceived as controlling Mother Earth. Using the phenomenology of religion, interviews and observations, the chapter argues that Chihera possesses two natures, one male and one female. Chihera issues are depicted as usually interacting with fellow

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women colleagues and men as well. Thus, in a society dominated by men, the female ancestry brings to the fore a woman figure perceived as a heroine who demystifies patriarchy. The praise name Chihera thus serves as an inducement to women’s action and ambition. In Chap. 3, Vushebwashe Mhaka uses the mythical Ndakaziva figure to take us through Chihera’s characteristics. Ndakaziva is the first daughter of the Mhofuyomukono (Eland) totem, (Chihera being the female member of that clan). The Chihera characteristics highlighted by Mhaka include respect, hard work and honour. Chihera is portrayed as highly assertive as she is quick to express herself wherever she is. For instance, in church, she is an elder while at home she is the pillar that exhibits bountiful bravery, a true liberated woman. Chihera thus exhibits power, respect, hard work and honour. Ndakaziva is a culmination of these virtues. She can therefore be regarded as a prototype for resilience and identity formation. In Chap. 4, Silindiwe Zvingowanisei traces the history of Chihera women among the Shona from pre-colonial times through the colonial era to the present. She demonstrates that in Shona society and culture, where womanhood is often associated with submissiveness, Chihera is visible and assertive. Her role as a mother is indispensable in the home as evidenced by the Shona proverb musha mukadzi (the woman is the cornerstone of the home). Zvingowanisei thus argues that despite being perceived by her critics as upsetting the “order of nature,” Chihera is actually the prototypical liberated Zimbabwean woman. This portrayal of Chihera is further unpacked by Yvonne Winfildah Takawira-Matwaya in Chap. 5 where she profiles Chihera from the past into the present. She examines how the perceived Chihera women’s assertiveness and the narratives connected to her are received and reinterpreted in the twenty-first century where gender analysis has taken centre stage. Takawira-Matwaya uses a comparative approach on past and present Chihera women’s lived experiences to explain how society perceives their lives to be, especially in defying patriarchy. Analysing Chihera from both her totemic orientation as well as an epitome of patriarchal defiance, Takawira-Matwaya posits that Chihera is any woman who asserts the Chihera characteristics despite not being of that totem and that the historical popularity of VaHera’s assertiveness gives inspiration it gives to most downtrodden women.

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Part II: From the Mouths of Chiheras and Mhofuyokuno— Disrupting Patriarchy The five chapters in this part focus primarily but not exclusively on depicting the Chihera characteristics that have empowered women and thus enable them to disrupt patriarchy to their benefit. In Chap. 6, Molly Manyonganise presents Chihera, the female of the eland totem, as a challenge to patriarchy, who, however, can be a rallying point for all the women of other totems who seek to challenge oppression and marginalisation from patriarchy. The chapter has highlighted the utility of a Chihera identity in empowering women across the totemic divide to deploy positive femininity and womanhood by rejecting cultural definitions that seek to continuously marginalise women. Chihera has shown that it is possible for women to own their struggles and to have agency that unsettles patriarchy and brings about gender parity. While the social media presentation of Chihera is meant to isolate such an identity, the chapter has shown how it can become the focal point of women’s resistance against women’s oppression. As a recommendation, Manyonganise advocates that the feasibility of coming up with a Chiheraism theory that promotes gender equity needs to be explored. In Chap. 7, Levee Kadenge unpacks the dominant characteristics of Chihera. He brings out traits such as being assertive, independent, industrious and strong-willed. Additionally, Kadenge posits, Chihera are well known for being conscientious, outspoken and tenacious. He argues that these traits have helped them to navigate the patriarchal landscape, enabling them to survive in the male-controlled society. Kadenge concludes by taking note of how the Chihera women tend to bequeath their Chihera persona on their offspring such that their sons and daughters are predisposed to exhibit their mothers’ character traits. Mazvita Machinga examines the character traits of eight specific Chihera women from testimonies of people related in one way or the other to them, in Chap. 8. The perception of Chihera women that emerges from the study is one of a resourceful, extraverted and intelligent woman. Machinga sums the Chihera women as promoters, crafters and performers; promoters in that they take tremendous risks to get what they want; crafters in that they are hands on people even if it means delegating or using other people to achieve their goals, and finally, performers in that they have a special ability to delight those around them with their good humour, and with their often-innate skills in comedy and drama.

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In Chap. 9, Mercy Shumbamhini and Chihera (pseudonym) speak to Chihera’s resilience in the face of the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chihera is not just a woman who is readily submissive to her husband and in-laws. Instead, she responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with courage and hope in assisting those infected and affected by the pandemic. In the midst of COVID-19, her strength is undeniable and her resilience is inspiring as it portrays Chihera’s spirit of Ubuntu/unhu in the midst of adversity. Shumbamhini and Chihera posit that this reveals what an alternative society could look like, wherein society can challenge institutions of power that are not taking care of the needy people. Kudzai Biri presents Chihera as a symbol of the dismantling of patriarchal dictates that abuse women in Chap. 10. This is through the Chihera characteristics that reveal a powerful empowered woman who knows no boundaries in unleashing her potential. Chihera successfully resists abuse. Biri argues that the traits that Chihera embody defy the general socialisations on gender roles and the qualities and characteristics of a woman/ wife. By adopting an African womanist perspective, Biri thus concludes that Chihera can be effectively used as a drawing board to tap into discourses that can empower not only women, but all people to fight gender-­ based and sexual violence in the family and society. Part III: Subverting Patriarchy—Chihera Persona in the Film Industry and Advocacy for Gender Parity In the three chapters in this part, the emphasis is on the depiction of the Chihera persona as an advocate of gender parity wherein women have to subvert patriarchy in order to be recognised and accorded any benefits due to them. In Chap. 11, Urther Rwafa uses the feature film, Neria, to examine the Chihera phenomenon of an assertive, fearless and liberated woman who subverts patriarchy by abrogating/defying the docility, submissiveness and domesticity to which women have traditionally been subjected. Rwafa argues that the central character in the film, the eponymous Neria, is a typical Chihera woman in the manner she challenges, contests and subverts the patriarchal practice of inheritance. Neria in the film is not necessarily of the Mhofu clan, but her characteristics are symbolic of what Chihera stands for. The argument by Viola Ingwani in Chap. 12 is that the Chihera character was born out of a need for women to level the uneven playing field between/among genders, where the female gender was disadvantaged.

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Chihera is presented as one who openly subverts patriarchy in all manner possible. She stands her ground on financial matters, in her daughter’s marriage, she is outspoken and she can physically fight to defend her stance. She dresses in any way appealing to her, scoffing at any remarks in her wake. Among the many characteristics of the modern independent woman is the need to work hard and juggle tasks, making in-roads into jobs such as morticians and cross-border truck drivers, previously reserved for the male domain. Ingwani recommends that the social media as an avenue that provides psychological relief should be used responsibly and that society should not be too prescriptive of women’s dressing. In Chap. 13, Beatrice Taringa and Sophia Chirongoma apply the Social Reconstruction Theory to explore the genderedness of Chihera discourse among the Shona in Zimbabwe. They made use of information collected through textual analysis-critical content and discourse analyses of purposively sampled gender texts from such social media platforms as WhatsApp and Facebook. They argue that the Chihera phenomenon is a religio-­ cultural and traditional intangible heritage asset that defines womanhood for those belonging to the Shava-Mhofu totem. Chihera stands out in a unique and distinctive fashion. She can thus possibly be a valuable religio-­ cultural and intangible heritage asset that helps in rethinking, reimagining and redefining Shona gender relations and invoke a sense of equality and agency among Zimbabwean men and women. Part IV: Chihera Prototype Navigating the Zimbabwean Genderised Economic Sector This penultimate part speaks to how the Chihera characteristics have allowed women to navigate their way through the economic challenges that afflict society and particularly overburden women. In Chap. 14, Faith Matumbu analyses how Chihera women are emancipating themselves economically and examines the ways in which they are managing to survive as entrepreneurs, and the challenges they are encountering during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter demonstrates that despite these challenges, Chihera women have developed strategies such as leveraging on technology to grow their businesses. Thus, Chihera women have defied all odds and continue to do everything in their power to enhance their families’ livelihoods. Chihera women are therefore portrayed as liberated women with daring personalities and an assertive mindset, especially when it comes to how she uses resources for economic benefit. Matumbu thus

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concludes that it is critical to interrogate how women accomplish financial stability and become economically emancipated. In Chap. 15, Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale examines the power and influence of women with disabilities in disrupting such patriarchal notions that only abled members are responsible for the wellbeing of the family. Written from the rural livelihood and ubuntu approach, this chapter analyses Chihera traits in Ndebele women, with particular focus on women with disabilities. The chapter argues that typical of the Chihera phenomenon, African women with disabilities in Zimbabwean communities in general and Matetsi Ndebele community in particular are the pillar of household economies that ensure improved livelihoods for their families. These women have significant home economics, farming and entrepreneurship skills that have sustained their families’ livelihoods among the Ndebele of Matetsi for a long time, but they are not acknowledged for these roles. Instead, it is the male or abled family members who are given credit for sustaining the families’ livelihoods. The chapter thus makes the critical contribution that the Chihera phenomenon is equally pervasive among Ndebele women with disabilities. These women use the Chihera (chiShona) traits or umaqhuzu or imbokodo (isiNdebele) to resist and trash patriarchal assumptions that family livelihoods are a preserve for men or abled family members only. Part V: Confounding Chihera—Patriarchy Fights Back In the final part, the chapters dwell on the self-preservation and self-­ perpetuating instincts of patriarchy as it attempts to pull down and undermine the empowering power of Chihera. In Chap. 16, Excellent Chireshe examines selected feminist writings by African women theologians to determine the extent to which such texts exude Chihera attributes, referred to in this chapter as the Chihera mystique. Chireshe posits that, in typical Chihera fashion, some African women theologians’ writings “breathe” the Chihera spirit, like not being quick to admit that she has erred, shouting at people and wanting her voice to win the day. Chireshe however, argues that the majority of African women theologians do not intend to create a society independent of men or where they dominate men. Instead, they seek to work with men as partners. He thus posits that Chihera can serve as a model for empowerment by her sense of agency, refusing to be oppressed and exploited, courage, boldness, speaking out when wronged, refusing to be treated as the “Other,” and not accepting everything in

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religion and culture as normative. Chireshe thus urges for the life-­affirming attributes of Chihera to be upheld and inculcated by society for the enhancement of human flourishing. In Chap. 17, Terence Mupangwa posits that in the past, women yielded a lot of power in the African home, and also exercised leadership roles in the society as a result of the empowerment they got from the home environment. However, the African home environment was distorted by a number of factors such as colonisation and westernisation. Mupangwa thus argues that the mother can influence the home environment to produce and release an empowered girl child, a “Chihera,” into the society, including the church. Using the case study of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFMZ) church, Mupangwa contends that if AFMZ women are to be successful in the drive to inculcate the “Chihera” traits in the home, they have to be included in the church leadership. He therefore recommends that there be a change in the AFMZ leadership model, with particular reference to the attitude towards the inclusion of women in church leadership. In Chap. 18, Nomatter Sande and Clemence Makamure portray Chihera women as a representation of reverse patriarchy wherein they actually dominate men to the extent even of perpetrating gender-based violence against them. Chihera women’s character is a complete opposite of men’s attempts to dominate women. They are overruling, they can make the family name of their husbands to be changed to theirs; their homesteads are often known as pamusha pava Chihera (Chihera’s homestead). They dominate in family leadership. Chihera is thus presented as an archetypal model of an indigenous Zimbabwean woman controverting patriarchy, contrary to the status quo where womanhood is often associated with submissiveness, politeness and modesty. The authors thus conclude that Chihera’s matriarchal leadership model profiles violence and abuse targeted towards men from the other margins. In the final chapter, Chap. 19, Angela Gubba and Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale invoke Skinner’s reinforcement theory to argue that women themselves are subtly and perhaps unwittingly manipulated to strengthen the patriarchal system. They argue that even Chihera, the epitome of empowered Zimbabwean women, are exploited through the multiple social roles they play in the family to perpetuate patriarchy. As the first educator of the child, especially the girl child, what the mother culturally imparts as ubuntu/hunhu in educating a child actually culminates in the cycle of reproduction and consolidation of the rule of men. The cycle thus

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confirms the theory which acknowledges the suffering of women as a passed down inheritance. The authors conclude, therefore, that the consolidation of patriarchy through reinforcement ways that suit men creates deep gender discrimination and thus requires psychological long-term innovation and strategic ways that include both men and women relating to each other as equal before educating girls and boys on equity.

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Tekwa, N., & Adesina, J. (2018). Gender, Poverty and Inequality in the Aftermath of Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: A Transformative Social Policy Perspective. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 19(5), 45–62. Accessed from http:// vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol19/iss5/4 Toyana, M. (2020, December). Hashtags and Spectacles: Zimbabwe’s Feminist Activists Find Online Avenues to Tackle Government’s COVID-19 Clampdown. Essay series. African Journalism and Media in the Time of COVID-19. Accessed from https://media.africaportal.org/documents/202012-­04_AP-­WITS_Essay_ Series_Toyana_PROOF-­3.pdf UN Women (Leadership and Governance Section). (2021). Guidance Note: Preventing Violence Against Women in Politics. UN Women. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) OGC (Oslo Governance Centre). (2021). Misogyny: The Extremist Gateway? Extremism in Focus, Issue Brief 2. UNDP. UNFPA. (2021). My Body Is My Own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-­ Determination. UNFPA. Van Eerdewijk, A., & Mugadza, T. (2015). Resilience in Adversity: The Changing Face of women’s Activism in Zimbabwe 2000-2014. Hivos. Accessed September 2, 2021, from https://www.kit.nl/wp-­content/uploads/2018/08/56fe453815bae_ Eerdewijk-­Mugadza-­2015-­Resilience-­in-­Adversity.pdf Vurayayi, S. (2020). The Paradox of Disparagement Humor: An Analysis of WhatsApp Jokes on Women in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic. Gender and Behaviour, 18(3), 15949–15956. Wane, N. (2011). African Indigenous Feminist Thought: An Anti-Colonial Project. In N. Wane, A. Kempf, & M. Simmons (Eds.), The Politics of Cultural Knowledge (pp. 7–21). Sense Publishers. Wood, J. T. (2009). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture (8th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Zvomuya, P. (2017, August 29). Rihanna, Defiant Witch-Woman. Mail and Guardian. Accessed September 1, 2021, from https://mg.co.za/article/2017-­ 08-­29-­00-­rihanna-­defiant-­witch-­woman/

PART I

Chihera in the Spiritual Hierarchy: Traversing Patriarchy

CHAPTER 2

Chihera in the Ancestral Realm: Exploring Female Ancestry Among the Hera People in Buhera, Zimbabwe Bernard Humbe

Introduction This is a study of Chihera, a female Mhofu totemite, with a special focus on Buhera district. It has to be emphatically stated, from the onset, that totems are not peculiar only to African societies. As a matter of fact, they are an essential component of human existence (Mashige, 2011: 15). Totemism is a cultural practice that has been upheld by locals since pre-­ colonial Zimbabwe and it has survived extinction during the century of colonization and in the post-colonial era. To be more succinct, among the indigenous Shona people in Zimbabwe, comportment is regulated by totemism. It is a belief system in which human beings have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal (Bozongwana, 2000: 11). The animal is regarded as the totem, that is, mutupo. The

B. Humbe (*) Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe Research Institute of Theology and Religion, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_2

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totem is thought to interact with a given kin group, clan, or an individual to serve as their emblem or symbol. Members of the clan regard themselves as related to one another, and to the totem animal, toward which they usually observe a form of ritual attitude, refusing to kill or eat it, or making it the center of organized ceremonies on which the life of the totem and of the tribe is believed to depend. This relationship, which is expressed in totemism, may be based on what are regarded as blood-ties, on membership of a common horde-locality or, primarily, on a mythological and “spiritual” ancestry (Middleton, 1981: 166). The purpose of this study was to look at the indigenous and conscious interpretation of the essence of the female Eland totemites (Chihera)ancestry realm relationship. The Eland female ancestry in this study is understood as dzimu raChihera. The Chihera spiritual ancestry value the role of a woman, viewing her as controlling Mother Earth. In the contemporary Zimbabwean context, Chihera has become prevailingly recognizable. This is because the ancestral realm has been involved in human affairs ensuring that hwema hwedzinza (ancestry link) is maintained. During the fieldwork, it was observed that Chihera issues do not usually appear in strict separate cycles, but in many cases they are depicted as interacting both with fellow women colleagues and with men. Thus, in a society dominated by men, the female ancestry brings to the fore a woman figure perceived as a heroine who demystifies patriarchy.

Statement of Study Totemism as a cultural practice has been vividly upheld by locals in all three historical epochs of pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial Zimbabwe. However, scholarly literature on the emancipation of indigenous women has taken surprisingly little account of the study of Shona totemic religio-cultural forms. This is a problem that deserves to be interrogated because totems are rich in oral literature and tradition. There has also been extensive research conducted on ancestral spirits, detailing how one qualifies to be an ancestor and the functions of ancestors in the lives of the living relatives. Unfortunately, the discourse on ancestral spirits has been treated using a “one blanket fits all” approach. Mostly, when reference to the ancestors is made, the assumption is that they are male ancestors due to lack of gender specifications. With particular focus on Chihera among the Shona people, the main task of this study is to single out female ancestry among the indigenous Zimbabwean communities. This is because

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there has been little systematic analysis of the meanings or communicative practices that make up the Chihera-ancestry realm relationship.

Background: Contextualization of Eland Female Ancestry (Chiheraism) The history of Buhera in the past 200–300 hundred years is dominated by the Hera dynasty of the Shava Nhuka, that is, Eland totem upon which the name of the district is derived (Lindahl & Matenga, 1995: 18). Characteristic features of the Shava people include the fairness of the skin which is light brown or cocoa colored. In the contemporary Zimbabwean context, this totem is used to denote self-sufficiency and innovativeness among the indigenous people. The name Buhera is a Nguni adulteration of the Anglicized version of the name uHera. Uhera means territory of the Hera Shona ethnic group. According to Beach (1980) in Nhemachena (2014: 27), Buhera was an area dominated from the pre-colonial era by people of the Shava/Hera totem dynasties in the south center of the country. The praise totem for males is Shava Museyamwa while for females it is Chihera. But collectively they are called vaHera. Customs distinctive to this ethnic group are known as uHera hwavaHera. So, the Museyamwa totem occupies most of the Buhera territory (under Chief Nyashanu). The most widely accepted view about the Hera people which was raised by Lindahl and Matenga (1995) confirms that the founding father of the Hera dynasty was Mbiru-Nyashanu. However, his real name was Mabvuregudo who was nicknamed Nyashanu, signifying five male children he had fathered. Five is shanu in Shona. The prefix nya means owner of. The names of Mabvuregudo’s sons are Murwira, Maringapasi, Gotora, Nechasiya, and Maweni. Tradition has it that the headquarters of Mbiru-­ Nyashanu’s dynasty was located at Gombe Mountain, a massive ridge which is found in the north-west end of the uHera territory in the East of Zimbabwe. In their praise totem, reference is made to this claim, saying “Totenda voMuchimbare, veGuruuswa vane nzangachena kunge mwedzi wejenachena”. The Hera people claim to have built the loopholed Zimbabwe on top of Gombe ridge. This elongated hill was also called Mai yaVaHera literally meaning Mother of the Hera (Caton-Thompson, 1931: 131 in Lindahl & Matenga, 1995: 18). Oral tradition has it that the full name of the mountain and ruins is Gombe ravaHera meaning the large gourd of the Hera (Lindahl & Matenga, 1995: 19). The Hera dynasty

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bears the reputation of the most popular totem in Zimbabwe. This gives me the impetus of exploring the female ancestry of this totem looking at the totem praise name Chihera for the basis of the Shona religion is the ancestor cult. Though the Shona believe in their Supreme Being Mwari (God), their lives also revolve around midzimu (ancestors) in practice which are not worshipped but venerated as intermediaries. These ancestors are spirits of dead family elders like fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, cousins, and aunts, who still exist in a spiritual form dealing with their progenies’ family affairs. The study is confined to dzimu raChihera (Chihera ancestors) and the role they play in the Shona worldview. They are referred to as vari pasi (those mentioned further) and it is believed that they dwell in a spirit world called nyikadzimu. They are guardian spirits who are influential in the people’s lives (Bourdillon, 1976: 263). Both the Chihera ancestors and the living form part of the Shona community. The relationship between the living and the ancestors is symbiotic. The endless mentioning of the praise term Chihera in Shona cosmology makes the dzimu actively participate in human affairs. The Shona carry their ancestors wherever they go. The Shona people also believe that their ancestral spirits will be hovering over them wherever they are and in whatever they do. Referring to their particular ancestors, the Shona people’s expressions like vadzimu ndiringe (my ancestors, please take care of me), vadzimu vandirasa (the ancestors have forsaken me), vadzimu vadambura mbereko (the ancestors have broken their back sling/have abandoned me), and vadzimu vandinzwa (the ancestors have heard me) are very common to confirm how their worldview is dominated by ancestral spirits. The active existence of the Chihera ancestral spirits are their controlling thought, whether that means for the living relative a constant source of superstitious dread, or a sense of security which fills the progenies with inward peace (Idowu, 1994: 108).

Essential Theoretical Matters and the Shona Cultural Context Among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, spoken narratives about totems have a place in the country’s treasury of literature and traditions. These traditions manifest important features for researchers because of their exemplification of a living tradition which is still open to study by field

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researchers. To effectively explore this living tradition of totemism enshrined in Chiheraism, the study adopted the symbolic interactionism theoretical framework. Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theoretical framework and perspective in sociology that addresses how society is created and maintained through repeated interactions among individuals (Carter & Fuller, 2015: 1). The perspective emerged in the mid-twentieth century from a variety of influences, in particular the American philosopher George Herbert Mead (1934) and his theories about the relationship between self and society. Herbert Blumer is credited with coining the term “symbolic interactionism” in the 1950s. He emphasized how the self emerges from an interactive process of joint action (Denzin, 1992), in Carter and Fuller (2015: 1). The most important conceptual building block on which symbolic interactionists have based their analysis of human conduct is the concept of the symbol or, as Mead (1934) called it, the significant symbol. A significant symbol is a vocal or other kind of gesture that arouses in the one using it the same response as it arouses in those to whom it is directed (Hewitt, 2002: 1). The ability to employ significant symbols enables human beings to interact with one another on the basis of meanings. Symbolic interactionists study society through the interpretation of objects, events, and behaviors by the members of that society. So, individuals use language and significant symbols in their communication with others. Language is a culturally fashioned and socially recognized system of standardized and conventionalized symbols, which have a specific and randomly determined meaning and common usage for the purpose of socially meaningful expression and for communication in a given society. Furthermore, language is made up of words, each one having both meaning alone and also when combined with others in a standardized way according to certain established rules (Hewitt, 2002: 3).

Relevance of Symbolic Interactionism to Explore Chihera in the Ancestral Realm The relevance of this theoretical perspective in this study is hinged on its emphasis on an interpretive meaning construction. In an examination of the cultural context of Shona totems and the relationship between the human and the spiritual world in the construction and articulation of the nomenclature, Chihera’s religio-cultural identity became central to this

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study (Mashige, 2011: 15). Symbolic interactionism was handy in giving explications of the conundrums that show the uniqueness of Chihera ancestry in Zimbabwe. Since the study was carried out in Buhera, the explanations showed how the same belief systems and practices in female ancestry could be differently interpreted by different Shona cultural ethnic groups in different places or at different times within the same Shona cultural ethnic group. The questions asked then were: How do the Mhofu female totemites (Chihera) think and feel about themselves, the other, and the world that surrounds them? What different ideas do they have about the modern world? And indeed, how do they act on the basis of their beliefs? To understand the essence of female ancestry among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, attention was paid on the notion of gender and sexuality in Buhera traditional communities. What symbolic interactionism simply did was to demonstrate the socially constructed nature of masculinity and femininity as developing out of repeated, patterned interaction and socialization processes. So, gender emerges through interaction, directly contradicting the normative perspective of gender as an innate state of being or individual quality. Symbols make it possible for the individual to be part of the very environment to which he or she responds and thus making possible the development of Self (Hewitt, 2002: 2). An interactionist framework helped to understand the Chihera “self” and “identity” processes. The exploration of female ancestry among the Hera people in Buhera in this study was done using language subjectively depending on context. From the symbolic interactionist perspective, the Shona words used in the Mhofu praise poem describing Chihera are believed to be spiritual. When rituals are performed, the only way of having proper/effective communication with the spiritual world is by using this revered language. It has metaphors which carry hidden religious meaning. Language is creative of reality and not merely reproductive because new words can be coined and defined especially in the modern set-up.

Methodology This study was done qualitatively utilizing phenomenology of religion to explore the influence of Chihera ancestors on their progenies and family affairs. During the inquiry, procedures of epoche, empathetic interpolation and eidetic intuition were adopted to study varied symbolic expressions of

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that which people appropriately respond to as being of unrestricted value for them. A purposive sampling frame was used to select 20 key informants to serve a specific purpose of appraising female ancestry among the Hera people in Buhera. All participants were aged between 20 and 70. The study was carried out within a period of three years. The participants were adequately informed about the research, comprehended the information, and had the power and freedom of choice to allow them to decide whether to participate or decline (Arifin, 2018: 30). Anonymity and confidentiality were well-kept by not revealing the names and identities of participants in the data collection, analysis, and reporting of the study findings. Information from the participants was coaxed through observations (both participant and non-participant) and interviews. The key informants were identified considering their demographic characteristics (e.g. gender or age), sociocultural factors (e.g. religious affiliation, marital status, ethnicity, education, or area of residence) or occupation characteristics (e.g. religious experts, working, retired, or unemployed). What the participants had is what Bourdieu (1986: 105) calls “cultural competence” to understand the female ancestry in Zimbabwe. Cultural competence included the “forms of skill and knowledge which enabled participants to make sense” of the vadzimu (ancestors/ancestral spirits) as a daily guide for humanity. This study conducted an interpretive analysis of the data. Following Leach and Braithwaite (1996: 207) in Sotirin and Ellingson (2014: 89), “the goal of interpretive work was the identification of recurring patterns of behavior” connected to Chihera and their meanings.

Assertiveness of Chihera dzimu (Ancestor) Assertiveness and responsiveness of the Chihera dzimu happens in various ways in the Shona society in modern Zimbabwe as shown in the subsequent paragraphs. Chihera and Aesthetic Values Dzimu raChihera is believed to be closely associated with some aesthetic values. A visit at most of their homesteads showed that they have a value of cleanliness in their homes and the surrounding environment. In some instances, it was easy to notice beautiful decorations on walls and on craft ware such as pottery, basketry, cloth, and beadwork (Shava, 2015: 9). The contemporary language used by participants in describing the Chiheras in

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this regard was that “vakarongeka” (they are organized). Findings from the fieldwork showed that in Buhera, the great aunties in the Chihera ancestry used to establish wells in their fields, not only for provision of drinking water, but as a source of readily available bathing water to make it easier for them to take a bath after working in their fields. The digging of the wells was preceded by the performance of rituals for the success of the burrowing and the sustenance that the wells would provide. These wells are named after the Mhofu female totemites’ fields in which they were sunk. Kutumidza zita (apt naming) constitutes one of the most important indigenous rituals in Africa (Humbe, 2017: 221). Some of these wells became endowed with sacredness such that up to this day, they are known as tsime rekwavaChihera (the well of Chihera). Whether this was done in the context of competition in polygamous marriages where vaChihera was determined to outshine her counterparts or not, but it became an established tradition that vaChihera is keen to keep herself smart. In the praise poem, accessed at https://www.poetryinternational. org › poem › auto › tile, the Hera are known to “cross the river after the waters have ascended the mountains”. Through observations and interviews, it was clear that the Chihera aesthetic values had great emphasis on her power to outdo other women. This is supported by Edeh (2018: 12) when he says that “take a close look at any [Chihera] you will find that at every point she is very conscious of her outlook not just with her but also comparatively with other women around her”. Her appearance is actualized through ornamentation, hairstyles, and dressing. Thus, one male participant retorted that dzimu raChihera haridi kuti vana varo vachembere (the Chihera female ancestry keeps her female progenies actively young). Symbolically, African hairstyles signified various things, including age, ethnic identity, rank in the community, socioeconomic status, marital status, religion, birth of a new baby, rites of passage (initiation), or death (Shava, 2015: 12). Many sacred practitioners like traditional leaders, spirit mediums, and traditional healers still wear dreadlocks and natural hair as a symbol of identity that set them apart from other community members. Many modern African hairstyles which this research found that the Chiheras are fond of are influenced by and have a historical connection to traditional African cultures. African-inspired hairstyles include Afro or straightened hair, dreadlocks, buns, knots, and plaited hair. Natural hair has been worn as a statement of African identity and pride. It is an expression of connection, power, revolution, and differentiation (Shava, 2015: 12).

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As one female participant put it, their affection to aesthetic values makes them popularly known as “Chihera special” (denoting some element of uniqueness). She opined that she inherited different types of ornaments from her great auntie whom she regarded as her model of beauty. Just like her aunt, anklets are an integral part of her adornment. They produce a sound which makes people draw their attention to her feet and legs. For her, this is a perfect way of honoring her totem’s praise poem which has the following words “zienda netyaka” (the one with sounding feet). The ankles of an Eland have white crinkles which resemble this participant’s anklets. There is a link which can be drawn between these ornaments and the spiritual world of ancestors. According to Shava (2015: 12), ornaments have played a significant part of cultural, ritual, and economic activities of Africans, and ornamental decorative accessories form a significant part of African dress attire. Shava is of the view that among the Shona in Zimbabwe, brass and copper armlets and anklets were worn as a symbol of wealth and importance in a community. In today’s world, ornaments can be used as identity markers of Shona traditional religion. Shona spirit mediums and traditional healers who access the spiritual world can still be identified by bangles (ndarira) and anklets made of brass and copper. Beads are also used as an identifier within the community. The meanings of the colors and shapes of the beads vary across cultures, and their connotations range from symbols of purity, or alternately, fertility and sexuality, to mechanisms of spiritual protection and healing (Shava, 2015: 12). Musha wavaChihera (Household of Chihera) During the study, focus was paid on interpersonal interactions in nuclear families, assessing how Chihera relates with other family members (husband, children, and other marital relatives). Responses received indicated that in the family, Chihera was associated with the following characteristic traits: autonomy, openness, predictability, and stability. Given this scenario, the majority of male respondents concluded that the Chiheras are the owners of the household. This became more intriguing when it was used in a dual-headed household defying the long-held tradition of male dominance in a nuclear family set up. Participants averred that in some situations, the dominance of Chihera is propelled by how men perceive them as pillars in marital affairs. A male participant pointed out that he married an Eland female totemite because “VaHera women are hard workers and visionaries”. Another man summed

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it up by saying that “Chihera is a responsible woman in marriage. Being a mother, she is virtually in charge of everything.” These rejoinders describe the participants’ relationships with their wives whom they view as “family heads”. This is supported by Sotirin and Ellingson (2014: 90) who argue: Within their households, the mothers deal with several characters, not only from their children, but the children in extended family. The mother needs to create peaceable living among these children as well as in-laws. It is a skill to make sure that one manages these various characters.

This is directly contrary to some thoughts maintained by other participants who believed that the idea of motherhood and womanhood is seen as too soft for leading dual-headed families. So, right from the onset, Chihera is given a mandate to run the family. In the praise poem, she is described as “Chidavarume” (one who likes men). Participants viewed this cliché diversely. Some maintained that acknowledging attraction to the opposite sex in their plurality is a pointer to her need of affection and emotional presence of men. Sometimes she does this by performing actions which lure the men she is attracted to. One female participant complained that her marriage was destroyed after Chihera snatched away her husband. She tried to fight the offender whom she described as a multi-partner in order to get her husband back, but she was unsuccessful. Some participants felt that the Chihera term can be adopted to express the idea of opposition to the normal world or of the distortion of accepted human and social values. This applies particularly when the Chihera figure is portrayed as not only cunning but also in some way extravagant and disgraceful. One male respondent expressed the view that “Chihera is just a dodgy figure”. Another one, a female participant, also added that “Chihera cannot be tamed”. So Chihera is used as a brand to represent traits or personalities which people both recognize and fear. However, another side of the interpretation was that Chihera is well known for her commitment to marriage, cementing the essence of the formal praise, chidavarume. When she exhibits her prowess to execute her mandate, the society reckons her transformational power by using the label pamusha paChihera (Chihera’s home). This notion of having the name of the husband subdued in the family headship system controls social relationships between people in Buhera communities. The pamusha paChihera mantra governs marital relations giving women the leeway to make key decisions in family affairs. In this regard, one woman declared

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with high self-esteem that “ndini ndakabata makey emusha” (I hold the keys of this homestead/I am wholly in charge of this homestead). “Owning” one’s family and its members contributes to a sense of identity of the Chihera dzimu. However, a few participants were of the opinion that Chihera mothers are sometimes stereotypically described as deviant. The deviance mentality is associated with the Chihera dzimu, for it is the one which determines the behavior of these Eland totemites wherever they are married. The women possess skills to have their thoughts expressed in various ways which include: verbal fighting, physical fighting, dramatizing, and singing as was opined by one of the male participants. This behavior has further earned them adoring praise names like Chihelele and Chihehe. They have stamped authority in so many respects such that the patriarchal society has recognized their voice and endorsed its existence. Most participants expressed the view that Chihera has the potential to outdo men. The society has learnt that women’s words are weightier than men’s. Indeed, this sense of musha waChihera defines the Mhofu totem as a champion of a quasi-matriarchy ideology among the Shona people in Zimbabwe. In other cases, through observations, it appeared rather ambiguous whether the powers behind their behavior was really the Eland totem or human, for their behavior appeared in different guises on different occasions. Both male and female respondents concurred that Chihera leads a theatrical life. They illustrated this point by stating that because of their boldness, Chihera women are envisioned as “men” by the society. It is quite interesting to note that even the women regard themselves as “Mhofu yomukono”, that is, Eland bull. This is the philosophy they implement practically in their communities. So, on one hand, they exhibit feminine aesthetic values and on the other, a bull-like character trying to overturn the patriarchal societal order. Such overlaps between the appearance of Chihera’s various characters depict the different contexts of how Chihera is used. Children Revere Their Mothers More Than Their Fathers In her responses, a participant born of a Chihera mother succinctly orated that “vaChihera is not just an ordinary mother. Her motherhood and womanhood imbue some unique personality worthy of our reverence as her children”. To buttress the reverence impression, one male participant said; “kuti ndisarangwa nemidzimu yekwamai, handidi kutsamwisa amai

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vangu vaChihera” (to avoid the wrath of my maternal ancestral spirits, I avoid angering vaChihera my mother). It is a common belief among all the Shona people in Zimbabwe that children should avoid conflicts with their mothers because breaking this taboo results in misfortunes on the part of the children. But what makes the Chihera case unique is that the consequences of misbehavior are felt even before the death of the offender’s mother. Responses from participants who have lost their mothers affirmed that the influence of the Chihera mothering continues to be stroked spiritually. As respondents were articulating their views, some frequently mentioned the following words to show truthfulness of their communication; “Namai vangu vaChihera varere pasi”, (I swear with my mother Chihera lying in the underworld) or “ndopika namai vangu vaChihera vari pachuru” (I swear with my mother Chihera buried on an anthill). The departed Chihera mothers are in the underworld of the spiritual realm. Sometimes they visit their children through visions and dreams, assuring them of the necessary protection against adversities of life. The Chihera unique style of mothering might be attributed to fear-­ based nurturing called helicopter parenting. The term helicopter parenting in this context describes the Chihera dzimu as being overprotective and, more generally, over-involved in their children’s lives. More often than not, Chihera ancestry is convinced that danger lurks around every corner, and so she guards and advises her children at every turn. Generally, the participants confirmed that their Chihera mothers were autonomously supportive. To this end, they were perceived as providing warmth, structure, competence, acknowledgements of feelings and thoughts of children, and opportunities to participate in family decision-making (https:// www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-­l earn/201903/the-­ many-­shades-­fear-­based-­parenting). This explains why Chihera is named using the formal praise “chirera nherera” (keeper of orphans). This might serve to mean her custodianship of her relatives in general. Chihera and Traditional Leadership In addition to serving as final authorities in their families, the Chiheras in Buhera have been involved in traditional leadership. For thousands of years, women have participated in religious observance and worked to support religious institutions often in greater numbers than men. Unfortunately, women in leadership roles have too often been discouraged, resisted, or prohibited in all religious traditions (https://www.

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huffpost.com/entry/women-­religious-­leaders_n_924807). In contrast to this cultural disposition, a Chihera by the name Agnes Mupfudza has become one typical example of a woman who occupies a powerful traditional office. She is a Sadunhu (Headwoman) under Chief Nyashanu in Buhera South. Her jurisdiction covers areas such as Mavhungire, Nzvere, Murove, Magamba, Jori, and Chapanduka. She succeeded her brother, Headman Mupfudza, but after encountering some wrangles with her uncle Chimombe who had manipulated the headmanship following the demise of Headman Mupfudza. Through the intercession of the government, the succession dispute was resolved resulting in two traditional leaders (Headwoman Mupfudza and Headman Chimombe) manning the southern part of Chief Nyashanu’s area of influence. Having a woman running a traditional office is very appealing to progressive Zimbabweans who are conscious of the importance of equal rights, specifically women emancipation. People under Headwoman Mupfudza highly praise her leadership skills. She has raised her voice on rights issues, especially against child marriages. She is also involved in advocacy against maternal mortality in her constituency. To reduce this problem of maternal death as well as improving the general health and well-being of her subjects, Headwoman Mupfudza organized the construction of a clinic in Murove area by mobilizing financial resources and building material from the corporate world. Villagers in Murove used to walk about ten kilometers to reach the nearest clinics at Muzokomba, Mutiusinazita, and Chapanduka. She challenged decades of cultural norms by simply being an African woman in a position of traditional authority. She has used this influence to create a more gender equitable climate among traditional communities (https://www.africaportal. org/features/women-­policy-­making-­chief-­theresa-­kachindamoto/). The notion of leadership here drawn from Headwoman Mupfudza’s case is “midwifing” (Msila & Gumbo, 2016). Midwifing underscores feminine leadership, thereby bringing qualities such as transformation, nourishment, and energy since the style of leadership is characterized by sensitivity and cooperation. Moreover, Buhera women are not only finding their spiritual voice; they are developing new attitudes, affirming that they can lead, and they can do it as well as men. Exposure to own-gender experts can provide such role models, break stereotypes regarding gender roles, and improve individual women’s aspirations and propensity to enter traditionally male-dominated areas (Msila & Gumbo, 2016). This Chihera egalitarian movement has become so pervasive that spheres of life that

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continue to exclude women from official roles face a new cultural reality that accepts, and believes in gender equality ­(https://www.africaportal. org/features/women-­p olicy-­m aking-­c hief-­t heresa-­k achindamoto/). Traditional leaders of neighboring territories are now looking up to her as a model in this respect. Chihera zitete remhuri (Chihera’s Aunting Role) It is not natural for Shona people to distance girl children from the center of their family. Consequently, when these girl children are married, they are invariably startled whenever they are asked the question whether they are still connected to their paternal families. So, what is expected of them is to continue assuming their reciprocal social responsibilities with family members back home. Failure to do so could jeopardize their status both in paternal and marital families. The role Chihera performs in her natal family earns her the title zitete redu (our great aunt). The expression connotes familial belonging, which is the primary social reality for all Shona people. Participants confirmed that for the Hera people, “our zitete” is like our sister, our brother, our wife, our mother, and our father. It signifies that the Chihera as the great aunt of the family has been thoroughly incorporated into the Hera family membership that is why they prominently feature in family stories. Participants outlined the following roles to be performed by zitete remhuri (the family’s great aunt): guiding and counseling and administering of rituals in Shona rites of passage. A female informant had this to say: “Aunt [name] provides multiple forms of support to nieces and nephews of our family by offering sage counsel or a sympathetic ear”. In some instances, “aunting” can be a mediating agency in managing dialectical tensions in other family relationships (parental, sibling, spouse, or significant other). About four forms of response to dialectic tensions have been put forward in Sotirin and Ellingson (2014): prioritizing, neutralizing, transcending, and reframing. The aforementioned serves to show that Chihera zitete remhuri is central in family networks. Given that aunts are paradigmatically female, a focus on the Chihera aunting relationship also attended to processes of gendering and gendered identities and drew attention to the pernicious sexism that continues to color conceptions of familial roles and kinship relations (Sotirin & Ellingson, 2014). Findings of this study confirm that enactments of extended kin relationships like aunting are guided by “kin

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scripts”, which designate within a particular network who is obligated or entitled to perform types of tasks (kin-work), when such tasks should be done (kin-time), and how the process of assigning kin-work should be handled (kin-scription) (Sotirin & Ellingson, 2014).

Identity and Visibility of Chihera Ancestor in the Contemporary World Since names have meanings that communicate important information about the thing or person named, the Shona women are called by different names depending on a particular context that claims one’s attention at a precise time. In the modern world, tagging a woman Chihera is analogous to calling her a liberalized African indigenous woman. Chihera is also used as a source of entertainment. Generally, the Chihera dzimu is understood as the conveyor of humor. Participants testified that in various work groups, the groups which are interesting to operate with are those with Chihera figures. They spice up difficult moments with jokes and interesting stories. Local dramas have adopted the name Chihera in instances where the character has to show a sense of humor. One of the obvious points in the title Chihera is just the sheer entertainment afforded by the description of the amusing antics of women, and they are often told to audiences of children. The fact that most of the women portrayed are well known to the audience—their appearance, their behavior, their calls, so often amusingly imitated by the narrator—adds definite wit and significance that is lost when rendered for readers unfamiliar with this background. As an oral society, the art of storytelling remains a distinctive aspect among African people. African tales, fables, and myths form a distinctive way of entertaining as well as educating the young about the world, combining both myth and reality and drawing on the wisdom of the elders. In telling stories, the audience is intimately involved (Shava, 2015: 5).

Significance of kuera (Sacredness) in Chihera: Final Reflections The name Chihera derives from kuera which means sacredness. So Chihera means the sacred one. The foregoing discussion depicted the sacredness of Chihera. The Buhera Shona community has accepted this idea of kuera as

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a transcendental attribute of the Hera people. The dzimu protects and fights for its progenies (kurwira). The notion of kuera and kurwirwa by the dzimu is poetically portrayed in the saying “haichemeri usaitanga” (the power of the transcendence is invoked when the name Chihera is mentioned). Looking at the Eland praise totem, one gets the impression that it is an impenetrable prototype of a contemporary woman’s emancipation in imagism. An appraisal of the concept of Chihera illustrates that women can no longer be assumed to be the generalized passive products of some far-away or long-ago cultural practices in Shona society, but rather can be seen for what they indeed often are: the living process through which thinking and feeling individuals interweave their own insights, experiences, and interests with the cultural traditions of their times (Finnegan, 1977: 164). Supernatural associations and the unusual type of actions in Chihera narratives set her rather apart from leading women characters in Shona totemic narratives. Chihera appears to be a famous thespian in contemporary Shona communities. But it should be noted that, among the Shona people, this desire for fame and praise was something considered relevant not only in life, but also after death, since a woman’s memory is kept alive in her praises (Finnegan, 1977: 141). The Chihera keynote might appear as if it is an old discourse, but basing on the findings of this study, its contemporary usage gives it a new symbolic gist. The praise name now serves as an inducement to women’s action and ambition (Finnegan, 1977: 142). It is an exhibition of matrilineal relationships among the Shona. The Chihera’s creativity in building on already established themes of the status of women in Shona society is itself as authentic as earlier practices which are regarded as relevant manifestations of ongoing valued local Shona cultural traditions in the contemporary Zimbabwean world. So, formal praises cited previously designated to the Chiheras are symbolic in the sense that such kind of praises are the ones used when addressing spiritual beings. These formal praises are a symbolic spiritual element defining and sustaining Chihera’s identity and origin (Shava, 2015: 3).

Conclusion Making Buhera a focus of this study meant that the Chihera female ancestry is related to the diverse geographical, environmental, historical, cultural, religious, or spiritual experiences of African peoples. Totemism is a significant component of African people’s tangible and intangible cultural

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heritage that simultaneously affirms their diversity and reinforces their cultural unity. This is the case of Chihera among the Shona people of Buhera. Chihera has become a permanent title to the women of the Shava totem. Chihera ancestral spirits are both willful and just. They are not remote in Shona communities, people know of their existence through their progenies by instinct, and even children know them (Paris, 1995: 30). Frequent reference to the name Chihera ensures a continual communication with the Chihera ancestral spirit. Today, ancestral reality and reverence remains clearly present when discussants deal with Chihera in their reflections. The study provided evidence to show that some Shona people view Chihera as possessing two natures, one male and the other female. Thus, it appears that Shona understandings of Chihera are much less sexist. Other instances where the praise name Chihera is used are meant to fulfill the function of providing a model through which people can verbalize the relationships and constitution of their society. The term should be seen as part of its own social context and not just as a survival strategy.

References Arifin, S. R. M. (2018). Ethical Considerations in Qualitative Study. International Journal of Care Scholars, 1(2), 30. Beach, D.N. (1980). The Shona and Zimbabwe 900-1850: An Outline of Shona History. London: Heinemann/Gweru. Mambo Press (Zambeziana, 9). Bourdieu, P. (1986). Forms of Capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Greenwood Press. Bourdillon, M. (1976). The Shona People: Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to Their Religion. Mambo Press. Caton-Thompson, G. (1931). The Zimbabwe Culture: Ruins and Reactions. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Mead, G.H. (1934). Mind, Self, and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. University of Chicago Press: Chicago. Bozongwana, W. (2000). The Ndebele Religion and Custom. Mambo Press. Carter, M.  J., & Fuller, C. (2015). Symbolic Interactionism. Sociopedia.isa. https://doi.org/10.1177/205684601561 Denzin, N.K. (1992). Symbolic Interactionism and Cultural Studies: The Politics of Interpretation. Oxford: Blackwell. Edeh, P. D. (2018). Aesthetics and the African Women’s Lives Drama. Journal of Research in Philosophy and History, 1(2), 99–124. Finnegan, R. (1977). Oral Literature in Africa. Oxford University Press. Hewitt, J. (2002). Self & Society (9th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

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https://www.africaportal.org/features/women-­policy-­making-­chief-­theresa-­ kachindamoto/. Accessed February28, 2021. https://www.huffpost.com/entr y/women-­r eligious-­l eaders_n_924807. Accessed February 27, 2021. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-­l earn/201903/the-­ many-­shades-­fear-­based-­parenting. Accessed February 23, 2021. Humbe, B. P. (2017). African Traditional Religion in Post-colonial Zimbabwe: A Sustainable Heritage for Water Resources Management. In M.  C. Green, R. I. J. Hackett, L. Hansen, & F. Venter (Eds.), Religious Pluralism, Heritage and Social Development in Africa. African Sun MEDIA. Idowu, E. B. (1994). Oludumare, God in Yoruba Belief. Wazobia. Leach, M. A., & Braithwaite, D. O. (1996). A binding tie: Supportive communication of family kinkeepers. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 24, 200–216. Lindahl, A., & Matenga, E. (1995). Present and Past: Ceramics and Homesteads. An Ethnoarchaeological Project in the Buhera District. Repro HSC. Mashige, M.C. (2011). Essences of presence in the construction of identity. Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies, 21(1). Middleton, J. (1981). God and Rituals. University of Texas Press. Msila, V., & Gumbo, M.  T. (Eds.). (2016). Africanising the Curriculum: Indigenous Perspectives and Theories (pp. 83–97). Sun Press. Nhemachena, A. (2014). Knowledge, Chivanhu and Struggles for Survival in Conflict-Torn Manicaland, Zimbabwe. A PhD Thesis Submitted to the University of Cape Town. Paris, P. J. (1995). The Spirituality of African Peoples: The Search for a Common Moral Discourse. Fortress Press. Shava, S. (2015). African Aesthetic. The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America (pp. 11–17). Sage. SHAVA - MUSEYAMWA (poem) - Shona Praise Poetry. Accessed February 25, 2021, from https://www.poetryinternational.org›poem›auto›tile Sotirin, P.  J., & Ellingson, L.  L. (2014). The “Other” Women in Family Life: Recognizing the Significance of Aunt/Niece/Nephew Communication. In K. Floyd & M. Morman (Eds.), Widening the Family Circle: New Research on Family Communication (pp. 51–68). Sage.

CHAPTER 3

VaChihera: A Profile of Ndakaziva Vushebwashe Mhaka

Introduction Complex changes in human situations have forced people to adopt livelihood strategies that can help people to remain in control of their individual and group identities. The changes can be natural or artificial, temporary or permanent, affecting an individual or the whole group. In whatever situation, changes are threatening, they necessitate adaptation in order to maintain continuity. Ndakaziva is one such lady who assimilates her femininity with ethical values from her totem to redefine her group identity. Her totems are Shava, Mhofuyomukono, bvumavaranda (literally red eland that accommodates servants). In Shona, shava is anything ruddy, between red and yellowish color variations. The best descriptor of the term shava in humans is to say that someone is light in complexion. That lightness makes it easy to recognize a person with such features. Without idolatrizing Ndakaziva’s complexion, it is her lightness that is difficult to miss when one looks at her. The lightness of her skin percolation matches with her totem Shava (light and fair eland).

V. Mhaka (*) United Theological College in Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, Hwange, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_3

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Her name has different shades of meanings depending on where one places emphasis. In the Shona culture, names and naming have deep significance in identity formation. This significance comes from a plethora of meanings of names among the Shona. The name is first and foremost a mark of permanent identity. Names can also remind people of a family experience. Nyambi et  al. (2016) agree with Tyatyeka (1994) who avers that some names predict responsibility and hope of the beholder. Besides, names express family expectations on the bearer of the name. Those who study the science of names (onomastics) find a lot of interesting insights coming out of names both for people and for their places. The journal of the Names Society of Southern Africa, Nomina Africana (1987) advances that names or the study of names (onomastics), provides lenses to look into the vicissitudes of changing African societies. This is true of Ndakaziva’s name. Three of the common meanings of ndakaziva are, firstly, “Had I known” and this comes when lower vocal stress is put on the first two parts of the word ndaka. Such emphasis will be done by someone regretting limitation of knowledge or information about a situation or thing. Secondly, her name changes to “I have remembered/known it” when “ka” is slightly intoned higher. Usually, one will say this when something negligible has been brought back to his or her mind. The reason why such a thing could have skipped the mind is because it is so insignificant to keep musing over. The third meaning of the term “ndakaziva” could be “when I come to know.” The stem nda is used when one is referring to self. All these meanings can be true about this entrepreneurial lady. It is not only what people see about her that defines who she is, but what she sees in herself. All these variations of meanings are part of Ndakaziva’s identity which her totem also emphasizes. At the market place, whether in town or in her rural village, Ndakaziva is praised as Chihera. In such busy places, names of note are usually of men. But Ndakaziva has a place and name in the market place. She does not blush when her totemic name is called. She shows up to the challenges of the situation until she puts in order the pieces of any puzzle presented to her. Wisdom is freeflowing in her blood. Her experience of issues of life does not match her academic prowess; she was taught from the womb. She remains the talk of the market and positively so.

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The Coping Strategy Like many women in her area, her work is threatened by chauvinistic tendencies and bullying in the market place. Immediately she leans on her totem and the wisdom imparted by her mother. Ndakaziva’s mother is from Moyo Mukumbudzi totem. She has also trudged a rough course of life and finally made it to the top. She taught these unpredictable turns and twists of life as part of the package everyone should anticipate. Coping mechanism is better for someone prepared than for one who is not. We can say, Ndakaziva’s mother is not only an inspiration but a suitable counterpart in the journey of coping with challenges and difficulties. Challenges are a threat to both individual and group identities. In an endeavor to maintain relevance, many people resort consciously or unconsciously to Identity Process Theory (IPT). According to Jaspal and Breakwell (2014), the Identity Process Theory began as a psychological tool for coping with threatened socially-constructed identities. At its base, the theory is intended to be a dynamic model concerned with the ways in which individuals define, construct, and modify their identity. Two processes of this model are assimilation-accommodation and evaluation. The assimilation-­ accommodation process “refers to the absorption of new information in the identity structure (e.g., coming out as gay) and the adjustment which takes place in order for it to become part of the structure (e.g. self-­ definition as gay and downplaying one’s religion),” (Jaspal & Breakwell, 2014: 4). So, information gathering and actions taken are coping mechanisms for identity sustenance and preservation. The second process of the Identity Process Theory is the evaluation which “confers meaning and value on the contents of identity (e.g., viewing one’s sexual identity as a positive thing but one’s religious identity negatively)” (Jaspal & Breakwell, 2014: 4). Different authorities, together, identify about seven principles of the process. Jaspal and Breakwell (2014) foreground four principles, namely; continuity, distinctiveness, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. The principle of continuity covers continuity across time and situation. Distinctiveness also covers the uniqueness or distinctiveness from others. Self-efficacy is concerned with feeling confident and in control of one’s life. Finally, for Jaspal and Breakwell, self-esteem is concerned with feelings of personal worth.

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These four principles are so clear in Chihera and her counterpart Moyo Mukumbudzi. The other three principles were advanced by Vignoles et al. (2002) who propose two identity principles or motives, namely belonging and acceptance. For them, belonging refers “to the need to maintain feelings of closeness to” and acceptance, “refers to the need to find significance and purpose in one’s life” (Vignoles et al., 2002). Another principle of the Identity Process Theory (IPT) suggested by Jaspal and Cinnirella is the psychological coherence theory. This refers “to the motivation to establish feelings of compatibility between (interconnected) identities”. When an identity is threatened, individuals and groups engage in strategies to cope with the threat. Generally, the eland has good meat. The animal is always an attraction of attack. The Shava people are, in a way, the eland that hunters are searching for, both for its beauty and for meat. Continued hunting would soon deplete the animal. When it is no longer there, the family of the Mhofuyomukono (male eland) would be no more. Fighting is the only survival strategy. The totem Chihera, like other Shona totems, is fighting a psychological process of continuity. When Ndakaziva looks at herself, the distant and broken history of her family becomes paramount. She cannot ignore her story of origin. The land of Guruuswa becomes the haven of memories of her rich beginning. Although time passed, and her physical body was not yet there, she joins the dotted lines in her story as an enduring inheritance of her family clan. The clan begins with a place. The soil of the place is part of the progeny. Places like Guruuswa, Chiweshe, and Gumbakumba are part of the totemic history. The myths about Chiweshe and Gumbakumba are romanticized to suggest sexual ties and reflect geographical connection. For example, Kwenda’s (1987) thesis explores the myth of migration. Whenever the migration happened, there was an internal feud that would cause groups to spilt. Language is not an issue, but the soil that the ancestors stepped on remains a common inheritance. This is why everyone coming from the land is referred to as mwana wekumusha (son or daughter of the soil or home). In her knowledge of the totem, the Shava people do not intermarry because they are already children of one parent. If by accident they would, a beast without spot would be given as payment in a ritual called cheka ukama (breaking bonds of relationships). Another aspect is that of distinctiveness. The Shava people are emotionally proud of their uniqueness. They are distinctively different from others. When they do business, it usually thrives as a Museyamwa business. There

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is no trade where they cannot feature. When they join, they outshine and become distinctively the soul operators. Ndakaziva is known at the marketplace as the only Chihera around. Many people who come looking for her do not refer to her by her first name, but they use her totemic name, Chihera. Her totemic name cannot be shortened, although her first name can. But in everything, she maintains distinctiveness as a permanent family identity. Ndakaziva has an air of self-efficacy. She does not come on board as a visitor. She has it all (ane yese). The quality of self-efficacy cannot be hidden in her. She is confident and in control. The husband knows that she can fight although she doesn’t unnecessarily pick fights with family members. In a story from her grandmother, Ndakaziva was told of a man who was married to a Chihera woman. The man used to beat her severely and she would coil in a corner pleading for forgiveness. One day, the man went out and tried bullying other mates at a drinking spree. He was badly beaten and came home bleeding. The wife nursed him with care and respect and she also asked him how all that happened. When she got the story, she wrapped her sari cloth around and walked straight to the Shebeen (illicit bar or club). The husband followed unnoticed at a distance. He was sure that Chihera was going to be taught a lesson by the merciless man who had beaten him to a pulp. When she got to the place, she enquired of why her husband was mercilessly beaten then she started acting. She charged at the man who had beaten her husband and in no time, the man was in a blood bath. When the man managed to stagger up, he took to his heels and disappeared. When the husband saw this, he went home and silently waited in the kitchen. As soon as Chihera arrived, the husband knelt to ask for forgiveness for beating her up. Instead of Chihera responding harshly, she cried and continued comforting the husband. She even said, “You can continue to beat me up when I wrong you my husband.” That was the end of war in their family. Confidence through self-­efficacy built her family cohesion. In terms of self-esteem, the Chihera people view themselves with a high self-worth. They call themselves mhukahuru (great animal). In comparison to other beasts of the jungle, an eland is not the biggest. However, those who use it as their totemic animal see greatness in it. That same greatness is associated with Chihera. Whatever they do is to them the best. They are mutsika pane mbiri—those who step and leave fame. Fame is everywhere around the Chihera people. Ndakaziva knows it and tries to

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live up to that. She cares exceptionally well. She protects more than a hen on its chickens. She talks, and shares sense liberally. One of her strengths is that Chihera values belonging, that is, her African spirit of universal belonging to the unbroken circle. An individual belongs to the rest. No one lives to him or herself. Religion is universal; joy is universal; and sorrows too are universal. Most names in the totem are axis of belonging. The strength of an individual is in the group. The Museyamwa people believe in chaibva mumba (putting one’s house in order first/looking out for one’s kith and kin). When one of them gets a job at a company, they want their close relations to join and enjoy the fruit together. When there is business to be done, they promote those that belong to their blood. They cover each other’s backs because they belong. Just like self-esteem proposed by Breakwell, the Chihera value acceptance. Acceptance has two directions. The first part of acceptance is finding significance and purpose in one’s life. This is the central part of acceptance. The second part is accepting fate as God-given but not resignedly. They accept a position of disadvantage but not as eternal judgments of injustices. Finally, Chihera uses the principle of psychological coherence theory. As mentioned earlier, Chihera are referred to as Mhofuyomukono (the male eland). It is not derogatory to call a lady mhofuyomukono. It is establishing compatibility between interconnected identities. The male and the female are one because of belonging. Now a Chihera (female) is squarely a mhofuyomukono (male) because humanity is not gendered but united for a purpose. The notion is not common in hard patriarchal contexts but unavoidable in the totemic poetry. “Crucially, the theory recognizes that individuals have agency in the construction and management of identity” (Jaspal & Breakwell, 2014). The sexual divide does not count on human achievement and unity. Although the IPT has its application in some areas, it also speaks volumes about the Chihera existence. The theory does not only provide unique and distinctive explanations but it can also make predictions that help to explain potentially relevant beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, shedding new light on key social psychological concerns (Jaspal & Breakwell, 2014). What is observable in Ndakaziva could be a strategy

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to cope with identity, change, and action threats in a group or a specific context. African wisdom shares that everyone takes refuge in something. This hiding could be in physical objects or in sacred space. The sacred space is usually entered into in form of service. In the Hebrew Bible, the word for offering and sacrifices is korban. A closer look at the root of this word shows that it means to “draw near” (Silver, 2020: 147). Everyone who serves in the manner of sacrifice hides within the shadows of this nearness to the source of power. In terms of identity, the power of a family is in the totem. One who offers himself or herself in this circle of power is already protected by that power. As Joseph Smith (in Silver, 2020: 36) rightly puts across, “[A] religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” Part of self-emancipation of people lies in the sacrifice or nearness the people put to their roots. Ndakaziva knew this. She would use the totem to praise her friends and almost get anything she wanted. In that process, she knows like Soren Kierkegaard (n.d.) that life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.

Chihera with Her Contemporaries As mentioned before, the closest contemporary with Chihera is Moyo Mukumbudzi. Incidentally this matches with the totem of Ndakaziva’s mother. Ndakaziva’s mother, Chenai Moyo (pseudonym), who raised her daughter as a single parent, is from the Moyo Mukumbudzi clan. Often, Chenai told her daughter more of the stories about their origins from Guruuswa. She said very little of her experiences of inner rage in raising her daughter up. Taunts from the neighborhood, sarcasm from mates and vilification from relatives were all part of her daily portion. She only gave attention to what she thought could build her name up rather than destroy. Part of her strength is in her totem just like Ndakaziva’s. Their totem poetries reveal a lot of this commonality both in origins and in poise. The following table puts the totems in juxtaposition for analysis derived partly from unpublished teaching materials prepared by Mzezewa (2021) (Table 3.1).

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Table 3.1  Adapted from the Teaching Resources prepared by Mrs Praise Mzezewa Kadoma, Mzezewa, 2021 SHAVA MUTENHESANWA Maita Mutenhesanwa (Thank you Mutenhesanwa) Shava yangu yiyi (My Shava [expressing affection]) Zvaitwa mwana waChiweshe (Thank you child of Chiweshe) Mugova wakarasika (Mugova who once got lost) Mutsika pane mbiri (One who steps where there are pillars) Mhandamakan’a (also known as Mhandamakan'a) Marambakukundwa (one who defies being outdone) VokwaMutovamombe (those from Mutovamombe) Makatova mombe neshamhu ikamuka (You beat up a sleeping cow with a whip and it stood up) Hekani Masvinga (Thumps up to Masvinga) Dzvangaranga (totemic praise name) Venzanga chena (your homesteads are always clean) VaChimbare (totemic praise name) Chidavarume. (one who loves men) Maita Nhuka (thank you Nhuka) Mhukahuru (the great Eland) Maita VaShava (thank you Shava) VeGumbakumba (those from Gumbakumba) Vepfupa gobvu (those with strong bones) Maita Shava (thank you Shava) Mukonde wangu yuyu (My special tree/ meal) Mwana waMbiru wakabva Rwira (child of Mbiru, who came from Rwira) Maita vokwaSadzadete (thank you, those who eat light corn meal) Gobvu rinodzipa mwana. (Thick corn meal will choke the little ones) Aiwa zvaonekwa Nechombo (You have done well Nechombo) Mwana waChiweshe. (child of Chiweshe)

MOYO MUKUMBUZI Hekani Mukumbudzi (Thank you Mukumbudzi) Vaera Moyo (those of the Moyo totem) Vari Zvihota (those who reside in Zvihota) Vanoswera kuteverwa nevakadzi (Those who are pursued/ followed by women) Hekani Mukumbudzi (Thank you Mukumbudzi) Madevanoruwere (One who straddles the mountainous areas) Maita Mukumbudzi (Thank you Mukumbudzi) Maita veGuruuswa, Chirandu (Thank you those from Guruuswa, Chirandu) Hekani Moyo yangu iyi (Thank you my affectionate Moyo) Kuziva zvenyu varikuMatsvitsi (Those from Matsvitsi, you always remember others) Vari Tanganyika (Those from Tanganyika) Mutakurwa (totemic praise name) Bvumavaranda (totemic praise name) Vauya veMhani (Those from Mhani are here) Mwana waMukwengapasi naMunyepi (child of Mukwengapasi and Munyepi) Moyo Mukumbudzi pasi rose. (Moyo Mukumbudzi dominates everywhere) Maita variZangaome, variMahumwi (Thank you those from Zangaome and from Mahumwi) Hekani Mbuya, Ziriwosehwa (Thank you Ziriwosehwa) Maita vari Garara, Matandare. (Thank you those from Garara, Matandara) Tatenda vari Daranjiva vana vaMupfumbwa. (Those you those from Daranjiva, child of Mupfumbwa) Hekani Moyo, vari Mahusekwa. (Thank you Moyo, the one who resides in Mahusekwa) Maita vari Chikwizu neChikura (Thank you, those who reside in Chikwizu and Chikura) Zvaonekwa vari Jeranondo (Thank you those who reside in Jeranondo) Chipfuwamiti, vakadzi vachiuya vega (Chipfuwamiti, women just follow you uninvited) Gwezvavanhu vari kuna Mucheranegombe. (You draw people close to you, those who reside in Mucheranegombe) Maita vari Wona, totenda vari Dikitira (Thank you those who reside in Wona and Dikitira) Mwana waZiriwosehwa, hekani Nhandare. (Child of Ziriwosehwa, thank you Nhandare) Maita vari uRozvi, vakabva Guruuswa,(Thank you Rozvi, the one who came from Guruuswa)

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The first statement for both totems points to the name of the clan’s origin. The origin of Chihera is Guruuswa and so is Moyo Mukumbudzi that mentions the origin of their totemic praise to be the same. The actual location of Guruuswa remains a mystery. David Lan (1985) champions the opinion that Guruuswa can either be a physical location or be a mythical terrain that the Shona people use. Some stories for Guruuswa are a rich quilt of the celestial and the terrestrial whose resonances are clear in religion and history. Lan (1985) describes Guruuswa as a place of human origin. Linguistically, the term Guruuswa denotes a place of long grass. When reading between the lines, Lan presents this location as an aphorism representing female fertility. The long grass would be a picture of the unkempt pubic hair. With regard to the totemic poetry, this conjecture is tempting and suggests that fertility is God-given and often associated with biological reproduction. From Guruuswa, both animal and human life are said to have originated. Historians like Aeneas Chigwedere (2014) also attach the history of the Mbire people to the Guruuswa region. For him, all people are originally Mbire. They migrated from the region for different exploits in the land of the living. Tabona Shoko (2007) also buttresses the point of origin of the Shona as Guruuswa. Although the actual place is difficult to point at, it is believed that there is a physical place associated with the name. According to The Standard of 18 October 2018, Guruuswa is the uncontested cradle of all mhondoros (plural, singular, mhondoro) of good fortune. Mhondoros are territorial spirits that protect and bring good fortunes to the land. By extension, the Mhondoros like Mbuyanehanda1 have their roots in Guruuswa. Now, for the Shava and the Moyo Mukumbudzi, location of origin is as important as the persona representing it. When thanking someone, the origins of the person cannot be left out. If people are 40% of their past, as some social anthropologists like Michael F. C. Bourdillon (2000) assert, then Ndakaziva’s past has a lot to offer on understanding her present behavior. She treaded places (mhandamakan’a) as she migrated. Her walk toughened her character to withstand both natural and human adversities. The totem of Shava says, “Venzanga chena … Chidavarume” associating her history with a polygamous setting and love of men. The love expressed here denotes both general affection for men and Chihera’s propensity for not hesitating to 1  Mbuyanehanda has been recently lauded by the government of Zimbabwe as a spirit medium that motivated the sons and daughters of the land to fight for their rights and possessions.

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express sexual desire toward men. The Moyo Mukumbudzi also has marital nuances in the statement “vanoswera kuteverwa navakadzi” (followed by women) or “vakadzi vachiuya vega” (women following/coming at will). The term “kuteverwa” (following) in both totemic poems may mean more than physical ensuing. The heart or Moyo is surrounded by organs that derive their existence and vitality from it. The eland also has predators that are attracted to the beauty which is deeper than the surface beauty but running into the taste of the animal’s meat. The connection of the totem to women or wives makes the two totems suggest a curious connotation— it seems to be a subtle reference to sexual pursuits. Chihera is attractive as her totem suggests. She maintains high standards of hygiene. She is not only fair in the aesthetic form but utilitarian position. The heart is also attractive, not as choice meat but as central for vital life processes. Chihera is the hub of the human posterity and sustainable family chores. In the tradition of the Shona, women were married by people of status or great power. The skill or power exhibited usually by men then (causing some men to marry many wives) would also attract women to the clan. Chihera (Ndakaziva) would be matched with this pulling power of men in building the clan. She would match the Mhofuyomukono (male eland) assertion. By extension, what a male Shava could do, so the female Shava would accomplish. In family trees, the Chihera would be essential building blocks. In Chihera, the skill for building a community is a given. The words of Chenai to her daughter cannot be skipped when discussing the Chihera character: Look at her my pride. One born alone as if born to an eagle. Known for soaring above the rest like her grandmother who never feared facing the rays of the sun. One with a tender heart like her mother who raises a princess singlehandedly.” At such words, the mother would pause and look straight into the eyes of her daughter then continue saying, “Ndaka my daughter, remember what I usually tell you about who you are. You are the first born and the pride of Mhofu’s posterity. Both your family and mine are from one common place—Guruuswa. When we talk of Guruuswa (long grass), we point beyond Kwekwe to Tanganyika (Tanzania) where the feminine valley of fertility and maternal roles have their roots. That beautiful place of my imagination is our home. When you stand from the cliff where your granny’s home stood, the valley below shows what I am explaining to you now—guru rine uswa (a hole with tall grass). Guruuswa, whether in the physical or spiritual, is a place of the

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first-borns, the place of the original birth of humanity. You have it all in your hands because you were privileged to pass through it.

There is a thread that runs through the blood line that Ndaka’s mother repeatedly emphasizes. Whether she is teaching or telling one of her mythical stories, the pride of distant origins covers the deficiencies of staying away from her first husband.

Conclusion For all the Shava totemic poetry, the great Eland bull (mhukahuru) is common. To women like Ndakaziva, the word carries male characteristics of an untamed bull. Chihera is the war cry for this masculine totem. The bull is ready to charge when enemies attack. And Ndaka would be a home guard for both her children and her husband. The fight is either through open combat or even by subtlety. As shown already, in battles, the Shava would lend their daughters to investigate sources of supernatural power. So, the Chihera women were the frontliners of fierce battles; ready to risk own lives in order to deepen understanding on the war strategy of the enemy. They would dig into contexts, endure commotion, carry heavy loads, challenge as the roaring valiant, and maintain traditional respect of kith and kin. Charging at each other and challenging is part of the bloodline. The level of challenge could be lighter, increasing in intensity to a challenge of war. So vaHera women participate in the challenges the clan would face. In short, Chihera exhibits power, respect, hard work, and honor. Her place in society is not second fiddle but always in the open. She is concealed but not obscure. She loves to be talked about without much boasting on her own. Ndakaziva is a culmination of these virtues which to some extent are shared by her contemporary from Moyo Mukumbudzi. She can therefore be regarded as a prototype for resilience and identity formation.

References Bourdillon, M. F. C. (2000) (Revised edition). The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to Their Religion. Mambo Press. Chigwedere, A. S. (2014). Shona Chieftainships: Principles of Succession. Mutapa Publishing House.

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Jaspal, R., & Breakwell, G.  M. (2014). Identity Process Theory: Identity, Social Action and Social Change. Cambridge University Press. Kwenda, C.  V. (1987). The Guruuswa Myth of Migration and the Quest for a Christian African Theology in Zimbabwe. S.T.M.  Christian Theological Seminary. Dissertation. Lan, D. (1985). Guns and Rain: Guerillas and Spirt Mediums in Zimbabwe. University of California Press. Mzezewa, P. (2021). Mitupo. Unpublished Teaching Resources. Names Society of Southern Africa. (1987). Nomina Africana: The Journal of African Onomastics. Names Society of Southern Africa. Nyambi, O., Mangena, T., & Pfukwa, C. (2016). The Postcolonial Condition of Names and Naming Practices in southern Africa. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Shoko, T. (2007). Karanga Indigenous Religion in Zimbabwe: Health and Wellbeing. Ashgate Publishing Limited. Silver, M. (2020). The Weight of Gold: Attaining your Potential Through the Lens of the Bible. Mazo Publishers. Soren Kierkegaard Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Accessed October 25, 2021, from BrainyQuote.com, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/soren_ kierkegaard_414008 Tyatyeka, D. M. (1994). Kusadliwa ngendeb’ endala. Shuter & Shooter. Vignoles, V. L., Chryssochoou, X., & Breakwell, G. M. (2002). Evaluating Models of Identity Motivation: Self-esteem Is Not the Whole Story. Self and Identity, 1(3), 201–218.

CHAPTER 4

Chihera: Renegotiating the Status of Women in Shona Indigenous Culture in Zimbabwe Silindiwe Zvingowanisei

Introduction This chapter assesses the position of Chihera women in Shona society and culture in Zimbabwe. Religions have generally been regarded as patriarchal and oppressive to women. From the standpoints of feminist movements, the world has not been fair to the female gender. History has been written by the men from the men’s point of view, and the women, “the Other,” excluded. Feminism, therefore, demands for a re-writing of history. Cross-cultural studies on women demonstrate that power asymmetry remains a major issue that women across cultures and societies, including the Shona, grapple with. However, while the universality of female subordination in Africa in general and in Zimbabwe in particular, seems not in doubt, this chapter argues that the Chihera women could be an exception. The chapter examines Chihera women’s status in Shona indigenous culture from the socioeconomic, religio-political perspectives and argues that Chihera women are not only at par with their male counterparts, but in some cases, they occupy a higher position. It posits that while African

S. Zvingowanisei (*) University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_4

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women in general and Shona women in particular have been regarded as belonging to an inferior species and thus considered second class citizens, Chihera women have a different story to tell. The chapter discusses how Chihera women capitalize on Shona indigenous culture to renegotiate their status in various ways such as wealth creation, agriculture, internal trade, agro-business, healthcare, marriage and leadership inter alia. In this chapter Chihera is defined as a Shona clan name based upon the Eland whose brothers or fathers are Mhofu. Members of the clan are well-known for working hard and are highly respected.

Theoretical Framework The chapter utilizes the theory of Africana Womanism propounded by Clenora Hudson-Weems (1993: 24) for women who “reject the status of victim, who consider themselves as victors and sisters in charge of their own destiny. Their primary obligation is the progress of their cultural way of life through the stability of family and commitment to community.” The theory is a counter discourse to western feminists’ understanding of the nature, scope and solutions to women’s problems. It avers that feminism was conceptualized and adopted by white women, reflecting on the agenda which was designed to meet their particular needs (Hudson-­ Weems, 1993). On the other hand, Africana Womanism is “grounded in our culture, and therefore, it focusses on the unique experiences, struggles, needs and desires of African women” (Hudson-Weems, 1993: 24). Informed by this theory, this chapter argues that the patriarchal oppression of women, when and where it occurs, is not consistent with the values of Africana Womanism (Hudson-Weems, 2000). This is because Africana Womanism acknowledges and celebrates the key position of women in Africa within cultures, families and other institutions. What makes Africana Womanism the appropriate theory in this study is that it looks at women in the context of African culture and worldview. The status of women is analyzed from the point of view of the Chihera women in Shona indigenous culture. This resonates well with Okot p’Bitek’s (1986) assertion that only participants in a culture can pass judgment on whether a practice or custom is bad. Thus, only a theory by, about and for Africans can help to explicate the relatively favorable status of Chihera women in Shona indigenous culture. As such, this study highlights the positive affirmations of Chihera women in Shona indigenous culture.

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The Status of Chihera Women in Shona Indigenous Culture: An Africana Womanist Perspective Africana Womanism is a term coined by Hudson-Weems (1993) for women who have defied all odds, refusing to be considered powerless and victims. This chapter contends that the patriarchal oppression of women, especially in cases where women do not enjoy the same status as their male counterparts in the social, economic, religious and political spheres of life, when and where it occurs, is inconsistent with the values of Africana Womanism. Africana Womanism places emphasis on the significance of women and their complementarity with men (Muwati et al., 2011). The marginalization and invisibility of women in contemporary socioeconomic, religio-political sectors has drawn the ire of feminists. According to Selden (1989), women have been made inferiors and this oppression has been compounded by men’s belief that women are, in any event, inferior by nature. Understandably, it is argued that national development is less likely to succeed if women are not considered in the economic sphere and in other activities of national significance. However, when these skewed economic patterns are addressed as a whole, Shona indigenous culture in particular is often roundly criticized for its purported highly patriarchal tendencies which regard men as superior to women. To feminists, patriarchy among the Shona makes the female subordinate to the male, or treats her as inferior to the male (Selden, 1989). This is believed to apply in all spheres of Shona life. The argument is that, in their culture, Shona women have never been accorded the space and liberty to participate in the socio-economic, religious and political sectors of the society. Leaning on the Africana Womanist theory, this study contends that such a perception is the antithesis of what actually takes place in the Shona milieu where, culturally, Chihera women are at liberty to participate in all areas of life, enhancing their status in the process. One of the most tragic mistakes that has been made on Shona society is the misunderstanding of the status of Chihera women and the thrust for their liberation. In Shona indigenous culture, Chihera women are not at battle with men but both men and women strive to complement each other resulting in the creation of peaceful and harmonious families and communities. Pertaining to the position of Chihera women in Shona indigenous culture, any conclusion from misinformation and assumptions is, therefore, facile and superficial. The ensuing section analyses the different aspects of Shona indigenous

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culture which are affirming to Chihera and how she capitalizes on them to enhance her status.

Chihera as the Backbone of the Economy Chihera plays a pivotal role in the economic sphere. She can, in fact, be the backbone of the family economy especially in agriculture, healthcare and other ways of creating wealth which are the focus of the ensuing section. Agriculture Chihera has historically been the backbone of agriculture. The Shona economy today and for thousands of years, previously is basically an agricultural one. The production of food crops is, therefore, the most important activity of the majority of people. In Zimbabwe, women provide the bulk of agricultural labor. This translates to the fact that 80% of all household food security is generated by women. The crucial role which women play in the agricultural sector was highlighted by the late Magadzire, a former president of the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU). As articulated by Nzira (1997), Magadzire emphasized that there would be no agriculture in this country without women. He further noted that the role of women in this country is paramount and is the central pin to agricultural development. Thus, today, more than ever, it is women who feed the country. All other activities including the herding of livestock, mining, manufacturing and trade are subordinate to agricultural production and they cannot take place in its absence. Among the Shona, most men who seek wage employment in towns leave their wives in their rural homes manning the home, raising children, tending the gardens, ploughing in the fields and managing livestock. According to Chigwedere (2000), upon marriage, every Chihera is given her own personal field (bindu) assigned to her by her husband. Thus, besides the main field, Chihera has a field where she grows crops to her liking such as groundnuts or roundnuts. Pertaining to her bindu, she is free to make arrangements for collective and reciprocal aid with neighbors or relatives. She is free to hire people who work in her field (maricho) and pay them either on a daily basis or at the completion of the given task. She can freely do this without seeking her husband’s approval. She is the owner of both the field and the produce and whatever she produces from it is hers and she stores it in her own barn (dura). Chihera is free to dispose of

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the produce without necessarily consulting her husband. She can use it for food anytime, sell it, brew beer and even exchange it for pots, soap or clothes without seeking permission from the husband. Chihera may even barter the produce for livestock such as goats and chickens or she can purchase these from the money she gets from selling the produce. Thus, she is free to own property in livestock, or otherwise, of considerable value which the husband may not dare touch and over which he has absolutely no say. The husband has no right to such property which, together with property derived from other sources in her own name, forms part of her own estate and devolves upon her heirs, independent of the rules of succession governing her husband’s estate. As such, she is free to show ownership of her property by labeling her name on it. For example, she can inscribe “Chihera” on her scotch cart, and more often than not, she does so, making it a common phenomenon in Shona society. Such property does not form part of the estate of her husband. The property is vested in the woman as a member of her own matrilineal kin group. However, all the other fields belong to the husband and Chihera assists in tiling these. Here, she is again in charge, and her husband cannot dispose of the produce without informing her and without obtaining her consent. Maoko (Hands) Wealth Working with her hands is another way by which Chihera generates wealth and accrues personal possessions. Just like all other Shona women, Chihera has a strong hand. She is very hardworking and acquires a lot of personal wealth from the strength of her hands known as maoko (hands) property (May, 1983). In concurrence, Adoo (1998) observes that the Africana woman never has to fight for the right to work as claimed by feminists. For Chihera, work is a responsibility and an obligation. The idea is drummed into her from infancy. Chihera has never had to fight for the “right to work” which is a major concern of early Western feminists. In Shona indigenous culture, as in many other cultures in Africa, no family tolerates a woman who is lazy. Chihera women are, thus, urged to be very industrious and, indeed, prove to be so. It is from her hard work that Chihera accrues substantial personal wealth. Most Chihera are skilled in various métiers such as weaving different kinds of baskets from reeds. For instance, a basket used to carry the produce from the field (dengu), a basket for winnowing (rusero), a basket for

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sowing (shandiro) and a basket used to gather millet (nhengwana). Some are skilled in pottery, making clay pots such as pfuko which is used to store beer (doro), or sweet beer (maheu), rongo (for warm water), hadyana (for cooking vegetables), mbiya (for relish) and shambakodzi (which is used for cooking sadza/stiff porridge) (Aschwanden, 1982). Other Chihera are skilled in interior décor, decorating huts and other structures using a variety of beautiful patterns. Chihera may buy livestock or any other property from the maoko wealth and such property is exclusively hers. Traditional Healing Besides acquiring wealth through these metiers, some Chihera also serve as traditional healers (n’anga) and they accumulate a lot of wealth through this métier. Women who are traditional healers are treated with great respect by their husbands and the community at large because they provide answers to complex questions or problems. Some of the Chihera traditional healers are so famous that people travel from faraway places to consult them. In return for their services, they are paid in cash or kind, including money, chickens or goats, which becomes her exclusive wealth. Traditional Midwifery (Mbuya Nyamukuta) Some Chihera perform midwifery duties assisting women in pre-natal care, delivery, post-natal care as well as caring for the infant. Among the Shona in Zimbabwe, the majority of maternal healthcare services are rendered by traditional midwives (nyamukuta). In areas where professional help is not accessible, the help of nyamukuta is often the only source of help one can rely on (Dodzo & Mhloyi, 2017). Among the Shona, nyamukuta are often the older, respected women who are part of the local community. Almost exclusively, attendance at delivery is a cultural preserve of women. This explains the prefix—mbuya (grandmother) before nyamukuta. Apart from the advantage of being nearby and readily available, nyamukuta are trusted by the women as they are the hub of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) who provide culturally appropriate pregnancy care in line with the traditional expectations of the community. In return for their invaluable services, nyamukuta are given gifts by the husbands or relatives of the women they assist. The gifts may be in the form of chickens, goats or even grain which they continuously trade and thus,

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ultimately, work their way up to attaining more valuable possessions such as cattle over which the husband has no say.

Chihera and Leadership The Shona, just like other African societies, have a flexible role allocation (Hudson-Weems, 1993). In other words, though each gender has roles assigned to it, they are not cast in stone. There are also positions and roles that can be assumed and undertaken by any member of society regardless of their gender. These positions include being a traditional healer or traditional midwife, which I have discussed in the preceding sections and being a chief (mambo) or spirit medium (svikiro). All these are positions of influence and affluence. Chief (Mambo) VaChihera also have some roles to play in the political arena where they can serve as chiefs or sub-chiefs. They rule over territories and are responsible for giving land in their domain to their subjects. Chihera presides over her law courts (dare) dealing with cases such as fights, quarrels, theft, murder, witchcraft accusations and the avenging spirit (ngozi) inter alia. Women in these positions are accorded the same respect as their male counterparts in the same positions. As chiefs and sub-chiefs, Chihera also amasses a lot of wealth through gifts or fines. In Shona culture, when a person commits a minor crime, the headman or chief’s court (dare) will make him/her pay a fine in the form of grain or with money. In the case of more serious offences, payment is made in the form of cattle. The severity of a person’s crime is measured by the number of cattle he has to lose (Tsodzo, 1970). Spirit Medium (Svikiro) A key tenet of Shona religion is spirit possession. Both men and women can attain this highly prestigious position of spirit medium. In other words, the intermediary spirits reveal their presence by actively possessing particular individuals of their choice, that is, male or female. Some Chihera are, therefore, spirit mediums. These spirits are called midzimu (ancestral spirits) or mhondoro (territorial spirits). It is to these spirits that the Shona look for help, protection and support. In the state of possession, they are

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able to reveal causes of a misfortune. Unlike traditional healers who work in private, spirit mediums work publicly in formal ceremonies. Apart from their capacity to divine the causes of misfortune, spirit mediums are highly regarded for their wise advice and they frequently play the role of mediator in family disputes. They tend to be among the most intelligent and outstanding members of the community for it is believed that people are elected as mediums on the basis of their moral qualities (Gelfand, 1977). A typical example of a female spirit medium (mhondoro) among the Shona is the highly honored and celebrated Mbuya Nehanda, a central figure in the Zimbabwean War of Liberation (Hondo yeChimurenga). She belonged to the Chihera line of ancestry.

Chihera and Social Life Chihera also plays a pivotal role in the social life of the family. In this respect, the ensuing section addresses the pivotal role of Chihera in marriage and motherhood. Marriage In Shona indigenous culture, marriage is the object of life. Marriage is a social act, the primary purpose of which is to create bonds between kin groups and to produce children for the husband’s patrilineage. Marriage is one of the greatest urges toward which every normal Shona person aims and it is taken as the greatest event in one’s life (Bourdillon, 1987). The Shona regard being unmarried as showing ingratitude to one’s parents and family group who raised and trained one for life. To continue the family lineage is therefore an obligation. Gelfand (1973) observes that through marriage, a Shona man becomes both a full member and full participant in society. What this means is that no Shona man reaches his true status in society until he is both husband and father. Paternity is the very basis of respect and honor that a man is accorded by others. He cannot be respected or regarded as a man of position (mutsigo) until he has a family. Thus, the immediate source of a man’s true status is his wife. Among the Shona, it is only after a man is married that he is addressed with the honorific prefix “Va” (Mr) affixed to his name. Prior to marriage, a man is just called by his first name, for instance, Simba, and a Shona man acknowledges this indebtedness. He does not, therefore, refer to Chihera as “wife” (mukadzi) but as “mother” (mai).

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He does not even call her by her first name but calls her, for instance, Mai vaTinaye (Mother of Tinaye), Tinaye being the name of one of their children, especially the first child. Motherhood Chihera is the source of life of the family and the source of the husband’s truest happiness, that is, children. Through marriage, Chihera acquires a new and higher status in that she brings life into the world through childbearing and rearing, which is the most beautiful and valuable aspect of her life. Among the Shona, of all relationships that determine women’s status, marriage is the single, most significant. The basis of marriage implies the transfer of a woman’s fertility to the husband’s family group. Motherhood is therefore, so critical among the Shona that there is no worse misfortune for a woman than being childless. A barren woman is seen as incomplete. She is what Mbiti (1970) calls the dead-end of human life, not only for genealogical purposes but also for herself. The significance of fertility and childbearing is depicted in expressions such as wabara wamuka (he who has begotten has resurrected). Among the Shona, motherhood defines womanhood. Motherhood, therefore, is crucial to Chihera’s status. To marry and mother a child entitles her to more respect from her husband’s kinsmen, for she can now be addressed using her child’s name as explained earlier. The Shona society being patriarchal, it places more value on the boy than the girl child because the male child is believed to perpetuate the family name while the girl child will eventually marry and bear children who will perpetuate her marital family’s name. Thus, by virtue of being able to bear children, she attains more respect as she becomes a link between the dead, living and future generations.

Roles of Chihera as Mothers Childbearing Chihera’s status within her husband’s family increases with time as she produces children and becomes a mother-in-law and grandmother. Chihera women regard this as a God ordained duty which they do not see as a form of oppression by men. They regard giving birth and nurturing their progeny as another way of realizing their womanhood. They derive

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fulfillment from this biological and natural necessity and the spasms of joys of motherhood are an integral part of their whole existence. According to Chigwedere, cited by Marangwanda (2018), the Shona High God (Mwari) is concerned with pregnant women. Thus, in Shona indigenous culture, a pregnant woman is referred to as Munhu waMwari (a person whose condition must be ascribed to Mwari who knows her fate). Another great Shona ancestor associated with the Mwari oracle Tovera/Tovela, revered as a rain God, is still remembered as a benevolent deity interested in the welfare of pregnant women. The role of Chihera as child bearers has been celebrated even through proverbs such as • Unaki hwemukadzi huri pamwana (the beauty of a woman lies in a child) and • Chikuru mwana, kurwadza kwenhumbu hakuyeukwi (what is important is the child, labor pains are soon forgotten). The Shona also have taboos (zviera), which emphasize the importance of the mother and which stand as a stern warning to those children who would ill-treat or disrespect their mothers. One such taboo is ukarova mai unotanda botso (if you beat up your mother, misfortune will befall you). This taboo is enough sanction for children restraining them from beating up their mothers, and rather respecting them, for fear of suffering consequences of violating it. Older Chihera are esteemed for their long-term productive and reproductive contributions to their husband’s lineages. As Chihera grow older and the number of children, grandchildren and daughters-in-law under their authority increases, they become central to the household’s domestic and economic life. They direct the labor of the younger women and children and have considerable input into family affairs. Older Chihera are also highly regarded for their presumed wisdom and are, therefore, frequently called upon to settle disputes between younger members of the lineage. Elderly Chihera are believed to possess a certain power, a closer association to the ancestral spirits than younger members of the lineage. Since elderly Chihera are assumed to have intimate communion with the ancestral spirits, they are given every consideration. Chihera, especially older ones, do at times exert their opinions and influence decisions. In other words, some Chihera sometimes exercise a strong influence over their husbands. Chihera has an equal authority over her own children and may chastise them and it is not uncommon for her to gainsay her husband.

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Mothers as Nurturers The ability to carry a baby from a zygote to an embryo and then a fully matured baby in nine months has led to the designation of women as nurturers, an ability which men do not have. The late President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, highlighted this while denouncing homosexuality when he said that if two men were placed in a room for nine months, we would want to wait and see if they would come out with a baby (Chitando, 2015). In the same vein, Hudson-Weems (2004) notes that lovingly and responsibly, the Africana woman is the mother of all humankind and, thus, unquestionably the supreme mother nurturer. It is within this context that the ability to nurture and bring forth life has been viewed as a God ordained ability which every Chihera greatly embraces. Mothers as Caregivers Caregiving is another role that has been designated for Chihera as a mother. Because of the bond created from the time the baby was in the womb, Chihera provides care, affection and love to her children. Chihera’s role as caregiver is celebrated in Shona proverbs such as • Rudo rwehuku kuisa vana mumapapiro ziso riri kurukodzi (It is love that makes a hen shelter its chicks under its wings while her eye is on the hawk) and • Tsuro kupeta nzeve kumbwa seisikanzwi ziso riri kumwana (A hare directs its ears toward the dogs while its eye is on the young one). Thus, in Shona indigenous culture, Chihera are the supreme caregivers who are committed to the security of their families, communities and nation. Chihera’s critical role as a caregiver is also expressed in the Shona proverb kusina mai hakuendwi (one should not go where one’s mother is absent) because there one’s safety and protection cannot be guaranteed. This is because only a mother has a deeper understanding and feelings of carrying a baby for nine months and the labor pains. This and many other Shona proverbs such as nherera inoguta musi wafa mai (the last day for an orphan to be full is the day the mother passes away) highlight the role of Chihera women as caregivers for their children.

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Feeding the Family and Ethnic Group For a Chihera in motherhood, among her key roles is the feeding of the tribe. She is, therefore, first and foremost primarily concerned with the well-being of her family. As stated above, in Shona culture, when men seek wage employment in towns, women remain behind with the children and the elderly. With Shona families that are generally large—ranging from six to ten children—it is Chihera who ensures that every child is well-fed. It is for this reason that in Shona culture, the kitchen is the domain of the mother. In contemporary times, it is still Chihera’s responsibility to provide for the family. This can be demonstrated, for example, by their role during the crisis period in Zimbabwe. Describing the crisis, Chitando writes, By early 2007, life in Zimbabwe had become a hard and grim battle for survival for the majority. Many expressed the idea that things could not become worse. In fact, they did! There is a general consensus that 2008 and early 2009 constitute the “darkest period” during the crisis decade in Zimbabwe. (Chitando, 2013: 83)

During this period, Chihera would cross into neighboring countries such as Mozambique to buy provisions for their families. While some would walk into Mozambique from the border-town of Mutare, some used Nyamapanda and Sango border posts in Mutoko and Chiredzi respectively. To this end, the Shona woman is celebrated in idioms such as mai vemba igonzo (a housewife is like a rat). Like a rat, Chihera gathers and prepares food for the family. She also provides comfort and contributes to the general prosperity of the family through her industriousness. Mothers as First Teachers Chihera’s roles as nurturer and caregiver make her the first teacher of her children. In Shona culture, in their formative years, children spend most of their time with their mothers. Infant children are a mirror for the mother in which she may see a reflection of her own habits and deportment. Chihera is thus always careful in her language and behavior in the presence of these little learners. Whatever traits of character she wishes to see develop in them, she cultivates in herself. This explains why in Shona

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culture, when a child misbehaves, people blame the mother for failing to teach her/him good manners. They ask questions such as mai vacho ndiani? (who is the child’s mother?). It is for the same reason that when a newly married young woman fails to perform her duties as a wife, the mother is also blamed for failing to teach her. The same applies if a girl is impregnated out of wedlock; the mother squarely shoulders the blame for failing to teach her about proper marriage procedures. In this regard, the Shona culture places great emphasis on the need for the girl child to be taught by the elderly women, first the mother and later the aunts (vana tete) pertaining to life and marriage. The concept of mothers as the first teachers, arguably, places Chihera in a favorable position in Shona society. As the first teacher, Chihera commands a lot of respect from her children. Thus, men may rule the world, but women rule the men who rule the world. The Shona proverb musha mukadzi (the woman is the cornerstone of the home) and the English proverb “behind every successful man is a woman” highlight the notion of Chihera as first teachers who mold children into what they would grow up to be. Although the boy child spends more time with the father after the age of about seven, Chihera can still direct her son until he marries. Chihera and Marriage Negotiations Besides Chihera enhancing her status through marriage, the marriage negotiations accord them platforms to accrue wealth which further enhance their status. Among the Shona, women participate in marriage negotiations. Gombe (1995) insinuates that marriage is a compulsory institution for both Shona women and men and abstaining from it is considered highly irresponsible behavior. For the Shona, marriage is not a contract between two individuals, the bride and groom. Instead, it is a contract whose discussion and solemnization brings together members from the two concerned families, and their extended relations. From the bride’s side, participants include both male and female members of the nuclear and extended families. The female participants include the bride herself, her mothers (vana mai) and aunts (vana tete), among others. It is important to note that these women are not mere observers or passive participants in the marriage transactions. They actively participate in the deliberations and, more importantly, also stand to receive personal material benefits for their efforts.

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Tete (aunt) The tete (aunt) is the most authoritative woman in the marriage of her muzukuru (niece), her brother’s daughter. She is the most vocal and if annoyed, she can stall marriage negotiations. This is because she is responsible for bringing up all her nieces and tutoring them on matters related to marriage and the establishment of families. Tete, therefore, makes personal material demands during the marriage negotiations of her nieces. The aunts present their demands to the sons-in-law who should appreciate them for their role in tutoring the bride for them. The vakwasha (sons-in-­ law) present the requested items together with the items requested by other female attendees in a wooden plate from which vana tete will collect theirs. This practice is called kunonga, a Shona word meaning “to pick.” It is important to note that vana tete always make their personal requests at the marriage of each of their vazukuru, thus, having as many platforms for making such requests and generating wealth, as the number of vazukuru who will be married. Thus, whereas fathers prefer sons for the perpetuation of genealogies, Chihera prefers daughters as they increase her estate through marriage. Although Chihera may request the items in kind, in modern days, they are usually paid in monetary form. Whatever Chihera gets during this ritual constitute her personal possessions which she has authority over. The Ambuya/Mbuyawasha (Mother-in-Law) and the Mombe Yeumai (Motherhood Cow) Perhaps the biggest female beneficiary in Shona marriage negotiations is the girl’s mother ambuya/mbuyawasha (mother-in-law). In Shona custom, the marriage of Chihera’s daughter does not only enhance her status socially but also economically as she accrues a lot of wealth during the marriage negotiations. First and foremost, she receives wealth in the form of a beast mombe yeumai (motherhood cow) at each of her daughter’s marriages and this is always a live heifer (Tsodzo, 1970). The heifer is not part of the herd of cattle—normally between five and ten—given to the father. It is a standalone beast. In the event of divorce, some of the beasts given to the father can be returned, but the mother’s cow is never returned. In the event that she dies before her daughter is married, her mukoma or munin’ina (elder or younger sister) looks after the girl until she is

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married. At her marriage, the woman is given a beast (mombe yeuredzwa) to thank her for raising the girl. The beast becomes her personal possession. While feminism argues that the father is the biggest beneficiary at the marriage of his daughter since he receives several beasts, this chapter begs to differ. These cattle are later used by the bride’s father to pay for lobola for the wife of the bride’s brother when he gets married. Thus, although at the marriage of his daughter, the father receives more cattle, they are later passed on to pay lobola (pfuma) when his son wants to marry. Auret (1990) notes that the father pairs each of his sons with daughters in the same family, a practice known as chipanda in Shona culture. Under this custom, cattle that are paid as pfuma for a daughter are used as pfuma to marry a wife for a son paired with the girl. The father, therefore, passes on the cattle he receives. As Bourdillon (1987: 34) writes, “[T]he bride price paid by a man should be used for the marriage of his wife’s brother. One marriage makes the other possible.” Gombe (1998), thus, avers that a mother can own more cattle than her husband does. While the father spends his cattle to pay pfuma for his daughters-in-law, Chihera’s heifers remain and they will be multiplying. It goes without saying that Chihera’s status is greatly enhanced through this custom since among the Shona, cattle are a source of wealth, status and prestige. Writing on the significance of cattle among the Shona, Makamure says, Cattle are the pivot of life in Shona society. First and foremost, they are regarded as the most essential source of wealth. A Shona man calculates his wealth in terms of the head of cattle he possesses. Thus, these cattle are highly esteemed. A man’s social status is determined by how many heads of cattle he possesses. The larger his herd, the more he is regarded as an important person in his society. Cattle elevate him socially; the man with the largest herd gets the greatest honour at all functions—social, ceremonial, ritual. He occupies the most prominent place at the chief’s court. The tribe fears him and the chief favours him with visits. (Makamure, 1970: 14)

In concurrence, Bere-Chikara (1970: 22–23) writes, One of the main reasons why the Shona try to hoard as many cattle as possible is to have prestige and fame. In Shona society, one’s social status and wealth are determined by numbers of cattle. Thus, to have many cattle is the summit of a Shona’s desire. Except in cases of extreme necessity, a Shona does not sell his cattle. A man may be dressed in torn clothes and lack many

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things and yet have twenty-five cattle in his kraal. He will not part with one of his cattle for fear of being lowered on the social scale.

In Shona custom, a son-in-law brings his wife to her mother’s home to deliver her first baby. On this occasion, the son-in-law gives two goats, a male one to his father-in-law and a female one to his mother-in-law known as mbudzi yemasungiro. The male goat is killed for relish while the female is kept and it will ultimately multiply. Chihera receives such a masungiro goat when each of her daughters delivers their first baby, thus boosting her herd if she has many daughters. On the other hand, the father’s goat will be killed at each of such occasions. Apart from the heifer and goat, Chihera accrues other wealth upon the marriage of her daughter. Gombe (1995) highlights some of the gifts she receives: • mafukidzadumbu (literally meaning “covering the womb”) wherein the groom is asked to clothe the “abnormal load” the mother-in-law had to carry and is thus, being invited to share the burden of bringing up his wife • gusha (girdle) • mundya (cradle-strap) • mapfukudzadumbu (for the kicking she received from the girl when she was still in her mother’s womb). • mwenje (the light she lit at night attending to the baby) • hotamiro (literally bending down to feed the baby) • tsengeramushonga (the act of a mother chewing medicine for the child in her infancy) All the gifts relate to the amount of inconvenience the mother-in-law had to endure for the well-being of the young girl and each one of them is related to a particular problem connected with child rearing. In addition, she is also given chiuchiro, a gift which gives the son-in-law permission to clap hands for her in greeting or as a sign of respect. While in ancient times, the gifts were in the form of beads and ornaments or bracelets, in the modern era, these now take monetary form. Just like the father, Chihera is also a recipient of an assortment of clothes (majasi) from her son-in-law. The clothes include a dress, shoes, hat, overcoat (jasi), shawl, inter alia. Of importance to note is that all gifts due to the mother including the mombe yeumai are never negotiated,

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bargained nor trimmed down. They are always paid in full and timeously. The gifts add to Chihera’s estate and status depending on the number of daughters she has.

The Bride Besides enhancing her social status, the marriage of a Chihera girl also enhances her economic status as she also acquires wealth in the process. To start with, during the marriage negotiations, she also participates in kunonga, just like her aunts (vana tete). In Shona custom, by picking from the plate, the girl confirms that she is willing to be married by the man. Some days after the lobola has been paid, tete accompanies her muzukuru to the groom’s place. Just before entering the homestead, they halt and meanwhile the bride’s face will be covered by a cloth. They walk into the homestead only after being given a gift. After a few steps inside the home, they halt again and are given further gifts. They can halt many times before getting into the house where she will be welcomed. This custom is called kutsiga. Inside the house, every relative from her husband’s family who wants to have a glance at her face is supposed to first give her a gift. Besides the kutsiga, there is also the kupemberera or kupururudza (welcoming) practice where each of the husband’s relatives gives the bride a gift as a way of welcoming her into the family. The following day, the bride and her tete get up and sweep the whole homestead, making small heaps of the dirt. Before they carry the dirt to the rubbish pit, the husband’s relatives pay for each heap. They also fetch and heat some bathing water for the husband’s relatives who in turn pay for the bathing water by giving a gift. They proceed to fetch firewood and upon their return, they will be given further gifts. Then they prepare food for every member of the family and other relatives and this again is paid for before it is partaken of. According to Gombe (1998), all the gifts are collected and kept by the bride’s aunt who later hands all of them to the bride—for they are meant for the bride. Nowadays, all these gifts are paid in monetary form. The bride and her tete only accept the gifts if they are satisfied. If any gift is not to their satisfaction, they reject it until a satisfactory gift is offered. All these gifts are Chihera’s personal possessions and she has jurisdiction over them. Chihera then spends a year in the home of her husband’s parents, cooking from the same kitchen with her mother-in-law (vamwene). After that, she is given gifts and gadgets by her husband’s family as she moves to her

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new home. This practice is known as kubikisa. She is given a new mortar and pestle (duri nemutswi), grinding stones (guyo nehuyo), winnowing baskets and clay pots, among other things. Chihera also goes back to her natal family to tell them of the new developments. There, she is again given many gifts with which to start her home. In her new home, the kitchen is Chihera’s personal possession as the mother according to Shona culture. Paraphernalia in the kitchen include kitchen utensils such as cooking pots, plates and clay pots. As the sole owner of the gadgets, Chihera can lend any one of them to other women in the neighborhood without having to consult the husband or any other family member. She uses her own discretion having autonomy over the possessions. The household gadgets are Chihera’s private property such that if the husband or child breaks any of them, they are supposed to replace them.

Chihera and Property Ownership The motherhood cows and masungiro goats given to Chihera, together with their offspring, exclusively belong to her. During her lifetime, she has complete control over such property (May, 1983). It is her personal property which she can dispose of as and when she deems fit (Gelfand, 1973). While she might inform her husband what she is doing with her wealth as a courtesy, he does not have the power/right to dissuade her from doing what she likes with it. Chihera can use her cattle to pay lobola for her brother’s son or she can choose to slaughter them for meat. Under no circumstances is a member of her family permitted to use these animals or their offspring. If they do, they have to replace them as soon as possible (Weinrich, 1982). Where a family might encounter challenges that demand the payment of cattle; if the father does not have cattle, the family will be considered as having nothing with which to settle the matter. This is the case even if Chihera owns several heads. The family can only borrow the cattle from her and settle the immediate pressing need. They are then expected to pay the cattle back timeously. If she dies before they have paid her back, they will be haunted by her angry spirit. In light of this, the chapter posits that in Shona indigenous culture, Chihera is the only person who owns private property. Whatever she owns belongs to her. No member of her family, including her children, has the right to it. They only have the privilege to share it while she is alive. On the other hand, whatever the father owns belongs to the whole family, including the mother (Furusa, 2006). Hence, the perception that the

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traditional Shona woman (of the colonial period) was like a donkey which did not even have a National Identification card (Barnes & Win, 1992) applied to women in the new order brought by colonialists and not in Shona indigenous culture. Even today, it is fallacious to argue that Chihera is treated more like a chattel, without any status and that her existence is an unhappy one (Gelfand, 1973).

Conclusion Feminism strives to vindicate its position that women in general have never enjoyed the same status as their male counterparts in the social, economic, religious and political spheres of life. It bemoans the invisibility and oppression of women in all these areas. By interrogating the Shona indigenous culture, this chapter has shown such a perception to be fallacious. Among the Shona, Chihera’s status does not only compare favorably with that of men, but in some cases, she enjoys an even higher status. Chihera enhances her status through a variety of ways ranging from amassing wealth using different avenues, ownership of personal private property such as cattle to commanding leadership positions. Above all, she exploits her very makeup which makes her role as a mother indispensable in the home as evidenced by the Shona proverb musha mukadzi (the woman is the cornerstone of the home). The chapter posits that in Shona society and culture, where womanhood is often associated with submissiveness and even being understated, Chihera is visible and assertive. Although her critics accuse her of upsetting the “order of nature,” Chihera is the epitome of confidence and the prototypical liberated Zimbabwean woman.

References Adoo, A. (1998). The African Woman Today. In O. Nnaemeka (Ed.), Sisterhood, Feminisms and Power: From Africa to the Diaspora (pp.  39–50). Africa World Press. Aschwanden, H. (1982). Symbols of Life: An Analysis of the Consciousness of the Karanga. Mambo Press. Auret, D. (1990). A Decade of Development: Zimbabwe 1980–1990. Mambo Press. Barnes, T., & Win, E. (1992). To Live a Better Life: An Oral History of Women in the City of Harare. Baobab. Bere-Chikara, F. (1970). Cattle: The Life Blood of Shona Society. In Clive & P. Kileff (Eds.), Shona Customs. Mambo Press.

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Bourdillon, M. (1987). The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to Their Religion. Mambo Press. Chigwedere, A. (2000). The Historical Background to Women’s Land Rights in Zimbabwe. Unpublished Paper presented at a Women and Land Lobby Group workshop. Chitando, E. (2013). “God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed”: Analysing a Provocative Pastoral Letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishop’s Conference. In E.  Chitando (Ed.), Prayers and Players: Religion and Politics in Zimbabwe (pp. 83–93). Sapes Books. Chitando, E. (2015). Engaging with the Past: Same-Sex Relationships in Pre-­ colonial Zimbabwe, Ecunemical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA). Harare Office. Dodzo, M., & Mhloyi, M. (2017). Home Is Best: Why Women in Rural Zimbabwe Deliver in the Community. Accessed September 10, 2020, from https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone Furusa, M. (2006). The Muse of History and Politics of Gender Representation in Zimbabwean Women’s Literature. In Z. Mguni, M. Furusa, & R. Magosvongwe (Eds.), African Womanhood in Zimbabwean Literature: New Perspectives on Women’s Literature in African Languages (pp. 1–23). College Press. Gelfand, M. (1973). The Genuine Shona: Survival Values of an African Culture. Mambo Press. Gelfand, M. (1977). The Spiritual Beliefs of the Shona. Mambo Press. Gombe, J. M. (1995). The Shona Idiom. Mercury Press. Gombe, J. M. (1998). Tsika dzavaShona. College Press. Hudson-Weems, C. (1993). Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves. Bedford. Hudson-Weems, C. (2000). Africana Womanism: An Overview in Out of the Revolution. In A.  Delores et  al. (Eds.), The Development of Africana Studies (pp. 205–217). Lexington Books. Hudson-Weems, C. (2004). Africana Womanist Literary Theory. Africa World Press. Makamure, D. H. (1970). Cattle and Social Status. In Clive & P. Kileff (Eds.), Shona Customs. Mambo Press. Marangwanda, C. (2018). Guruuswa: The Origin and the Genesis: Mamoyo Shrine. Accessed December 7, 2020, from www.mamoyoshrine.wordpress.com May, J. (1983). Zimbabwean Women in Colonial and Customary Law. Mambo Press. Mbiti, J. S. (1970). African Religions and Philosophy. Doubleday Anchor. Muwati, I., Gambahaya, Z., & Gwekwerere, T. (2011). Africana Womanism and African Proverbs: Theoretical Grounding of Mothering/Motherhood in Shona and Ndebele Cultural Discourse. Western Journal of Black Studies, 35(1), 1–8. Nzira, T. (1997). Paradigms of Exclusion: Women’s Access to Resources in Zimbabwe. WLSA Trust.

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p’Bitek, O. (1986). Artist the Ruler: Essay on African Art, Culture and Values. Heinemann. Selden, R. (1989). A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. Harvester Wheatsheaf. Tsodzo, T. K. M. (1970). Cattle Are Our Bank. In Clive & P. Kileff (Eds.), Shona Customs. Mambo Press. Weinrich, A. A. H. (1982). African Marriage in Zimbabwe. Mambo Press.

CHAPTER 5

Chiheras’ Twenty-First-Century Profiling: Re-converging from Past Divisions in Monolithic Defying of Traditional Patriarchal Culture Yvonne Winfildah Takawira-Matwaya

Introduction Chihera, a female title for the Eland totem clan, is among the most mentioned titles in many situations in Zimbabwe because of the alleged irreverence of this group of females to the patriarchal system. Bravery, cheekiness, strong-minded and like descriptions are some of the characteristics attributed to these females. The trend of female masculinity attribution to Chihera seems to be apparent in post-colonial Zimbabwe, as in pre-colonial times, there does not seem to be much general mention of their prowess in history besides a few inferences of roles of particular women of the Hera tribe like Nehanda and Katoya Nemasanga. It is probably assumed that the women of that time were exhibiting their femininity and they performed feminine duties as was commonly ascribed by

Y. W. Takawira-Matwaya (*) Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_5

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tradition, hence the roles were not worthy of mention. What we hear of the tribe’s origin and migration is mainly the story of the males from the founding ancestor Mbiru to the latter times when the children of this ancestor scattered all over Zimbabwe and took on different names mainly to hide from their enemies and some suggest that they also wanted to intermarry. The Eland clan maybe one of the clans with more branches than others in Zimbabwe. However, these branches are becoming more obscured and most of the members of the eland clan seem to prefer to be identified in a monolithic way, just as mhofu yemukono (the largest of beasts). This chapter looks into the lives of the females of the Mhofu tribe by profiling the role and status of Chihera in society from pre-colonial recorded and remembered times to the present. It is apparent that Zimbabwe is home to diversified tribal groups who believe in the concept of totem and practices associated with it. The totemic belief is an inherent part of their socio-cultural, even religious and spiritual behavior. The totemic animal of a clan gives the clan a bond of unity. It also brings about social and community consciousness, hence, the re-convergence to a definitive monolithic identification of the historically diversified tribe. This totemic unity and bond is being shown by the social media’s portrayal of their assertiveness and in the eager responses of the Chiheras to these allegations as it associates them with being strong willed in a society struggling to exercise gender equality.

Definitions Gender analysis is defined by UNICEF (2003) as the collection and analysis of sex disaggregate information as men and women both perform different roles. This leads to women and men having different experiences, knowledge, talents and needs. In this regard, gender analysis facilitates the strategic use of distinct knowledge and skills possessed by women and men. The method describes existing gender relations in a particular environment, ethnic groups or nation; in this case, it is applied to the Hera tribe. It is important to look into the context and perception in which the information was availed in order to establish a better understanding between age-old traditions and contemporary gender challenges. This chapter reveals that information available is drawn from male narratives whereby women of the Hera tribe did different duties from those of men as stipulated by femininity standards, that is, house chores and nurturing of children while men were involved in warring and conquering lands.

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However, mention is given of some Hera women who performed the role of spirit mediumship that moved them from ordinary feminine status to a position of authority in the society. Female masculinity, as used by Judith Halberstam (2005), quoted in Kang et al. (2017: 92) is a concept that is used to describe ways female assigned people may accomplish masculinity. She says that masculinity is the connection between maleness and power, which female assigned people access through acting and appearing masculine. Thus, these are women who defy gendered contentions and adopted masculine behavior designated as exclusively masculine. This chapter picks on the alleged irreverence of the Chiheras to patriarchy that has been projected in and propagated through social media as a display of female masculinity. Assigned to these women in hasty generalization are male characteristics and behavior that is not expected in a Shona tradition. This is versus femininity which may be equated with being a woman who embodies characters generally assigned to them. The rise and popularity of social media seem to legitimize the female masculinity of Chihera. This also brings about stereotyping Chiheras in a monolithic group. Stereotype occurs when a person ascribes the collective characteristics associated with a particular group to every member of that group discounting individual characteristics according to Gudykunst and Nishida (1984)  quoted  in Battle (2012). Veterna (2006: 1) used the concepts of pulled-in identity and pushed­up identity as mobilization paths. The aspects are used as causal factors for popular mobilization. Pushed up identity then refers to females of the Hera tribe who have been coerced in the Chihera characterization by lack of option to avoid the stereotypes attributed to the tribe. Pulled in identity refers to participants belonging to the Hera tribe or not who see opportunities for personal gain through a revolution. These opportunities have been brought about by changes in social structures and conditions supported by feminism. Socially Lived Narratives refers to acquiring knowledge from the actual experiences of groups of people who have traditionally been excluded from the production of knowledge (Kang et al., 2017: 15). These narratives seek to understand the experiences of individuals. Narratives provide a practical means for a person to construct a coherent plot about their lives without having a beginning, middle and end (McAlpine, 2016). Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown measures that were put in place in compliance with the regulations from the World Health

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Organization (WHO), much of the information for this chapter was acquired through the WhatsApp platform and the internet mainly from individuals belonging to the Mhofu totem who had also researched on their totemic background and some historians. The major drawback was that some of the potential resource persons were left out because they were not available on social media and some of those who were available on social media did not have time to respond. Unfortunately, physical meetings were impossible and there were also limited hardcover sources on the subject. As defined by Emile Durkheim, a totem is a word derived from Ojibwa word oteteman referring to one’s brother or sister. The grammatical root, ote, signifies a blood relationship between brother and sister who have the same mother who may not marry each other. The English word totem was introduced by the British merchant and translator who gave it an assumed meaning in the belief that it is the designated guardian spirit of an individual who appeared in the form of an animal (Goswami, 2018). The root word’s meaning still holds as people of the same totem are supposed not to marry and they see each other as coming from the same ancestor even though totemic identity is derived from the patrilineal side in African beliefs. However, it is also evident that the totem tribes have varying branches due to the issue of wanting to intermarry in some instances. Though these unions are rare, I have personally come across two cases of Hera couples. The designation of an animal guardian spirit is what this research based on for most of the data presented; the focus is on the relationship of the Hera tribe with the Eland.

Identity Construction of the Hera People The use of socially lived experiences and interaction with Chiheras points to narratives that may have been muted in the tribal historic narratives that were mainly focused on territorial wars and conquering that were told through patriarchal trajectories throughout the years to the twenty-first century. Male activities were considered important, particularly participating in warfare, role in state formation and expansion of empires (Ndlovu-­ Gatsheni, 2005: 4). The main source of prestige during these historical episodes of the Hera people was totemic prowess inspired by their totemic animal, the Eland. Mashige (2011: 12) draws attention to the usefulness of the totem as a tool for self-identification, just as all Chiheras are exhibiting in the cosmopolitan city of Harare, identifying themselves as sisters,

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aunts and nieces as is common in African kinship but based on their totem. Being one of the Chihera women and having formed a focus group on WhatsApp of the Chiheras, we regularly address each other as mwana wababa (my father’s daughter) as a way of addressing each other despite which branch of the clan we are from or geographical location. Chivaura concurs to this when he said that the totem is the binding mark of identity serving as a mark of distinction and a point of reference in terms of identification and relational bonds (Mashige, 2011: 19). The totemic identification may even surpass that of Ubuntu (general African identity) because of the belief in a common ancestor and patrilineal lineages. Whenever Chiheras meet, they quickly create a bond of affinity and they always point to their female masculinity as the society attributes to them. Mashige (2011: 19) relates that the purpose of the totem is meant to encapsulate the unity, pride and general aspiration of the clan and its alleged identity. The Hera people are generally traced back to Buhera and further obscurely from Tanganyika (Mpepereki, 2014a, b; Gwagwa, 2018). They could have crossed the Zambezi toward the end of the Mutapa dynasty around 1760 and by the time of Mfecane, the Shava tribe was already in Zimbabwe (Gwagwa, 2018: 2). The famous history recounted is that of the three sons who left Buhera disgruntled about enthronement and ended up in Seke near Harare (Mbare). They fought their way to land possession; the other brothers went further to the west and north. They adopted other names such as Mufakose, Mutenhesanwa and Mwendamberi. The other branches have not much documented history; hence, they seem less known thereof. A random survey in Harare has reflected that most people of the clan also trace themselves to Njanja, Chivhu and Mhondoro. The majority of the VaHera people are of the original name of Museyamwa for those staying in Harare, forming almost 90% of the random survey taken. Mpepereki (2014b) says the eland is considered a sacred animal among the Shona people of Zimbabwe and other related communities in East, Central and Southern Africa. Therefore, this shows the significance of the name VaHera meaning vanoera literally, the sacred. Adding on to this, Mpepereki concurs that it is common knowledge that members of the Hera clan can play a significant role in Shona religious practices. Their role is more akin to that of religious practitioners in other religions (2014a).

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The Paucity of Women Characters in Hera Narratives The role of women in pre-colonial times seems silent in the narrative of VaHera history because of the androcentric production of knowledge, that is, the privilege of male- and masculine-centered ways of understanding the world. Kang et  al. assert that it seemed all knowledge was produced by, about and for men (2017: 8). Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2005) observed that this androcentric history suffers from what he calls a trinity of sins in gender analysis, that of gender blindness, gender neutrality and gender bias and up to today, men still account for historical narratives. These producers of the pre-colonial history of Zimbabwe were preoccupied with political history with a trajectory describing political developments, wars, battles and celebrated lives of great men. Mukonyora (1999: 277) pointed out that the Shona kinship system is basically patrilineal where kinship through males is stressed. It is in this context that female children are not even mentioned in the family tree history. As a result, women are marginalized, underrepresented and in most cases excluded as reflected in content coverage, illustrations and language as noted by some feminists. Such is also the case with the historical narratives of VaHera people.

Bobbing Presence of Women in Historical Narratives From other writings on African organized governance, it can be picked that women had a conspicuous role in authority matters, that is mainly spirit mediumship (Cheater, 1986: 68; Mukonyora, 1999: 276). Nehanda, a spirit medium of the Mhofu totem, is the most respected in Zimbabwe; she had leadership skills and qualities. Nehanda Charwe formed the epitome of the First Chimurenga against the colonization of Zimbabwe. She inspired resistance and uprising in the first Chimurenga and second Chimurenga that led to the independence of Zimbabwe from colonial rule (Cheater, 1986; Mpepereki, 2014a, b; Goredema, 2017). Social scientists look at the role and status of women as ascribed by social structure as a set of long-lasting relationships, practices and institutions that can be difficult to see at work in our daily lives (Kang et al., 2017: 39). Religious roles afforded these women who were spirit mediums positions of power and authority based on traditional religion. The origin of the tribe and its migration from Guruuswa is also associated with female spirit mediums. Some researches discover that a young

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girl (Kasikana), Gumbi, who was always accompanied by a young dog (handa), came to be called Gumbi Nehanda. Legend says that she was led by the spirit from Guruuswa to the south to look for land for the tribe (Mpepereki, 2014a). Gwagwa (2018) also in his interviews with the possessed spirit medium discovered that Katoya (short person or younger of the twins in Ugandan society) Nemasanga who played an important role in the politics of the tribe left Guruuswa going southwards looking for the land as well. This could be the same person in both accounts with differences in linguistic variety that later Shona people have. However, this brings in the obscured history of female ancestors that are rarely mentioned, if at all, in the origin of the tribe yet their spirits through the mediums play a significant part in the history of the tribe. It is noticeable that women are mentioned only in instances that they are able to aid in the conquest and prestige of the clan. Mazarire (2009: 37) reiterates that while oral traditions record the important role of women in some narratives, women only feature when they matter. Gwagwa (2018) narrates of how vabvana vatsvuku veShava (the light skinned daughters of the Shava totem) mesmerized the Matemai clan and the Hera people were given land in Seke. He also relates that the first person to lead the Shava Seke lineage was a woman called Maidei Kahwiza who was a spirit medium of Katoya Nemasanga, she was allocated land by the white colonial settlers. It is said that they did so after she had caused them trouble. She had been led to Great Zimbabwe through conferring by the spirits whilst her brothers had failed to do so. She then gave the chieftaincy to her half-brother and since then, males ruled leading to the construction of a patrimonial model (Gwagwa, 2018: 9; Mazarire, 2009). This reflects what Kang et al. (2017) called the power process of privilege, that is, normalizing and valuing certain identities over others highlighting the ways in which culture works in the creation and privilege of certain categories of people. In this case, the role of Katoya Nemasanga seems to have been obscured in later narratives.

The Eland Characterization and Association of Clan Traits Thereof The meaning of the name of the ancestor Mbiru is translated as structural element sustaining the weight of a building, that is, strong poles that hold great weight. The Eland makes clicking sounds from its hooves when

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approaching; this is caused by the weight of its body (Goredema, 2017). A connection can be brokered between this great weight of the Eland to the literal meaning of their ancestor’s name, Mbiru, meaning strength to carry much weight. A personal interpretation connects the clicking sounds with notification of the eland’s presence. Thus, following this line of thought, women who are vocal or say their mind are said to be Chihera, in any case, it is said that they want to be felt that they are present. Interviews with people who raise or have raised Chiheras or stay with them showed a consensus that there is nothing out of the ordinary from the women of the Eland totem in terms of being vocal and unnecessarily irate than no other person does, to them they are just like any ordinary women in that regard. Praise poetry is derived from the characterization of animal totems as well as from individual ancestors and their formidable deeds (Musiyiwa, 2003). Mhofu yemukono and mhuka huru (the greatest beast for both) is used for both sexes maybe because both the male and female eland have horns. In one of the interviews, one male from the Eland totemic clan explained that Chihera woman is called mhofu yemukono, the greatest of all beasts because she is a woman who makes her presence known and felt where she gets married. In light of this, we can understand the common contemporary adage where it is satirically alleged that when Chihera is married, the household and property or children are identified or connected to her totem than the husband’s. It becomes pamba pava Chihera (Chihera’s homestead), Munda waVaChihera (Chihera’s field) or Mwana waVaChihera (Chihera’s child). In historical narratives, Nehanda, a Chihera woman, is in the limelight as subsequently being the national spirit medium, and is revered by people of different totemic clans. She also serves as a symbol of defiance and resilience against white rule and oppression. She was executed because she was headstrong in defying colonial conquest and perpetrated an uprising against the colonial regime. Nehanda managed to be the source of inspiration for both men and women who joined the armed struggle thereof. The tribe has a history of war mongering; their narratives portray them as aggressive people, conquering lands of the Rozvi, Shumba and Harava, among many (Gwagwa, 2018). There is a line in one of the Hera branches, Shava Nyakudirwa, praise poetry that shows their prowess, Vakarandutsira vamwe pfumo rabva kune imwe nyika (those who rescued others when the spears of attack came from another country), probably referring to

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Mzilikazi’s attack when the Ndebele attacked the Shona tribes. The common adage that the apple does not fall far from the tree then becomes a hinge point when looking at the descendants and their supposed aggression in their endeavor for leadership in homes and society. It could be the reason Chiheras are said to have a fighting spirit and are fearless as shown by how they are praised as mutunhu une mago (the beast that carries a hornet’s nest). It is common to hear people say, Chihera haaitirwe izvozvo (Chiheras do not take nonsense), or they mostly say about themselves, ndinonzi Chihelele ka ini (I am Chihera [as you know]). They are also referred to as Chihelele a term that derives from kuherereka, a slang Shona word for being unreasonably vocal; it is a derogatory term for Chihera because of their alleged vocal nature. The praise poetry of all the Hera branches does not use the term Chihera but Shava. While it is not clear from the praise poetry where and when the word Chihera started being in use, by deduction, it can be surmised that Chihera has been derived from Hera, a single person of the clan, and Chihera describing a very formidable person. Thus, the mhofukadzi (female eland) ended up overshadowing males and having exclusive use of the root word for their clan. The praise poetry speaks to both sexes without really showing gender stereotypes. For instance, there is a part in the Shava branch praise poetry that says, Zvaitwa vahombarume, vane pamuromo pane shoko risina maturo, vane shoko rinobanda kunge mvura yechando (Thank you, great hunter, those with the lips that do not spit useless words, those that have words that chill like iced water). In this regard, it does describe some of the characterization that is inferred to Chihera’s no nonsense attitude. Chiheras are said to be enterprising and in today’s street lingo; they can be said to be hustlers. This character comes from their name Shava translated as entrepreneurial. Mpepereki (2014a) said that evidence from oral traditions show that the Mhofu totem is associated with the original family group that later grew to be the present day Shona and their relatives. From this, he further points that it is no coincidence that the black businesses are commonly known as belonging to Museyamwa (one who can be leant on [Musiyiwa, 2003]) even if the person is of another totem, to generally refer to things related to Africans. The Shava/Nhuka people have been concentrated around the place that later became the capital city of Harare and the Museyamwa brand became identified with black entrepreneurship and black business pioneering because there could have been more of

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them in the city which used to be part of their rural settlements before the white settlers came by, it could be the reason why they are the totem easy to pick on.

Emancipation of Chihera in Contemporary Narratives Totems are a constant trend in Zimbabwean music, for instance, in the song Wangu Mutupo, Juntal celebrates how Chihera dances the sacred dances (vanotamba madanzi anoera). Similarly, Jah Prayzer, in the song Seke Mutema, praises his mother VaChihera for working diligently to fend for the family. Other singers like Kambo Boys (2019) and Wayne FOG (2020) sing of their endearing love for Chihera as a beautiful and well-­ trained woman, this shows just how much she influences their lives. These songs praise womanhood and describe the epitome of women choosing Chihera as that woman. Kambo Boys’ song Chihera has a man describing gaining prestige and respect for marrying Chihera in these words, ndave murume pane vamwe varume, Chihera chete, hakuna mumwe (I am now counted among other men, it’s all because of Chihera, there is no one else). Wayne FOG in his song Chihera uses phrases like “you can tell it is Chihera, you can see it is Chihera,” in an appreciative way thus paying homage to Chihera. Contemporary music in Zimbabwe has become a popular vehicle of socialization. It is also one of the main channels for perpetuating stereotypes and creating a culture contribution to the emphasized female masculinities of Chihera which people of all generations are unconsciously accepting. Memes, blogs and social media jokes on WhatsApp and Facebook also have Chihera as focal point. These insinuations of the characteristics of Chihera in the social media and other current forms of communication become permanent and recyclable as they reach greater numbers of people within a short time unlike the narration of old where the tales of women’s roles in history need to be reconstructed. Ramasubramanian and Murphy (2014) observed that cultivation of information takes place in these new media and it is tailored to suit relative understanding. Media audiences are able to alter, mitigate and manipulate media content and have the ability to broadcast to other audiences. One joke has Chihera being given advice on marriage by her aunt to respect the husband as he is the head of the family and her replying that if he is the head then she is the barrette. By this reply, it is meant to say that Chihera is even above the head of the family and she does not fall under his authority. Among circulated memes, you

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find a woman cooking whilst standing on top of a stool even though the stove is actually below and the quote says, Vanoita zvavanoda Chihera havapikiswe (Chihera does what she wants and no one should object). Likewise, a tree swaying against the strong winds is captioned NdiChihera chete, the tree resembles Chihera’s resilience and tenacity. Similarly, a woman who goes to another household to confront and challenge the man of that house on some issue is said to be none other than Chihera. The examples are so many; they are always doing the rounds on social media. However, there are also jokes that pick on Chihera as promiscuous or even ignorant, but they do not surpass those that highlight the strong character of Chihera in today’s world. The Chihera effect has also permeated some church sermons that have put Chihera on a high pedestal, for example, one preacher stressing on determination talked of a woman who came across a flooded river, instead of sitting and waiting for it to subside, she decided to cross anyway. She was then swept away by the flowing waters, when people looked for her, they found her swimming against the tide and that is typical Chihera. These narratives give symbolic resources that are non-material rewards, accrued to Chihera effectively assuming that all Chiheras are determined, assertive and irreverent. However, the narratives even on social media remain dominated by men while women preferably use social media for advertising goods on sale (World Wide Web Foundation, 2020). Pulled-In or Pushed-Up Identity The recent years have seen the revival of cultural identity in Zimbabwe and the rest of the African continent. This brings up the pulled-in or pushed­up identification whereby the Chihera women are now being regarded in a monolithic way. Hence, some of the VaHera women feel that they have to live up to their presumed identification of assertiveness, thus being pushed-up into the character by social expectations. There are also those who willingly get pulled-in the presumed assertiveness characterization of Chiheras because it gives them prestige in society. The stories that circulate about Chihera’s defiance are taken in by most as ideal in today’s world of feminist concerns such that those who may not know much about their own history are being pulled into the Chihera expected characteristic by choice and feel of wanting to be progressive. Anunobi (2002: 42), however, noted that the tendency to treat women as a homogenous and unified group hardly constitutes a monolithic group with identical character

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and attributes. Concurring with this observation, Hlabati (2014) reiterates that identity is fully heterogeneous and that no two people are the same, even identical twins would have different characters. Diversity is a reality; it is a fact that the Chihera women had diverse historical, developmental and educational levels such that their ability to assume the leadership role or hustle for life also depends on that. For instance, I am a Chihera woman who was brought up by a Soko woman (Monkey Totem) who is herself a strong character, hardworking and resilient, and was also brought up by a Chihera woman. Therefore, my characterization of Chihera may have come from both my mother and my grandmother. The stereotyping of Chihera women may or may not reflect reality, making use of Bob Nyabinde’s words and title of the song Ichokwadi here? (Is it true?) that certain groups of people have the very same character and attitude. Hlabati (2014) points to the fact that stereotypes force people to assign a predefined label to others, thereby placing people into groups of relevancy as reflected in Oliver Mtukudzi’s words “munhu ane zvaanofunga kana achinge aona munhu” (a person thinks of something when they have seen another person). In relation to group characterization of Chiheras, looking at some of their negative aspects may bring a wrong perception about some of them into the families they marry. The Chihera daughter-in-law may not be exonerated of some wrong doing and they may be blamed for all the problems in the marriage because they are popularly known as women vanoda kutonga varume (who want to be above the authority of their husband), which is against the Shona norms. This hasty generalization does not give people a chance to see the person as they are, thus these unfortunate ones are pushed-up into the identity even if in reality they are not what they are stereotyped into. Most men may even be accepting the role of Chihera being currently circulated to be in-sync with gender mainstreaming issues that have come to the fore of every discussion in the present day. We may not read too much into their acceptance of this symbol of a defiant woman as they may only be seeing it as something politically correct to do so that they are seen as willing to compensate for the gender blind narratives in history to gender conscious narratives to cover the gap. The acceptance by some men of Chiheras presumed assertiveness may be akin to the construction of the women’s quota in the political representation of women in Zimbabwe. The power is handed to them on a silver platter without much ado because it is in sync with issues of gender mainstreaming and it makes male politicians even more popular for supporting gender equality. However, for

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most women, even those who are not Chihera, these Chihera narratives are essential for their emancipation in the revolution for gender equity in a patriarchal world. Veterna (2006) realized that popular support is often considered the sene qua non of a revolution. Thus, the popularity of Chihera’s efficacy is being accepted by various women and men in the society. The desire for the repression of patriarchy for many women has turned into a pushed-up identity because patriarchy left them with no other choice except to identify with an example of a resilient woman. In pre-colonial times, we barely hear of women’s role in the narratives but in colonial revolutions in Africa, women were mobilized and they played active roles in independence movements and yet the national liberation they participated in did not bring about emancipation of women (Anunobi, 2002: 51). Hence, the gender bias and discrimination that continued to be prevalent has been overtaken by Chihera narratives. The Chihera narratives have brought about renewed zeal for women emancipation of all totemic clans. Can All Women Be Chiheras? The change of names by different branches of the Eland totem clan may also lead to misinformation about the true identity of some of their descendants. The common Shona saying Gomba harina mwana (a child conceived as a result of the woman’s extra marital affair is considered the husband’s) may also be taken into consideration meaning that some of the children may not really have been Mhofu children after all. There are also other children who may not have been acknowledged by their Mhofu fathers yet they are in fact of the Mhofu clan. Both sexes of the Mhofu clan are accused in general of being promiscuous; hence, the characteristic if genetic may not apply to some of the people assigned the identity. It, therefore, seems that the characteristic is very much adaptive depending on who raises the child. The social media and internet are awash with such negative characterization of VaHera and probably taking a look at most of the Mhofus who have a history of polygamy, there is no clear indication in history or today’s lived experiences of Chihera being notoriously promiscuous. Despite the negative part of the identity, most people would really want to be associated with the Chihera brand as it is used as a username on social media sites and entrepreneurship trade names, like mwana waChihera, Chihera or Mhofukadzi. This shows what Kang et  al. (2017) call symbolic annihilation of other group identities, and it can be likened to

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how mass media representations simultaneously reinforce dominant ideologies and the privilege of the dominant group over other group identities. Social media has a broader audience; it has the capacity of shifting dissemination of information quickly and it can be recycled and modified giving it a push and pull ability.

Conclusion The chapter attempted on profiling Chiheras who are females of the Eland totem from pre-colonial times when the popular patrimonial narratives are derived, to the present day. There are new narratives profiling Chihera both in negative and positive ways and there are feminist tendencies citing Chihera as the epitome of an empowered woman. However, the bias of the chapter leaned more on the stereotyping of all Chihera women as a monolithic. The group that is presumably characterized by defiance to the patriarchal system, resilience and determination, thereby exhibiting their female masculinity as opposed to the general gullibility of women to patriarchal culture. Drawing such characterization from the habits of the Eland itself, the obscure presence of Chiheras in the available narratives, researches and praise poetry is being countered by social media narratives, as well as the lived experiences of some selected Chiheras and those involved in their lives which had made them popular in their characterization. A population of about 100 people was used as sampling in random survey for collecting the data that was used to compile this chapter. This survey showed that some Chiheras are pushed up into attempting to live up to their presumed characterization. There are also others who are pulled in the tide of their presumed identification because they enjoy and like how Chiheras are being popularly portrayed.

References Anunobi, F. (2002). Women and Development in Africa: From Marginalization to Gender Inequality. African Social Science Review, 2, 41–63. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://www.digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/assr Battle, D.  E. (2012). Communication Disorders in a Multicultural and Global Society. In Communication Disorders in Multicultural and International Populations (4th ed.). Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com

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Cheater, A.  P. (1986). The Role and Position of Women in Pre-colonial and Colonial Zimbabwe. In Zambezia (Vol. XIII, p. 65). Retrieved from https:// www.pdfproc.lib.msu.edu Goredema, B. (2017). There Is Mhofu. Then All Other Totems. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://www.thesovereignstate.org Goswami, M. P. (2018). Totemism and Tribes: A Study of the Concept and Practice. Retrieved November 26, 2020. Gudykunst, W.  B., & Nishida, T. (1984). Individual and cultural influences on uncertainty reduction. Communication Monographs, 51(1), 23–36. https:// doi.org/10.1080/03637758409390181 Gwagwa, A. (2018). Reconstructing the Seke Mutema Dynasty. Retrieved January 28, 2021, from https://www.academia.edu Halberstam J. (2005). In a queer time and place: transgender bodies subcultural lives. New York University Press. Hlabati, S. (2014). See People for Who They Are. In The Independent Opinion. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from https://www.theindependent.co.zw.cdn. ampproject.org Kambo Boys. (2019). Chihera, Singles Collection. Monolio Studio. Kang, M., Lessard, D., Heston, L., & Nordmarken, S. (2017). Introduction to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. University of Massachusetts Amherts Libraries. Mashige, M. C. (2011). Essences of the Presence in the Construction of Identity. Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies, 21(1), 13–26. Mazarire, G. C. (2009). A Social and Political History of Chishanga: South Central Zimbabwe. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Zimbabwe. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://www.ir.uz.ac.zw McAlpine, L. (2016). Why Might You Use Narrative Methodology?: A Story About Narrative. Eisti Harlda Steaduste Ajakani, 4(1), 32–56. Retrieved November 6, 2020, from https://doi.org/eha.2016.4.1.02b Mpepereki, S. (2014a). Nehanda: Tracing the Roots of the Great Shona Spirit Medium: Part Two. In The Patriot. Retrieved November 26, 2020, from https://www.thepatriot.co.zw Mpepereki, S. (2014b). Tracing the Shona Back to Greta Lakes: Part Six. In The Patriot. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.thepatriot.co.zw Mukonyora, I. (1999). Women and Ecology in Shona Religion. Word and World, XIX(3), 276–284. Retrieved February 22, 2020, from https://www.enlightenfoundation.org Musiyiwa, M.  T. (2003). Shona Praise Poetry. In Poetry International Archives. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.poetryinternational.org Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. (2005). Can Women’s Voices Be Recovered from the Past?: Grappling with Absence of Women Voices in Pre-colonial History of Zimbabwe.

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Wagadu, 2, 1–19. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://www.colfax. coltan.edu Ramasubramanian, S., & Murphy, C. J. (2014). Experimental Studies of Media Stereotyping. In Laboratory Experiments in Social Sciences (2nd ed.). Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com UNICEF. (2003). Baseline Definitions of Key Concepts and Terms: Gender Mainstreaming Implementation Framework. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from http://www.portal.unesco.org Veterna, J.  S. (2006). Pulled, Pushed, and Persuaded: Explaining Women’s Mobilization in to the Salvadorian Guerilla Army. American Journal of Sociology, 112(1), 1–45. Wayne FOG. (2020). Chihera, Album: Chihera. Blacksmith Records, SoundCloud. World Wide Web Foundation. (2020). Women’s Rights Online: Closing the Gender Gap for a More Equal World. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from www.webfoundation.org

PART II

From the mouths of Chiheras and Mhofuyokuno: Disrupting Patriarchy

CHAPTER 6

Ndini Chihera (I Am Chihera): An African Womanist Perspective on the Chihera Identity in Zimbabwe Molly Manyonganise

Introduction Shona culture, like some other African cultures, is characterised by totems. Frazer cited in Goldenweiser (1910: 180) defines totemism as both a religious and social system. For Goldenweiser, the religious side consists of the special attitude of the clansmen towards their totem while the social side consists of their special attitude towards each other (1910: 180). Bullock (1950), with special reference to the Shona, rejects the religious connection of totemism (such argument is beyond the scope of this study). He, however, acknowledges that totemism follows and implements the rules of the kinship systems. Mabvurira (2018: 6) notes that the totem serves as a social bond and it is an expression of collective identity for a

M. Manyonganise (*) Zimbabwe Open University, Harare, Zimbabwe University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Pretoria, South Africa © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_6

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clan or family that carries the totem. He further argues that each totem is buttressed by a string of myths and folklore. For example, certain characteristics are attributed to particular/specific totems, whether good or bad. From Goldenweiser’s analysis (1912: 606), “the building up of a totemic complex consists of a series of totemic features which appear one by one (or possibly in small groups), spread from clan to clan, become socialised in the clans and absorbed in the complex”. It is how members of a particular totemic clan are socialised which eventually gives them a particular identity. One totem that has taken social media by storm in Zimbabwe is that of the Shava (Eland) clan in all its forms. Particular reference has been made to the women of this totem who are referred to as vanaChihera (the Chiheras). Various depictions have been portrayed, at times to the chagrin of the bearers of the totem. Some of the depictions have shown the Chihera women as ‘bad news’ to the patriarchal structure of Shona society. Some of the questions that arise from this are: Who is Chihera from a socio-cultural perspective? Why are men (and some women) scared of Chihera? How do her tenets threaten the patriarchal establishment? In what way can the Chihera identity be a model for positive femininity and womanhood? This chapter seeks to provide an insider perspective on the Chihera identity. It envisages to give a nuanced analysis of both the cultural identity as well as the social media portrayal of the Chihera woman. The chapter utilises narrative analysis. It further deploys the African Womanist approach as it allows women’s lived experiences to be the point of departure for any reflection on issues that affect women.

Chihera: The Categories Women who are known as Chihera belong to the same eland totem but different zvidao (plural, principal praise names). People of the Mhofu/Shava clan possess different zvidao. For example, while all have Mhofu/Shava as the root identity, their sub-branches are Museyamwa (which is believed to be the original totem), Mutenhesanwa, Vhuramavi, Nyakudirwa, Mwendamberi, Mufakose, Wakanonoka, Musimuvi, Mazarura, Nyakuviruka and others. Beach (1980) has explained how Buhera (a district in Zimbabwe) was inhabited by the people of the Shava/Hera totem in the precolonial times. Nhemachena (2017: 20) argues that the “Shava/ Hera totem was not exclusive in this area”. Despite their common origin,

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intermarriages occur among these groups on grounds that they share different zvidao. Women from this clan are known as ‘Chihera’ (singular) or ‘Zvihera’ (plural). While women from these various groupings are commonly known as Chihera, they are specifically identified with prominent women within their group. For example, while growing up, my grandmother would always refer to us (daughters of the family) as ‘Chihera Mukonde’, but closely linked us to the prominent woman, Kache. Hence, while we were surrounded by other Shava groups such as Musimuvi and Museyamwa, even these would differentiate us as ‘vana vaKache ava’ (these are descendants of Kache). Women from the Musimuvi group would be identified as vaMushava while those from Vhuramavi are identified as Seke Mutema. Such delineation is crucial in explaining certain traits that were not found in other groups, though they all have a common Chihera identity. What this entails is that while Chihera as an identity has been presented as homogenous, the Chiheras come from diverse groups. Yet when they meet, what binds them together is the common identity of belonging to the Shava/Mhofu clan. It is common cause that these categories are not rigid as women from different groups quickly create relationships among themselves. Most groups using Chihera as a nomenclature on social media platforms comprise women from these diverse groupings and they are bound by this common lineage of being Shava/Mhofu. Apart from being referred to as Chihera, the women of the Shava/Mhofu clan are also vanaMapofu (the Mapofus) from the word Mhofu. Normally, Chihera and Mapofu are used interchangeably.

‘I Am Chihera’: Insider Narratives on the Socio-­Cultural Construction of the Chihera Identity As alluded to earlier, I write this chapter from an insider position being a Chihera myself. I belong to the Nyakudirwa group. Contestations surround the origin of the Nyakudirwa group among the Shava/Mhofu clan. One theory that is proffered is that this totem is a double-barrelled one, Shava being the mother’s totem while Nyakudirwa, being the father’s chidao from the Moyo clan. Most probably, the father failed to pay lobola for his wife, which led to the children being given the mother’s totem while being allowed to use the father’s chidao. Such a theory has been contested

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by the Nyakudirwa group, who believe that they are originally from Uhera (current Buhera) but migrated to Chihota. When there were disagreements due to issues of chieftainship, they moved to Chikomba district and lived in the area that surrounds the Chamukwenjera Mountain. This theory was first propagated by Aeneas Chigwedere, an oral historian, in one of his Radio programmes on totems and has since gained traction. In one of the Facebook engagements, there were sharp disagreements when those from the other Shava groups referred to the Nyakudirwa group as nephews. I should hasten to say that the theory of the Nyakudirwa group being double barrelled is something I encountered as an academic. Growing up, I only knew that my totem is Shava/Mhofu, originally from Buhera, then Chihota and finally Chamukwenjera from where people moved to areas of preference when conflicts emanated. Those before us would clearly explain how this movement occurred. Beach (1988: 90) has cautioned us from accepting Chigwedere’s theories at face value. He disputes Chigwedere’s sources and argues that Chigwedere fails to trace each dynasty to the original founder. Beach (1988: 91) further notes that many traditions have been revised in this century and before, therefore, a careful assessment of the evidence is necessary before the history of a dynasty can be arrived at. Commenting on Chigwedere’s assertions on the Shona totemic clans, Beach (1988: 92) opines that Chigwedere tried to create links between totemic clans that otherwise did not exist. This could have happened when he tried to link the Shava Nyakudirwa group with the Moyo clan. I, therefore, tend to agree with Beach (1988: 88) when he argues that “Africa does have a recoverable past, but there are limitations on just what can be known about certain aspects in some periods, and some periods in some areas remain resolutely prehistoric”. Without trivialising Chigwedere’s theory (which I think is best left to historians), I want to focus on how we, the women of this group, were socialised as Chiheras. Below is the way the praise poetry of the Nyakudirwa group goes:

Shava Nyakudirwa Maita Shava Maita Masvinga Hekani Muchamaya Zvaitwa mwana waKache Tinoenda Mhukahuru

Thank you Shava Thank you Masvinga Hello Muchamaya Thank you Kache’s child We thank you great ancestor

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Maita vari Shangure Kuziva zvenyu vari Chikwidibire Maita matateguru Vari Chamukwenjera Zvaitwa vari Maware

Thank you those in Shangure You know those in Chikwidibire Thank you ancestors Those in Chamukwenjera You have done well those in Maware Hekani Gurudza Hello Gurudza Vokwa Tungebwe, vokwaMuchenje  Those from Tungebwe, from Muchenje Hekani Bonda Hello Bonda Mhofu yangu yiyi My Eland, this one Zvaonekwa mwana waMusanyange It has been seen Musanyange’s child Maita Makanganya, Maguhwu Thank you Makanganya, Maguhwu Tinotenda mwana waMukunyadzi naNyanzira We are thankful Mukunyadzi and Nyanzira’s child Varandutsira vamwe pfumorauya Those that defended others when war came Richibva kune imwe nyika Coming from another country Aiwa zvaitwa Nhuka Thank you Nhuka While this is what has been put in the public domain, there are certain lines that particularly my grandmother would make reference to that might have been lost at the point of literary compilation and I have seen others also making reference to them. For example, she would say “Vana vaWarikandwa, Vekwanhopi yataidza, Vekwadarikai henyu zuva rigere” (children of Warikandwa, those of porridge is not enough, those of pass through it is still day). As shall be shown later, these lines are important in how women of the Nyakudirwa group are characterised. Socialisation plays a critical role in how the Chihera women are modelled (this may also be true of women who belong to other totemic clans). From an early age, the women are constantly reminded of who they really are. As alluded to earlier, I was always told that I am a ‘Kache’,1 a Chihera ancestor who 1  Oral literature depicts Kache as an assertive woman of the Nyakudirwa Shava/Mhofu group. She is described as having been huge in stature who would draw people’s attention by the strength she exhibited when walking to the extent that she was nicknamed ‘VaGunyairo’. She was also a no nonsense person. As such, she curved a space for herself in the history of this group, hence, her appearance in the praise poetry.

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would not take defeat lying down. My grandmother would always explain that this woman “aiva murume pavarume” (a woman who behaved like a man among other men). This is paradoxical. How can a woman be a man among men? While this is confusing, it sent the intended message very clearly to its recipients, one of which was that men are not to be feared, rather it is possible to challenge them. They deserve respect if it is mutual. In other words, there was no need to waste time on a man who cannot reciprocate a woman’s respect and commitment. Hence, walking away from men is something that is inculcated in the Chihera women of the Nyakudirwa group. The fact that men are not supposed to mess up with the women of this group is drilled into the minds of the girls as they grow up. Even as I grew up, my father would constantly remind me of how I was a man in my own right (murume pachake). This was repeated to almost every woman in our extended family. That we were men in our own right is something that we needed to prove. If any man would provoke us to fight, a Chihera woman who is a descendant of Kache does not run away but would engage in the fight and has to win at all cost. A specific case happened to a certain girl of my totem in 1980 during her second grade. She was in the same class with her uncle (her father’s young cousin). He provoked her over and over again. She reported him to the teacher who took the matter lightly. When the teacher went out, this uncle of hers continued with his provocations with the encouragement of his friends. In order to put this to a stop, she challenged him to a fight; it was a fight she had to win at all costs in order to prove to him and the rest of those watching that they do not mess up with a Chihera. At break time, he came to call her for the fight. She fought with this boy until he took to his heels. All the onlookers were shocked; they could not understand how someone big in stature as her uncle would have been defeated by a small bodied person like her. When the case was reported to the school head (with whom she shared the same totem), he proudly explained to the other teachers how her uncle would never have stood against her because the Chiheras are never defeated by any man. For her, the matter was not yet over and she sent word to her uncle that he should never step at school unless he apologised. For two consecutive days, he did not come to school until his mother accompanied him to the girl’s parents’ place to ask for forgiveness. Even in this encounter, her uncle’s mother had to plead with her making reference to her being vaKache to let sleeping dogs lie. Her anger had been atoned so she could engage with her uncle on equal terms. She carried this tag of a woman

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who beats men well into her high school days because her former primary school mates would always warn boys in her subsequent secondary school classes never to cross her path. I guess it is an identity that she never sought to wash away because it served her right for the boys to know that she was not afraid of them. Hence, Chitando (2021: 147) is correct in noting that one of the characteristics of Chihera is her assertiveness. A Chihera is not supposed to be dependent on anyone (Chihera anozvimiririra). A Chihera woman is independent. I was taught that I should only ask for help when it is really necessary. Hence, the social construction of a woman who is subordinate to her husband does not to some extent apply to Chihera. Personally, I grew up being trained in duties that are culturally constructed as men’s as well as women’s. Traversing both spaces would ensure my independence since there was no way I would wait for a man to do me a favour. “Chihera anofanira kugona zvese” (Chihera should be able to do everything and anything) was the mantra. Connected to this was the theme of self-sufficiency. Chihera does not borrow, neither does she unnecessarily lend her stuff. Taking from the praise poetry cited earlier, the Chiheras from the Nyakudirwa group are depicted as stingy. “Vekwanhopi yataidza” indicates that they either cook porridge that is not enough or when dishing they have a tendency to lie that the porridge is not enough (kunyimira muhari). Culturally, when the sun goes down before one reaches his/her homestead, it was expected that they would ask for a place to sleep. However, for the Chiheras, this was not possible. Hence, the statement “Vekwadarikayi henyu zuva rigere” (pass by/continue walking as it is not yet dark) implying that they would decline to offer hospitality to those in need of a place to sleep on the pretext that it was still day and they could still reach their homes on time. Such depictions meant that to a large extent, we were socialised as a closed community as our elders tried hard to live truly to this identity. A Chihera is not a people’s person. She should not let people get used to her (kurega vanhu vachikujairira). Therefore, when such traits are exhibited in real life, they are taken lightly since they are thought to be a true reflection of the Chihera identity. Most people are apprehensive of women of the Chihera totem because they say that once one marries a woman from the Shava/Mhofu clan, they as men cease to be the owners of their households. People will start calling the homestead as kwavaChihera (Chihera’s place). In concurrence, one Chihera retorted:

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Ha Chihera haana murume pamberi pake. Anozvimiririra. Varume vakajaira kunzi dai baba nhingi varipo zvino kuno kunonzi pamba pavaChihera kwete paVa… (name redacted for ethical reasons). Ndataura zvizhinji ipapa. Huni ndotema nebheura, mugodhi ndochera, gejo ndobata, kubasa futi ndoenda, pamusoro pemba ndokwira ndichigadzira solar. Zvino murume angamire here apa? Ko kuzoti vakadzi handitocheuke. Handityiswe zvekudaroka. (Ha Chihera does not recognise a man in front of her. She stands by herself. Men are used to being missed (when they are not around) but here it is called Chihera’s homestead not Mr….’s. I have said a lot here. I cut firewood with an axe, I dig a well, I hold the plough, I also go to work; I climb on the rooftop to fix the solar. Now can a man challenge this? When it comes to women, I don’t even pay attention. I can’t be intimidated like that. (Interview with Chihera 1 through WhatsApp, 06 September 2021)

This was supported by another Chihera who said “VanaChihera murume akafunga kuti achamirirwa kuti apfirire imba, paanodzoka anowana Chihera apedza basa” (For the Chihera women, if the husband thinks that he is going to be waited for to fix the roof on the house, by the time he comes back, Chihera will have finished the job” (Interview with Chihera 2 through WhatsApp, 06 September 2021). The above statements show the ubiquity of Chihera within the home. She is almost everywhere, crossing cultural boundaries of where a woman is not expected to straddle. This in a way diminishes the patriarchal authority of the husband whose recognition is overshadowed by the presence of a Chihera. This is because Chihera does not only inhabit this space but owns it. She controls and directs its activities. From Chitando’s (2021) analysis, Chihera destabilises the Shona conceptualisation of marriage more specifically as it pertains to spousal relationships. She in a way decentres patriarchy and demands that she be part of the centre as well. The militancy that is ascribed to the Chiheras, particularly of the Nyakudirwa group (this applies to other groups as well), is derived from the fact that the group is known to have resorted to war when trying to solve disagreements. For example, Warikandwa in the praise poetry has literally become a surname for a Nyakudirwa group that was left at the mountain of Chamukwenjera where some of them live up to today. The object (-ri-) in the word refers to the spear; meaning that one had a spear thrown at them. While this characterises the whole group, the Chiheras are thought to take such traits to the families in which they marry. It is commonly believed that Chiheras do not subscribe to the notion of being

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an alien in such contexts as Shona culture views married women (mukadzi mutorwa). As one Chihera puts it: Handiite mutorwa pamba pangu. Iye murume wacho ndiye angatoite mutorwa kwete ini. (I can’t be an alien in my home. The husband is the one who can become an alien, not me).

Gotora (2015) avers that the Mhofu clan acknowledged and treated their daughters on equal terms with their brothers from long back to the extent that they were part and parcel of the decision making processes, a practice which caused problems when they got married into families where women were not treated equally with men.2 This then caused problems because they would then demand this recognition and this was misconstrued as controlling the husband or usurping his domestic authority. Yet, what Chihera is looking for is equal recognition in the home. Therefore, Chitando (2021: 159) puts it succinctly when he says that Chihera’s husband knows he has met his match and always proceeds with caution when interacting with her. He goes further to argue that for Chihera “everything must be renegotiated, since [she] questions the prevailing norms and values relating to women’s conduct in marriage”. Oduyoye cited in Pui-lan (2004: 15) has encouraged African women to engage in a hermeneutics of suspicion which entails challenging inhuman and domesticating customs and traditions. Following from the aforementioned text, Chihera can be described as a cultural non-conformist. Chihera does not conform to the oppressive practices in Shona culture. She weighs the benefits of conforming to each and every cultural dictate. My interaction with women of the Nyakudirwa group has produced interesting insights into how they perceive themselves. It is interesting how they believe that it is in their blood to resist oppressive authority. While Chitando (2021: 159) opines that Chihera’s influence is seen in domesticating patriarchy, most Zvihera have refused this confinement. They argue that they tame patriarchy in every space that they find it; be it at school, home and the work place. According to Chihera 1, “even at work, its Chihera everywhere”. From her perspective, it is because she stands for her rights. This reminds me of my experience at work three years ago. Being the only woman in a male dominated department, I had to stand up for myself. Later, when one of my male colleagues 2

 If this is true, it could mean that gender equality is not a new concept among the Shona.

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learnt that I was a Chihera (a totem which I shared with him), he remarked “Ya mhani! (Exactly!) that is the reason why you acted the way you did. I used to wonder but now my questions have been answered”. From that day, a new dynamic to our relationship was formed on the basis that we had a common heritage. We ceased to view each other professionally. I would call him ‘brother’ and he would address me as ‘tete’ (aunt). A former chief executive officer (CEO) of one of the leading diamond-mining companies in Zimbabwe concurred that the Chiheras are outspoken, even in formal spaces. For him, the Chiheras are respectful, but they are not afraid of expressing their views and they ensure that they enjoy their freedom, even in those formal spaces (Interview with a former CEO of a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe, 8 September 2021).

Chihera and Social Media: Women Power as an Object of Ridicule The insider narratives of how to perceive Chihera have been countered by how Chihera is presented on social media in Zimbabwe. The social media taunts on the persona of Chihera are proof that she has challenged the status quo. Chitando (2021: 152) avers that the liberated and assertive woman is patriarchy’s worst nightmare. What social media has done is to present the persona of Chihera as an object of ridicule. The socio-cultural constructs of Chihera have been demeaned. The Chihera of social media is unnecessarily strong; she at times misplaces her strength. For example, she boards a commuter omnibus but continues to carry her luggage. She always goes against the grain and always seeks to dominate men and women alike. She is also presented as uneducated to the extent that at one point she refused to be treated at a local clinic because the nurses were only calling the ‘next’ clan and not her own totem. When she was eventually called, she refused because they referred to her as ‘next’ and not ‘Chihera’. In one of the videos circulating on Facebook, a husband is complaining that his wife was not buying her clothes and sugar when she was employed until she came back to the rural areas. The wife then chases after the husband who quickly runs away. When the wife turns to proceed with her journey, the husband follows her and threatens to beat the wife. The wife turns around and begins to chase after the husband who quickly dashes away. The wife then tells the husband that she will destroy him through a fight. Across that video, an inscription with the words

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‘NdiChihera Chete’ (It can only be Chihera) is written. This depicts Chihera as not only a stingy and negligent wife but a husband basher as well. The social media representation of the persona of Chihera through caricature is meant to subtly discourage other women from associating or engaging in what I will call a ‘Chihera practice’ (a practice which is centred on self-affirmation and a refusal of patriarchal domination). Chihera is not the cultural model of a respectable woman and neither is she wifely material. It is only those with thick skin who would dare marry such a woman. One of the Chihera memes on Facebook says ‘Keep calm Chihera havaitirwe dzungu’ (Keep calm, Chihera does not tolerate misbehaviour). This in a way would frighten possible Chihera suitors not only because she is an outspoken but strongly opinionated woman. As the memes go around on social media, people can be heard asking “nhasi aita sei Chihera?” (What has Chihera done today?). It is as if people are looking forward to getting more entertainment from the parody of Chihera. This is meant to humiliate those who identify with this identity. Yet this has emboldened the Chiheras. They have also started to fight back on social media platforms. After one of the Facebook jokes about Chihera, they retorted ‘Tisu anhu acho, and Chihera special’ (We are the people, the Chiheras special) implying that they do not care about what is being posted on social media because it does not change anything about them. They break the mythical walls and would dare to stand for what they believe in rather than swimming along with the current. The question that arises, therefore, is whether the persona of Chihera can be a model for the liberation of women in Africa and beyond.

Chihera: The Epitome of Women’s Liberation from Patriarchy From the foregoing, can it be argued that Chihera can become a model of liberation from patriarchal oppression not only in Zimbabwe but beyond as well? What is clear particularly from the social media depictions of the Chihera identity is that it has unsettled African patriarchy. While men were culturally not expected to acknowledge women who wield power, the Chihera discourse has disrupted these cultural expectations. The African Womanist Approach calls for roundtable discussions between men and

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women so that societal gender inequality issues may be cordially dealt with. Philips (2006: xxiv) opines: Dialogue is a means by which people express and establish both connection and individuality. Dialogue permits negotiation and shapes social reality. Dialogue is the locale where both tension and connection can be present simultaneously. It is the site for both struggle and love.

Social media has provided such spaces where women’s agency has found expression, albeit through mockery and jokes. A critical reading beyond the mockery and jokes shows that a Chihera model allows for the deployment of various strategies in challenging patriarchy. While gender scholars have encouraged women’s agency through subversion (Manyonganise, 2021), the Chihera model openly confronts patriarchy. Hers is not a guerrilla tactic, but open warfare. This makes patriarchy uncomfortable. African patriarchy is not used to being challenged openly. Biri (2020: 156) avers that there is an outright disgust and rejection of militant femininities. What the Chihera identity does is to challenge “the traditional socialisation of subservient femininities” (Biri, 2020: 156). Commenting on the Chihera memes on social media, Chitando (2021: 159) notes the ongoing gender debate in Zimbabwe and that it has generated tension and contestation. The fight for women’s liberation requires women who are not easily offended by negativity. The social media taunts of Chiheras have only emboldened them. As alluded to earlier, when such taunts are posted on social media platforms, women of this totem proudly respond ‘Tisu anhu acho’ (we are the people) and ‘Mungatidii’ (what can you do to us?). This shows that women who are determined to free themselves from the shackles of patriarchy should be brave enough to fight back. The Chiheras have resisted the social media shaming by appropriating positive descriptors of their own identity. They have been able to laugh off the exaggerations and they have shown their pride in being Chiheras. Hence, groups titled ‘Chihera’ have been formed on social media, companies bearing this name have been registered and women of the Shava/Mhofu clan who had not shown interest in being identified as Chihera have suddenly become motivated. Some have started using ‘Chihera’ as a prefix to their names on social media platforms. This is extremely important in terms of women’s economic independence and challenging patriarchy’s tendency to force women to depend on men. They have managed to see beyond a

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caricatured Chihera identity and they have taken its fight for gender freedom in the public space in order to mobilise people not to loathe it. What the Chiheras have done is to rally behind their identity as it empowers women to own their struggles and to look patriarchy in the eye and challenge it. From the perspective of African womanism, Chihera is “aware of her womanism as the totality of her self-expression and self-realisation in diverse positive ways which includes eliciting women’s positive qualities, ability, self-enhancement, self-esteem and freedom within the African cultural context” (Kolawole, 1997: 27). As a model for women’s liberation, the Chihera identity builds on alliances, coalitions and solidarity. Kolawole (1997: 25) has noted a nexus that runs through “the consciousness of African people in foregrounding collectivism and an integrative struggle”. It is common cause that the social media portrayal of Chihera is meant for other women to distance themselves from such a perceived culturally ‘controversial’ identity. An identity that does not conform to cultural expectations about how a ‘good’ woman should behave. In this instance, a Chihera identity needs to convince women of other totems to rally around and not snub it. I am aware that abstracting the Chihera identity to groups outside of the Shava/Mhofu clan needs to be done with caution. The critical question that arises is ‘Can women of other totems feel comfortable to embrace the Chihera identity? Even then, what are some of the Chihera traits that can be found in women of other totems? Answers to the aforementioned questions should be in the affirmative. In any case, a Chihera is a product of other totems (Chiheras have been brought up by women of other totems, some of whom have played critical roles in socialising them). The interaction of these different totems cannot be taken lightly when it comes to their ability to engage and influence each other. An African Womanist approach enhances African women’s collective grouping and positive bonding, as opposed to ideological bondage (Kolawole, 1997: 27). Therefore, rallying behind a Chihera identity closes avenues for patriarchy to pit women against each other. It should be possible for women of other totems to deploy a Chihera identity without appropriating Chiheraness on their own identity for positive womanhood and a liberated femininity. Hence, a Chihera identity should be useful across other identities marked by ethnicity, religion, tribalism, nationality and so on. It should not be an identity that is exclusive to the women of the Shava/Mhofu totem but it should be inclusive of all the women who have been victims of overlapping and interconnected forms of subjugation. Hence, a Chihera identity needs

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to be responsive to the various forms of gender oppression. As such, while Oduyoye (2001: 11–14) advocates for a hermeneutics of suspicion, she also opines that this needs to go hand in hand with a hermeneutics of commitment with which African women must assume a responsibility to change and transform the oppressive customs in order to bring about a fullness of life. We should not be fixated on maintaining identities for no particular reason. The deployment of a Chihera identity should enable women to go beyond this particular identity to reach those realms that enable women to comprehend the complexities of their socio-economic as well as their religio-­political worlds—which worlds they have been largely excluded from. There should be courage in women to openly challenge hegemony in economics, politics and religion among others. Chiheras have shown that it is possible to traverse all these spaces, albeit struggling against patriarchal resistance. Within the domestic sphere, Chiheras have been recognised as a force to reckon with. Appropriating such an identity outside the domestic space requires a determination that sustains the momentum of women’s resistance and warfare against patriarchy. Politics, religion and economics are fields that have largely been dominated by men. Chigumadzi (2018) cited in Taruona (2020: 151) argues that “politics in Zimbabwe remains a male game in which ‘unruly women’ who refuse to keep in line with the patriarchal politics of respectability ‘invite verbal and physical abuse’”. Women need to validate these experiences of marginalisation by speaking out “from and about their own experiential location and not to or about [other people’s]” (Philips & McCaskill, 2006: 88). From an African Womanist perspective, this is an invitation to women of other totems to participate and appropriate a Chihera identity without necessarily giving up theirs. It is a way of acknowledging that women need to place themselves in positions where they can retrieve the silenced voice and work towards self-empowerment socially, economically, religiously and politically. A Chihera identity needs to be flexible enough to be accommodative of the authors of women’s marginalisation, namely, men. Kolawole (1997: 35) has encouraged a shift of boundaries and a construction of bridges across ethnicity, gender and class. While men cannot claim to be able to adequately represent women’s experiences of oppression, they are not incapacitated to speak against gender inequality. They do not need to be women for them to expose and oppose systemic gender inequality as well as mobilise other men to do likewise. Men cannot continue to be

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self-­ absorbed in maleness while ignoring the groanings of pain from women who surround them. By putting on a Chihera identity, they retrieve an empathetic voice that seeks solidarity with women in their struggles. As Kolawole (1997: 36) argues: The African woman seeks self-fulfilment within this plural cultural context. The average African woman is not a hater of men; nor does she seek to build a wall around her gender across which she throws ideological missiles. She desires self-respect, an active role, dynamic participation in all areas of social development, and dignity alongside the men. This necessitates a dialogic stance, a mutual understanding and not a dogmatic or diachronic ideological posture.

Conclusion The identity of Chihera has been ridiculed through social media in Zimbabwe. The intention of this chapter was to present insider narratives of what it means being a Chihera within the Zimbabwean context. Chihera has been shown to be a challenge to patriarchy. It has been argued that she can, however, be a rallying point for all the women of other totems who seek to challenge oppression and marginalisation from patriarchy. The chapter has highlighted the utility of a Chihera identity in empowering women across the totemic divide to deploy positive femininity and womanhood by rejecting cultural definitions that seek to continuously marginalise women. Chihera has shown that it is possible for women to own their struggles and to have agency that unsettles patriarchy. While the social media presentation of Chihera is meant to isolate such an identity, the chapter has shown how it can become the focal point of women’s resistance against women’s oppression. Going forward, the feasibility of coming up with a Chiheraism theory needs to be explored.

References Beach, D. N. (1980). The Shona and Zimbabwe, 900-1850. Mambo Press. Beach, D.  N. (1988). A.B.S.  Chigwedere’s Pre-colonial Histories of Zimbabwe and Africa. Zambezia, XV(i), 87–93. Biri, K. (2020). “Munhu Wese Kuna Amai”? (Everyone to Our Mother): A Pentecostal Perspective on the Deployment of Motherhood in Zimbabwean Politics. In E.  Chitando (Ed.), Personality Cult and Politics in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe (pp. 148–159). Routledge.

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Bullock, C. (1950). The Origin and Nature of Totemism Among the Shona. South African Journal of Science, 47, 113–117. Chigumadzi, P. 2018. These Bones Will Rise Again: Auckland: Jacana Media. Chitando, E. (2021). “Jojina”, “Marujata” and “Chihera”: Celebrating Women’s Agency in the Debate on Roora in Shona Culture. In L.  Togarasei & E.  Chitando (Eds.), Lobola (Bridewealth) in Contemporary Southern Africa: Implications for Gender Equality (pp. 147–162). Palgrave Macmillan. Goldenweiser, A.  A. (1910). Totemism: An Analytical Study. The Journal of American Folklore, 23(88), 179–193. Goldenweiser, A. A. (1912). The Origin of Totemism. American Anthropologist, 5(14), 600–607. Gotora, T. (2015). Mhofu. Accessed September 21, 2021, from taffygotora. blogspot.com Kolawole, M.  E. M. (1997). Womanism and African Consciousness. Africa World Press. Mabvurira, V. (2018). Making Sense of African Thought in Social Work Practice in Zimbabwe: Towards Professional Decolonisation. International Work, 00(0), 1–12. Manyonganise, M. (2021). Ndadhinhiwa (I Am Fed Up): A Missiological Framing of the Gendered Notions of African Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe. Missionalia, 49, 99–114. Nhemachena, A. (2017). Relationality and Resilience in a Not so Relational World? Knowledge, Chivanhu and (De)coloniality in 21st Century Conflict-Torn Zimbabwe. Langaa Research and Publishing CIG Mankon. Oduyoye, M.  A. (2001). Introducing African Women’s Theology. Bloomsbury Publishing. Philips, L. (2006). Womanism: On Its Own. In L. Philips (Ed.), The Womanist Reader (pp. xix–lv). Routledge. Philips, L., & McCaskill, B. (2006). Daughters and Sons: The Birth of Womanist Identity. In L. Philips (Ed.), The Womanist Reader (pp. 85–113). Routledge. Pui-lan, K. (2004). Mercy Amba Oduyoye and African Women’s Theology. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 20(1), 7–22. Taruona, H. (2020). Woman as Scapegoat in the Jezebel and Grace Mugabe narratives. In E. Chitando (Ed.), Politics and Religion: The Deification of Robert Mugabe (pp. 139–154). Routledge.

CHAPTER 7

Ndini Baba vaChihera (I Am Chihera’s Father): A Narrative of the Chihera Persona Levee Kadenge

Introduction Why am I writing? First and foremost, I am an academic. I am a Museyamwa/Mhofu (Eland) who has children who are called vanaChihera. I can compare my children and those of my neighbours. I have observed them grow and getting married. I sometimes proudly say “Vanasikana vedu hativatyire. Tinototyira vakuwasha kuti vachange vari pachikirimbani nevana vedu” (We do not fear for our daughters because wherever they go, they are in charge), we fear for the sons-in-law because they are always under our daughters’ watchful eyes). I have observed my three sisters (vanaChihera) and my daughter grow up and getting married and I see their husbands observing such traits which I have described earlier. All these women will always have their way. When they go to their husbands, they change their homes. However, their homesteads are not called by their husband’s names. Theirs are called pavaChihera (Chihera’s home). Even their husbands have to tolerate that. You are not wrong when you say you are going kwavaChihera because

L. Kadenge (*) Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_7

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their homes are called as such. Eventually, homes have changed their names because of our sisters and daughters who have been married in those homes. Legend has it that in the 1950s when land was being demarcated by the colonialists, they came to a village in Zvimba.1 When all the people were assembled and they asked who stays here and the answer was apa ndepavaChihera (this home belongs to Chihera). Then the white man who was the district administrator asked the name, and she said her parents’ name which was Madzorera/Chikupo, and from that day, the name of the village changed to the name of the woman. This is how powerful this tribe is. They seem to have a DNA which is different from others. This is why they are sometimes referred to as, vana Mbiru (a pole which makes the kitchen roof). This is a very well talked about subject on a particular people who live large and are full of beans. These are ladies who fear nothing and are determined to get what they need at all costs even if it means going against the current. They are larger than human beings and the study of them has been ignored to the extent than the nation has not been made aware of a group of women who dare go for it. Perhaps not much has been done to expose these women for what they are. We are poorer without documenting on them.

Methodology I propose the oral approach of interviewing as many people as I can. These people will be placed in categories which will include, among others, their parents, their children, husbands, relatives and other people who have worked and lived with them. I also look at how they raise up their children and family. 1  Legend has it that in the 1950s a village which has now been called Madzorera was established at one time in Zvimba by a woman from Buhera who was aChihera. The elders in this area say Madzorera is a foreign name and they had to return it to Buhera which came with a lady called Chikupo of the Chihera clan. This woman was married to a Mr. Mutemarongo who came from South Africa. As a result the people of this area brew two kinds of beers, Huruva 1 for Chikupo and Huruva 2 for the local Gushungo clan. This ritual helps to calm the rains when they come during the rain season. Because of this lady carrying her name wherever she went the village was subsequently known by her totem pavaChihera. Now there is a school named after her and also the village. Even the totem of that village changed and the people there were from then onwards known as anaMuseyamwa. Now 70 years later this village carries the name which is not of that area but which came with aChihera-Chikupo and her surname Madzorera. Interview, (Senior Village Head -age 83, 21 February 2021).

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Chihera in Action An interesting advert, “Hie, I am selling a good second-hand wife, still attractive and in good condition” (From St Mary’s Old Boys Association whatsapp group). Model: 1994 Make: Chihera Mileage: 2 children, 391 words per minute (mouth speed) Colour: Brown without makeup 14 Horse power fighting capacity Price: Negotiable, swap allowed. Harare deals only (St Mary’s WhatsApp group, 4 February 2021). The fact that people are free to share such information means that these people are a rare species. What differentiates them from others to the extent they can say proudly “we represent” Zimbabwe women. They are so powerful that they can wage a war and usually win it. They fight to the end. AChihera2 had a mukuwasha (son in law) whom she asked to cut fire hood to make fire with. There was a delay and then she went over and saw that this son in law was doing badly. She took the axe and started to cut the hood and in no time there was a pile there to carry home. Her comment was musatipedzera nguva mhani (Do not waste our time. This is how you do it). By example, she had shown the mukuwasha how to do it. They say, a husband who leaves aChihera loses everything. There is nothing to lose meeting this great woman. You have everything to gain associating with this woman. You are energized and privileged to brush shoulders with her. She will never remove herself from the decisions she makes. Many a man have wondered why these women stand out so glaringly to the challenges of life. They overcome anything in their way to attain what they want. They normally have no regrets. Even their husbands gradually get accustomed to their domineering antics. Give her an empty place she will produce a home. You get a piece of land where there are stones you will get that place with groceries and a garden. You cannot go wrong by engaging with this species of people. They are all weather friends and bring blessings with them. 2

 This is a honorific term for Chihera.

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My brother’s daughter who came home several years after my brother had died came home to look for her proper home. She shared with me her story and that she wants to get married. She had met someone who wanted to marry her. They were already staying together. She told me that she looked for a home near Nyadire River. She had already taken the initiative to approach the Sabhuku (Village Head), negotiated for a piece of land and she got one. She was given land near to the river and she established a garden. She said that she has already built two houses and she had also bought a water pump through the proceeds of her garden (Interview, Agnes3: 28 August 2020). Bringing up their children with an iron fist is not new for them. They eventually get their way through. Their children even eventually succumb and accept the situation as normal. One child of these women shared that she used to think that her real mother would come one day because she could not accept her Chihera mother as the real mother. She recalled how one of the days, her mother beat up her sister and she broke the daughter’s arm. She then hired a bicycle and took the sister to the clinic and had her arm bandaged with a plaster of Paris (Mrs Nyakudya, interview: 16 December 2020). She then proceeded with business as usual. For her, life has to go one, she reasoned that she was trying to discipline the child and this terrible thing happened. She had no regrets because it was her child and it is her responsibility to discipline a wayward child. I also saw an advert of a woman who was riding a bicycle to the stores and it was said that it was aChihera going to the shops to check her husband who was reported to having a girlfriend at the shops. Even if she fell down, she would rise and continue to fight the girl if she was there in time to see her. Such is the resolve of these women. In drama, they are popularized and play the major role. If a drama has aChihera in it, it changes the tone and it becomes exciting. They are not afraid to bring out their being aChihera brand in the open so that they can be felt to be around. Talks like achiHelele4 have been coined to show the prowess of these women. Mbuya Nehanda is alleged to have come from this brand/DNA (The Patriot, Mbuya Nehanda the Legend, 14 August 2020). So many women 3  Not her real name, in order to ensure confidentiality, all the names used in this chapter are pseudonyms. 4  A nickname for VaChihera/aChihera denoting that she is full of energy and is very talkative

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have been claiming that they are possessed by Nehanda and these women belong to the Chihera totemic line. Put them in dangerous situations, they would rise up to the occasion. When things are normal, they do not perform and show their true colors. When confronted by such threatening situations they definitely rise to the occasion. This is why Mbuya Nehanda is popularly quoted for having mapfupa angu achamuka kurwira nyika ino (my bones will rise to fight for this country). Indeed, her spirit led in the war of liberation as a leading force. The struggle was waged on that note that there was once a woman who fought the war until they put her down because she refused to be cowed down. It is said that they wanted to baptize her before her death but she refused. After which they, nevertheless, hanged her. Silently she went to the gallows to be sacrificed for her country’s freedom. It is only now that the nation is going to honor her by putting up a statue in her honor. There has been debate that the statue is a modern one so the architects have been asked to go back on the drawing board and come up with a statue that looks old and resembling her character in history. This figure of a woman is what resembles the women of that totem. They can fight in the war. They will fight to the bitter end. They go into war like any men and will come victorious. It may be difficult but once they have their hand to the plough, they would not look back. This is the background on how the war of liberation was fought. Many thousands of lives were lost in the process. In the areas where the struggle was intense, they would carry these women who were possessed by Mbuya Nehanda’s spirit to direct the war. After the struggle, the Chihera fame did not go far because they feared being singled out as having fought on their own. They were doing this on behalf of the nation. They were part of the nation and not wanting anything as payment. Their children should learn from them the need to work hard. Everyone who comes from this tradition should always be alert and know that things just don’t come but you have to work for them. I went to Chivhu to slaughter a cow with my daughter and her husband and we were accompanied by a cousin sister to my daughter. After slaughtering the cow, everyone was holding a knife and they started to skin the cow. These women do not hesitate to do all jobs even skinning a cow. I had gone with them thinking that they would be helping in washing the insides of the cow but they took a step further and skinned the cow like men who were fewer in number.

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Some men will shy away from these women because of their assertiveness. Some men even shy away once they hear that she is Chihera or their relatives advise them not to marry them because they are difficult. But once one has got his way near these women, they are very loving and caring. Those men would tell you that leaving these women will put a curse on you. But the men have to take a second place in life in order to give them their own way. On leadership, they do very well because they love their work. Once in the chair, they are very strong and they can deliver. If one wants work to be done, put anaChihera in the leadership and you will not go wrong. They can drive others carefully and with tact. They show love and are also assertive. This mixing of talents makes them loveable.

Kana vachitendwa (Praise eulogy for anaChihera) Maita vaChihera (You have done very well, vaChihera) Mbiru mbiru (Cornerstone) Chiedza (Light) Kuyambuka rwizi mvura yakwira makomo (They cross the river while water is high). Totenda vamuchembere (We are glad old lady). VeGuruuswa, (The ones who originate from Guruuswa) Vane nzanga chena kunge mwedzi wejenachena (Those who are who have clean dwellings like the full moon). Vari Gombe Zvawonekwa VaHombarume (Thanks to those in Gombe vaHombarume). Kuziva va Shava Mukonde (To know vaShava Mukonde) Zvaitwa Mbiru mbiru (It has been done Cornerstone). Aiwa zvawonekwa Sarirambi (It has been seen Sarirambi). Zvaitwa Nyashanu (Thank you Nyashanu), (The Patriot, Mbuya Nehanda, The Legend: 14 August 2020) Mbiru up there means the cornerstones/poles that are used to make the roof stand and they are boulders. They are not shaken so they make the home stand ready for occupation. They have come from Guruuswa (Origins), the legendary place from where all human beings came from. This place is said to be in Tanzania and the belief is that all human beings came from there. They are industrious and try to improve their homes. Wherever they go, they want to show that they can change things for the better. They do

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not lack resolve but want to be in the front offering to work as hard as they can. They keep their homes smart all the time and they do not tolerate any nonsense. Their husbands need to be truthful all the time. Fooling around will arouse their anger. Dai vakadzi vaikamwa sezvinoitwa mombe haa munhu aikama ana Chihera aigara akanwa tea tsvuku (If women were to be milked like cows, those who were supposed to milk anaChihera would always drink tea without milk) (WhatsApp post by Munhuwozvake: 1 February 2021). These are some of the sayings that are said about anaChihera. It explains how difficult they are. There are some who say vana Chihera vane pamuromo (the Chiheras are too talkative, they always cause trouble). This suggests that they are troublesome. There are some who are very forward but that does not define them. These are exceptions. They only want the truth and they will defend it aggressively. Their homes are very smart and they want to change everything to their liking. They will name their children using the names from their home area. They may like a particular family and when they have children, they will name them using those names. I and my brothers got our names from a family in my mother’s home area. Ngoni, Cornelius, Charles and Clever all these names come from this family. My mother is a Shava or aChihera of the Mwendamberi totem. So my father and mother shared the same Shava totem. When they were happy, they would call each other hanzvadzi nehanzvadzi (brother and sister). They can marry their own mutupo (totem) and they can refer to their partner as hanzvadzi (brother). They will jokingly call each other brother or sister in that marriage. Long ago, husbands would pay a mombe yechekaukama (a cow that is slaughtered when performing a ritual to cut the totemic ties). The ritual slaughtering of the cow is used to cut the relationship. It is always a white cow that is killed for the purpose of the ritual. It is rare for people of the same totem to marry each other. But for vanaChihera, it is possible for them to get married to their brothers (hanzvadzi). Mimwe mitupo hayibvume izvozvo (Other mitupo do not allow it. Other totems do not allow marrying from their totems). They take it seriously and try to avoid it as much as possible. They take their original home as an example which they would like to duplicate wherever they go. This means that they should have come from well-established homes. This means that their fathers are good fathers. Their brothers VanaMuseyamwa are said to be weak by their sisters. They

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are said to be controlled by their wives. So, when the Chiheras come home to see their families, they behave like they are in charge, trying cases and wanting to know who is who in the issues happening in the family. Vana the Museyamwas are usually polygamous and they raise big families. Having two wives or more demands that the man should have tact to take care of this kind of family. When one decides to marry more wives, one has to use all talent to take charge of the big family. In most cases, those families are well run and there is a lot to learn from such big families. So, when they go to their own families, they use the skills they would have learnt from their families. Normally, they do not want another wife coming to their own home. It is in extreme cases that they will agree to be involved in a polygamous family. One man wanted to defend vanaChihera/his mother. She is indeed a very quiet character, very generous, though very hard but not difficult but not to the extent of overriding my father. She had a lot of respect for him. The only weakness in her is that she loves her children no matter how bad the child is. She always supports the weaker ones. You give her money or anything, she will give that money to the other child in need. My mother’s name is Tabeth and she inherited the character of the biblical Tabeth. Vane rudo kuvarombo (She has love for the poor). (Interview, Rev. Nyabonda, 24 January, 2021)

We get to know more about anaChihera from some of the sayings that people coin about them. Here is a discussion between a husband and his wife who is supposed to be Chihera. Husband: Give me one good reason why you still have you ex’s number in your phone. Chihera: Even satan’s stories are in the Bible Chihera haungamugone (You cannot convince her), (WhatsApp, Munhuwozvake, 11 February 2021)

These women are no nonsense women who look only at life in a positive way. They would overcome most hurdles in life by their resilience. One has to be very careful when dealing with these women. They stand for themselves and they will have their way. They have no time for lazy talking. They are straight forward and will name anything which is troubling them. Eventually, they will have their own way. A story is told that when people arrived at the place where a

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woman had been taken by the river, the people asked who had been taken by the river. They said it was Chihera. They had to look for ways to find her. When the husband of the lady who had been swept by the river arrived, he found those who were gathered for the rescue operation looking down stream. The husband told them that they were looking in the wrong direction and he advised them to look for her in the upstream direction. He pointed upstream and he said we should try looking there. They did comply and found out that Chihera was going up the stream. So these women do not follow the expected, they can go against the stream. They are very good at relationships. Once they know that you are a Museyamwa, automatically they are your relation. They would take you for a relative and would do anything to make you feel comfortable. When they get to know that you are their relative, they would take you in as their own and they would share anything with you. They will not wait for your father or mother but they will treat you as their child. All traditional things can be done by their relation who is related to them by totem. These women are not crafty. They are very loyal to their husbands as referred to by Rev. Nyabonda above. If they were loose, they would have been exposed. So, we can safely say they are disciplined in spite of the fact that they are very outspoken. You will have spotted them in these areas. They are so vulnerable but they have stood their ground. So, we do not get them there. This does not mean that they are all trustworthy but there may be individuals who are bad apples, but that is not their DNA. They are not always in the front though they want to lead. They are very good leaders at Church and also in politics. Men should not fear this type of a woman. You know you are covered. Their exposure can make them identified with any misdemeanor. Their sex life remains a private affair even though they are exposed. It seems that their prowess though in the public eye, that part of their lives remains guarded. They will get a feather in their cap. So those who marry them, they have found jewels. Because everyone has something to say about them and they escape this rote. The world is their witness. They have been exonerated because if there is ever anything, it could have been exposed. They work so hard and their homes are conspicuous by their surrounds. They keep all animals, cattle and every other domestic animal. They are capable of looking after these animals. They would span the cattle. And they would do and use these animals. They would rope them in and make use of them. They would milk and keep these animals from disease by

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curing them. They would even milk the goats. You would not think that the husband was not there. One of the interviewees shared the following: Vana Chihera Ndivo vadzimai vaya vanoera Mhofu kana kuti hanzvadzi dzaana Museyamwa, (These are women who respect Eland or sisters of anaMuseyamwa). Vanhu ivava vanozivikanwa nekungwara, vanotaura zvikuru, kashoma kupfuurwa nenyaya dzanetsa (They are known for talking too much and rarely are they left out in issues of society). They are very hardworking, pamba pavo haufe nenzara. Kunyima kushoma, ndivana chipavhurire (You won’t lack anything when you’re at their homestead because they will give you food). (Interview with Rev. Hokonya, 15 February, 2021)

Vane utsanana, uye vanozvida kana vapfeka hembe dzakanaka. Perfection, vanoda kupfeka zvakanaka (They are smart, they like good clothes and they like showing off especially when they are well-dressed). Hapana zvizhinji zvavanotya, instead vanotyisidzira zvisingaite. Unototaura asati aenda kumurume kuti zvauriwe… Kutonga kunodiwa (They fear nothing instead, they make you shiver inside…They want to dominate. Parents often have to counsel their daughters when getting married so that they can tone down their domineering tendencies). They are sometimes referred to as Mhofuyomukono (Eland Bull) as well in extreme circumstances even though they are female. Umwe akati pa Father’s Day (someone said) “Happy Father’s Day, vana Chihera” (to the Chihera women), this suggests that the Chihera women are counted among men such that they are also commemorated on Father’s day celebration. Imwe imba yaive yakanzi, “pamba paChihera”, meaning a particular homestead was called house of Chihera. Even cars are included; I have seen a car personalized as “Chihera.” They are into all sorts of businesses including small businesses like artisanal mining. Whatever a man does, they can also do. They are not held down by lack of finances. They can venture into any venture with confidence. They are a liberated lot. They don’t usually care if you like something or not, for them life goes on. Vave kuzviti vana Helaz mazuva ano (they now call themselves anaHellas). Handle them with care, then you can live well with them. Lastly, they say munyika mune vaHera only kuzoita vamwewo (in this country, there are the Hera people and then others).

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“Keep calm, Chihera haaitirwe dzungu” (Proceed with caution, Chihera does not tolerate nonsense) (Interview, Rev. Hokonya, Chihera herself,:28 February, 2021). Another example is of Chihera who had a husband who was seriously ill. He was admitted in one of the expensive private hospitals. The husband became restless and became violent to the hospital staff to the extent that the authorities of the hospital decided to discharge the husband from the hospital in no time. The parents of this Chihera woman were very worried about the condition of their son-in law. She broke the news to her parents that her husband was to be released from hospital in that state. The parents remember that night that they could not sleep fearing for their daughter who was going to look after her husband who had been released from hospital. They tried to arrange that her other sisters should go and stay with their bigger sister so that they could assist her to nurse her husband. Little did they know that she was going to handle her own husband successfully. The night was long and when they phoned early in the morning to check on them, their daughter only said “all is fine, we slept very well and there was no problem at all.” They could not believe their ears. She nursed her husband until he recovered and he is back at his workplace. The problem we have as anaMuseyamwa is that our daughters have a propensity of dominating their husbands. We are not afraid that they would not make it but that they would overdo it and dominate. That is a fact they would dominate and be in charge. Whoever married them has got gold and whoever sends them away will have lost a fortune (Interview, Rev. Kuuya: 11 February 2021). There was also a (fictional) list of the things that married women do when the husband refuses to eat food at home. Thus: Zvinoita vakadzi kana murume aramba chikafu (What women do when the husband refuses food.) 1. Mamoyo: Chii nhai daddy kuramba food? Idyai kani nhai Shumba inga ndagona wani kubika (Why are you refusing the food? Just eat Shumba/Lion I have cooked my best). 2. Madhuve: Daddy mavakuramba chikafu inga ndabika zvamunofarira wani? Babbie idya food okay huyai ndikudyisei (Daddy you are now refusing food but I have cooked what you like? Babie eat this food, okay come and let me feed you).

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3. Chihera: Ah! Ah! Ah! ndatombobika hangu? Unopenga iwe regedza hanya nani wakaguta! Wakajaidzwa nambuya vako vaikumenyera mangai (achisimuka nema plates aye akananga ku kitchen, ndokuwedzera nyama, kwaakudya rese). Bvunzai mutupo musati maroora (Ah!Ah!Ah! Why did I cook? You are mad, leave it, refuse, who cares/who is worried because you are full. Your grandmother spoiled you because she used to peel for you dried cooked maize. (She stands up with the plates and goes to the kitchen to fill up her plate with meat and she eats all the sadza with meat). Ask mutupo/ totem before you marry (WhatsApp, 28 February, 2021). These are just illustrations of how different women who come from different totems react to a situation like the one above. This is a clear reflection of how anaChihera are disposed. They are frank and they have a cash talk policy and that is in their DNA. What they know is that one does not die for not eating for a day. So, one can go and hang, because they could have done their best, for making the provision.

When You Are Dating anaChihera Chihera: babe ndaneta nekugara tichitukana shaa. (I am tired about us always scolding each other.) I think we need to change. Husband: very true honey. Saka wanga wafungeyi? (What do you think we should do?) Chihera: Ndanga ndafunga zvekuti tichingoita zviri zvemaoko coz kutaura kunonetsa. (I have decided that we should just use our hands to fight. Talking is troublesome.) Husband: Akangopedzisira achingosekerera (He ended up laughing it off.) These are some of the things that are said about anaChihera. Whether they like to fight or not, the remarks are made about them (WhatsApp, Munhuwozvake: 1 March 2021). These antics are in built in them. Everyone knows who they are. The Chihera women are not very much worried about these sayings about them. They even acknowledge that is who they are. They pride themselves when people single them out for their behaviors which are a bit weird. They say that is how they were born/made. Whether she is married or not, she makes her home.

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Conclusion They say if you want to build a home, look for a good wife and anaChihera are the best. Those who get fed up with them and send them away have lost a treasure which they will regret in their lives. These women are difficult but they build homes. They are home makers and they will not disappoint. One must only learn to live with them. One could ask the men who are married to these women. They are a testimony which resonates with the biblical woman. Most women who are in the Bible are courageous women. They feared nothing and moved in confidence. Proverbs 31 vs 16–17 says, “She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She girds her loins with strength and makes her arms strong.” They also say, kana usati waroora aChihera hausati waroora (You are not yet married until you marry aChihera). Do not be afraid of these women, they will bring you wealth in your family. They are not proud and they look after their own. Once you are a Museyamwa you are their father, brother and sister. They honour their anaChihera mothers who brought them here on earth. The Chihera mothers have a special milk which is very strong in bringing up children even though they may be harsh at times. This does not deter them from carrying their responsibilities. They liberated the nation from colonialism, they can also liberate their men. The statue of Mbuya Nehanda was not claimed by vana Chihera (the Chiheras), not that they are not aware that she is one of them, but because of humility. They want Nehanda to be shared by all Zimbabwean men and women. That magnanity shows that they will go far and be remembered in the remote future as reference will be made one day that were it not for this women, Zimbabwe would not have attained its independence.

CHAPTER 8

“Please Understand Me, I Am Chihera”: Issues of Character and Traits Among the Indigenous Zimbabwean Women of the Chihera Totem Mazvita Machinga

Introduction WanaChihera (Chihera women) are really the greatest Musawaitire shanje (do not be jealous of them) Wherever they are, you feel it They want people to know that they are around They are a blessing “anokwana-kwana pese” (They fit anywhere; they are adaptable) Pane chakanaka chese haushayi Chihera (wherever there are successful things, you will not miss a Chihera).

This quote comes from one of the interviewees when she was asked her views about Chihera women’s character. The point here is that human character and behaviour can be explained when people interact with and

M. Machinga (*) Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_8

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observe each other repeatedly across a variety of circumstances. Why do people act and behave the way they do? This is the essence of this chapter, to describe various aspects of Chihera women’s character and traits. “Please understand me, who am I” is a statement that could be answered by looking at one’s day to day presentation, identity, and some noteworthy personality characteristics they display in their interaction with other people. It is like asking the following questions: “what is it that is so dominant in a person versus the inferior? What is it that sounds more natural in their day to day functioning?” This chapter takes us through the views of eight individuals who participated in a survey about their experience with a Chihera woman. When asked what they can say about the characteristics of a Chihera woman, the eight interviewees came up with various responses that I analysed against the four Myers Briggs pathways to understanding personality. I used Myers Briggs theoretical concept since it is a commonly used personality sorter. While this tool has gone through considerable critique, it remains one that is mostly used and trusted in social sciences. Just reading the earlier paragraph, one can see that Chihera women are people-persons, they love and get their energy from talking. They are outward-­turning and tend to be action oriented. They enjoy more frequent social interaction and feel energized as they spend time with other people and feel valuable. The question, “Who is a Chihera woman?” was responded to differently by people who had crossed their paths with these women. It turns out that there were similarities in the interviewees’ responses which led to the author’s interpretation of their traits. By using Myers Briggs theory, I am saying that while every individual may use various traits, in situations of free choice, there is always one that one prefers over others, so what is the preference of the Chihera woman when it comes to Myers- Briggs four paths? This is what I was looking at in this chapter. I looked at what the Chihera woman would prefer to do as viewed by eight individuals who participated in the survey. By using this tool to describe the Chihera women, I am not trying to put them in a box. I realize that individuals may act differently when the situation demands it. Thus, this chapter will enable the reader to understand some traits and preferences of Chihera women in the eyes of the eight interviewees. First and foremost, who are these Chihera women? In a survey with a sister-in-law of a Chihera woman, she stated: Thank you so much for the enquiry. Let me start by saying that Chihera is a brand of its own. I would say Chihera always plans, very blunt and frank,

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straight to the point. Very loving, above all these they are taken as authoritative people and yet all they want is fun things.

Culturally, a Chihera woman is of the Mhofu (Eland) totem and ancestry, a sister to Museyamwa. According to Emile Durkheim, a renowned French sociologist, social psychologist, and philosopher, the word totem is originated from Ojibwe, an Algonquin tribe of Northern America, and it refers to an object of an animal or a plant (Bongo, 2008). Totems represent the spirit or sacred object of a group of people, such as family, clan, lineage, or tribe (Freud, 2013). However, Durkheim observed: The totem was not venerated for its outer expression, but for its symbolic representation, the very soul of the clan. This was, then, possibly the key to all religion…that the totem is identified by its sacredness…that which carries a taboo to protect it, and its clan, from profanity i.e., the everyday world. (Saxby, 2019)

Durkheim held that man in no way viewed his totem as superior to himself or as a deified being but viewed it as his friend and equal. Regardless of Durkheim’s views, totemism remains of special significance in any community life of the African ancestry. It is believed that totems serve as a reminder of the ancestry or mythic past. It signifies a spiritual, religious, social, and cultural association between a clan or lineage and a bird, animal, or a natural phenomenon (Goswami, 2018). As Mhofu and Museyemwa, they are generally described as “Mbiru” meaning that they are associated with a pole that supports the roof. The pole, which is a pillar that stabilizes the roof, and the thatched hut is the one called “mbiru.” Even though as an individual no one else knows one as well as one does, it is safe to assume that much of what one knows about self stems from acquaintances, contacts, and experiences with other people. In this chapter, I asked eight people about Chihera women and aligned what they said with the Myers Briggs personality sorter.

Myers Briggs Personality Sorter Theory Myers-Briggs theory is a brainchild of Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, mother and daughter working together. The two adapted this theoretical conception from the theory of psychological types generated by Carl Gustav Jung. The Myers-Briggs’ theoretical conception is designed

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to identify a person’s preferences, strengths, and personality type. This conceptualization is based on 16 personality types, which Jung viewed as stereotypes (Jung 1921: 405). They act as useful reference points to understand one’s unique personality (Jung 1957: 304). Even though there are 16 typologies, the Briggs believed that no one personality type is “best” or “better” than another, it is just what it is. The tool is not designed to look for dysfunction or abnormality, instead, its goal is simply to help people learn more about themselves, how they are different from others and how they relate with others. Thus, at the heart of Myers Briggs theory are four preferences which make up four pathways. So, the preference would check if one preferred to deal with: • People and things (Extraversion or “E”), or ideas and information (Introversion or “I”). • Facts and reality (Sensing or “S”), or possibilities and potential (Intuition or “N”). • Logic and truth (Thinking or “T”), or values and relationships (Feeling or “F”). • A lifestyle that is well-structured (Judgment or “J”), or one that goes with the flow (Perception or “P”). By coming up with these categories, Myers and Briggs clarified and simplified Jung’s ideas of psychological and behavioural understanding. Myers Briggs Sorter is a way people gain an understanding of themselves and others. It helps people to appreciate and gain insights about how they function and what makes them do what they do. Myers Briggs personality sorter can be used for relationship-building, developing positiveness, and achieving excellence. While I am using this tool, it is important to be aware that this tool is for describing recognizable distinctions between people and it is not meant to be prescriptive. As asserted by Jung, personality sorters like this one are not deterministic or one-directional. Sometimes a person may act differently basing on the situation or mandate. Jung believed that people are born in a certain type, they are also born with a free will that gives them latitude for one’s behaviour. Individuals do have life circumstances that shape the ultimate expression of their typology. This is all about nature nurture controversy. What this means is that while the Chihera women have some common traits, variations in behaviour are possible since life circumstances have significant bearings on the way they carry themselves in day-to-day life. There are

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three factors that need to be considered as I look at the Chihera woman from a combination of what the interviewees say and the Myers Brigg personality sorter. First is that an analysis of the personality and the views from the interviewees offer little information about the Chihera woman’s skills, competences, abilities, and knowledge base. Instead, it is a way to understand them in a more general way. Second, it is not an excuse for certain behaviour or for avoiding certain tasks but it is just a description of their preference. This is important because being aware of one’s preference is the first step in improving interpersonal relationships. One will be able to realize traits and behaviours that negatively affect relationships and be able to adjust. Last, using Myers-Brigg is not about putting barriers in the way of a Chihera woman’s personal or spiritual growth, but sensitizing them on the better person who they can be. In the following paragraphs, I will look at the four paths as they relate to the Chihera women.

Chihera Woman’s Path to Energy “Talking to people energizes them.” This is a response I got from RM, a relative of a Chihera. On this path, Chihera women tend to be extraverted. They are understood as being a “peoples’ persons” as they draw energy from being around others. They direct their energies towards people and the outside world. Interviewee LM echoed the following about Chihera, “Chihera is a one size fits all musociety. Pane chakanaka chose mucommunity haushayi Chihera.” (Chihera is a one size fit all in the society. Their presence is always visible in the community development intiatives.) Another interviewee, GK, said, “Kastep KaChihera ngekebasa” (Chihera is work oriented, when walking, her steps show that she does not have time for loafing around). In addition, interviewee NC reported that, “Chihera women do not hesitate to take challenging posts whether in church or community or politics.” These responses show that Chihera women are energized by social interaction and excitement seeking. Their energy gets high when they focus their attention on people and activities. This means that they bring life to situations. The interviewees’ sentiments reinforce the point that a Chihera woman is an exuberant and upbeat person. They pay less attention to negative and pessimistic mentality. They focus on what is positive, and uplifting. One of the Chihera women who was interviewed described her personality as follows, “I like to see things moving, I hate stagnancy, I do not care what people say, all I need is fun and happiness.” They hate a gloomy life. In addition, Chihera women are

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endowed with a natural and abundant vitality and a desire to fully participate in things that happen in their lives each day. When at places like funerals, they are naturally full of humour, making people laugh and relax and not taking things too seriously. They can be called cheer leaders who see the positive side of things.

Chihera Woman’s Path to Discovery The path to discovery is all about how one perceives, processes thoughts and information. This is characterized by either sensing or intuition. These two are different techniques of perceiving things. It is important to know that just like everyone, Chihera women also have a bit of these two functions. The question is what their preference is, and which trait is the dominant one? Which one of the two influences a Chihera woman more when it comes to taking in information and how do they see things? As a matter of fact, while Chihera women can be both Sensing and Intuitive types, five of the interviewees view Chihera women as mostly sensing. It is important to keep in mind that every single person uses intuition and sensing, but one is more natural and more comfortable for us to use, and the other is more uncomfortable but we still use it daily. Hence, the focus of this chapter is to try and figure out what Chihera women’s first preference is in various personality pathways. So, from the interviewees, it looks like Chihera women prefer doing things and being practical. They are not theoretical persons. They hate to sit and just think or daydream. They approach issues in life with a sense of clear direction and action. They particularly do not like to work with ideas and concepts that are considered abstract. They are hands on and that is their path to discovery. They say their mind without hesitation and act there and then. You may have to find ways of stopping them otherwise you will see them already in action. For instance, interviewee MM said that “No carry over. WaChihera always plan, very blunt, frank and straight to the point; hawaiti zvekutenderera” (they do not go round issues). “They are taken as authoritative and yet all they want is order,” she continued. They are more likely to be working on a project, cleaning, building, always “doing.” So far, we can see that from the survey, Chihera women are extraverted sensing. This means that they tend to focus on the here and now. They ask, are we happy now? They do not want to miss anything; they want to get involved. They often have a strong presence and give off the vibe that, “if things are under control, I am okay.” If it is in a family, they like to

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make sure that people are happy. They do not want to be left behind. They prefer to be consulted and have their voices heard instead of seeing things already done. As one interviewee said, “Musawaitire shanje (do not be envious of them), they are a blessing; wherever they are, you feel it. Involve them in activities and you will not regret it.” They particularly do not like to work with ideas and concepts that are considered abstract. Overall, Chihera women are good with their hands, and they will often use other people to achieve their goals. They are good at delegating to ensure that their objectives are realized.

Chihera Woman’s Path to Decision Making This concept is premised on the understanding that every person has a different way of making major decisions. One person may use the thinking part of the brain more than anything else. While others use the feeling more than the thinking to make major decisions. From the interviewees’ responses, Chihera women tend to be more of thinkers. They are not good feelers as indicated by one of the interviewees. LM said, “As a Chihera, I like addressing issues ipapo, handina ramangwana” (As a Chihera, I like to address issues there and then, I do not wait for tomorrow). In addition, interviewee HR said, “Zvavanonga vatofunga ndichandagwinyira, havazunguniki” (they stay firm with what they will have decided upon). This statement made me to think about the Chihera women’s path to decision making. Whenever they have a problem to solve, a decision to make, or a situation to deal with, what is their dominant tendency? One of the Chihera women said: “I think almost all Chiheras’ grow up empowered. ‘Tinotoudzwa’ (We are told), from primary socialization that we are different. So, from the get-go there’s a certain energy that is just there and is encouraged.” The respondents shared how the Chihera women are quick decision makers, they do not waste time. According to the son and daughter as well as the daughter-in-law of a Chihera woman, three things that are notable with the Chihera women are determination, boldness, and achievement. Interviewee KG, a son of a Chihera woman, said, “izvo wanonga wafunga mai ndizvozvo, it’s not easy to change her mind” (what she would have decided to do, that’s final, it’s not easy to change her mind). They tend to be decisive thinkers with strong people skills. They are typically straightforward and dislike “beating around the bush.” They are more practical, preferring straightforward information. LM said, “they are straightforward, they do

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not mince their words.” They react in the moment when making decisions, they do not wait for tomorrow. They often can be quite impulsive or even risk-taking. This means that in terms of their path to decision making, the Chihera woman is a quick decision-maker. They want to see progress when they make decisions. Another one said, “Ana (the) Chihera think for themselves. They are mostly independent and self-sustaining. So, they make their decisions independently.” These views show that it is relatively easy to get to know them as they do not tend to confuse people by sending double messages. What they seem to be is what they are. They do not hide behind fingers. “Mum hates procrastination, she makes decisions there and then,” said EM. They tend to be impatient with those who do not precisely follow the procedures they would have prescribed. If one does this, one pushes their red buttons. They feel uncomfortable by being pinned down. They like to improvise, and they keep their options open. This kind of attitude in decision making often puts them in trouble with other people but they usually do not care at all.

Chihera Woman’s Path to Behaviour This path is more about looking at preference of judging vs. perceiving. This is about how one approaches the outside world. From the information emerging in the interviews, Chihera women tend to be so determined when approaching the outside world and they prefer judging over perceiving. One Chihera woman said, “The outside world better watch out because we are in control. We ooze confidence and we are assertive. Anyone who is weaker will definitely be bulldozed.” This resonates with the idea that Chihera personalities want to take control of situations and navigate life in the way that they want. Another aspect is that, they prefer neatness over messiness, and control over chaos. If one has a judging preference in one’s personality profile, others may see one as decisive, organized and someone who wants to see tasks completed quickly and totally. When asked about the behaviour of a Chihera woman, NC came up with a comprehensive description when he said: Let me tell you my experience of having grown up with three of these Chihera women as sisters of my father, here is what I have seen over the years. They are good at pretending, when angry they shout at the top of their voices. They tend to overshadow views of others without giving reasonable facts. When they disapprove something, they make sure it is not

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done. They tend to be too possessive especially when it comes to their children.

Similar sentiments that resonated with NC came from LM who said the following when describing Chihera woman’s path to behaviour. Wanokwana pese, pawangosvika, she takes charge and wanoda kuti wanhu waziwe kuti wasvika, hawashayike pane chaunga they stand out. (They fit everywhere, they take charge when they are present, you will not miss a Chihera among a crowd they always stand out, and they are an inspiration).

These two views show that Chihera women have a strong personality, and they prefer taking charge of situations rather than taking a back seat. This is a great trait, especially when one wants progress. They make things happen. The dark side of this is that they may seem overbearing to other types if they are not careful and this sometimes affects positive relationships. They are very assertive; they do not hide issues. They are confident and forceful when interacting with others. The Chihera women were seen by the eight interviewees as firm, and direct in their behaviour. They have strong beliefs about themselves, and they usually have an upper hand in dialogues, whether at work or in a family set up. Having looked at the four pathways, I asked the son and the daughter of Chihera women where they think their mothers need to improve on as I was hearing positive things throughout the interviews. The two shared similar sentiments. They both indicated how their mothers are impatient and short-sighted. They said that many times, their mothers tend to focus on the here and now and what brings excitement for them. If things are not going their way, they can be short-tempered and mean. Hence, they end up pushing their agenda regardless of the impact. They also indicated that they can be theatrical at times, and they easily get bored. These sentiments resonate with those of NC who asserted that the Chihera women have a penchant for pretense and being dramatic.

Conclusion In conclusion, I have used perceptions from eight individuals in so far as the Chihera woman’s character is concerned. I described some traits that were commonly articulated by the interviewees. I have indicated how the Chihera women focus on objective reality. They are preoccupied with

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what is it they like in the now. Overall, I can say that Chihera women are promoters, the crafters, and the performers. Promoters in that Chihera women take tremendous risks to get what they want and seem thrilled by walking close to the edge. Crafters in that they are hands on people even if it means delegating or using other people to achieve their goals. They are performers in that they have a special ability, to delight those around them with their good humour, and with their often innate skills in comedy, and drama. Whether with family or friends, they are exciting and full of fun, and lighten up get-togethers. The Chihera women favor to indulge themselves in the finer things in life and to bring other people with them, especially when they delegate. Their goal in life is to show themselves up and their ideas to others. Chihera women are an active type dominated by extroverted sensing, a function that is tied to reality and the here and now. Therefore, one of the interviewees stated that, “wherever a Chihera woman is, you feel it. They enliven the environment where they are. They work hard and play hard, they love fun.” I am looking forward to hearing views from Chihera women who read this chapter. For further studies, I recommend that an empirical study be done where Chihera women use a personality sorter that is contextually applicable as compared to using interviewee perceptions and experiences. This was a beginning exercise of understanding Chihera women. More still needs to be done. This survey has opened initial understanding of consistencies within Chihera women’s personality traits. I am sure with more studies both qualitative and quantitative, better outcomes will emerge. Understanding a Chihera woman will improve the way we interact with them and how they interact with others.

References Bongo, K. A. (2008). Civilization and the Ancient Egyptians. Outskirts Press. Freud, S. (2013). Totem and Taboo. Routledge. Goswami, M.  P. (2018). Totemism and Tribes: A Study of the Concept and Practice. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 326655380_Totemism_and_Tribes_A_Study_of_the_Concept_nd_Practice Jung, C. G. (1921). Psychological Types. Routledge. Jung, C.  G. (1957). The Houston Films. In C.G.  Jung Speaking. Bollingen Paperbacks, 1977. Saxby, G. (2019). Eight Interviews with Individuals Who Have Experiences with Chihera Women. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 338095510_Durkheim_notes_on_totemism

CHAPTER 9

Chihera’s Story: Keeping Ubuntu Alive Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic Mercy Shumbamhini and Chihera

Introduction The story told here is about Chihera, a woman who amazingly kept the spirit of Ubuntu alive amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In this chapter, I explored Chihera’s experiences concerning the spirit of Ubuntu amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This was done by means of narrative research. Narrative research is a form of qualitative research which aims to explore and conceptualize human experience as it is represented in textual form. In this kind of research, people both live their stories in an ongoing experiential text and tell their stories in words as they reflect upon life and explain themselves to others (Clandinin & Connelly, 1991: 265). Stories and storytelling are central to African societies (Dube, 2001: 3). Stories allow for open, flexible and responsive interpersonal reasoning (Kotzé, 2002: 29). The author is using her totemic designation, Chihera; she wishes to remain anonymous.

M. Shumbamhini (*) • Chihera (*) Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_9

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This story telling is positioned within practical theology which is a field that prides itself in taking human experiences seriously and feminist theology which aims at moving the hidden especially women into the centre of theology. Feminist scholars like Ruether (1996), Oduyoye and Kanyoro (1992), Ackermann (1988), Oduyoye (1995), Kanyoro (2000), Edet (1992) and Keane (1998) just to name a few, have campaigned using their own voices because women’s stories offer credible grounding in experiences and also provide ideas for feminist participation in the transformation of society at large. In pastoral work, the story is not seen only as a means of releasing information but also as a way of healing, transformation and empowerment. This is why people are led to tell and retell their stories in such a way that reinterpretation and reconstruction can eventually happen. Therefore, it is significant to note that the focus in narrative research is more on people’s experiences rather than the mere literature. The participant/co-author prefers to be known by her totemic name, Chihera to ensure confidentiality. In the telling of the story, as co-author, although I want to assist Chihera in rewriting her story, it is she who will determine the content. As a narrative pastoral therapist, I have adopted a narrative approach to my conversation with Chihera. This approach is respectful and centres people as experts in their own lives (Morgan, 2000). It involves exploring the skills and knowledge of the person, the person’s strength and abilities, the key relationships and those particular moments of transformation. Focus is drawn to the intentions, dreams and values that have guided a person’s life, despite the challenges. Often the process brings back stories that have been overlooked—surprising stories of forgotten competence and heroism (Sween, 1999: 192). Running like a thread through the story was the deconstruction of patriarchal ideas and discourses that were influencing Chihera’s life in ways that she did not find helpful. Patriarchy wanted Chihera to believe that she was just a woman who had to be submissive to her husband and in-laws. However, Chihera believed that it is time for her to be taking a stand against patriarchal ideas which enslave women. As a narrative therapist, I made it possible for Chihera to be able to tell her story in ways that are right for her. The conversation might not be called counselling, but instead, ‘just talking together.’ Sometimes the environment and the way that people converse makes it more likely for people to be able to tell their stories. This challenged me as a pastoral therapist to begin in the context of Chihera with a commitment to transformation. For me, this story of

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hope needs to be told. As an indigenous Zimbabwean woman, Chihera tells her story in ways that make her stronger. In this way, I have been challenged to do pastoral care in an ethically participatory manner. A commitment to do pastoral care as participatory ethical care immediately challenges me not to care for but to care with Chihera. In this way, care becomes a social practice where it is socially constructed by caregivers as well as care receivers (Kotzé & Kotzé, 2001). Referring to this, Sevenhuijsen (1998) uses the concept of caring solidarity which brings care into collective support. Chihera’s story is a story of hope, a story of love and commitment to the well-being of others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chihera’s goodness and love has been shining through. My participation in Chihera’s story by listening to her story represents a fine process of weaving threads of understanding, listening and responding all the while attuned to participate in a way that would make her strong.

Threads of Resilience Before I share my reflections on Chihera’s skills and knowledge of hope amidst COVID-19, I want to focus on the word ‘resilience.’ Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. It is a necessary skill for coping with life’s inevitable obstacles. When faced with a tragedy, natural disaster, health concern, relationship or work, resilience is how well a person can adapt to the events in their life. A person with good resilience has the ability to bounce back more quickly and with less stress than someone whose resilience is less developed. The concept of resilience radiates hope and hopefulness. Resilience narratives warm our hearts, fight cynicism and remind us of our commitment to the wellbeing of people. A resilient woman like Chihera practices solid values, oozes in compassion and empathy and leads with the heart (Sanghera, 2020). Therefore, it is important to note that resilience is made up of many threads. It appears in the face of a crisis or hardship; it is connected with the ability to bounce back and is associated with wellbeing and wellness rather than pathology (Hawley & De Haan, 1996: 284–285). What is interesting about resilience is that some of our worst times can also be our best (Walsh, 1996: 271). In Chihera’s story, she responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with courage and hope in assisting those who have been infected and affected by the pandemic. In the midst of COVID-19, her strength is undeniable and her resilience is inspiring.

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In this journey with Chihera, my aim was to explore the skills and practices she expressed in resilience and how these were reflected in her personal values and dreams.

The COVID-19 Pandemic No one doubts that the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the direst threats the world has ever faced. This COVID-19 has led to a dramatic loss of human lives worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to people’s health, food systems and the world of work. The socio-economic disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating. The pandemic impacts heavily on informal workers, who lose their livelihood due to lockdowns (Gukurume & Oosterom, 2020). The informal economy workers were mainly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality health care. They have also lost access to productive incomes because of lockdown. Without the means to earn an income during lockdowns, many people were unable to feed themselves and their families. Therefore, for most people, no income means no food at the table. According to Moyo (2020), COVID-19 indeed batters fragile livelihoods of Zimbabwe’s informal labourers. It is important to note that women workers are particularly most vulnerable to the current economic crisis. Informal sector workers are those with no written contracts, paid leave, health benefits, or social security. Women outnumber men in the informal sector in a majority of least developed economies like here in Zimbabwe, and as a result, more women have found themselves out of work during the pandemic. And yet, amidst this pain that we continue to endure, we find comfort in Chihera’s story of hope and solidarity and continue to see the value of Ubuntu and encouraging lessons that can deepen and enrich reflections on gender in Zimbabwe. Chihera created her own narrative of solidarity by reaching out to those in need. It is this spirit of Ubuntu that gives us hope. Chihera aptly puts this across as follows: I am convinced that in this time of crisis, we are all neighbours and I want to share with others the little I have. In this story, Chihera wanted to share about some of the things that have sustained her in her journey. In the process, we have been both learning a lot about Ubuntu, how it can be used to co-create inclusive, caring and loving communities, and how it needs to be cherished in a world which has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ubuntu is an

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African philosophy of ‘Oneness’—this oneness is an understanding of the interconnectedness of all life. A golden thread of goodness connects all life, this golden thread of goodness is love. The African Ubuntu philosophy is based on unrecorded practice (Mugumbate & Nyanguru, 2013; Broodryk, 2005; Mbigi & Mare, 1995; Battle, 1997). I hope Chihera’s story will not only help people to understand and appreciate the Ubuntu philosophy but also help people to improve the documentation of African knowledge and values enabling future generations to apply these ideas in educational systems, in leadership and governance and in business schools.

Ubuntu The word Ubuntu is derived from the popular Zulu saying: ubuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which can be translated as ‘a person is a person through other people’ (Tutu, 2005; Mbigi, 1997; Mugumbate & Nyanguru, 2013). Ubuntu in an African culture can be defined as the ability to express compassion, dignity, humanity and mutuality in the interests of building and maintaining communities with love and mutual caring and to promote respect, empowerment and justice (Mugumbate & Nyanguru, 2013). The Ubuntu application is prevalent in almost all parts of the African continent and is shared by all ethnic groups in Southern, Central, West and East Africa amongst people of Bantu origin (Mugumbate & Nyanguru, 2013). The concept of Ubuntu is viewed in the same way in Zimbabwe as in other African cultures, and the Zulu saying is also common in Shona: munhu munhu nekuda kwevanhu (an individual’s humanity is intertwined with their community). In Shona, a Zimbabwean language, the word unhu means the same thing as Ubuntu (Samkange & Samkange, 1980). According to Mangena (2012: 66–68), hunhu, like Western metaphysics, is anchored on Shona ontology and predication and these references imply more than being human. The philosophy of unhu cherishes values and attitudes that are already cherished by other cultures and are described as virtues which are fundamental to being human (Tirivangana, 2013; Monda, 2017; Mugumbate & Nyanguru, 2013). Such virtues include hospitality, fraternity, courtesy, self-sacrifice for the benefit of family and community, kindness, humility, consideration, gentleness, fairness, responsibility, honesty, justice, trustworthiness, hard work and integrity and above all tolerance. Thus, to opt for unhu is to opt for the preservation of life. The philosophy of unhu is appealing and attractive because of the values which are associated with it

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such as love for one another, respect for each other, sisterhood/brotherhood and respect for the sacredness of human life. Ubuntu/unhu is the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you cannot exist as a human being in isolation. We are connected to one another. Therefore, Ubuntu is about our interconnectedness. You cannot be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality—Ubuntu—you are known for your generosity, empathy, compassion, kindness, solidarity, hospitality, generosity, sharing, openness, affirming, available, gentleness, caring, interdependence, support and harmony (Hailey, 2008; Tutu, 2011). Therefore, it can be safely said that Ubuntu values life, dignity, humaneness, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Ubuntu as the Principle of Caring for the Health Care Needs of Others The following excerpt from Chihera exudes the principle of Ubuntu in providing the much-needed health care for others, especially some of the elderly people who cannot afford to pay for themselves: I have made a commitment to pay for the monthly subscriptions for my mother’s and my mother-in-law’s medical insurance. I care about them; hence, I have assumed the responsibility of providing for their basic needs. As a civil servant, I know that my salary is meagre, hence, I engage in various activities to supplement it. I have a shop; I also buy and sell goods. I teach extra lessons, all this to make sure that my mother and mother-in-law have access to good quality medical care. Respect and caring for my elders are part and parcel of the Ubuntu spirit. These two women mean a lot to me and I want them to enjoy their old age. I want them to age gracefully. I felt happy and encouraged when my mother-in-law told me the other day that I am a daughter-in-law with unhu. My mother-in-law calls me Chihera, she respects me and always confides in me. She told me that my coming into this family has made a big difference in her life. I am very happy to be there for her since she has been abandoned by my father-in-law. My father-in-law is living with his second wife. He does not respect her at all and this pains me a lot. He talks to her as if he is talking to one of his children. She has no voice at all. I make sure that as long as I am there, I will support her.

In the Shona culture, unhu or Ubuntu in the African philosophy symbolizes all the invaluable virtues that society strives for towards a caring community and maintaining the spirit of sharing among its members

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(Mugumbate & Nyanguru, 2013). Unhu is a sign of respect and it maintains the highest standards of behaviour. In Chihera’s case, this good behaviour is extended or reflected to her family and all the women raised in that family. What Chihera is doing for her elders is considered to be a characteristic of having unhu and a social interaction within the context of unhu. She is keeping the spirit of Ubuntu alive. Chihera also shared: My mother-in-law is always thanking my mother for instilling in me good values such as love and respect for life. My mother-in-­ law is very proud of me.

Ubuntu as the Principle of Caring for Each Other’s Well-Being and Fostering the Spirit of Mutual Support An African worldview does not view the life of an individual in isolation from other human beings, rather, it sees life in communal terms, “I am because we are, and since I am therefore, we are” (Mbiti, 1998: 145). This implies that only through mutual interdependence between an individual and her community, a full and healthy life can be enjoyed. Chihera enjoys her life through the acts of kindness towards the needy and neglected elderly people. She poignantly explains this as follows: Where I live are two elderly couples and I help them with food. I am not alone in helping these two elderly couples. My friends are part of this project. We always collect food stuffs and bring them to the couples every month since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two couples are very grateful for whatever we give them. We believe that this is important because the pandemic has made apparent our need for collective care. With my friends, we have taken upon ourselves to offer extra lessons to child headed families. We are aware that these children cannot afford to pay for extra lessons. We take precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage these families to wear masks and to maintain social distance.

The Ubuntu philosophy implies that people should look at whether what they are doing will enable or empower the community around them and help it to improve. By practising the Ubuntu philosophy, Chihera and her friends unlock the capacity of an African culture in which individuals express compassion, dignity, humanity and mutuality in the interest of building and maintaining communities with justice and a sense of

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solidarity. Ubuntu expresses the interconnectedness, common humanity and the responsibility of individuals to each other (Newsday, 2016; Mandela, 1994). Chihera puts this across as follows: I am happy that I can do something to help others to improve their lives even though it is only small acts of kindness. One exciting thing for me is that my friends are also doing a lot to help their extended families who are going through hardship during the pandemic induced crisis.

People who truly practise Ubuntu are always open and make themselves available to others, they are affirming of others and do not feel threatened that others are able and good. With Ubuntu, one has a proper assurance that comes with the fundamental recognition that each individual belongs to a greater community.

A Person with unhu/Ubuntu Will Take Care of Neglected Children The following statement by Chihera sums up how the unhu/Ubuntu principle ignites compassion and caring for the needy and vulnerable members of the society: I am looking after three children whose mother ran away. Two of these children are girls and the youngest one is three years old. They are my brother-in-law’s children. I could not just watch them suffering. These children were going to bed on an empty stomach. Sometimes, they went begging to other people’s houses when their father was not at home. Their father is not working but he always goes around looking for part time jobs. I now take care of them and they call me Mama. I treat them as my own children. My brother-in-law is very happy to see that his children are now in safe hands.

A person with unhu or Ubuntu will never allow children to suffer. Chihera, who practises Ubuntu, has taken care of her brother-in-law’s children in her own house. She provides for all their basic needs.

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Respect for the Community as Part of the African Ubuntu Philosophy The Ubuntu spirit is displayed through compassion, where individuals express a sense of deep caring for one another (Mandela, 1994; Broodryk, 2007; Hapanyengwi & Shizha, 2013). The African Ubuntu philosophy implies that one can only increase one’s good fortune by sharing with other members of the society and thereby also enhancing their status within the community. Chihera respects members of her community and shows that she values them by sending encouraging messages to those infected and affected by COVID-19, praying for the sick people who are not necessarily her own relatives, sending condolences to a bereaved family and greeting others in a loving, friendly and compassionate way. Chihera succinctly sums this up: When I am at home, many children come to my house to play and ask me to give them some school work to do. I teach children in grades one and two and this has helped me to speak the language of small children. I always give them some work to do and this they like to do. There are many ways I can stay connected with my community while I stay physically apart. I always practice social solidarity, and maintain physical distance with these children.

A Person with Ubuntu/Unhu Welcomes Visitors Chihera is an embodiment of hospitality, she verbalizes it as follows: I often get visitors from my family as well as from my in-laws. I welcome them and share with them the little food I have. They always appreciate the warmth and hospitality which I offer them.

A Person with Ubuntu Protects the Environment Another intrinsic trait which shapes Chihera’s outlook on life is the fundamental importance of caring for and preserving the environment. She expresses it as follows: I spend a lot of my time working in my garden and orchard. I have planted many trees around my homestead. I love doing this kind of work because I feel connected to nature. I just love the Earth and I would like to protect the environment. For me, compassion or care is not only directed to those in

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need of care, but also at myself and the physical environment. I am aware that I totally depend on the natural environment and without it, I cannot survive. I agree with Pope Francis who is always speaking about the interconnectedness of people and the planet. He said that people must also extend this care to what he calls, our common home—to the Earth and to every creature. Yes, we are indeed interconnected with our environment. I do all I can to promote and propagate nature conservation in my own small ways.

Human beings are considered to be part of creation (Broodryk, 2005: 52–54). Nature is very important to human survival and the natural environment upon which people survive must be respected and protected. Chihera said, as a woman she sees her role of nurturing and caring for the environment as part of her nature. She pointed out that preserving and nurturing the Earth comes to her naturally. It is indeed women who stand out in most ecological ministries because they have been attributed the role of mothering, preserving and nurturing the Earth (Chirongoma, 2012). Sadly, nature is being destroyed every day. This destruction of the environment is threatening the planet’s life support systems that we all rely on every day for our air, water and food. Even though women are the providers, vessels and channel of life, the ecological destruction impacts more heavily on them than anyone else (Chirongoma, 2012).

Patriarchy Moving beyond the present, Chihera’s story of living the spirit of Ubuntu/unhu amidst the COVID-19 pandemic reveals what an alternative society could look like, and reflect the skills and relationships people already have to create that society, challenging institutions of power that are not taking care of the needy people. In my reflection, I became aware of Chihera’s strength and courage in refusing to listen to the voices of patriarchy which she believed dominated her mother-in-law’s life. Chihera expresses this shift in mind-set as follows: Patriarchy spoke to my mother-in-law, telling her that she had to be submissive to her husband. I have always been resolute in defying the oppressive and domesticating patriarchal voices. Patriarchy is a discourse which dates back as far as we can trace history. In past times, women were seen as part of men’s possessions. In some African cultures, today, a father is still regarded as the head of the family

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who has to be obeyed. “Patriarchal societies are those in which the rule of the father is the basic principle of social organization of the family and society as a whole” (Ruether, 1996: 173). Patriarchy socialises women to believe that they need men to protect and lead them. Chihera defied and challenged patriarchal discourse by pursuing her own freedom and decisions. Chihera does not depend on her husband for basic needs such as food and shelter. In front of her shop, there is a gigantic poster inscribed ‘Chihera’s Shop.’ The story behind the establishment of this shop is elucidated by Chihera in the following words: I had a vision of owning a shop and when I shared this vision with my husband, he brushed it off and said it is only a dream. I refused to listen to these discontenting voices and I went ahead to fulfil my dream, now we have a shop. Of course, my husband later joined me in making this reality come true. Men take their time to embrace change. At times I feel that they need to swallow their pride and learn to trust that women have the potential to change the world.

Chihera’s tenacity and defiance is also revealed in her approach towards pursuing further studies. She explains it as follows: When I secured a place to further my education at Midlands State University, my husband told me that I had to wait until the following year. I could not find it in my heart to accept such an instruction from my husband. I simply went ahead and registered myself for undergraduate studies. I did this because it is my conviction that this decision has to do with my own life and I am determined to make decisions which concern my life for my own development. I have learnt important life’s lessons from my mother-in-law’s experiences, she has suffered a lot. She did whatever my father-in-law told her to do. I think this is not good at all. She could not make any important decisions concerning her life and her children’s lives. I will not allow this to happen to me.

When I was growing up, patriarchal discourse was dominant in our society. In journeying along with Chihera, her life story has enabled me to realize the harm and hurt wrought on women by patriarchal discourses in our society as in the case of her mother-in-law. Patriarchy positions men in relations of power that are taken for granted to such an extent that abuse is entertained under the guise of leadership, care and protection (Poling, 1991: 105).

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Oduyoye (1995: 214) argues: We need a new belief or practice that goes beyond scientific or biological origins. We need a belief that focuses on human interconnectedness as part of becoming human. Today our way of thinking must mirror our new vision of the Earth as a home for a single human role, interconnected and of equal value. We must recognize that social structures are socially created by human beings and, therefore, may be scrambled, reorganized or discarded if they are dysfunctional.

Feminist theologians agitate for the transformation of patriarchal Christianity that would enable “everybody to become an agent in his or own right, with full personhood and autonomy” (Isherwood & McEwan, 1993: 112). In my conversations with Chihera, as a narrative therapist I used deconstruction technique to take apart patriarchal ideas and beliefs that are oppressive to women and children (Morgan, 2000: 45). By means of deconstruction conversations, the therapist and the client examine these discourses, define them, pull them apart and trace their history. Deconstruction can lead to the challenging of discourses, and to the opening of alternative stories that assist people to challenge and break from patriarchal views as in the case of Chihera and to be more connected with their own preferred ideas, thoughts and ways of living (Morgan, 2000: 49).

Connectedness As I reflect on our conversations with Chihera, I am convinced that our therapeutic relationship was deeply spiritual. Chihera and I created, with time, a connectedness. In a caring and unconditional loving relationship, Chihera was sharing with me how she kept the spirit of Ubuntu alive amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. She had not shared this story with anyone before. As I listened to Chihera’s story, not only was a space created but also very deep kinship ties were developed between Chihera and me. This deep kinship lies within our shared awareness of two women who are willing to support each other. Chihera and I continue to communicate. I consider my unconditional love and availability to her as pastoral care and the sharing of her story as a spiritual experience. Yes, I am because we are.

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Reflection I have grown tremendously through journeying alongside Chihera. I feel privileged to have been a witness to Chihera’s narratives. And if I have added to her effort of keeping Ubuntu alive amidst the COVID-19 pandemic through our conversations, I feel honoured. “I am human because we are. I participate and share because I belong.” These words have become meaningful to me now. Chihera has, as many people have been, enriched my understanding. She broadened my knowledge of how a woman can use skills, qualities and resilience to keep the spirit of Ubuntu alive amidst a crisis. She has given us a special gift by making alive the spirit of Ubuntu/unhu in our society. She has broadened our understanding that there is a oneness to humanity, that we can become our preferred identity by sharing ourselves with others and caring for those around us including our environment. Chihera’s act of kindness towards, her family, extended family, neighbours and her environment revealed the depth of her empathy, love and compassion. She not only embodied Ubuntu but also taught many of us that we truly belong to each other and we can change and transform the face of our world by creating a caring society. For that I thank her.

References Ackermann, D. (1988). Feminist Liberation Theology. A Contextual Option. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 62, 14–28. Battle, M. (1997). Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu. Pilgrim Press. Broodryk, J. (2005). Ubuntu Management Philosophy. Knowres Publishing. Broodryk, J. (2007). Understanding South Africa: The Ubuntu Way of Living. Ubuntu School of Philosophy. Chirongoma, S. (2012). Karanga-Shona Rural Women’s Agency in Dressing Mother Earth: A Contribution Towards an Indigenous Eco-feminist Theology. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa: Essays in honour of Steve de Gruchy., 142, 120–144. Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1991). Narrative and Story in Practice and Research. In D. A. Schön (Ed.), The Reflective Turn: Case Studies in and on Educational Practice (pp. 258–281). Teachers College Press. Dube, M. W. (2001). Fifty Years of Bleeding: A Storytelling Feminist Reading of Mark 5:24-35. In M. W. Dube (Ed.), Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible (pp. 26–49). SBL.

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Edet, R.  N. (1992). Christianity and African Women’s Rituals. In M.  A. In Oduyoye & M. R. A. Kanyoro (Eds.), The Will to Arise: Women, Tradition and the Church in Africa. Maryknoll. Gukurume, S., & Oosterom, M. (2020). The Impact of the Covid-­19 Lockdown on Zimbabwe’s Informal Economy. Institute of Development Studies (ids.ac.uk). Accessed April 19, 2020. Hailey, J. (2008). Ubuntu: A Literature Review. Document. Tutu Foundation. Hapanyengwi, O., & Shizha, E. (2013). Unhu/Ubuntu and Education for Reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Accessed October 15, 2013, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299527413_UnhuUbuntu_and_ Education_for_Reconciliation_in_Zimbabwe Hawley, D. R., & De Haan, L. (1996). Toward a Definition of Family Resilience: Integrating Life Span and Family Perspectives. Family Process, 35(3), 283–298. Isherwood, L., & McEwan, D. (1993). Introducing Feminist Theology. Sheffield Academic Press. Kanyoro, R. A. M. (2000). Where Are the African Women in Theological Debate? Journal of Constructive Theology, 2(2), 5–18. Keane, M. (1998). Feminist and Womanist Theology. In S. Maimela & A. König (Eds.), Initiation into Theology: The Rich Variety of Theology and Hermeneutics. J L van Schaik Publishers. Kotzé, D. (2002). Doing Participatory Ethics. In D. M. Kotzé, J. Roux, & J & Associates (Eds.), Ethical Ways of Being (pp. 1–34). Ethics Alive. Kotzé, E., & Kotzé, D.  J. (2001). Telling Narratives, Doing Spirituality. In E. Kotzé & D. J. Kotzé (Eds.), Telling Narratives (Spellbound ed.). Pretoria. Mandela, N. (1994). A Long Walk to Freedom. Little Brown. Mangena, F. (2012). On Ubuntu and Retributive Punishment in Korekore-­ Nyombwe Culture: Emerging Ethical Perspective (pp.  1–107). Best Practices Books. Mbigi, L. (1997). Ubuntu: The African Dream in Management. Knowledge Resources. Mbigi, L., & Mare, J. (1995). Ubuntu: The Spirit of African Transformation Management. Knowledge Resources. Mbiti, J. S. (1998). African Theology. In S. Maimela & A. Konig (Eds.), Initiation into Theology. The Rich Variety of Theology and Hermeneutics. Van Schaik. Monda, T. (2017). Hunhu/Ubuntu and African philosophy. Accessed November 2, 2020, from https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/ hunhuUbuntu-and-­african-­philosophy/ Morgan, A. (2000). What Is Narrative Therapy: An Easy-to-Read Introduction. Dulwich Centre Publications. Moyo, F. (2020). Coronavirus Batters Fragile Livelihoods of Zimbabwe’s Informal Laborers -­Zimbabwe Situation. Accessed April 19, 2021.

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Mugumbate, J., & Nyanguru, A. (2013). Exploring African Philosophy: The Value of Ubuntu in Social Work. African Journal of Social Work, 3(1), 2013. Newsday. (2016). Ubuntu/Hunhu: A Cornerstone of African Leadership. Accessed October 2, 2016, from https://www.newsday.co.zw/2016/10/ Ubuntuhunhu-­cornerstone-­african-­leaderhip/ Oduyoye, M.  A. (1995). Daughters of Anowa: African Women & Patriarchy. Maryknoll. Oduyoye, M. A., & Kanyoro, M. R. A. (1992). The Will to Arise: Women, Tradition and the Church in Africa. Maryknoll. Poling, J. N. (1991). The Abuse of Power. A Theological Problem. Abingdon Press. Ruether, R. R. (1996). Patriarchy. In L. Isherwood & D. McEwan (Eds.), An A to Z of Feminist Theology (pp. 173–174). Sheffield Academic Press. Samkange, S.  J. W.  T., & Samkange, S. (1980). Hunhuism or Ubuntuism: A Zimbabwe Indigenous Political Philosophy. Graham Publishing. Sanghera, S. (2020). International Women’s Day: Women’s Resilience | HAD (had-­int.org) Sevenhuijsen, S. (1998). Citizenship and the Ethics of Care. Feminist Considerations on Justice, Morality and Politics. Routledge. Sween, E. (1999). The One-Minute Question: What Is Narrative Therapy? Some Working Answers. In Extending Narrative Therapy: A Collection of Practice-­ Based Papers. Dulwich Centre Publications. Tirivangana, A. 2013. Hunhu/Ubuntu as the Cornerstone of African Education. Accessed November 3, 2013, from https://www.thepatriot.co.zw/old_posts/ hunhuUbuntu-­as-­the-­cornerstone-­of-­african-­education/ Tutu, D.  M. (2005). The Rainbow People of God: A Spiritual Journey from Apartheid to Freedom. Doubleday. Tutu, D. M. (2011). God Is Not a Christian: Speaking Truth in Times of Crisis. Rider Books. Walsh, F. (1996). The Concept of Family Resilience: Crisis and Challenge. Family Process, 35, 261–281.

CHAPTER 10

Revisiting Totemic Praise Names: Chihera as Metaphor of Addressing Gender-Based and Sexual Violence in Post-colonial Zimbabwe Kudzai Biri

Introduction The presentation and depictions of Chihera in the social media1 is significant and presents an advantage to those who focus on gender issues, in particular, activists against gender-based and sexual violence. My entry 1  The social media depicts women who belong to the Eland (mhofu) totemic praise names as above the notch of all other women because she is a strong character that challenges traditions and all norms that society deems normal. The depictions are both positive and negative depending on one’s ideological standpoint. However, the overall depiction is that Chihera is a daring woman that challenges patriarchal norms to the discomfort of defenders of patriarchy.

K. Biri (*) University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_10

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into gender-based and sexual violence is the depictions of Chihera. Chihera has become topical because of the way she navigates gender relations and roles. Many people have become aware of gender issues, a positive step in the quest for ‘gender justice’ through dialogue and partnership. Thus, activists that seek to challenge patriarchal norms and to empower women to become agents of their own liberation can ride on the popularity of Chihera to challenge appeals to out dated oppressive cultural norms that culminate in violence against women, dialogue, cultivate partnership between men and women and promote gender justice for peaceful co-existence. There are certain stereotypes that surround Chihera. While the traits are celebrated on social media, they allude to issues of gender relations in the home and society, but more importantly, they expose underlying tones of sexual and gender-based violence. The celebration of Chihera unravels the violence and injustices which she effectively deals with, but is not spelt out and may not be manifest to those who are not critical. Violence takes different forms and include physical, emotional and spiritual. The three broad underlying questions are crucial: –– How have totems (Mhofu) sustained patriarchy and gender-based and sexual violence? –– What is the depiction and significance of Chihera? –– How can Chihera be used to challenge patriarchy, bring men to accountability and retrieve the dignity of women and empower them against gender-based and sexual violence?

Methodology This chapter acknowledges the diversity of women, their experiences and aspirations. However, the diversities of their statuses, experiences and aspirations do not erase the reality of patriarchal norms that militate against their health and well-being in different forms and at various levels. Being a woman qualifies them into the rubric of those placed under the lower strata of society in a patriarchal society that has assigned roles and boundaries for her irrespective of her achievements in life (Oduyoye, 1995). The chapter utilises the womanist framework to analyse the depiction of Chihera, attitudes and perspectives towards totems. It examines how gender politics work to the service of male oriented traditions to keep women subservient, docile and disempowered to the strengthening of patriarchal

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structures. The African womanist approach is an ‘African variant’ located within the rubric of feminism (Ebunolowa, 2009). I have adopted this framework as a lens for unravelling the social injustices that disempower the woman, the role that women play against themselves and how the depictions of Chihera help to question the norms, challenge and dismantle them to the empowerment of women to shack off the chains of patriarchal practices. Totems are popular on not only social media but other platforms as well have championed and popularised totems.

Music and Totems Music is a way of communication (Bakare, 1997). Both secular and gospel artists in Zimbabwe have drawn attention to totems. Leonard Karikoga Zhakata’s 1994 hit Mugove laments the crisis caused by the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme and how his mother no longer praises him by the clan totem. Charles Charamba’s evangelistic hit Mviro Mviro Yekuparadzwa (1997) mentions Noah and animals representing different totems, inviting people to follow Jesus. He creatively blends in totems to describe how people gave excuses to disobey the building of the ark (Genesis 6–9). Tongai Moyo the late, one of the sungura hit makers, championed his totem, Moyo Dhewa. Alick Macheso, also championed totems in his love songs. There is a multiplicity of significance. First, it shows the resilience of totems in post-colonial Zimbabwe where many people have a bias towards upward social movement but still hold on to the indigenous totemic praise names. The songs, which are both secular and gospel, show that even Christians are still bound by totems. However, there is an important missing link of songs that meaningfully address gender-­based and sexual violence through totems. The reason might be that the music industry is dominated by male musicians who do not experientially relate with the effects of sexual and gender-based violence as women do. Both secular and church leaders have not been forthcoming in terms of addressing sexual and gender-based violence. The absence of liberative songs that denounce gender-based and sexual violence captured through totems give strong rationale to focus on the celebrated figure of Chihera because activists can pin hope in her character as embodying redemptive femininities that can be tapped into in order to fight violence and empower women.

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Christian Denominations and Totems Not all people accept totems. Most Pentecostals denounce the use of totems. Also, African Independent Churches (AICs) denounce totems as demonic. Most of the AICs and Pentecostal-Charismatic movements denounce totems because the objectified animal that serves as an emblem of the family or clan is demonised. The ‘complete break from the past’2 is the basis for denouncing the totems. However, some Christians defend the use of totems because they serve merely as a reminder of ancestry, represent important events and a way to record history. Other preachers teach that it is the devil’s way to divide the people under tribal lines because all people are one, one race-the human race and they emphasise that ‘makristu anoera zvivi’3 (the taboo (totem) for all Christians is sin!). The question of genealogy comes into play. Although it is beyond the purview of this chapter to pursue the arguments, the significance lies in teachings and denunciation that are not fully substantiated and lack convincing justification for rejection of totems. It is one way of being adversarial and confrontational towards indigenous beliefs that was imposed by Western Christian missionaries who did not understand the significance of totems but claimed that Africans worshipped animals. Those Christians who still subscribe to totems argue that they simply point to one’s history and genealogy. Therefore, denunciation is a form of literal interpretation of culture and the scriptures. Totems are also seen as the root cause of tribal hatred, contest and divisions. In Zimbabwe, the Ndebele and the Shona intrigue dates back to the pre-colonial era. The post-colonial era has witnessed 1983–1987 genocide known as Gukurahundi in which thousands of Ndebele people were killed by the Korean trained 5th Brigade. The lack of apology from the political leaders has kept the massacre in the minds of Zimbabweans (Killander & Nyathi, 2015). In spite of the fact that some Shona and Ndebele share the 2  See Birgit Meyer, “Make a Complete Break from the Past’: Memory and Post-Colonial Modernity in Ghanaian Pentecostalist Discourse”, Journal of Religion in Africa, 28, 3, 316–349. 3  The researcher has attended several AICs and Pentecostal churches. There is no convincing ground for defying totems. Their point of convergence is that Christians must shun sin; therefore, sin is the totem for all Christians. It is a taboo to eat the animal that represents the family totem so the implication is that as Christians they shun sin as the new defining identity, not totems that are derived from the indigenous religions which are considered as demonic and without salvific significance.

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same totems (such as the Zebra which is Mbizi in Shona and Dube in Ndebele), the rift, more political, has lived to date and manifests in schism on social media. Critics of totems argue that re-building Zimbabwe necessitates doing away with anything that advances totem, tribe and ethnicity because it divides Zimbabweans. Hence, that is one of the strong justifications to denounce totems. However, the totemic praise names have remained resilient because they are more than physical reality but have spiritual connotations (Gombe, 1986).

Myths and Stereotypes: An Evaluation This section provides a brief survey of myths and stereotypes that accompany selected totems to pave way for the detailed significance of those attached to Chihera. There are myths and stereotypes that accompany totems. For example, Tembo/Madhuve—the men and women—are regarded as organised and smart. Gumbo totem (Magumbo denotes the women) are celebrated as having decent, docile women but sexually promiscuous men. The men are celebrated and praised for their sexual prowess even preying over other men’s wives (‘…vanoseva nedzevamwe…’). The men fall short on a moral scale. The Shumba (lion) men are also regarded as sexually pro-active and promiscuous. What is important is the depiction and emphasis of men’s sexual prowess, celebrated and not restrained. This is evident on the Gumbo totem where they even snatch or prey on other men’s wives and the praising lyrics do not condemn such moral bankruptcy. Patriarchy is at the centre of the totemic praise names. Most of the totems celebrate men’s sexual prowess and women’s subservience and docility. The acceptance and celebration of men’s sexual prowess is captured by Shoko (2007); a Shona man is like a bull, he can prey over as many cows as he can and it is not an issue in society. Bourdillon (1976) observed the same and points out that the Shona have no problem with men being sexually promiscuous but they have problems with a woman who commits adultery because it is tantamount to destroying the whole village. This shows how society has been conditioned to normalise men’s promiscuity whilst condemning promiscuous women. This means that when wrong is committed, women are unfairly treated and men find an excuse and justification for the wrong act of sexual promiscuity. Yet, this is dangerous in the HIV and AIDS era and other sexually transmitted infections. Celebrating men’s lack of sexual restraint becomes more dangerous

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in contexts where gender-based and sexual violence thrive and the laws are not effective in punishing perpetrators, a case of the situation in Zimbabwe. Also, men are depicted as those who should take the lead in the family, while women play a docile role. Thus, a woman is reduced to be simply an obeying being that can neither question decisions nor make decisions for herself and others. The post-colonial image of Chihera challenges long-­ held patriarchal traditions. It is the contention of this chapter that the depiction of Chihera can be positively exploited to dismantle the pillars and hierarchies of patriarchy and in particular, traditions that celebrate men’s sexual prowess and do not confront gender-based and sexual violence in the home and the public space. Celebrating men’s sexual prowess and encouraging women to be docile opens avenues of abuse of married women by their husband, rape, and their negative effects. Chihera stands out as a bulwark of what tradition affirms and celebrates and provides a complete overhaul of traditions. Below is an analysis of the traits and significance of Chihera.

Characteristics of Chihera: Dismantling the Pillars of Patriarchy Chihera has become the most celebrated totem on social media over and above others despite the fact that many also celebrate their totems. The popularity of Chihera and her depiction can be utilised to empower women against sexual and gender-based violence. She is an empowered woman who does not conform to the norm but goes against the grain of society. Sexually predatory men like Mhofu have been restrained by her because while the man is regarded as samusha (the owner of the home), she can force the husband to pack his bags and leave. This is unexpected of men because among the Shona, it is men who can divorce and send their wives away (Bourdillon, 1976). Interestingly, Chihera defies that, instead she can send the husband back to the women he will be flirting with and establishes herself alone without the husband. She refuses to be divorced unlike other women who accept to be divorced. Chihera is depicted as one who cannot be divorced because of her strong character. Instead, it is the husband who can opt to leave her at their marital home. This depiction is important as it foregrounds a strong resistance against gender-based violence witnessed by many women. They are divorced and stripped of their rights to property and in extreme cases,

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even access to their children. She is a reformation of gender roles that challenge the patriarchal structures that restrict decision making to the man. The woman is assigned her place of confinement to the kitchen and for all household chores. Not only does she refuse to be divorced but she commands the husband to do household chores too. The pictures of the husband doing household tasks that circulate while Chihera rests transform notions of the family. The quest for reciprocity that drives Chihera is a spirit of breaking norms that burden women with household chores and limits their participation in the public spaces such as politics. Also, men who do household chores are portrayed as having been tamed (kudyiswa) but the husband of Chihera has to do household chores and she disregards what society says. This scenario presents a perfect picture of partnership, reciprocity and unity in the home because of the avenues opened by the post-colonial environment where women also go to work but remain assigned to all household chores. Sharing household chores between the husband and the wife offers insights into the role and status of women in post-colonial times that have to be redefined to avoid double shifts that equal to violating her. It also puts the responsibility on women in marriage to challenge the status quo if it is oppressive and unfavourable. Marriage is one of the institutions where gender-based and sexual violence has thrived, even unnoticed. If detected, roora (bride price) has been used to justify the oppression of the woman because she was ‘bought’ and has become the property of the man. Chihera refuses to be boxed because, she is too powerful to accept that she does not have rights and that she is a mutorwa (foreigner) in the marital home. Instead, she takes charge, makes decisions, refuses to go along with traditions and asserts her own independence to the discomfort of the husband, family, individuals and the society. The Shona culture socialises women not to lead in the home. The man is the samusha (head and leader). The churches endorse the status quo by urging women to submit to their husband who does the planning and executes his decisions, even if the wife does not give consent. Yet, Chihera challenges that because she is a powerful figure. It is her decision that stands; she plans, organises and executes her decision and challenges the husband without seeking the opinion of others. The significance is that she can do whatever the husband is supposed to do—leading, planning and executing those plans. This dispels claims that women are limited and they cannot think like men (see Guti, 1997).

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Chihera is depicted as talkative and she openly challenges any decisions imposed upon her. She speaks her mind. Yet, women are expected to be quiet and subservient and not to question the husband (see Wise Woman, 2006 by Eunor Guti). Chihera communicates and this is healthy in family and marital relations, although it is negatively portrayed as being talkative. The perceived strong sexual predators find a perfect match in Chihera who does not tolerate his sexual prowess on other women. Also, the husband cannot just make decisions without consulting her. She is in a position to tame the husband through communication. She cannot be tamed, especially within the context of the Mhofus who are symbols of sexual predators. She is eloquent, courageous and daring, hence, attracts a lot of criticism. Negative labels have been the norm for agents or activists and women who stand for their rights. They are often branded as ‘not wife material’. They are called names such as mahure (whores), mvana (derogatory term used to refer to either a divorced woman, a woman with a failed marriage or a woman who never married).

Calling Men to Partnership: Chihera’s Quest for Gender Justice Hence, the African Womanist approach is needful to bring men to accountability, interrogate and partner with them to rectify ills and dismantle the cords of patriarchy. The debate whether men can join in the struggle for gender justice is one dimension that prolongs action against gender-based and sexual violence. It equals asking men who are patriarchal if they embody dangerous masculinities and their answer is obviously a no. If you ask the same men if women are abused, they say no and they have always argued that women are empowered. They are not prepared to give up the privileges conferred to them by tradition and misinterpreted and wrongly deployed biblical scriptures. My contention is that the suspicion and debate whether men can be engaged in the fight against sexual and gender-­ based violence is a waste of time. Women simply need to stand their ground, demand their rights and execute them like Chihera. It seems to be the language that patriarchal men understand. The fact that few men have become genuine voices for oppressed women and fight sexual and gender-based violence shows that it is possible for men to fight against gender-based and sexual violence. In fact, it is more effective if men speak against evils perpetrated by fellow men. Women activists should focus on

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the goal of empowerment and liberation from sexual and gender-based violence and leave the debate for it deters progress! Decades have proved that men need to participate in fighting against gender-based and sexual violence. The project of ‘re-socialising boys and repairing the men’4 is needful for effectiveness. Chihera qualifies to represent even single/divorced women. Single mothers and divorced women are called names and their dignity is inadvertently usurped in Africa because of the significance that is placed on marriage. Chihera remains the same even if she is divorced or has no husband. Where ever she is, she asserts her authority, rights and independence. Therefore, she is an example for single mothers or divorced women to embrace their worthy and refuse to bow down to society’s humiliating attacks on their marital status. Chihera cuts across the perceived boundaries to become a powerful, eloquent woman that enables people to see that the perceived limitations of women are imposed by society. Chihera inspires change because she is capable, despite the fact that women are looked down upon. Chihera is depicted as superior to all other totems (women), because she embodies unmatched qualities of wisdom, courage and hardworking. It is another lesson for women that they should work hard so that their total dependence on men is not exploited to force them into submission, oppression and exploitation. The figure of Chihera dispels myths of dependence on Western women by African women who denounce patriarchy. Many academics and other affluent women standing for women’s rights are castigated as puppets of the West and that they inappropriately borrow Western feminism to destabilise the normative traditions by misleading other women by teaching equality. Equality is perceived as a foreign imposition from the West and another attempt to re-colonise Africa through cultural hegemony. The educated and empowered women are therefore seen as the agents of this cultural hegemony. However, this accusation has loopholes. It defies the mental capability of women in Zimbabwe and places them at the receiving end of Western women and ideologies. It also doubts the local institutions’ capacity to empower women to become agents of their own empowerment and liberation. This is one area that requires de-coloniality. The figure of Chihera shows that African women have the capacity to shake off the cords of patriarchy without outside influence. Critiquing oppressive 4  I am indebted to Ezra Chitando, whose paper I presented at the University of Johannesburg on his behalf and I borrowed the phrase.

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structures and masculinities that impede women’s wellbeing and disempower them is an inborn instinct that cannot be attributed to the West. Chihera is mocked on social media because she does not embody attractive physical traits as compared to other women. The jokes and mocking of physical traits on the social media are a typical example of policing women’s bodies. However, Chihera is depicted as dominant and getting married in spite of the physical traits. Despite being considered not beautiful, she defies the norm of policing women’s bodies as a guarantee for marriage. She shows that it is not only the physical that guarantees marriage. Hence, Chihera epitomises that there is more to ‘beauty’; she is testimony to the fact that marriage and lifelong partnership is not determined by physical appearances only. It is significant to tap into the wellspring of the figure of Chihera, to dispel and challenge emerging dangerous definitions of beauty that have body shamed certain categories of women and mocked their statuses, especially being a single woman/divorced, being ‘too big or small’. This has been used as a tool to police, silence and dehumanise women in those specific categories. As a result of systematic exclusion and usurping the dignity and worthy of the women, they become disempowered. In some depictions, Chihera lives in the village and might have kids out of wedlock or divorced but she maintains her strong character. She is unbreakable and refuses to perpetuate patriarchal norms in the family and society. She therefore is a threat not only to men in the home or husband (if she is married) but to other men who want to maintain the status quo of enjoying oppressive and exploitative benefits by dominating women.

Chihera and Politics The figure of Chihera has the capacity to empower women to challenge patriarchy and gender-based and sexual violence not only in the family but also in the public space. The strong character can also pave way to empower women to enter into politics traditionally viewed as the domain for men who are strong. Her depiction of defying all odds against her needs and aspirations are positive traits that can be used by other women to cultivate their way into the political arena and represent themselves and other women. The Zimbabwean political space is violent and does not allow women to ascend to the highest political office. Gender activists have been calling for the empowerment of women, a break with the past decadent traditions that are oppressive and limiting and exclusionary. Sadie (2020)

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captures the developments in Southern and Central Africa and the edited volume by Chitando (2020) specifically focuses on Zimbabwe. The volumes bring out clearly the disadvantaged position of women and violent practices that deter them from participating in politics. Chihera confronts patriarchy to the discomfort of not only men but some women. Women are generally considered less threatening in the public space. For example, people targeted and criticised the former First lady Grace Mugabe but not the then President, Robert Mugabe. Currently, the disgruntled war veterans criticise Monica Mutsvangwa and call her names but not President Mnangagwa.5 Many female politicians have been labelled names, especially if they are not married or are single mothers. Thokozani Khupe, former MDCA member who contested for the Presidency in the party is an example. Former Vice President Joyce Mujuru was bashed publicly by Grace Mugabe, an example of how patriarchy structures gender politics and fronts women to disempower each other when men remotely control political developments. These are few examples of how women are victims of violence when they excel and the patriarchal society cannot support women to top leadership posts. Chihera is castigated as she poses a threat to the existing patriarchal structures. The level of empowerment, her courage to go against the grain of patriarchal norms, qualifies Chihera to be used as a tool for empowerment and liberation for not only women in Zimbabwe, but Africa because of shared patriarchal norms that leave women to ‘carry a double shift’ at home and at work. Hence, repudiating and reversing normative traditions is a defining mark of Chihera that is inspiring.

Social Men’s Movements: A Quest to Destroy Women’s Empowerment The Stingy Men’s Associations (SMA), a fictional movement on social media but having a real practical effect, have been instrumental in socialising young men to withdraw any material benefits from women and girls. Taken at surface level, it seems to be not harmful. However, a close look at the ideology behind the SMA reveals that it is influencing men to be aggressive against women, refusing the responsibility and accountability 5  The disgruntled war veterans know the power behind decisions is President Mnangagwa but they avoid taking head on confrontation with him and target a woman. The disdain for female leadership is strong in Zimbabwean politics.

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and to get free sex from women. Hence, it objectifies women as instruments for sex. The persistent position sourced from normative socialisations is how these men do not critique the pitfalls of men in post-colonial Zimbabwe because of the emergence of new roles. They do not call men to be responsible for the upbringing of the children that they father out of wedlock but to demonise women as persons who love material things. This comes as a response to demands for equality. They deliberately misinterpret equality as a cry by women to be ‘fifty-fifty’. Yet this is wrong and misleading. My submission is that equality does not mean fifty-fifty as construed by these men to discredit women’s efforts deliberately. Instead, it is a call for fairness, to be considerate of the double shifts that the woman has in spite of changing post-colonial realities. Men hold on to traditional roles that burden women with all household chores, even where the man is not employed, they choose to claim the title of headship without responsibilities. Even if they know that they cannot carry pregnancy and breastfeed babies, they perpetuate the lie and claim in men’s associations that they are ready for ‘fifty-fifty’. The SMA poses a major threat to the empowerment of women and the institution of marriage because women have retaliated by threatening to refrain from sex if the men do not provide for the household basic needs. The debate is outside the purview of this chapter. However, what is of significant interest is the rise of a men’s social movement that empowers themselves to unleash efforts against women, fairness to women and also socialising boys to shake off responsibility and to become competitors with women. Yet, relations do not thrive on competition but partnership. It opens avenues for sexual violence because strong women who refuse to bow down to sexual demands are forced or punished because of their refusal. Thus, there is need to tap into the Chihera persona, who challenges whatever comes her way in order to re-socialise boys to avoid adhering to dangerous masculinities that refuse to partner with women.

Re-Thinking Theology: Challenging Redundant Theologies of Oppression Chihera challenges biased theology because theology is through her actions. Women are socialised to submit even where it is dangerous to their wellbeing because the man is the head and leader. Mate (2002) has criticised the notion of submission which is not selective and also does not

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call men to account for their actions. Eunor Guti (2006) counsels women that the husband is the ‘perfect shoe’, even if it is itching, one must not question. Biri (2020) has strongly repudiated that because men abuse women and if they are wrong, then they must be challenged because encouraging women to be docile in the face of gender-based and sexual violence is not only unfair, wrong and unjust, but criminal. The church is patriarchal and does not challenge gender injustices (Biri, 2021). Chihera is a direct challenge to the church’s teachings that affirm oppressive traditional gender roles that burden women and do not bring men to accountability. As pointed by Kaulem (2007), the churches in Zimbabwe are also violent, like the politics. Chihera will not make it alone because she has pressure not only from the SMA, but from the church, a highly respected institution which unfortunately serves as a platform used to denounce her and hold her to the position of complete subservience and docility. She therefore needs other women because of the challenges of patriarchal manifestations in every facet of life. Thus, other women can be mobilised to partner with Chihera to embrace the ethic of challenging patriarchal norms. Some members of the Apostolic Church of Johane Marange tolerate or practice child marriage. The mothers are powerless to refuse or challenge and in many cases, they blindly support marrying off the young girls in the name of religion. The teachings in Pentecostal churches emphasising the one sided gospel of submission in women’s forums, the independent churches where mothers agree to marry off young girls and defend the practice, the demonisation of single women/mothers and advancing stereotypes are all evidence of how women have been recruited into patriarchal norms. Within the different groups of women, some are on the pedestal and they unleash oppressive femininities on other perceived groups of women, especially single women. It also shows the dynamics of gender politics at play (Olah et al., 2014). The fact that Chihera calls herself ‘the beret’ or ‘the hat’ in response to the husband who is regarded as the ‘head’ deserves analysis. She refuses to be subservient and shows that she also has an important role to play and not being docile. She places herself at the same position with the husband and in some instances even above. This is noble in a society where most men think what is captured by Guti (1997) that a man should think sharper than a woman. This can inspire violence against women who excel beyond men and confines of boundaries set by society. It explains why the politics in Zimbabwe are violent against women. There is gender-based

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and sexual violence against women in politics because they step into the domain reserved for men. Hence, when Chihera describes herself as the hat or beret, she becomes a source of inspiration to challenge the limitations placed on women and the suppression of their mental capabilities and what they can achieve in every facet of life because she sails above patriarchal boundaries. This is a pointer to show the goal of empowerment of women and dealing with gender-based and sexual violence is possible to achieve. It becomes a source of inspiration to those that are discouraged by the strongholds of patriarchy. Chihera exposes the deficiencies of the dominant theology. Churches have refused to focus on gender issues and dispel the potential of women because she is not the ‘head’ of the family. ‘God is not a democrat’ has been central to wade off gender discussions in churches and negotiate for gender justice. The role of Chihera in marriage and the home shows that a woman can also achieve most of what men do. More importantly, Chihera serves as a role model for many single mothers, who constitute the bulk of church membership, single-handedly run their homes and take care of their children and extended family members. In spite of their tenacious multi-­tasking, the church seems reluctant to acknowledge their worthy and it has not done enough justice. In fact, there is systematic exclusion and marginalisation of single women, perpetuated by sermons, another reflection of gender politics within churches, to the service of patriarchy because it disempowers women, prevents unity, and promotes schism and uncalled for antagonism among women. Chihera stands out as an example to be emulated because her target and energy is patriarchy and she successfully dismantles any form of patriarchy that she encounters on her way.

Conclusion Totemic praise names remain controversial in Zimbabwe within the Christian circles. There are several myths and stereotypes that are advanced through totems. Chihera has become an emblem of dismantling facets of patriarchy. Her personality/characteristics exhibit a powerful empowered woman that knows no boundaries in unleashing her potential. She successfully resists abuse. Churches have promoted gender-based and sexual violence through their teachings and failure to follow up on men’s responsibilities. Hence, the depiction of Chihera is significant because she is a woman who is empowered, and she can challenge the patriarchal dictates that abuse women, put them at the receiving end and usurp their authority and power.

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References Bakare, S. (1997). The Drumbeat of Life: Jubilee in an African Context. WCC. Biri, K. (2020). African Pentecostalism and Cultural Resilience: The Case of ZAOGA. Bamberg University Press. Biri, K. (2021). The Wounded Beast?: Tradition, the Church and Single Women in Zimbabwe. Bamberg University Press. Bourdillon, M.  F. C. (1976). The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Shona Speaking People of Zimbabwe. Mambo Press. Chitando, E. (Ed.). (2020). Personality Cult and Politics in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. Routledge. Ebunolowa, S. (2009). Feminism: The Quest for an African Variant. Journal of Pan African Studies, 3(1), 227–239. Gombe, J. (1986). Tsika DzavaShona. College Press. Guti, E. (1997). Does Your Marriage Look Like This. EGEA. Guti, E. (2006). Wise Woman. EGEA. Kaulem, D. (2007). Ending Violence in Zimbabwe. AFCAST. Killander, M., & Nyathi, M. (2015). Accountability for the Gukurahundi Atrocities in Zimbabwe Thirty Years On. The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa, 48(3), 463–487. Mate, R. (2002). “Wombs as God’s Laboratories”: Pentecostal Discourses of Femininity in Zimbabwe. Africa, 72(4), 549–568. Oduyoye, M. A. (1995). Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy. Orbis. Olah, L. et al., (2014). The New roles for Men and Women: Implications for Families and Societies, Families and Societies Working Paper Series for Sustainable Societies, 11. Sadie, Y. (2020). African Women Participation in Political Decision-Making—“A Voice that Remains a Whisper” (pp. 65–75). JOSTOR. Shoko, T. (2007). Karanga Indigenous Religion: Health and Well-being. Ashgate Publishing House.

PART III

Subverting Patriarchy: Chihera Persona in the Film Industry and Advocacy for Gender Parity

CHAPTER 11

Chihera in Film: The Subversion of Patriarchal and Customary Laws of Inheritance as Depicted in the Zimbabwean Feature Film Neria (1991) Urther Rwafa

Introduction: Theorizing “Chihera” in Zimbabwean Films In Zimbabwe, the mere mention of the name “Chihera” brings into mind an ambivalent woman who is loving, possessive, stubborn and arrogant, fearless, independent-minded, and self-assertive. This type of a woman has not been sufficiently theorized in literature, immortalized in sculpture and still photography, or visualized through film images. Yet, this

U. Rwafa (*) Midlands State University (Zimbabwe), Gweru, Zimbabwe UNISA, Adelaide, South Australia Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_11

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“superheroine” or “wonder woman” (Kendal, 2010: 1) can actually open an epistemological pathway for navigating the hidden dimensions and multiple subjectivities of womanhood in Zimbabwe. In her classic text entitled Images of Women in Zimbabwean Literature, Gaidzanwa (1985) has generally painted the image of a submissive woman, try as she may, regardless of geographical location, to wrestle herself from the shackles of patriarchal oppression. The versions and subversions (Veit-wild & Naguschewski, 2005) of women’s oppression are also profoundly felt in Zimbabwean film images. Since the creation of the Zimbabwean film industry around the early 1980s, the representation of female characters has largely drawn controversial responses from academics, society, and film critics (Chikowero, 2010). The critical exegesis is that “women as women” (Gledhill, 1999:251) are not represented in the Zimbabwean cinema; that women do not have a voice and lack a female point of view, a situation that can subtly be understood through the politics of [mis]representation whose ideological contours are set by patriarchal laws and traditions. Indeed, the battle is for women to create free and unpatronized “spaces” by assuming new cultural roles in the Zimbabwean society against the parameters drawn by patriarchal cultures and traditions. The battle is so serious that “the simple gesture of directing a camera towards the body of a woman has become equivalent to a terrorist act” (Doane, 1988: 216). The terror can manifest itself if the spectacle of Neria’s gender struggle is not read for what it is, but for its power to evoke as an image that is said to connote “to-be-looked-at-ness” (Mulvey, 1999: 62) which draws in male audiences a voyeuristic or scopophilia desire to consume female images. Extending the same debate, Mulvey (1999) asserts: Woman then stands in patriarchal culture as a signifier for the male other, bound by the symbolic order in which man can live out his phantasies and obsessions through linguistic command by imposing them on the silent image of woman still tied to her place as the bearer of meaning, not maker of meaning. (p. 834)

Although Mulvey (1999) seems to have taken an extremist position in respective of the way women are represented on the screen, her view does carry substantial weight when one compares the way Neria is treated as a character and the lived realities of women in the Zimbabwean society and culture. Thus, theorizing “Chihera” in the film Neria (1991) calls attention for interrogating the ontological status of the female image on the

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screen (Renov, 1993), and the epistemological stakes of [re]presenting women outside the context of images, symbols, and metaphors prescribed by the Zimbabwean society relating to property rights and inheritance. It is in the interest of this chapter to find out how the female protagonist in Neria (1991) typifies the “Chihera” character in confronting African customary laws on inheritance and demystify them by exposing their fallacies meant to oppress women by robbing them of their rights to property ownership, and legal custody to children. A nuanced understanding of the Chihera’s character in Neria allows this chapter to unpack the burdens of representing feminine “epistemic vulnerabilities” (Snyman, 2011: 266) subliminally constructed in the film Neria (1991) so that its major protagonist is made to stand for something else other than herself. If Chihera’s figuration in Neria appears to be “partialized, neutralized or subdued” (King, 2009: 371), it is because the film could be un/consciously responding to the female vulnerabilities which have often been made the “staple diet” for some film produced in Zimbabwe.

Neria as the Embodiment of Chihera: Confrontations with the African Customary Law of Inheritance When the film Neria was released in 1991, many Zimbabwean film critics praised it for its potential to “explicitly or implicitly challenge, rather than subscribe to, dominant and stereotypic representations of female identity” (Hankin, 2007: 60) in film. Simply described, the film Neria (1991) is a film narrative that unapologetically challenges patriarchal modes of oppressing women engendered by the traditional practice of inheritance. In the film, Neria is the female protagonist of the story who endures abuse under the patriarchal system symbolized by Phineas. She exudes the bravado, self-assertiveness, fearlessness, and stubbornness typical of Chihera women. In Zimbabwe, vana Chihera, whose totem is the eland (Mhofu), are known to challenge patriarchal structures and Zimbabwean customary laws that arrogate womanhood to submissiveness, domesticity, docility, and various inferiority complexes. If the symbolic character of Chihera in the film is to be fully embraced, it has to manifest in Neria to reveal her resilience in confronting societal norms and values built on and sustained by African patriarchal traditions and customary social set-ups that are

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constructed in ways that inherently “de-voice” women through systemic gender inequalities. The first scene of the film Neria (1991) shows Neria building and painting her house together with her husband, Patrick. The two are happily married; they are hard workers who put their plans together whenever they want to achieve something great for the family. In the truest sense of Chihera, Neria’s role is not “confined to the kitchen,” but she is actively involved in building their home. Ironically, she is also laying the foundation of her claim to property rights. In the same forte, Chihera knows that if she has to create her own “space” in the domain of home and enjoy long-lasting freedom, then she must struggle for better things in life by “breaking below the surface” (Jenkins, 2005: 55) of vulgar masculinities symbolized by Phineas. In the film, Phineas (Patrick’s elder brother) is portrayed as a hopeless drunkard who abandons his family to fate. He is an embodiment of traditional values so parochial that they will not allow women to make their own decisions about the welfare of the family. For the absence of the “Chihera” challenge at his home, Phineas is a reflection of “abject hegemony” (Hanke, 1992: 185) living in his own fictional stability coupled with fear for women empowerment. One can sense his fear through a conversation he is having with Patrick: “Why do you always want to seek advice from Neria. You must make up your mind without consulting her.” Phineas thinks that his brother Patrick is “weak” and “unmanly” simply because he consults with Neria first before making a family decision. In his simplistic and jaundiced way, Phineas wants to reproduce traditional authoritarian values that have made men able to determine, censor, and define the contours of women’s involvement in social life. His presence and “imagined futures” (Jackson, 2009: 148) is predicated on a world dominated by male “voices” in all decision-making processes. Clearly, Phineas has not learnt or refuses to learn the cultural ethos of modernity that has produced a “new woman” who is loving, familial, independent, and conscious of her rights to protect her space in the physical and cultural domain of home. In the same manner as Chihera, Neria resituates black womanhood inside and outside the general heteronormative hierarchy (Jackson, 2009: 147) where a woman’s body is produced and contested as a site of social and political power. What is evident from the brief conversation between Patrick and Phineas is that feeble men such as Phineas fear Chihera’s power to create new avenues of thought that defy the influence of men.

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In the film Neria (1991), Phineas holds inflexible ideas about the roles that men and women should play in society. He then uses this lack of flexibility and cultural intolerance on his part as a leverage to suppress women with ideas that are not compatible with his narrow and chauvinistic beliefs. Phineas fears the Chihera power invested in Neria so his “hegemonic masculinity becomes overdetermined” (King, 2009:372) and meaningless, for it cannot go beyond its limitations or sustain itself in the face of challenge from “gender-benders,” the likes of Neria. In trying to enforce his obscurantist traditional values on young, productive, and reproductive women, Phineas is not alone. He is supported by Neria’s mother-in-law who thinks that career women like Neria, with money, material goods, and the potential to decide what they want, are “insubordinate,” “troublesome,” and “unconventional” in their behavior (Gaidzanwa, 1985: 98). Patently, the mother-in-law lacks Chihera’s courage of protecting her own kind from the predatory antics of men. Her intolerant attitude to Neria’s actions tells it all: “It’s very difficult when she is here. She is not just doing her duties. I’m going to fix her.” As a site of conflicting ideologies, the mother-in-law extends the spectacle of masculinity that eroticizes the male body as well as affirms it as the locus of feminine control. Lambe’s study on censorship attitudes and cultural intolerance reveals that in some cases, “women are more willing to censor than are men” (2008: 493). Unfortunately, Neria’s mother-in-law willingly endorses the view that women are inferior to men. Unlike the Chihera character, she has internalized a “slave” mentality, having grown up, as it were, in a patriarchal system with its overt, and sometimes insidious, ways of forcing its norms and values on women. The mother-in-law’s willingness to isolate and marginalize Neria can also be understood as a compensatory attitude since in her own life she might not have enjoyed free expression, neither could she feel obliged to want to extend “civil liberties protection to others, particularly those whom she does not like or agree with” (Lambe, 2008: 485). Modleski (1991) and Hanke (1992) contend that hegemonic masculinities reactively adapt and redesign themselves to the extent of implicating women who turn into cultural vectors for attitudes that contribute in subjugating other women. The process of one woman “fixing” another actually promotes the domination of Neria by Phineas which is antithetical to the cultural symbolization of Chihera. In the film Neria (1991), Phineas uses the rural setting, supposedly the home of traditional values, to question Patrick:

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Phineas: “Since when did you start to be controlled by Neria?” Patrick replies: “There is a new world out there Phineas. But you refuse to see it. Neria also earns some money and sometimes more than me.”

For Patrick, if Neria contributes money for their upkeep, then there is no reason she should not come up with her independent decisions about how the family is run. In this case, Neria symbolizes the archetypal image of Chihera who can own her bank account, possess her piece of land where she can grow crops of her own choice, or have her own cattle. The Chihera’s “cultural template” (Kristeva, 1982:23) operating in Neria subverts the cultural and traditional roles of women described as stuck, for all times’ sake, in discourses of the bedroom and procreation. Patrick belongs to a new generation of men with liberal ideas that allow women important forms of self-actualization through financial independence. In a “Bar discussion” scene in the film, Phineas insists that giving women independence is dangerous. He accuses Patrick when he says that he puts “too much faith in women. My friend has just died. I’m sure he must have told his wife about a ‘will’ reflecting how his property is to be distributed in case he dies.’ He was killed by his wife.” Even without tangible evidence, Phineas’ concern is not simply what he sees as the erosion of male power, but that the erosion is enabled and promoted by liberal men such as Patrick. Phineas’ ultimate desire anticipates his eventual control of Patrick and Neria’s property should Patrick die first, and this negative attitude is never hidden at all. This cultural attitude has its master narrative in some obscurantist Shona customs that condone the silencing of women at home and at work. When Phineas gives voice to a traditional philosophical view built on the suppression and censorship of women’s views, he represents what Lambe (quoting Altermeyer 2008: 496) describes as “right-wing authoritarianism … submissive to what [it] perceive[s] as legitimate authority aggressive against targeted persons perceived to violate expectations of those authority figures, and conventional in terms of their own adherence to social norms.” In the film Neria (1991), the mother-in-law appropriates all forms of attitudes towards suppressing other women and selectively uses them when it is necessary to control women whom she considers wayward because of their individuality. It is ironic that the same mother-in-law, who previously was chastising Neria for not being dependent on men, authorizes a song based on a folk tale that defends a woman who is being abused in a marital relationship. The song, Jari Mukaranga, recalls a

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hard-working wife who brought much wealth and fortune in the home. Instead of applauding his wife’s efforts, Jari Mukaranga, the man, proceeds to marry a second wife. In the film, the mother-in-law captures the unrewarding life of a hard-working woman, highlighting how men abuse those women who love them, and while loving those women who abuse men. To capture the gravity of the social contradictions within which African women find themselves, the mother-in-law who has become the storyteller in the film, breaks into song: Storyteller: Wakanganwa nhamo yako iya yemugota (You have forgotten your problem of bachelor-hood). Chorus: Jari mukaranga (Jari Mukaranga). Storyteller: Ndini ndakakubvisa nhamo yemugota (I’m the one who brought you out of bachelor-hood). Chorus: Jari Mukaranga (Jari Mukaranga). Storyteller: Tiri vaviri takarima munda wedu (Together we started our family). Chorus: Jari Mukaranga (Jari Mukaranga). Storyteller: Nhasi wotora mumwe mukadzi (Today you have taken another wife).

The above fragment of the song satirizes the foolishness of the husband who marries another wife (mukaranga) and buys her a special blanket (jari), despite going through difficult times with his first wife to bring up the family. The song is also a critique of the traditional values promoted by Phineas that undermine the efforts of Neria who is working hard as a career woman. Self-reflexively, the above song scoffs at the mother-in-law for viewing Neria as a problem who possesses independent ideas about how she runs her family. Refreshingly, if one was at the verge of being convinced that the mother-in-law has been totally absorbed by the male discourses of dominance, lacking Chihera’s liberating agency, one can see how embedded and dynamic intertextuality is in questioning classical realism’s reliance on typification as a yardstick to measure human agency (Butalia, 1993). The carnivalizing spirit of the song’s lyrics mocks men, old women, and young women and leaves none spared. As a meta-­ discourse, the song can reflect the awful reality that if the character of Chihera is “silenced” in women, they can be depicted as “…tokens in a

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circuit of signs the values of which are determined by and for men” (Gledhill, 1999: 258). The “silent image” of a woman in patriarchal meta-discourses may appear to conform to the fantasies of her husband; the silenced voice of a married woman may even entice another woman to be married by the same man. To the likes of Phineas, the image of a woman is “…the dehistoricised signifier of the patriarchal connotation reflecting its non-male-­ ness” (Gledhill, 1999:258). However, as Gaidzanwa (1985) argues, culture changes and it is no longer merely “locked” in or dictated upon by those traditional modes of thought that restrict and censor “difference” and heterogeneity in perception and action. “Difference” is that raw and powerful connection from which personal power is forged. Unlike the Chiheras, most women have been socialized either to ignore their “differences” or to view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than as forces for change. In the film Neria (1991), Patrick is very proud of the creativity and cultural value system that informs the social conduct of his wife when he says: “You know, I’m a lucky man. How many men have wives who work so hard and still look so young?” This situates the film, Neria (1991), in the frame of a “counter-culture” (Gilroy, 1993: 23) to the stereotypical reference of women as always dependent on men. Unfortunately, Patrick does not live to see the elaboration of this counter-discursive narrative in which women begin to subvert men. After the tragic death of Patrick in a car accident, Neria is prepared to face Patrick’s hostile relatives. In the manner of Chihera, Neria composes herself in preparation for the fight to protect what she believed she had worked for with Patrick. However, Patrick’s death marks the beginning of an open struggle in which Phineas wants to take by force Neria’s property and then subjugate her as a second wife in a polygamous marriage. In Neria (1991), the camera motion catches Phineas stealing money of the deceased and hiding the bank book in his pocket. Phineas’ callousness is further revealed when he openly suggests that he is using customary law to disinherit Neria. When the mourners get to Patrick’s rural home, they find Patrick’s paternal relatives scrambling for his property. This abuse of customary law of inheritance is elaborately and creatively captured in the Shona novel, Magora Panyama (1999) (Vultures on the Carcass) by Chitsike, where the male relatives literally fight to grab the property left by their deceased brother. In most parts of Zimbabwe, traditional laws still influence how the property of the deceased husband is shared among his

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relatives. Women are allowed to own simple paraphernalia as their property and lack certain entitlements to big properties such as land and a house. In Magora Panyama (1999), “Indigenous African customary law is suspiciously viewed as predatory when it is used by ignorant, narrow-­ minded, cunning and unscrupulous people or ‘vultures’ to dispossess innocent people of their wealth” (Vambe & Mpfariseni, 2011: 100). In the film Neria (1991), the “stabilized” and “settled” narratives of property ownership defined by old customary laws are under serious attack. The narratives are withering away and being transformed in response to changing social, economic, and legal conditions found in the Zimbabwean society and culture. In other words, the identity of Neria as “widowed” who is situated and formed within the dominant discourse of cultural change have come to be protected by modern law. In one scene, Phineas is forced to attempt at convincing Neria that the two can co-habit as husband and wife as dictated by the traditional and customary laws of inheritance. Phineas does not hide his intentions: “I want to talk to you Neria. I know it’s too early. You can always lean on me. The family needs a man to hold it intact.” Phineas’ remarks and assumptions that Neria can “lean on him” and that the “The family needs a man…” exemplify the supra-discourses of patriarchy that attempt to repress and undermine the idea that a woman can do without the help of a male figure head. However, in typical Chihera fashion, Neria does not have to pander to the whims of Phineas or be a victim of his lecherous proclivities. When Phineas is challenged by his wife to leave Neria alone as she can look after herself and the children, he pounces on her and beats her shouting: “won’t it be right to own a house in town, to drive a car!” It is not surprising to note that Phineas has a habit of beating women as a way of silencing and censoring their views that contest his belief system. He claims to represent traditional values that should inform him to have respect on Neria, her property, and family within the spirit of the African philosophy of “Ubuntu.” And yet, as suggested by Lambe, conservative men such as Phineas will relax and modify culture, “in terms of their own adherence to social norms” (2008: 496), when the reality suits their own selfish ends. It is through Phineas’ actions that the film Neria (1991) depicts the rapacity and predatory nature of the African extended family. This portrayal of the greed of relatives exhibited by Phineas reveals the “fissures,” “gaps,” and “ruptures” within the traditional values sometimes romanticized as the “best option” for Africans whose lives have been corrupted by the vagaries of modernity.

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Expressed in another way, the cultural contradictions reflected through the character of Phineas point to the vulnerability of African traditions brought face-to-face with the realities and demands of modern life with its emphasis on property acquisition and consumerism (McQuail, 1994). The ideology of property acquisition is very much evident through Phineas who brings Mhlauzi’s truck to collect all the property from Neria’s home. In the film, Neria discusses with his brother Jethro criticizing tradition for allowing people like Phineas to take property that he has not worked for and make it his. African society is also in for criticism because it sanctions and approves of Phineas’ actions. The exchange between Neria and her brother, Jethro, is important because it reveals how Africans choose to understand and interpret African cultural traditions differently, emphasizing the fact that there is no single African traditional culture that Africans can agree on. Neria laments: “When father died, uncle took good care of us. Why is Phineas doing that to me?” Jethro replies: “Nowadays, there are people who are twisting tradition to suit their own interests.”

In the film Neria (1991), when cultural traditions are rendered “twistable” and “changeable,” most of the time this process disadvantages women because it is a process initiated by men with vested interests. Traditions are socially constructed, and people tend to normalize what they learn from traditions, believing that: “this is the way the world is,” as opposed to “this is the way that we have learned that the world is” (Malleus, 2000: 7). In the film Neria (1991), modern legal courts are depicted as fair. Depicting Chihera’s agency, Neria makes recourse to the legal courts in order to regain lost properties. It is here also that the audience experiences the resurgence of Neria’s agency in the face of “abject hegemonic masculinity” (Kristeva, 1982: 191) symbolized by Phineas. She is prepared to contest traditions and the cultures that authorize the expropriation of property by family members. The legal battle for ownership of the family property is part of that contest. In collaboration with Neria, uncle Jethro criticizes and demystifies the traditional African legal system based on customary law. Through song, Jethro reveals the weaknesses of customary law that renders it prone to manipulation by unscrupulous individuals bent on advancing selfish interests:

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Kamusambo kaye kekuti chako ndechangu (That habit that what is yours is mine) Pakuzoti paye wako ndewangu (To say that your wife is also mine) Ho-o! Unoda kugara nhaka (Ho-o! You want to inherit my wife) Kuita mucheka dzafa (To reap where you have not sown)

This song strongly condemns the traditional practice of inheritance. It is evident from the song that a pseudo-communalistic ethic in African tradition and patriarchy censors and restricts individuals from being creative (Jenks, 1993). In addition, the communal mode of existence envisioned in the philosophy of “what is mine is also yours” hides the fact that there are people like Phineas who can exploit the “cracks” and “fissures” in that system of communalism to advance selfish interests. Phineas is also cruel; he resorts to the tactics of intimidating and scaring off Neria by invoking the authority of ancestors and spirits: “You have no respect for ancestors. You curse the whole village by your disrespectful actions.” In Zimbabwe, the spiritual world of the ancestors is viewed as “sacred,” although not entirely able to control human behavior. Consequently, some men who feel that their power is being eroded can resort to the “sacredness” of the world of ancestors to intimidate, restrict, and prohibit their wives from raising independent ideas because these men argue that asking questions invites the wrath of ancestors. In the film Neria (1991), when Neria visits Muchecha, a lawyer, she is reassuringly told that in the legal sphere, there is no situation that is impossible and that “There are laws that protect widows like you.” The lawyer also emphasizes that the house is not only for Neria’s personal use, but also for the children to freely use without being prejudiced.

Chihera and Clashes Between Modern Law and Traditional Customary Law The climax of Neria’s (1991) narrative is brought out by a court drama that pits the plaintive Neria against the defendant, Phineas. In a cross-­ examination encounter, Phineas provides a weak defense as to why he should be given custody over the family of his deceased brother. Evidently, the cultural humus in Phineas’ submission is grounded in a worn-out traditional system that is desperately attempting to provide a rationale that it uses to suppress women. The rationale is outdated, but ironically, its modernity is its capacity to be recalled in the “present” in order to police

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the cultural boundaries of what African womanhood should aspire to be (Chikafa-Chipiro, 2018). This exploitative version of African tradition survives by projecting its values as natural. It resents other narratives that question its own truths. It inhibits imagining other potential and democratic practices that Africa had, and can have in the future. The version of African customary law favored by Phineas threatens to foreclose critical debate on changing African identities. It tries to “arrest” culturally possible ideas on changing values from which new human agency can be realized. The version obscures reality and hopes to achieve the silencing or censoring of new ideas by invoking a language of cultural purity and vacuous spiritual authenticity. In its vacuity, the version adopted by Phineas is “extremist” and “fundamentalist” (Bharucha, 2014: 1) because its exceptionalized discourses cannot imagine the existence of the Chihera character in Neria who demonstrates that she is independent, self-­ assertive, and womanist in her sensibilities. The term “womanist” has been coined here to show that even if Neria is conscious of the existence of patriarchal structures and strictures in Zimbabwe, her self-articulation, social commitment, communal empowerment, and interpersonal connection (Tousel, 2015) is not imbricated in western feminist subjectivities (Hooks, 1992; Hudson-Weems, 1998) but is grounded in her respect for family, elders, male compatibility, community values, mothering, and fair justice system. In the film Neria (1991), the traditionalizing discourse from Phineas is mocked. For example, in another scene, as the court adjoins, a group of women reassure Neria through song: Neria ramba wakashinga (Neria remain strong and steadfast) Dzamara wasvika kumagumo (Till you reach to the end) Neria ramba wakashinga (Neria remain strong and steadfast) Dzamara wasvika kumagumo (Till you reach to the end)

In presenting a scene where only women are seen encouraging a fellow woman, the filmic narrative of Neria (1991) is attempting to supply cultural scaffolds based on the view of genuine African sisterhood, which resonates with one of the characters of African “womanism” described by Hudson-Weems (1998). It seems as if women realize that they are weakened by men when they themselves allow to be set against each other. To this extent, the film Neria (1991) tends to be moving away from the stereotype of a “weak” woman to invest in its Chihera character with a new

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vision and a new agency. This new agency is meant to undermine patriarchal aspirations that would seek to silence the voice of women. An idea of a civic organization created to defend women’s rights is in the making in Neria, and by extension, the symbolic Chihera. This organization is significant in fighting collective censorship of women’s rights. In passing the judgment, the modern court charges Phineas with a criminal offence of harassing a widow, expropriating the estate of the deceased without consent from the wife and negatively affecting the emotional feelings of the children. The custody of the children remains with Neria, and Phineas is told to return all the properties that he has forcefully taken from Neria’s house. At the rural home, Neria refuses to choose a husband that will look after her and, instead, selects her son as the one who will look after her.

Muffling Chihera’s Voice Through Modern Law in Neria (1991) Modern law has not worked in even ways for most African women who find themselves in a situation similar to that of Neria. It is argued that any attempt to apportion extraordinary powers to modern laws may not be in the best interest of “Chihera” because as an African woman operating in an African social context, Chihera needs to create her “spaces” and assert her authority in traditional legal systems without always resorting to the western legal systems. In other words, it seems as if the film has accorded or suggested that modern law possesses extraordinary powers to undermine culturally based censorship of women ideas. Modern law is not necessarily the ultimate expression of “the height of democracy,” where “faultless” decisions are passed. Modern laws can also be manipulated by those with power and money to defeat the course of justice. Where law becomes the “politics of interpreting legal statutes” (Bellies, 2008: 40) and “open-textured” (Hart, 1983: 49) is when its language of reference is viewed as contestable. There are contradictions and ambiguities in modern law in its relation to how it can help women to regain their human rights that have not been resolved in Neria. Modern law could encourage vulture-like tendencies if an inflexible observance of the letter of modern law does not leave room for the extended family to benefit the wealth of a deceased relative (Vambe & Mpfariseni, 2011). What this implies is that in trying to present modern law as the best alternative that troubled people should turn to, the film narrative has tended to construct stereotypes that can restrict the likes of Chihera who should question the founding

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principles of modern law and the application of its statutes to practical situations. In other words, the power of modern law to “silence” people when it purports to be impartial, democratic, and objective can hide the inherent “cracks” and “fissures” within its statutes that make it prone to manipulation by those with money and power. Despite the possibilities that modern law can also be manipulated to disadvantage poor people, in the film Neria (1991) modern law has been ascribed positive values.

Chihera and Female Agency in Zimbabwean Films Neria’s agency in particular, and that of Chihera by extension, can be undermined by female vulnerabilities as described by van Raalte (2010). These feminine vulnerabilities include (1) a need for female characters to constantly explain themselves, (2) a tendency to justify acts of violence in terms of self-defense, defense of others—preferably children and maternal instincts, (3) dependency on father-figures to validate, license, or support their actions or activities, (4) sexual vulnerabilities, particularly to seduction or attack by the male gaze, (5) when occupying positions of authority, women are shown as authoritarian, uncompromising, and more willing to oppress their own kind than what men would do, and (6) competition among female characters to win the heart of a man. All this can point to the fact that in many cases, the agency demonstrated by female characters on the screen may not be a genuine reflection of what women in “real life” think and do (Stache, 2013), but a staged performance to please the desires and expectations of audiences operating within the confines of cultural templates imposed on them by the patriarchal society. The autonomy and self-efficacy of Neria is, therefore, expected to go beyond the screen so that her cultural and social agency is fully acknowledged by the audiences that are eagerly waiting for the “wonder action” exhibited by Chihera in real life situations.

Conclusion This chapter explored the radicalized and symbolic character of Chihera who is hardworking, persistent, fearless, and committed toward women empowerment. In Zimbabwe, there is paucity of literature and visual images that can theorize the existential powers of a woman who is independent, self-assertive, fearless, stubborn and arrogant, insistent, and possessive in the fold of Chihera. This chapter has argued that there are a lot of Chiheras in the Zimbabwean society, but their “voices” are silenced or

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muffled. The production of Neria (1991), with its female protagonist who consistently fights against patriarchal beliefs on property inheritance, situates the Chihera characterization on the screen that has always been patronized by male voices. But questions were raised about the cultural agency of Neria since in her struggles she seems to lean against male characters some of whom are totally against her fight to inherit the property and win legal custody to her children. There is an opinion that even if Chihera, symbolic of Neria’s struggles, can show some independence, it is only pretentious because as long as the patriarchal system exists, women will always be subjected to unwarranted oppression unless they summon enough courage in real life, to confront the system in the same way Neria symbolically defeated the evil intentions of Phineas.

References Bellies, M. D. (2008). The Illusion of Clarity: A Critique of “Pure” Clarity Using Examples Drawn from Judicial Interpretations of Constitution of United States. In A. Wagner & S. Cacciaguidi-Fahy (Eds.), Obscurity and Clarity in Law. Prospects and Challenges. MPG Books. Bharucha, R. (2014). Terror and Performance. Routledge. Butalia, U. (1993). Community, State and Gender: On Women’s Agency during Partition. Economic and Political Weekly, 28(17), WS 12-21. Chikafa-Chipiro, R. (2018). The Future of the Past: Imagi (ni)ng black womanhood, Africana Womanism and Afrofuturism. Accessed January 25, 2021, from http://dx.di.org/10.17159/2617-­3255/2018/n33a4. Chikowero, J. (2010). Simba Remadzimai: Contesting Historical Amnesia in Zimbabwean Women’s Film: The Case of Flame. In Imbizo: International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies, 1(1), 134–143. Doane, M.  A. (1988). Woman’s Stake: Filming the Female Body. In C.  Penley (Ed.), Feminism and Film Theory. Routledge/BFI Publishing. Gaidzanwa, R.  B. (1985). Images of Women in Zimbabwean Literature. The College Press. Gilroy, P. (1993). The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. Verso. Gledhill, C. (1999). Recent Developments in Feminist Criticism. In L. Braudy & M.  Cohen (Eds.), Film Theory and Criticism. Introductory Readings (pp. 251–272). Oxford University Press. Hanke, R. (1992). Redesigning Men: Hegemonic Masculinity in Transition. In C. Steve (Ed.), Men, Masculinity, and Media. Sage Publications. Hankin, K. (2007). And Introducing ... the Female Director: DOCUMENTARIES about Women Filmmakers as Feminist Activism. NWSA Journal, 19(1), 59–88. Hart, H. L. A. (1983). The Concept of Law (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. Hooks, B. (1992). Black Looks: Race and Representation. South End Press.

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Hudson-Weems, C. (1998). Africana Womanism: A Historical, Global Perspective for Women of African Descent. In P.  L. Hill (Ed.), Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of African American Literary Tradition. Houghton Mifflin. Jackson, S. (2009). Black Bodies and the Representation of Blackness in Imagined Futures. In S. Jackson, F. Demissie, & M. Goodwin (Eds.), Imagining, Writing, (Re) Reading the Black Body. UNISA Press. Jenkins, M. (2005). Breaking the Surface, Timbila Poetry Project. Elim Hospital. Jenks, C. (1993). Culture. Routledge. Kendal, E. (2010). Tights and Tiaras: Female Superheroes and Media Cultures. Accessed February 10, 2021, from https://www.researchgate.net/publications/ 324079242. King, C.  S. (2009). It Cuts Both Ways: Fight Club, Masculinity and Abject Hegemony. Communication/Cultural Studies, 6(4), 366–385. Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Columbia University Press. Lambe, J. L. (2008). The Structure of Censorship Attitudes. Communication Law and Policy, 13, 485–506. Malleus, R. (2000). Gender, Class, Race and Media, (Module BAMS 302). ZOU. McQuail, D. (1994). Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. Sage. Modleski, T. (1991). Feminism without Women: Culture and Criticism in “Post-­ Feminist” Age. Routledge. Mulvey, L. (1999). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In L.  Braudy & M.  Cohen (Eds.), Film Theory and Criticism. Introductory Readings (pp. 833–853). Oxford University Press. Renov, M. (1993). Theorizing Documentary. Routledge. Snyman, G. (2011). Responding to the Decolonial Turn: Epistemic Vulnerability. Missionalia, 43(3), 266–291. Stache, L.  C. (2013). The Rhetorical Construction of Female Empowerment: The Avenging-Woman Narrative in Popular Television and Film. DPhil Thesis, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Tousel, T.  N. (2015). The Black Woman that Media Built: Content Creation, Interpretation, and the Making of Black Female Self. DPhil Thesis, University of Michigan. Vambe, B., & Mpfariseni, B. (2011). Negotiating Property Rights in Southern Africa through the novel Magora Panyama: A Legal Perspective. Journal of Literary Studies, 27(3), 93–110. van Raalte, C. (2010). Looking Like a Hero: Constructions of the Female Gun-­ Fighter in Hollywood Cinema. Teesside University. Veit-wild, F., & Naguschewski, D. (Eds.). (2005). Body, Sexuality, and Gender. Versions and Subversions in African Literatures 1. Rodopi, Amsterdam.

CHAPTER 12

Genderising the Social Media: Analysing Chihera’s Antics in the Zimbabwean Context Viola Ingwani

Introduction and Background to the Study Human relations are characterised by the need to relate to each other as family members, as communities, as individuals and as different genders. This need to relate to each other has resulted in the metamorphosis of different characters in women as they try to stand their ground, albeit in an unequal playing field. This chapter explores the social media portrayal of women belonging to the Chihera totem in Zimbabwe through the WhatsApp platform. WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform instant messaging application that allows iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia smartphone users to exchange text, image, video and audio messages for free. WhatsApp is especially popular with end users who do not have unlimited text messaging (Boyd & Ellison, 2008; Boczek & Koppers, 2020). The overarching research question guiding this study is as follows; “To what extent do Zimbabweans use social media to debate and reconstruct gender relations?” Hence, the chapter interrogates the existence of gender inequalities and how women are portrayed on social

V. Ingwani (*) Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_12

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media, as they try to wrestle themselves from the shackles placed upon them by patriarchy, unfair legislation and harmful cultural beliefs. From a very broad angle, Pan Africanism has as one of its ideals the total liberation of the African continent in the educational, political and cultural spheres. Africa sought liberation from injustice such as enslavement in the Americas and colonialism (Malisa & Nhengeze, 2018). At the global level, national levels and at the grassroots level such as the family, injustice still persists. Mama and Abbas (2015) state that women’s movements have enabled modest legal and policy inroads (at conference tables and in writing articles) regarding oppression of women. Practically, in homes and families, it remains a different story as women remain invisible, especially at the grassroots level. When women challenge the status quo regarding their rights, they are viewed as being defiant towards patriarchy. Gender equality is provided for in the Constitution of Zimbabwe (specifically Section 25) which stipulates that the State and all agencies of the government at every level must protect and foster the institutions to adopt measures for the prevention of violence (Zengenene & Susanti, 2019). Despite this fact, there have been incidences of many forms of domestic violence perpetrated by men towards women, and at times women towards men. However, more women than men experience gender inequality in Zimbabwe, due to unequal power relations. Gender inequality finds expression in such forms as physical, sexual, psychological, verbal/emotional, political and socio-economic violence amongst others (Nowrojee & Ralph, 2000; Prescott & Madsen, 2011; Manyonganise, 2017). Women at many levels continue to suffer in silence due to the cruel acts perpetrated on them by men. Amidst all this inequality has arisen a different form of woman, who defies all the odds, standing firm against all these inequalities. This unique Shona woman is epitomized as Chihera; hence, this chapter will focus on the depiction of this character on social media, particularly on WhatsApp.

Literature Review Since time immemorial, humankind has been proud of their identities, and to the African people, this has been expressed in their pride in their totems (mitupo) and the animal representing them (zvidawo). Even early psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud (psychoanalyst), acknowledge their presence as shown by the compilation of a book The Project Gutenberg eBook of Totem and Taboo. In Zimbabwe, cultural practices and inherent

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belief systems such as totemism define the essence of distinct groups amongst the Shona people (the largest indigenous group), the Ndebele, the Shangaans, Kalangas, vaVhenda, vaNambia and vaTonga, to name a few (Charema & Shizha, 2008). Most Zimbabweans, even the modern ones, pride themselves in their totems (mutupo) and chidawo (the totemic animal). The dominant image is that black Zimbabweans are very proud of their totems and they claim that whoever is of their totem possesses unparalleled prowess in all affairs, be it hunting in the past, looking after families, running a business and even excellent sexual performance!. The present study, however, makes specific reference to the Shona totem (mutupo) of Shava and their totemic animal (chidawo). It is pertinent to define the word totem. In a telephonic interview with Munazvo, he shared the following insights: Totems are animals, or (animal) body organs believed to be sacred to the family, clan, or lineage. Our ancestors believe that a totem should not be consciously consumed by a member of the clan as it is forbidden, nor should people who share the same totem have sexual relations, since our ancestor is the same. Totems also relay invaluable information of a lineage's history and character. For example, the people belonging to the Moyo (heart) totem are known for the construction of the Rozvi Empire, they are also known for their kindness and valour. Those of the Mhofu totem or eland make use of praise names such as Mutenhesanwa, Mwendamberi and Chihera, among others.

Praise names are part and parcel of Shona tradition, with seasoned elderly women singing praise songs for men who have come back with bounty from a successful hunt and mothers to their children after successful completion of tasks. In all these praises, Shona women make use of praise poetry, referring to the totem of the one who has done a successful job. In attempting to form a character script of Chihera, one meets praise names such as Shava, Ziendanetyaka (one with heavy sounding hooves), Chidavarume (one who likes men) and Mhofu yomukono (The Great Eland Bull) (Chigwedere, 1980; Hodza, 1982). Chihera belongs to the Shava totem and the chidawo is Chihera for women and Mhofu yomukono or Mhofela, to use the term coined by Shona youngsters today (Interview with vaMswazi, 2020). In an interview with Chousalu, a wild-life officer with the Zambezi National Park, he shared the following insights:

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The eland is a graceful, light-footed animal that is light-brown (fawn-­ colored). It is majestic with the faint vertical stripes on its flanks. The female one is a survivor, with the ability to join the main herd within hours of giving birth. The BaTonga people and the San people say that the eland has great spiritual significance to them. Similar to the BaTonga people, the animal has large reserves of inner strength and determination to survive, even amid very arid terrains with scarce water supplies. The eland’s diet consists of roots, tubers and fruits, which are tenaciously dug up using the front hoof.

The Eland (Mhofu)

Photograph courtesy of https://www.thestandard.co.zw/wp-­content/uploads/ 2016/08/Mhofu-­1.png

Having placed the Chihera prototype into perspective, the next section deals with some of the plausible factors influencing the fact that Zimbabweans spend a lot of time on social media. The economic situation has a lot to do with how Zimbabwean citizens spend their time: unemployment in Zimbabwe continues to rise—it was 10.8% in 1982; 21.8% in 1992; 30% in 1995 and 95% by 2012 (Ncube, 2000; Econometer Global Capital Report, 2013), although the government consistently disputes this high figure. At the time of the study, the country had one of the highest unemployment rates in the world (CIA World Factbook, 2017). At

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least 84% of the economically active population of Zimbabwe is employed or self-employed within the formal and informal sectors, giving an official unemployment rate of 16%. Given this unemployment situation, it is no wonder that most people spend time on social media to offset stress. Social media plays a fundamental role in the lives of Zimbabweans who can use it to follow critical events (Mungwari & Ndhlebe, 2019), as well as socialising and sharing jokes so they forget about spiralling prices of commodities, and facing empty food pantries with at times five or six mouths to feed. They then find time to crack jokes about Chihera, amongst other cynical events. That is how the fictional character Chihera has come into being; she exists in the minds of people. In the face of a bleak economy such as the one in Zimbabwe in 2020, people seek reprieve from feelings of sadness resulting from failing to afford basic commodities due to the rise in prices and stagnant salaries. They then tend to seek distraction and relief from the pain caused by the mentioned unpleasant realities by engaging in social media entertainment or fantasising. According to Fugard in Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, Styles, a black worker in a capitalist company, translates his white boss Bradley’s speech hilariously to his fellow black workers, who are under stiff apartheid law (Makombe, 2011). Styles satirises the cruelty of apartheid laws, allowing him and his fellow workers relief from their precarious situation. Similarly, Thurber’s character, Walter Mitty, is able to overcome the quandary of being downtrodden and dispirited in twentieth-century industrial America—depicting a society in which the men on the street are beaten down by the pressures of modernity, in which they are robbed of their masculine self-esteem and turned into victims of a competitive and oppressive culture (Koprince, 2012). Psychology explains the ability to surmount challenges through Freudian defence mechanisms which are mental operations, usually unconscious, directed against negative events to protect the individual from being engulfed in negative feelings culminating in stress and anxiety (Freud, 1894, 1896, 1936; Cramer, 2008; McWilliams, 2011). The Zimbabwean situation, as elsewhere globally, was exacerbated by the advent of COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019, COVID-19) which undeniably culminated in a large number of psychological repercussions (Li et  al., 2020). Due to the dangerous nature of the pandemic, nations the world over have had to put in place lockdown measures and Zimbabwe is not an exception. For long periods of time, businesses have had to close whilst many jobs have been lost as movement has been

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restricted to contain the virus. This resulted in loss of much-needed incomes. The whole situation has impacted people’s mental health and livelihoods resulting in negative emotions such as anxiety, depression and indignation (Li et al., 2020).

Methodology The study used the qualitative approach, eliciting views from the people on social media themselves about the fictional character, Chihera. It was important to get views on why people use social media and their perceptions on Chihera. Qualitative research is inductive in nature, and the researcher generally explores meanings and insights in a given scenario (Levitt et  al., 2017). It refers to a range of data collection and analysis techniques that utilise purposive sampling and semi-structured, openended interviews (Dudwick et  al., 2006). It is perceived as an effective model that occurs in a natural setting and enables the researcher to develop a level of detail from high involvement in the actual experiences (Creswell, 2009).

Population and Sampling The population consisted all (350) people using social media within the researcher’s reach. Purposive sampling was used to gather views. Purposive sampling (also known as judgement, selective or subjective sampling) is a sampling technique in which the researcher relies on his or her own judgement when choosing members of population to participate in the study (Creswell, 2009). Resultantly, I gathered views from those phone contacts I thought were mature and of an academic orientation to gather views on the portrayal of Chihera on social media. Out of the 350 people on my contact list, I selected 50 to participate in my study.

Findings and Discussion This section discusses the findings. One of the elderly male study participants had the following to say: In these hard economic times, one derives a lot of psychological relief from social media, especially now under COVID-19. Vana Chihera vanotomboita tifare tikanganwe matambudziko ekusakwana kwemari (The Chihera jokes

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at least bring us happiness as we temporarily forget about our economic woes). In the first place, I do not even know if I am safe from contracting COVID-19 and I often worry about what would happen to my family if I am sick, unemployed and without a salary to support them. I experience mental anguish each day as I commute to work and back about my safety from COVID-19, adjusting and re-adjusting my mask to try and ensure that I am safe. (VaChikandamina, 2020)

Another young study participant made the following comments regarding the use of social media and the sharing of Chihera jokes via the virtual platforms: While social media provides people with an outlet for distressing, it also has the potential to destroy marriage bonds if someone is irresponsibly glued to the mobile phone and ignores the partner, or uses it to chat with extra-­ marital parties. (Varaidzo, 2020)

Another male study participant of the Mhofu totem shared the following traits which are said to be common amongst members of this totemic group: We of the Shava totem, have the mhofu (eland) as our sacred animal. The praise poem varies from district to district but in all the praise poems, we all mention the Museyamwa chidawo (praise name). Our people come from the Mutekedza area, Njanja and many other areas. The female chidawo is Chihera. Everywhere Chihera goes, she permeates the environment with her over-bearing aura towards husbands, brothers and even their fathers. In their matrimonial homes, what Chihera says becomes the law. Regardless of her being married and now having her own home, she still wants to have a say in all that goes on in her maiden family. Chihera, just like Museyamwa, has a propensity to lead. Whenever you come across a group of women, chances are that the most vocal or the one delegating duties to the others is a Chihera. (Mhofela, 2020)

The following excerpt from one of the middle-aged female study participants describes the concept of Chihera as representative of a certain calibre of women, whether they belong to the Mhofu totem or not: The Chihera character is not peculiar to the Shava totem, rather it depicts an independent woman, feminist at heart who is a no-nonsense woman. She is feminist in nature and does what she feels is right, never mind the views of institutions such as patriarchy, African culture, and the church. Chihera ane

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nharo, akafanana nehove inokwira nokumusoro kwerwizi, pane kuerera ­ichiteverera kunoenda mvura (Chihera is argumentative, she is like a fish which swims against the tide). (Tanatsiwa, 2020)

Social media images that have been posted will be discussed in the following section (Image 12.1). The following insights were presented regarding this post: Chihera is the sort of woman who will not leave anything to chance, especially when it comes to finances. She might be working from home but she will ensure that when her husband gets his thirteenth cheque, she will be by his side, with a baby strapped on her back, and the other older children flanking her. As such, she is the family treasurer, being aware of her family’s financial needs. As the wife and mother, she has rights to her husband’s income and she needs to protect them by escorting him and being present when the husband withdraws money: from the start of the transaction to the end. This is indicative of a strong-willed woman. (Chisamba, 2020)

Similarly, another study participant made the following comments: It is hilarious to witness a bold woman who is firmly entrenched in her beliefs. She is guarding against possible reckless spending by the husband! The laughter derived from viewing the ridiculously large family escorting the husband and father to the ATM brings peals of laughter to anyone watching it and it brings psychological relief to any stressed soul. (Tomutenda, 2020)

Another female study participant made the following remarks on the same image: On the negative side, such a woman lacks trust and will go ahead and embarrass her husband achivuya negurusvusvu rezvana kundotora mari achirega kusara kumba somukadzi kwaye. Vakadzi vakadai havana kuraigwa huye vanosvodesa murume! (She brings a horde of children to get the father’s bonus instead of staying at home like a well-groomed woman who has good manners. Such women bring shame on their husbands. (Mai Two, 2020)

The study participants made the following remarks on Image 12.2 below:

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Image 12.1  Bonus Management Committee People marry for love: that is what the ideal situation should be. However, the above image presents a scenario where the woman is in it for the money. Anosimudza marombe kubva muguruva, ko iro rombe unoridini kana vane

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Image 12.2  Picture of a couple and the woman is holding a poster inscribed “My ATM,” referring to her spouse mari varipo? (It is the proverbial theme of marrying a flambouyant man so as to raise the social status of the woman. It is unreasonable to marry a poor man, why would one do that when the ones who have the finances are available? (Susan, 2020)

Another participant who is a pastor thought otherwise; she commented thus: The scriptures maintain that holy matrimony is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman. When people go to lengths of portraying selfish ends in the name of money, this is very sad. They go against Christian teachings of

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marriage and the church. Such people need to rededicate themselves to God, to read the Bible and marry for the right reasons. (Mufundisi Blessing, 2020)

The study participants responded as follows to Image 12.3 below: People tend to ‘genderise’ eating behaviours. However, I believe Chihera is a care-free person. She enjoys a whole plateful of sadza (thick corn meal porridge) accompanied by lots of relish. It is good to see people enjoying their food. In African culture, our women carry out many household chores, fetching water and carrying heavy firewood on their heads, single-handedly. Kana munhukadzi akatakura zisvinga rehuni akafamba mutunhu murefu, paanosvika kumba regai anyatsodya kusvika aguta kuti awane simba (If a woman is carrying heavy firewood on her head over a long distance, on getting home, she must eat a whole plateful of sadza so that she replenishes her strength). (Morris, 2020)

Another study participant (Muchazodeyi, 2020) commented that ‘the eating behaviour presented in this image is indicative of “mukadzi akadhiniwa, asingakendengi, anoti munogondidini” (a woman who does not care about what people say)’. In response to Image 12.3 below, the study participants made the following comments:

Image 12.3  Picture of a woman with a plate full of Sadza (thick corn meal porridge)

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The Image 12.4 represents the independent, liberated female who can easily be a self-made business person. She could easily be a hustler, a single parent with multiple talents in-between work and home, she successfully juggles and hustles her way through life. She minds the baby on her back while meeting her many business appointments. She could pass for the free-spirited Chihera who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She is daring in fashion and mixes colours at will: a shouting bright yellow head-dress, combined with light blue and purple-colour blocking at its highest. (Beauty, 2020)

Image 12.4  Woman with an eccentric dress code

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However, another male study participant in his fifties raised the following sentiments: Haa this woman is outrageous!Ndokupfeka kwekupi ikoku? Mutaranginya unoshinya, une mawaya mawaya? Hazvina kana unhu izvi. Iye murume akaroora izvi ane nhamo yake. Pamwe haana kutomboroorwa. Kufamba kwacho hakuna kumbodzikama.(What type of dressing is this? She is wearing tight slacks with frills at the bottom.This is indecent. The husband must be in a lot of trouble. I wonder if she is even married). (Simon, 2020)

This a negative analysis of this image. It stereotypes women; those with decent slacks are categorised as well behaved and therefore good, whilst those who dare to dress themselves according to particularly unique fashion are viewed negatively. Social psychologists agree that social perceivers automatically categorise people into visually perceptible social groups and even according to how people dress (Blair et al., 2002). Stereotypes are activated simply by perceiving physical attributes of social groups. The inscription above is advising married women to ensure that they keep their husbands on a leash to ensure that they do not misappropriate the bonus which is usually paid either in November or in December. The study participants responded as follows to Image 12.5 below The image represents a home where the woman (probably Chihera) has the final say about how finances are handled in that home. She has practically shackled the husband so that he uses the money according to how she wants it used. One can easily note that the husband is languishing in distress as his freedom has been curbed by the woman. The woman is busy enjoying herself in the meanwhile, chatting on her mobile phone. The husband’s posture is more like that of a prisoner achiita semunhu waperegwa nemazano (looking like someone who does not know what to do anymore). (Chipunza, 2020)

Another participant remarked that: Finance talk in marriage is inevitable. Many aspects of any married couple require financial injection. Management of money in the home at times presents a hurdle. Too little or too much money causes heartache with many couples disagreeing about how the money should be spent ending up in painful divorce trials as couples fight. (Stella, 2020)

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Image 12.5  Image of a husband fastened on a leash

In response to Image 12.6 below, the study participants made the following remarks: In the image above, there is stark evidence of gender-based violence. The most thrilling fact is that it features the popular male Zimbabwean comedian Vharazipi (in green) with Mbuya Mai John chasing him! Just seeing it would bring much laughter and enjoyment to anyone familiar with the Vharazipi fame. The fiery-tempered woman wields a metal instrument, chasing at the husband in broad day light in full view of everyone. Chihera is violating her own husband’s rights by physically abusing him. Izvi zvinosvodesa chose. Vakadzi vasadaro (This is disgraceful. Women must not do that. (Mufaro, 2020)

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Image 12.6  Image of an angry woman, in hot pursuit of a man who is running for dear life

This is a perception sympathising with the victim of physical violence. The other opposing analysis goes: Usadheerere wedu Chihera, anodzingirira benzi remurume iro. Pamwe rakabatwa rina Marwei (Do not play around with our Chihera. She is chasing the foolish man who was probably caught fornicating). (Sithembile, 2020)

Another study participant deplored the harmful effects of gender-based violence in the following words: Gender based violence pervades the fabric of society and it needs level-­ headed solutions to rid society of this ill. There is nothing good in gender-­ based violence, as it dehumanises both the victims and the perpetrators. Some victims have been physically scarred for life, the worst case scenario being slow death or instant death. Besides physical scars, some victims end up having psychological scars due to the nature of the violence, for example victims of rape. (Kundiso, 2020)

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Additionally, other study participants counselled against the propensity of resorting to gender-based violence. One of the female study participants said: There is need for community gender dialogues such as Padare/ Enkundhleni/ Men’s Forum, Women’s Action Group and Musasa Project which empower individuals on how to work through situations of a violent nature, for peace to prevail among couples in Zimbabwe. (Ruvarashe, 2020)

Another female study participant weighed in: From a social worker’s point of view, gender-based violence threatens family peace and may culminate in divorce. Psychologically, victims may bear invisible scars which could remain imprinted in memory for life. In unfortunate circumstances, (the victim, either the husband or wife) may vent their frustrations on children, who in turn may bully other children at home or at school. (Samukele, 2020)

The inscription for Image 12.7 below is a rhetorical question inviting viewers to guess the totem of the woman therein, suggesting that it is none other than Chihera. The study participants responded to the above image as follows: The woman in the image above is cycling, which is no mean feat. It becomes even more precarious with the large drum firmly balanced on her head. Probably she is cycling so she can get the drum to its destination at home, kuti andovamba mupeta wedoro pachazobva mari yokubhadhara kuchikoro kwevana neye zvimwe zvinodikwa zvakaita sesipo (so she can go and embark on a beer-brewing venture so as to get the much-needed money for basic needs and school-fees). It shows someone who has the tenacity to endure and complete hard tasks using whatever method is available to her. The tasks she is completing show that she has a lot on her plate. Vana vanochemera sadza vachiti mai, havamboti baba (Children look up to the mother for food and never to the father). Therefore, the woman in the image has to get her hands dirty, she surely cannot be feeble minded and lazy. (Ruvimbo, 2020)

In the same light, another study participant applauded the woman in the above image as follows: I have heard women being described as the weaker sex. In other words, society has ‘genderised’ roles. Roles such as being cross-border truck drivers

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Image 12.7  Image of a woman riding a bicycle, whilst carrying a well balanced heavy metal container on her head have for a long time, been left for men. However, over the years, women, against all odds, have ventured into cross-border truck driving, driving over haggard terrains and amid a lot of dangers. There are now women morticians (those who work with dead bodies, bathing and preparing them for burial). Likewise, the woman in the above image is showing determination to get things done against all odds, she is daring and raring to go. This is an epitome of Chihelele! (a version of ‘Chihera’). (Aaron, 2020)

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However, another male study participant critiqued the woman in the above image, he said: In our African culture, women do not cycle. It is very indecent. Worse, the lady is balancing a huge drum on her head. Kumba kwaanobva hakuna varume here? Kana variyo vanosvodesa zvikuru uye vane hutsinye. (Are there no men where she comes from? If they are there, shame on them and their cruelty). This kind of treatment borders on abuse. I cannot imagine a husband relaxing at home while his wife is publicly languishing through life like that. Women are meant to be in the comfort of their kitchens carrying out feminine tasks such as cooking, minding babies and doing dishes. This rugged landscape is certainly not for women. (Kudakwashe, 2020)

Whatever judgements might be passed, this is a woman with strength enough to conquer the world, not flinching an inch under duress, and she is surely an empowered individual. The inscription in Image 12.8 below is another task assigned to the viewers to ascribe an apt totem to the woman who is seated in a very relaxed manner whilst the husband is busy cooking as well as carrying the child on his back. Just like in Image 12.7 preceding this one, there is a subtle suggestion that the woman is none other than Chihera. The study participants responded to this image as follows: The headline of the image is very thrilling. Translated it means: ‘Hurry up and give the woman in the picture a totem.’ The lots obviously fall on Chihera. The inception of gender rights does not mean that one gender should abuse the other. Zimbabweans and all well-meaning individuals across the globe hailed the Beijing conference where participants ended up with resolutions which levelled an uneven playing field to provide women with rights in all spheres of life (the scales were tipped at men having more rights than women). However, the image presents a woman with little or no care for her husband. The husband has an oversized toddler strapped onto his back. Probably, the wife has forced him to carry the baby on his back while he cooks in the hot sun! In the same breath, the woman is enjoying herself on social media asina kana chiri kumeso (without a care in the world). Ndovana Chihera ava. Murume wakadai anonzi wakapiwa mupfuhwira, haachakwanisi kuzvifungira. (These are the Chiheras of this world, they are in full control. People will say that a man like this has been given an overdose of the love portion and he cannot think straight). (Anotida, 2020)

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Image 12.8  Woman sitting in a relaxed position whilst the man is cooking, with a baby strapped on his back (role reversal)

The inscription on Image 12.9 below is a message being conveyed by a mother who clearly underlines to her future son-in-law that no piece of legislation will twist her into giving her daughter away for free-lobola will be paid! This was in response to the proposed New Marriages Bill in Zimbabwe (2017) whereby there was a proposition for the abolishment of lobola payment. The woman in the picture is Patience Ozokwor, a top Nigerian actress popularly referred to as ‘Mama G’ ... Thatcher of Nollywood or as Mai Azuka by her Zimbabwean fans. Mai Azuka played the role of an interfering mother-in-law which led to the demise of her

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Image 12.9  Letter from mother in-law to prospective son-in-law

daughter’s marriage in a movie where she consistently meddles in her daughter’s marriage. One of the study participants responded to this image as follows: What a befitting image for the controversial proposed Marriages Bill. This is not a legal discussion on the Marriages Bill but rather an analysis of the general Zimbabwean populace’s opinions on it. Popular opinion on payment of bride-price (roora/lobola) is that it is a token of appreciation tendered by the son-in-law to his prospective in-laws. Many opinions, correct and inaccurate ones, have been raised on the proposed bill which still has to be finalised. (Loice, 2020)

Another study participant had the following to say: The Marriages Bill does not outlaw the payment of bride price (lobola), but rather seeks to prohibit marriage officers from requesting proof of payment of the same when solemnising a customary marriage. Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has explained this proposed bill at length to Zimbabweans.The current law requires marriage officers to

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satisfy themselves with proof of payment of the cultural bride price before formalising a customary marriage. (Akudzwe, 2020)

Another study participant made the following remarks: It is hilarious that Mai Azukma features in the social media image above clamouring for ‘mafukidza dumbu, hembe nemombe dzoumai.’ These items on the roora list are rightly hers and cannot be contested. Therefore, as the future mother-in law, she is justified in making these demands. Just seeing her image on social media results in one chuckling softly to themselves and releasing bottled up emotions. (Tavonga, 2020)

Image 12.10 below presents a picture of an elderly Chihera with a huge knife tucked in her belt. The study participants made the following remarks: As the saying goes, age is nothing but a number. One expects that as people grow older, they will not engage in certain behaviours. The image is a shocker: an old woman with a big knife stashed in her belt????This creates deep humour for anyone who comes across it. What would an old lady be doing with a knife in public for that matter? One begins to form a character

Image 12.10  Elderly woman with a huge knife tucked in her belt- ready for any eventuality of violence

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script for the woman: was she streetwise during her youth, part of a gang and therefore always wields a knife. This makes one to giggle, laugh or smile, in the process releasing tension. (Timukudze, 2020)

Besides being depicted in images, Chihera is depicted through several WhatsApp conversations. The following section discusses these conversations.

Conversation One: Chihera as the New Daughter-in-Law Mother in-law: Chihera, here we wake up at five o’clock in the morning. Chihera: Thanks mom. It is ok. It is good to know. As long as you do not disturb me, I have no problem. I sleep in till ten o’clock in the morning. Discussion on Conversation One The following remarks from one of the study participants sums up the several views raised by the several study participants in response to the above conversation: African culture demands that the new daughter-in-law (makoti /muroora/ mwenga) be very vigilant. Part of the vigilance is in waking up before everyone else. When the in-laws wake up, they must find the yard swept clean, the fire made with hot water ready for them to bath. All the people know that and there is no discussion about it. Hapana mwenga anovata kusvika kwachena. (There is no new daughter-in-law who sleeps in till daylight). The fact that Chihera says that she will wake up at ten o’clock is being deliberately cynical and mischievous to the core. It just goes to show the new breed of woman who will go against all ‘unacceptable’ norms. (Makanaka, 2020)

Conversation Two: Chihera and Mother-in-Law Chihera offers her mother-in-law some food. Mother-in-law: Inga muroora uri kugarira tarenda rokubika (Daughter in-law-you are wasting your cooking talents). Chihera (smiling): Thanks mom.

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Mother-in-law: Dai waibikira imbwa uchitengesera vanadzo waifa nemari (If you were operating a business selling dog food you would get lots of money). Chihera: Ndinobika zvinoenderana nokuti ndiani wandiri kubikira (I cook food according to the social standing of the person that I am cooking for). Mother-in-law (sighing): Yoh! Discussion on Conversation Two The following remarks summarize the views raised by the study participants in response to the above conversation: A mother-in-law/ daughter-in-law relationship is at times a thorny one. Under African culture, the daughter-in-law is not supposed to raise her voice even a little bit, even when the mother-in-law is plainly off-route. However, it makes one laugh to hear the cutting, chilly response Chihera gives to her mother-in-law. (Makanaka, 2020)

Conversation Three: Chihera’s Subtle Attack on Her Mother-in Law Chihera shouting at mother-in-law’s dog which is sniffing at some food): ‘Kure! Kufanana natenzi kukara!’ (Get away! This dog is as greedy as its owner!). Discussion on Conversation Three Various study participants responded with disbelief and empathy for the mother-in-law. This is reflected by the following excerpt from one of the study participants. African society does not allow such rudeness from a daughter-in-law, even in the face of an outburst from the mother-law. Such behaviour from the daughter-in-law is to be condemned in the strongest of terms. Vamwene vanoremekedzwa nokuti vave munhu mukuru (The daughter-in-law should respect her mother-in-law because of the age gap). (Gogo MaDuve, 2020)

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However, others found it hilarious that Chihera could be that crude. One of the study participants made the following remarks: This conversation would send anyone into stitches of laughter. The daughter-­in—law is not scolding the dog, but the owner. No one dares do this other than the independent upcoming breed of daughter-in-law. It is simply not done!!! (Taruvona, 2020)

Conversation Four: Chihera and Her Sister-in-Law At a funeral where the women are cooking large pots of sadza, Chihera is peeling some potatoes, cutting up tomatoes slowly in the shade near the cooking platform, relaxing on a folding chair. Tete (husband’s brother): Maiguru Chihera, bhodho size 10 ramirira kumonwa nemi iro. (Chihera it is your turn to cook sadza in the largest steel-legged pot size 10). Chihera: Aiwa chimboitai. Ini ndiri musalad, ndinogona zvemalaptop (Leave me alone, I am a very sophisticated person. I work with technological stuff such as laptops.) Discussion on Conversation Four The following comments summarize the comments made by the study participants: Apa paita Chihelele (another name for Chihera) anodada apa. Anotsenga masese achibuda mvura. Tobaiwa hedu nokudadigwa nevane mari (Chihelele/Chihera is very arrogant to us the rural folks, she does not make any effort to pretend to want to work together with us. She does that because she is richer than us. Such an attitude is socially unacceptable. (Kuzivakwashe, 2020)

Conclusion In conclusion, the depiction of the Chihera character on social media bears serious undertones on gender equality. Society, albeit hilariously, seems to be rubberstamping women’s empowerment in all spheres of life: in the domestic arena, in business and career-wise. Where previously the

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female gender may have been perceived by some sectors of society as feeble, docile and playing a subservient role to the male gender, the Chihera social media antics now mirror them as decisive, focussed and strong-­ willed. Thus, as individuals share the Chihera antics on social media, they are subtly reminded of the inevitable era of women empowerment.

References Blair, I.  V., Judd, C.  M., Sadler, M.  S., & Jenkins, C. (2002). The Role of Afrocentric Features in Person Perception: Judging by Features and Categories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(1), 5–25. Boczek, K., & Koppers, L. (2020). What’s New about WhatsApp for News? A Mixed-Method Study on News Outlets’ Strategies for Using WhatsApp. Digital Journalism, 8(1), 126–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811. 2019.1692685 Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2008). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Psychology, 13, 210–230. Charema, J., & Shizha, E. (2008). Counselling Indigenous Shona People in Zimbabwe: Traditional Practices versus Western Eurocentric Perspectives. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 4(2), 123–139. Chigwedere, A. (1980). From Mutapa to Rhodes, 1000-1980 A.D. Macmillan. CIA World Factbook. (2017). Unemployment Rate 2017, Country Ranks, By Rank. Retrieved from https://photius.com/rankings/2017/economy/unemployment_rate_2017_0.htm Cramer, P. (2008). Seven Pillars of Defense Mechanism Theory. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 1963–1981. https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1751-­9004.2008.00135 Creswell, J.  W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. Dudwick, N., Kuehnast, K., Jones, V.  N., & Woolcock, M. (2006). Analyzing Social Capital in Context: A Guide to Using Qualitative Methods and Data. World Bank Institute. Econometer Global Capital Report. (2013). Unemployment in Zimbabwe. http:// www.econometer-­globalcapital/ Freud, S. (1894). The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence. (Standard ed.). Hogarth Press. Freud, S. (1896). Further Remarks on the Neuro-Psychoses of Defence. (Standard ed.). Hogarth Press. Freud, A. (1936). The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence. International Universities Press. Hodza, A. C. (1982). Mitupo neZvidawo Zvemadzinza. Longman.

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Koprince, S. 2012. The Secret Life of Willy Loman: A Miller-Thurber Connection. Midwest Quarterly : Pittsburg State University. 53(4). Levitt, H. M., Motulsky, S. L., Wertz, F. J., Morrow, S. L., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2017). Recommendations for Designing and Reviewing Qualitative Research in Psychology: Promoting Methodological Integrity. Qualitative Psychology, 4(1), 2–22. Li, S., Wang, Y., Xue, J., Zhao, N., & Zhu, T. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 Epidemic Declaration on Psychological Consequences: A Study on Active Weibo Users. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6), 2032. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17062032. Beijing: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Makombe, R. (2011). Crime, Violence and Apartheid in Selected Works of Richard Wright and Athol Fugard: A Study. University of Fort Hare: A Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Studies at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Malisa, M., & Nhengeze, P. (2018). Pan-Africanism: A Quest for Liberation and the Pursuit of a United Africa. Genaealogy, 2(3), 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/ genealogy2030028 Mama, A., & Abbas, H. (2015). Feminist Africa 19- Pan Africanism and Feminism. University of Cape Town, African Gender Institute. Manyonganise, M. (2017). Invisibilising the Victimised: Churches in Manicaland and Women’s Experiences of Political Violence in National Healing and Reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Journal for the Study Religion, 30(1), 110–136. McWilliams, N. (2011). Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: Understanding Personality Structure in the Clinical Process. The Guilford Pres. Mungwari, T., & Ndhlebe, A. (2019). Social Media and Political Narratives: A Case of Zimbabwe. International Journal of Sociology, 3(3), 277–287. https:// doi.org/10.15406/sij.2019.03.00187 Ncube, M. (2000). Unemployment and the Evolution of Labor Policy in Zimbabwe. University of Zimbabwe. Nowrojee, B., & Ralph, R. (2000). Justice for Women Victims of Sexual Violence: Rwanda after the 1994 Genocide. In I. Amadiume & A. An-Na’im (Eds.), The Politics of Memory: Truth, Healing and Social Justice. ZED Books. Prescott, J.  A., & Madsen, A.  M. (2011). Sexual Violence in Africa’s Conflict Zones. Nova Science Publishers. Zengenene, M., & Susanti, E. (2019). Violence against Women and Girls in Harare, Zimbabwe. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 20(9), 83–93. Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol20/iss9/8

CHAPTER 13

Socially Constructed Discourse on Chihera: An Asset or Liability in Zimbabwe’s Envisioned Gender Equal Society Beatrice Taringa and Sophia Chirongoma

Beatrice Taringa (PhD) is a Lecturer in the Language and Arts Education at the University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe. Email: [email protected], Phone Number +263778279547. Sophia Chirongoma (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in the Religious Studies Department at Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. She is also an Academic Associate/Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR) in the College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA). Her research interests and publications focus on the interface between culture, ecology, religion, health and gender justice. Email: [email protected] or [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-­0002-­8655-­7365

B. Taringa (*) University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe S. Chirongoma Midlands State University, Zvishavane, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_13

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Introduction The main purpose of this chapter is twofold. Firstly, it attempts to uncover Chihera genderedness, that is, it seeks to tap on the local asset of the Chihera phenomenon in trying to come up with a generic gender framework to foster agency amongst the Shona women in gender interactions. Secondly, it seeks to assess whether the Chihera gender phenomenon is an asset or a liability in transforming the envisioned Zimbabwean community beyond gender inequality by 2030. Hence, the chapter seeks to contribute to the ongoing efforts to attain the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5, focusing on attaining gender equality. Very few, if any, scholarly works have explored the Chihera gender traits and behavioural pattern to assess whether they are an asset or a liability in transforming the envisioned Zimbabwean community beyond gender inequality by 2030. This chapter is written against the backdrop that globally and in Zimbabwe, in particular, people are grappling with gender-related challenges: gender inequality, gender-based violence and sexual harassment that are defying multi-stakeholder intervention strategies. The study is also motivated by the fact that most of the previous gender scholarly activities are informed by Western Feminist theories, especially the liberal feminist theory. Resultantly, the studies ended up producing Western studies, which are informed by foreign standards that are eventually forced upon Shona gender contexts. Focusing on culture as a pivotal pillar in shaping gender norms, the study discusses the Chihera prototype within the Shona cultural context. Our vantage point is that in order to understand a community’s norms and values, one needs to be well versed in their culture. Culture is the frame of reference that serves as a moral campus from which the participants create and recreate their social reality. In this case, trying to understand Chihera’s gender disposition outside ChiShona gender fold may be futile. Gender relations are part of the human and cultural discourse. Thus, in most cases, participants interact within a cultural frame of reference of their community contexts. The gender cultural frame of reference guides the participants on right and wrong gender interactions. Thus, the applied theoretical framework needs to be accurate and germane for the assessment to be fair. African, Zimbabwean and Shona gender discourse are marred by findings of women subordination and male dominance. These views have been informed by mostly Western and feminist gender discourse. Little or no debate in the African and Shona gender

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discourse seems to pick the actual ChiShona culture gender scenarios and reflect upon them using the indigenous lens with an open mind that can decipher the reality of gender dimensions as they emerge from the data. The ChiShona gender discourse, and in particular the idealised phenomenon of Chihera, is transcending the ChiShona gender normative codes. It is against that backdrop that this chapter seeks to uncover the genderedness of the Chihera phenomenon on doing the comparison within and between the Shona ethnic groups as it is depicted in the social media postings. The structure of this chapter is organised as follows: introduction, methodological considerations, background to the gender discourse, brief review of related literature and theories, presentation of findings, concluding analysis and learning points as well as recommendations for further studies. The ensuing sections present the research methodology and the theoretical framework guiding this study.

Research Methodology Utilising the inductive theory, this chapter attempts to assess the possibility of coming up with the Shona gender framework basing on the Chihera gender phenomenon. According to Bryman (2012: 6), the inductive theory “implies that a set of theoretical ideas drive the collection and analysis of data.” Further, “[I]t also adopts interpretivist epistemology. Thus, reality is a social construction phenomenon and there are multiple realities” (Morgan & Sakler, 2012: 73). In this case, the study participants’ experiences in gender relations are understood from the viewpoint of the Shona themselves. Ontologically, the chapter is informed by constructivism which further adds that “there are varied and multiple truths, leading the researcher to look for complexity of views rather than narrowing the few categories or ideas” (Creswell, 2009: 8). In this case, there is no set standard of gender sensitivity processes and procedures that are universally adopted worldwide. Gender interactions are relative and context specific. In tandem with this constructivist ontology, the chapter uses the revelatory case study. This entails a selection of ten (10) gender texts about Chihera on social media for critical content and discourse analysis. These ten purposively sampled texts and or images were chosen as a representative sample to offer insights on the Chihera genderedness in terms of how they have renegotiated their gender relations in the Shona communities. The study taps from how Chihera gender attributes are portrayed by the communities. The messages emerging from the selected excerpts of the purposively

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sampled key excerpts are analysed on the basis of their resultant impact in either maintaining or fostering a sense of gender equality among the community members. The selection is made in line with Punch’s (2009: 162) assertion that “we cannot research on everyone, everywhere, doing everything,” as the scope may be too wide. In the same light, this chapter makes use of a homogenous sample of ten (10) purposively sampled Chihera gender excerpts circulating on social media in assessing how the Chihera phenomenon is portrayed gender-wise. This was also informed by the understanding that traditional religious and cultural beliefs serve as a frame of reference for people’s behaviour and mental operations. This is based on the fact that in previous researches reviewed in this study, religious and cultural beliefs have been noted as one of the culprits in fuelling the violation of women and girls’ rights in the past. For the collection and presentation of data, the chapter triangulated textual critical content and discourse analysis of purposively sampled excerpts circulating on social media. As noted by Punch (2009: 133), “data collection and analysis are done in cycles and stops after two repetitions and even continue until theoretical saturation is achieved.” In analysing the data collected for this chapter, the authors made use of the conventional content analysis of the excerpts. Besides the critical content analysis, the data was also triangulated with discourse analysis to help in describing, interpreting and explaining such relationships as well as trying to account for the Chihera genderedness messages. Discourse analysis as an investigative tool gives its focus on the constructive power of language. It involves detailed and repeated reading of the text and in particular in its context. It generates themes from data; thus, there are fewer chances of reading the Chihera gender phenomenon out of the Shona gender frame. Critical discourse analysis also allows the uncovering of manifest and salient gender themes (Fairclough, 2013). Thus, the tool takes care of even the unsaid and unseen gender dispassion matters. In this case, not only words, lexical constructions, phrases and sentences matter but also the context in which they are uttered. In presenting the data, the chapter employs the thematic approach. Thematic networks allow the deriving of gender themes about the Chihera persona from the selected textual excerpts. The approach also made it possible for the authors to unearth resilient themes salient in the texts at different levels and it assisted in extracting themes that form categories of basic [gender] themes [Shona] (Attride-Stirling, 2001). The dynamic

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translation theory was used as it allows relativity of equivalence of purposively sampled gender excerpts from social media (Boushaba, 1988). This is relevant since most of the excerpts are posted in ChiShona and have been translated from ChiShona Source Language Texts (SSLT) to the English Target Language Texts (ETLT).

Theoretical Framework The social reconstruction theory illuminates this chapter. It serves as the lens through which Chihera gender traits, behaviour and attitudes are screened for their possibility of fostering the Shona Zimbabwean dream of an egalitarian community. The social reconstruction theory therefore serves as the theoretical framework of the chapter and guides the methodological design (Mpofu et al., 2014). The main focus of this chapter is to explore the possibility of using the Shona gender patterns, in particular the Chihera phenomenon, as an agent of cultural change in relation to the national focus of carving a community beyond gender inequalities by 2030. The main argument raised in the discussion is the need for taking stock of positive aspects of the Chihera personality in fostering a sense of equality among the Shona. There is a need for unpacking the Chihera gender attributes and account for their implications for the possibility of a gender-fair society. The study therefore seeks to develop a gender home-­ grown framework that is built on the Shona traditional religio-cultural sensibilities that the Shona people can adopt in a bid to move beyond gender inequalities. The study also seeks to instil indigenous responsive measures through the integration of indigenous knowledge systems and practices in fostering a sense of equality. According to Letsiou (2014), the social reconstruction of culture seeks to make culture relevant to the day-to-day problems. In this case, it seeks to make the Chihera gendered disposition relevant to achieving SDG 5. It has close connection with social matters, in this case, gender, and is progressive in outlook. In line with the social reconstruction theory, creativity and self-expression which enhance participant flexibility take centre stage in a bid to equip the participants with the tools for conquering their environment. The social construction theory is characteristic of postmodernism as it is a cultural and ethnic framework that emerges to compete with existing norms and powers of the world that sacrificed Africans and their social rights on the altar of provisional and preservation of power and authority in Western modes of knowing. Thus, basing on Letsiou’s (2014)

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view, social reconstruction is handy for the purpose of this study which attempts an assessment of the possibility of adopting the Chihera attributes in fostering a sense of equality within the Shona communities and subsequently empowering women and girls. It is liberating as it is a critique of the Eurocentric view of intervention programmes that are entirely feminist in approach and ignoring the traditional, religio-cultural factors in transforming human behaviour, in this case Shona gender attributes. The focus of this chapter is the reconstruction of the Shona gender picture and belief system basing on Chihera gender attributes. The next section presents the background for this research.

Background to the Chihera Religio-Traditional and Cultural Discourse Since its independence in 1980, the Republic of Zimbabwe is founded and set on egalitarian principles. Zimbabwe is part of the bigger international community that is informed by the United Nations’ 17 SDGs that aim to transform the world through supporting an inclusive growth and sustainable development. Thus, in sync with SDG 5, Zimbabwe seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. Zimbabwe has shown unwavering commitment to gender equality by taking a number of steps. She has a ministry focusing on gender, has a gender equality constitutional provision in the Zimbabwean Constitution (2013), has a national gender policy document, has gender commissioners appointed by the President of Zimbabwe to oversee gender issues and has instituted an affirmative action policy in political, social and economic circles in a bid to leverage the position especially of women to be equal to that of men. The Shona people are part of the Zimbabwean community. They are found in a cluster of Southern African countries including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa and Botswana. They constitute a loose conglomeration including the vaKaranga, vaManyika, vaNdau, vaZezuru, vaKorekore and vaKalanga (Hachipola, 1998). They are said to have occupied territory north of Limpopo and south of the Zambezi from 1500  AD.  These Shona people have traditional, cultural and religious beliefs like totemism. The Shona people were identified and linked to a certain animal or part of an animal or nature as their totem. It is believed that totems reflect a people’s attributes. To the Shona people, ChiShona is both identity and a way of thinking and knowing. There is a bond between the dead and the living in the Shona people’s cosmology; this is exhibited

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in the elaborate funeral and burial procedures. It is also important to understand the Shona in the context of their traditional worldview. Everything is seen in terms of its relation to human beings (Mbiti, 1970: 15–16). Mbiti categorises the African worldview into five parts. These are God, spirits, humanity, animals and non-biological life. Thus, the Shona worldview consists of three basic parts: spiritual world, the world of human beings and the natural world. Scholars documented the belief system and rationale of totemism. Above all other women of other totems found in Zimbabwe, Chihera stands out uniquely distinctive. It is against this background that the chapter seeks to explore the Chihera gendered traits, attributes and perceptions on whether they are an asset or a liability in achieving a gender-equal society by 2030. Goredema (2017) on social media platform wrote a script with the following heading, “There is Mhofu, then all other totems.” This is a sign of pride that the people of Shava totem have. The Vahera are Shona, a collective name of many ethnic groups who lived in present-day Zimbabwe. The Ndebele use the name Mpofu. The term Shava is a totem name variant of Mhofu/Mpofu, which is the name of the eland animal that is common in Southern Africa. According to tradition, the common traits of the Shava people include the fairness of skin, resembling the colours of the eland, or becoming self-sufficient. Since the Chihera grouping is a sub-group of the Shona, it is therefore important to comprehend the Shona indigenous traditions so as to have a clear understanding of the Chihera persona. Kanu (2007) defines tradition as a set of beliefs, practices, values and modes of thinking that are inherited from the past and that may organise and regulate ways of living and of making sense of the world. Kanu (2007) further argues that tradition exists only in constant alteration and as such can be rethought, transmuted and recreated in novel ways in response to the meanings and demands of emergent situations. In the same vein, there is need for the Shona people of Zimbabwe to undergo framing and rethinking of their inherited gender conception framework in line with the Chihera gender disposition. This chapter argues that the Shona gender traditional religio-cultural framework should be an empowering tool that should contribute to the desired goal of a Shona society beyond gender inequality by 2030. Through the social reconstruction theory, the Chihera Shona traditional, religio-cultural value framework should fashion and prepare the participants to cleverly manage not only their gender relations but also various situations of their lives. This should be possible through making

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the Shona participants flexible and adaptive for continuous change of social, economic, political situations in their lives when the need arises. Thus, the ideology of social reconstruction can be linked to collective production of meaning and knowledge through interaction. In line with the social reconstruction view, Kanu (2007) argues that tradition is neither monolithic nor is it merely preserved and handed down to subsequent generations. According to Kanu (2007), traditions are handed down consecutively over time; they undergo changes as relations that encompass a receiving generation are never exactly the same as those of the transmitting one. In the same light, we argue that the Shona ancestors that handed the current Chihera gender phenomenon before the advent of the conventions of gender equality and the current Shona through the social reconstruction theory need to unpack and repackage the Chihera gender framework accordingly in response to the international gender conventions and constitutional provisions of the day. So, any shift in religio-­ cultural terrain, no matter how minor, will lead to a recasting, reconfiguring and reconstituting of the traditional frameworks and in this case the Chihera gender phenomenon.

Review of Related Literature This section reviews related literature in order to contextualise the chapter and to establish the gap that the chapter intends to fill. The reviewing of literature covers the definition of key concepts, related gender and culture discourses. First, it is important to clearly outline this chapter’s conceptualisation of sex and gender as they are utilised in this particular study. “Gender is not something we are born with and not something we have, but something we do and perform” (West & Zimmerman, 1987: 126). Hence, the assertion “…one is not born but becomes a ‘woman’” (Butler, 1990: 141). The gender performance is something of the future that people come to know when individuals perform it during interaction (Taringa, 2018; Taringa et al., 2019). The only relationship is that one is born sexed naturally and they get gendered through socialisation and interaction in communities. Thus, sex precedes and informs gender. The shortest and straightforward explanation could be that sex is nature while gender is nurture. This implies that sex is biological while gender is a social distinction. Gender in most instances builds on the physiology and anatomical setup depending on the gender role arrangements of the community. There is no universal gender conception, though there is the

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understanding of sex that there are predominantly two bodies. Following these scholarly views, it may mean that the Chihera gender conception is a product of the Shona society’s socialisation of a woman. Since gender is a cultural product, it is imperative to bring out the study’s conceptualisation of culture and how it shapes the Shona and in particular the Chihera gender discourse. Angelica-Nocoleta (2015: 31) says that culture influences thinking, language and human behaviour. In this case, it is the Shona culture that influences Chihera’s thinking, language and behaviour. According to Maluleke (2012), culture is like an umbrella under which some people like to hide from rain, and also shed themselves from the sun; however, sometimes they need to fold it. Maluleke (2012) adds that every social group in the world has specific traditional and cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are beneficial to all members while others have become harmful to a specific group, like women and children. The gender aspects, despite their being in violation of human rights, sometimes often endure as they are neither questioned nor challenged. They are often viewed as natural and biological yet they are creations of the minds. Culture has often been critiqued for negatively impacting the welfare of women in most African communities. Tabane (2004) critiques culture as a culprit in the vulnerability of women to HIV/AIDS among the Batswana of Botswana. Maluleke (2012) excoriated culture for harbouring harmful practices of early/forced marriages, virginity testing, widow’s rituals, breast sweeping and ironing that compromise women’s human rights. Zondi (2013) proffers that it is through the cultural product of socialisation that instils in new born members of the society the superiority of the male child and the convention of the female being responsible for the domestic space through its patriarchal structural codes. Zondi (2013) further emphasises that while gender issues are a universal concern, some societies are far more deeply affected than others. Cotton and Diala (2018) elucidate how the cultural aspect sets most African states in a dilemma in crafting the marriage laws as they become double bound, compelled on the one hand to protect and affirm customary laws which may include polygyny—whilst also obliged to uphold women’s rights to equality and non-discrimination. Thus, culture through its structural systems welcomes every new born into the community. Eckert and McConnell (2015) sum up by saying, we are surrounded by gender lore from the time we are very small. It is ever present in conversations, humour and conflicts; it is called upon to account for everything from driving styles to food preferences. The gender culture is rubbed in so much that it appears completely natural

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as scientific facts. It is therefore against this backdrop that the chapter seeks to uncover Chihera genderedness as depicted on the social media. These depictions have now contributed in defining the Chihera gender norms, attitudes and behavioural patterns. The chapter attempts a re-look of what now according to social media users appear to be common sense without considering how it came to be common sense and the gender truth that might be behind it. This entails questioning the most fundamental belief system about Chihera as it is commonly and widely understood among the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It also involves putting on new lens and seeing gender world anew with the constructivist view which states that there are multiple gender realities. It is important to vet the Chihera gender disposition on its possibility of taking us to the dream land or else it needs refocusing to take us exactly where we intent to be in sync with SDG 5. The next segment of the chapter presents the key issues emerging from the content and discourse analysis of the selected excerpts from the social media. These are presented in thematic form below.

Discussion and Analysis of the Findings Based on the Scenarios That Portray Chihera’s Attributes on Social Media The previous sub-section dealt with the methodology that was adopted in generating and analysing data for this chapter. This sub-section now presents, discusses, analyses and interprets the data on how the Chihera phenomenon is depicted in images and excerpts circulating on social media. The chapter’s findings are summarised in the following five global themes: Chihera personality brings cultural shock to the Shona community; Chihera, while she is loving and caring, is not a prisoner in a marital relationship; Chihera is a force to reckon with—she occupies space; Chihera is a flexible role player that defies cultural restrictions; and Chihera is a character that quickly moves out of denial, accepts reality and moves on. These themes are explored in light of whether they are assets or liabilities in the goal of building up a gender equal Zimbabwean community by 2030. These five basic themes are presented through the various Chihera scenarios which make a total of ten scenarios as explicated below.

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Chihera Personality Brings Culture Shock to the Shona Society Scenario One Chihera anotorwa nemvura amanikidza kuyambuka rukova rwakadira. (Chihera had been swept away after she had stubbornly crossed a flooded stream). Murume waChihera: motovatsvaga nechokumusoro kwerukova uko. (Chihera’s husband: You had better search for her on the upper part of the river). Mutungamiri weboka revaitsvaga: Zvinofamba sei kuti munhu anoeredzwa norwizi achidzira kubva paanenge atorwa? Zvinogona kuti angatorasirwa kunze kumativi orukova kwete kukwira kumusoro. (Team leader of the search party: It is normal that the person is found downstream from the point the person had been swept away. It may be possible that she can be thrown to the stream bank, not to go up stream). Murume waChihera: Aiwa! Ndinovaziva. Vane nharo zvekuti chero rukova haruvaeredzi nyore. Ndatokuudzai vari kumusoro uko. (Chihera’s husband: No! I know her. She is a tenacious fighter, not even a stream can sweep her away easily!) Vakaedza kutsvaga vachidzira norukova samaziviro avo kusvika vaneta. Vakachizotevedza nhoroondo yomurume wacho wanei Chihera vari kukwira norukova vachitsvaga pokubuda napo. (After they had tried in vain to search for her downstream, they then followed the husband’s suggestion and they found Chihera up stream trying to find her way out).

There are two issues that the social media users are exposed to about the Chihera phenomenon. First, Chihera is extraordinary that the stream cannot sweep her downstream. It is unbelievable to have a person, whether a man or a woman, to be found upstream after having been washed away by the stream. Second, there is an issue of her being an unusual power horse which is found pulling upstream against the wave that will be flowing downstream. The two considerations make Chihera different and unique not only from her spicy-mates (women) but also men. The two considerations make Chihera defiant to oppressive aspects of culture and scientific principles of logic which makes her an unpredictable character fictionally. Chihera in this case is posed in the scenario as a symbol of change. She is signalling that it is no longer business as usual but with a difference. She is radical in personality.

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Scenario Two Vachihera vabatwa vane nechikomba (When Chihera had been caught with a boyfriend): Vachihera vabatwa nechikomba chinzwa pamuromo, hanzi: Zvamurimi mufambe muchiudza vanhu kuti mandibata nechikomba, ndimi munozvishoresa kuti makaroora hure. (When Chihera had been caught with a boyfriend, hear her talking to her husband about the incident, she says: “knowing you the way I do, you will go around telling people that you caught me with a boyfriend, let me give you free advice, you will be exposing yourself, people will laugh at you saying that your wife is a whore).

In this second scenario again, there are two considerations worthy of social media users’ attention. First, Chihera is a cultural shock character. Instead of her feeling guilty and showing remorse for what she did, she is not showing any signs of penitence. Instead, she cautions the husband not to expose her. Second, she appears immune to humiliation that if her infidelity becomes public knowledge, it is the husband, and not her, who will suffer from humiliation. Thus, she appears to be concerned about the image of her victim, who is her husband. In the scenario, Chihera is portrayed as a new woman in her own brand of self-invention (Palmer, 1997: 31). She loves flirting and usually a performer of seduction, and not its object. She is aware of her sexual needs and desires and deals with her sexuality in an open way. In her case, the finding contradicts the view that marriage and lobola promote male superiority and handover to men control of female labour, reproduction and sexuality (Chiweshe, 2016) as well as defining women’s status, privileges and rights in society (Chakona, 2012). Scenario Three VaChihera vaenda kunorapwa kuClinic (When Chihera had gone to the clinic for treatment). VaChihera vanodzoka kubva kuClinic vasina kurapwa, husband asks, “Ko, sei madzoka?” zvikanzi, “Haiwa kune dzinza rose rairapwa, ndodzokera mangwana.” Dzinza ripiko Chihera? Ivava vemutupo unonzi NEXT nechirungu, haada kufa kuri nane, vaidaidzwa ivo chete. Mumwe atoda kundibatanidzira kuti ndimi next. Ndikati bodo ndiri Chihera ini.” (Chihera returns from the clinic without having been attended to. When the husband asks her why,

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she says: “Ummm, there was a whole clan that had come for treatment, I gave up, I will go back tomorrow.” The husband questions her further: “What is that clan Chihera?” Chihera responds: “Those with the totem called NEXT in English, ahh, it is better for me to die. They were the only ones invited to get treatment. Someone wanted to make me part of them saying that I was ‘next’. I said no, ‘Next’ is not my name, I am Chihera”).

In this scenario, Chihera is showing that she is arrogant. Her arrogance is costing her such that she has to go back to queue at the clinic the next day. She is paying the price for her lack of humility. She values her totem and praise name. She could not stand to be called by the praise name “NEXT”, but Chihera. In this case, she brings another gender dimension of being a self-namer and self-definer. To deal with her, people should know her as Chihera and nothing else. The scenario brings another dimension about Chihera that she cannot swallow her pride as she lacks humility. This adds more evidence to Goredema’s (2017) finding that “There is Mhofu, then all other totems.” Chihera values her identity and is proud of it. She is incomparable according to other Zimbabwean standards. She cannot give in nor can she swallow her pride even for her own benefit. She would rather lose, or come again the following day as long as she maintains her totemic superiority. Scenario Four  hihera While She Is a Loving and Caring Wife, She Is Not a Prisoner C in a Marriage Relationship Zvinoita vakadzi kana murume aramba chikafu: (What wives say if husbands decline to eat the food prepared by the wife). (a) Mamoyo: Chii nhai Daddy kuramba food? Idyai kanhi nhai Shumba, inga ndagona wani kubika…” (What is it Daddy that has made you to reject your food? Please eat the food Shumba, can’t you see that I have prepared it well…) (b) Madhuve: Daddy mava kuramba chikafu but inga ndabika zvamunofarira wani? Babie idya food, okay huyai ndikudyisei.” (Daddy why are you refusing to eat your food? Don’t you see that I made your favourite dish? Babie, eat your food, okay, come, let me feed you).

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(c) Chihera: Ah! Ah! Ah! Ndatombobika hangu? Unopenga iwe, regedza! Hanya nani wakaguta! Wakajaidzwa nambuya vako vaikumenyera mangai (achisimuka nemaplates aya akananga kukitchen, ndokuwedzera nyama 2 kwava kuridya rese). (Ah! Ah! Ah! It is insane of you to reject the food after I have made an effort to cook! Anyway, leave it, maybe you are not hungry! You were spoilt by your grandmother who used to pearl corn for you (Chihera takes the plates to the kitchen and adds two more pieces of meat and eats all the food) Bvunzai mutupo musati maroora. (Ask the totem of the wife before marriage.) In the fourth scenario, whilst Chihera has demonstrated to be a caring and responsible wife, like other brands of women, she is proving that she is not a prisoner in the love and marriage relationship. She is not the kind of wife that can pamper her husband like the other two women (Mamoyo and Madhuve). In Chihera’s view, preparing and serving the food was enough. She is again showing that by offering her husband food, it does not mean that she had enough, this she does through taking two additional pieces of meat and eating all the food. Chihera’s arrogance still features as she could not mince her words that the husband is spoilt. In comparison to the portrayal of Mamoyo and Madhuve, Chihera subverts the traditional gender stereotype that links womanhood with tenderness, passivity and subordination (Sjogren, 2005). Instead, Chihera mirrors a different and renewed picture of womanhood that it is possible for females to break free of their old submissive roles and reinvent themselves in social relationships (Holzhaeuser, 2001: 129). In this case, while the green light is flashing on the possibility of a renewed picture of femininity, Applegate (2013) brings a view that dashes the hope that Chihera may be viewed by society as an embodiment of a bad wife, overall, a bad woman, who is unfeminine, unnatural and all that women should not be.

Chihera Is a Force to Reckon with and She Occupies Her Space Scenario Five Chihera special, vanzwa kuti murume wavo awanikwa negirlfriend pabottle store…. Vanochekerera nebhasikoro vachienda kubottle store ikoko.

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(Chihera special, upon hearing that her husband had been seen with a girlfriend at the bottle store…She quickly cycled to the bottle store in full speed). In this scenario, Chihera is portrayed as a symbol of power and control. First, her cycling ability as she goes to the bottle-store is another unique and unfeminine personality. Very few indigenous women would opt for a bicycle as a form of transport. Second, her going alone is a sign of launching a lone battle against more than one person. Third, the omission of what she is going to do when she gets to the bottle-store leaves the reader guessing about the drama which is about to unfold. The Zimbabwean community and the Shona already know the results when she arrives. She will definitely turn her victimhood into perpetrator-hood. As noted by Cotton and Diala (2018), even the unsaid about the phenomenon matter because what is not heard or seen becomes powerful mechanisms for symbolising and interrogating power relations as well as defining the scope of what constitutes normalcy. Thus, the omission of what Chihera is going to do to her husband and his girlfriend when she gets to the bottle-store is loaded with meaning and matters and is very significant. The participants will make inferences from their knowing of the Chihera persona. What Chihera is going to do and the consequences of her actions are common sense and can be easily understood in the context of Shona gender traditional, cultural frame of reference. Also, her cycling is clear evidence that she is a bundle of energy who makes things happen rather than having things happen to her. The Shona gender conception gives Chihera institutional advantage that she takes space and stands tall in gender interactions. She is no longer a passive victim but a resister. The findings partially refute Chiweshe’s (2016: 23) observation that “In Zimbabwe when men are promiscuous, it is seen as cultural because they are supposed to be adventurous. Married women because of lobola are supposed to suffer in silence.” Again, she defies Mala’s (2010: 31) observation that of a stereotypical image of a passive and voiceless woman who does not happen to things but to whom things happen. As such, she is no longer a spectator woman that sits, watches and sees but an actor (Wrenn, 2010). In this case, the Chihera phenomenon becomes an agent of change in which the womanhood voice regains its recognition (Wainana et al., 2010). The findings confirm Silverstein’s assertion (2016: 147) that the personality allows the redefining of gender from a fixed biological attribute of a person to a fluid characteristic that individuals perform in specific contexts. As such, the Chihera personality has become a “monster

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woman” who actively revolts against cultural expectations of “what women should be” (McKay, 2006). Scenario Six Chihera achirairwa natete ave kuda kunoroorwa: (Chihera as she was getting advice from her aunt when she was about to get married). Vatete: Zvauriwe Chihera uzive kuti murume ndiye musoro wemba. Chihera anopindura: Kana iye ari musoro, ini ndiri bhareta. (Aunt: “Chihera, you should know that the husband is the head of the household.” Chihera’s response: “if he is the head, then I am the beret”).

In the above scenario, Chihera defies cultural gender normativity. She is a self-namer and a self-definer. She cannot be defined by patriarchal gender codes where she is supposed to be subordinate to her husband. She will not allow her anatomy and physiology to restrict her and give her social boundaries. The personality portrayed by the Chihera character in this scenario defies the traditional ritualisation of gender through marriage. This reflects and reinforces power differences between male and female characters where in most previous studies gender poses a typical signal to female dependence, subordination and objectification against male dominance, autonomy and subjectification (Hatton & Troutner, 2011; Collins, 2011). The portrayal rather confirms Oyewumi (2010) who argues that physical and physiological differences are not even related to the social privileges and Zulu (2012: 58) who observes that “…the construction of debased images of women in order to contrast with men and build up images of male superiority” are proven otherwise. She has demonstrated that she is a unique personality who is neither a male nor female in construction.

Chihera Is a Flexible Role Player Who Defies Cultural Restrictions Scenario Seven Pane vaipfuura nenzira vakabvunza kuti pamusha pane vanhu here? (There were passers-by who enquired whether there were people in the homestead?)

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Mupfuuri: Pane vanhu here pamusha apo? Murume waChihera anodavira: Aiwa havapo. Chihera aenda kuchechi. (Passer-by: “Are there people at that homestead?” Chihera’s husband responds: “No. There are no people here. Chihera has gone to church.”)

In the above scenario, Chihera stands tall and occupies her space. She has overshadowed her husband who now feels that he does not exist without her. In the husband’s view, when people are asking for a person, then they must be talking about Chihera. The husband does not want to take care of visitors in her absence, perhaps basing on the Shona belief that, musha mukadzi (the woman is the home) meaning that “the wife is the epitome of the homestead”. Thus, a man has no home till he gets married to a woman. In this case, it may be unclear whether Chihera has intimidated her victim (husband) to an extent that he no longer feels he exists in Chihera’s absence. Considering the portrayal of Chihera in this scenario, the finding refutes Hall’s (2014: 53) finding that women are sometimes less completely human and have fewer rights which could have made Freitheim (2014: 132) to sum up saying, “… to be a man in our society is to be very privileged.” Scenario Eight Chihera akaroorwa uye anogara nomurume nevana asi anonyora ngoro kuti Chihera, napamusha panodanwa zita rokuti Chihera. (Chihera is married and is staying with her husband and children, but she writes her name “Chihera” on the scotch cart and the homestead is known as Chihera’s). In the above scenario, Chihera is pictured as the owner of the family’s property. Against the dominant trend when all the property that is not kitchenware was perceived to be the husband’s, Chihera has her praise name engraved on the family scotch cart. A scotch cart is not part of kitchenware and rarely does it belong to a woman, especially when the woman is married and the husband is still alive. Also, Zimbabwean communities are mostly patriarchal and rarely do we have homesteads named after mothers’ praise names or totems. So, in Chihera’s case, she is showing that she is a flexible role-player. She defies the cultural normative codes. She stands uniquely different from women of all other totems in Zimbabwe. She is bringing a new phenomenon of matriarchy or patriarchy-matriarchy in the Zimbabwean and in particular Shona gender discourse.

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Scenario Nine Chihera was given a gender dilemma question to answer in an endeavour to check her moral developmental level: Question: “if your husband left the bed to sleep on the floor because of an argument, what will you do as a good wife?” Chihera: Ndotevera neArgument pasi ipapo! (Chihera: I will also follow him to sleep on the floor and continue with the argument!). If it was a psychometric test, then Chihera would have come up with a unique set of answers. Even when the husband has shown that he no longer wants to continue arguing, Chihera would still pursue it as implied in her following him to the floor with the argument. By following the husband to the floor with an argument, she shows that she is neither tender nor a peace-loving character. It is sign of arrogance. This is contrary to Taringa’s (2018) assertion that men abuse women and violate women’s human sexual and reproductive rights under the guise of culture. Instead, Chihera is not only abusing her traditional, social and cultural capital; additionally, she violates her husband’s rights.

Chihera Quickly Moves Out of Denial, She Accepts Reality and Moves On Scenario Ten Chihera awanikwa nenhamba dzefoni dzomurume waanaoti akarambana naye: (Chihera is found with the contact number of her ex-lover although she claims that they are no longer together). Murume: Ndipe chikonzero chine musoro icho uchakachengetera nhamba dzomurume uyo wawakasiyana naye. (Husband: Give me one good reason why you still have your ex’s phone number) Chihera: Kana mubhaibheri muchine wani nyaya dzaSatan. (Chihera: Even Satan’s stories are still in the bible).

Chihera, hamuvagone. (Chihera cannot be tamed). In the scenario above, Chihera once again displays her arrogance and defiance of Shona culture normative codes. She keeps the contact number of her ex-lover. Even when her husband discovers it, she justifies herself. Her justification is a sign that she has neither remorse nor does she regret her actions which are deemed bad by the larger society. Normally, in the Shona traditional, cultural and traditional conceptions, ex-lovers turn into

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enemies. Hence, masvanhikongonya kutarisana kwevakarambana (when lovers go their separate ways, they do not want to see each other again). Contrary to this cultural script, Chihera still has her ex-lover’s contact number, a sign that she has not developed that hate as anticipated by the Shona. Chihera is a new brand of womanhood that does not harbour the victimhood of feeling used after having separated with her ex-boyfriend. She is not controlled by outside forces, instead she has taken the gender decisive levers in her own hands.

Learning Points and Recommendations for Further Studies The chapter purposively sampled ten social media postings about the portrayal of Chihera out of the one hundred that have been posted. These ten Chihera scenarios have been divided into five basic themes as presented above. These suffice to set as starting points and the chapter has no intention to generalise to other postings that are not part of this study. Rather, the chapter considers transferability in similar context depending on the readers. Basing on the results of the study, there is still need to investigate on the empirical evidence on the impact of the jokes to the social development of girls and women in the Zimbabwean communities who are exposed to the jokes.

Concluding Analysis Overall, considering the purposively sampled gender texts scenarios from the social media, it appears that Chihera is an epitome of new womanhood and embodiment based on self-invention. While the Chihera phenomenon appears to be radical, it can be the starting point in debunking gender conception from the essentialist position and see gender anew. Therefore, to people that have Chihera gender disposition, gender is a “choice”, “any body” which has nothing to do with anatomical and physiological design of a person. Through the Chihera persona, the Zimbabwean community has invented a new woman who is a self-­namer and a self-definer. This Chihera womanhood phenomenon is causing a cultural shock to the participants. While the phenomenon is appearing in a jocular manner and fictional, it is infiltrating the gender reality in many households and homesteads, both urban and rural communities as indicated by the comments

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that participants proffer on the platforms. Through the Chihera gender phenomenon, the traditional and culturally muted womanhood voice has regained its recognition. Her emerging on the Zimbabwean traditional cultural gender plateau featured a new woman that is prepared to challenge retrogressive traditional cultural gender fabric that objectify womanhood and negates their human rights. Overall, Chihera, though in a dramatic and radical style, ignites the hope for a gender transformed Zimbabwean community by 2030.

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Freitheim, K. (2014). Transformative Masculinity, Religion, Development and Gender in Ecumenical Context. In T.  S. Dronen (Ed.), Religion and Development: Nordic Perspective on Involvement in Africa. Peter Lang. Goredema, B. (2017). There is Mhofu, then all other Totems. Religion, Society and Culture, theoverreigstate.org, facebook, Accessed September 3, 2017. Hachipola, J.  S. (1998). Language: Survey of Minority Languages in Zimbabwe. University of Zimbabwe Publications. Hall, M. (2014). Gender Representation in Current EFL Textbooks in Iranian Secondary Schools. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(2), 253–261. Hatton, E., & Troutner, E. N. (2011). Equal Opportunity Objectification? The Sexualisation of Men and Women on the Cover of Rolling Stone. Sexuality and Culture, 15, 256–278. Holzhaeuser, L. (2001). Representation of Femininity in Angela Carter’s Post Modern Female Gothic (Unpublished dissertation) Justus Leibig University, Giessen. Kanu, Y. (2007). Tradition and Educational Reconstruction in Africa Post-­ Colonial and Global Times: The case of Sierra Leone. African Studies Quarterly, 10(3), 65–84. Letsiou, M. (2014). ART Intervention and Social Reconstruction in Education: Secondary Education, ART Education Researched. Athens School of Fine Art, Greece. Mala, H., & Weldon, S. L. (2010). When Do Governments Promote Women’s Rights? A Framework for Comparative analysis of Policy and Equality Policy Perspectives on Politics. American Political Science Association, 8(1), 207–216. Maluleke, M. J. (2012). Culture, Tradition, Custom, Law and Gender Equality. Journal of Culture and Gender, 15(1), 1–20. Mbiti, J. S. (1970). African Religions and Philosophy. Doubleday. McKay, J. (2006, Autumn). Narrativising the ‘Woman Monster’: Heroines who Transgress the Feminine Script. Quest: the Postgraduate E-Journal by Students in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen`s University Belfast, 2, 1–21. Morgan, B., & Sakler, R.  H. (2012). Sampling and Research Paradigms. In J. G. Maree (Ed.), Complete Your Thesis or Dissertation Successfully: Practical Guidelines. Cape Town. Mpofu, V., Otulaja, F. S., & Mushayikwa, E. (2014). Towards Culturally Relevant Classroom Science: A Theoretical Framework Focusing in Traditional Plant Healing. Journal of Cultural Studies of Science Education, 9(1), 221–242. Oyewumi, O. (2010). The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of a Woman: Gender Discourse. University of Minnesota Press. Punch, K.  F. (2009). Introduction to Research Methods in Education. Sage Publications.

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Sjogren, K. (2005). Transgressive Femininity: Gender in the Scandinavian Modern Break Through Gender Studies. (Unpublished thesis) London: University College London. Tabane, E. M. (2004). The Influence of Cultural Practices of Batswana People in Relation to the Transmission of HIV/AIDS in Botswana. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities and Department of Social Work. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. Taringa, B. (2018). Gender Representation in Zimbabwe Ordinary Level 2010-2015 ChiShona Literature Texts. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis), Harare: University of Zimbabwe, Faculty of Education, Department of Languages and Arts Education. Taringa, B., Vitalis, N., & Tatira, L. (2019). Re-Writing the Feminine Script: An Exploration of Women with Wings in ChiShona Literature Prescribed for Ordinary Level Learners. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research (ZJER), 31(1), 1–13. Wainana, M., Hongo, E., & Ogot, G. (2010). Reimagining Gender in Kenyan Literature. In M.  Pndurang & A.  Bartels (Eds.), African Women Novelists Reimagining Gender (pp. 22–50). Pencraft International. West, C., & Zimmerman, D. (1987). Doing Gender. Gender & Society, 1, 125–151. Wrenn, H. (2010). The Woman in Modernism. English Literary File, 2(12), 9–14. Zondi, N.  B. (2013). The Position of Women in Zulu and Shona Societies. The Case of Uvalo Lwezihlonzi and Nervous Conditions. Alternation, 20(2), 164–182. Zulu, N.  S. (2012). Gender and Cultural Representation in the Sotho Novels. Journal of Literary Studies, 28(2), 58–67.

PART IV

Chihera Prototype Navigating the Zimbabwean Genderised Economic Sector

CHAPTER 14

“If only it wasn’t for me” Chihera as Head of the Family in a Time of Economic Crisis Faith Matumbu

Introduction Historically, participation in economic activity has been biased toward men, with women facing segregation, discrimination, and denial of or limited access to assets, land, and other socio-economic resources (Tarinda, 2019). According to Mapuva (2013:261), “Patriarchal societies have tended to sideline women by subjecting them not only to background roles, but going further to regard them as minors and beneficiaries.” Nani (2011), citing Abbott et al. (2005), argues that the term “patriarchy” literally means the “rule of the father” and the term has traditionally been used in English-speaking societies to refer to a household headed by a male. However, Abbot et al. (2005: 60–61) have also used the term to refer to a much broader form of social organization in which men dominate and exploit women in a range of social and economic settings. This has subsequently resulted in women accepting their role as that of producing children and looking after the family. This is also a reflection that

F. Matumbu (*) Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_14

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African communities have been characterized by patriarchal structures that economically suppress women from time immemorial (Mapuva, 2013). Historically, in the Zimbabwean context, economic activities have always been gendered. The man has always been regarded as the breadwinner. Traditionally, Zimbabwe is a patriarchal society where women have always been subdued by men (Maunganidze, 2020, citing Chuma & Ncube, 2010; Zinyemba, 2013). According to Nhuta and Mukumba (2017: 381), “Entrepreneurship has been a male-dominated phenomenon, but time has changed the situation and brought women as today’s most memorable and inspirational entrepreneurs, even in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as construction.” This alludes to the point that women have ventured into business and have become fully fledged entrepreneurs. As a result, there are some women who are economically empowered, making them less dependent on men. In Zimbabwe, this woman who seems not to be dependent on men is epitomized by Chihera, portrayed as a liberated woman within the Shona society. In other words, Chihera is a feminist who does not accept limitations imposed by society’s traditional norms and values or restrictions on behavior and personal aspirations of women. Chihera can be described as a feminist who emancipated herself from patriarchal structures that hinder women’s freedom. For Mapuva (2013), feminism aims to understand the nature of inequality and liberate women from socially constructed theories (norms) against women. The feminist theory becomes the basis of support for women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe since it provides a critique of social relations, analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women’s rights, interests, and issues. Women economic emancipation was also facilitated by the passing of the Legal Age of Majority Act (LAMA) by the Government of Zimbabwe in 1982 (Nhuta & Mukumba, 2017: 378). This availed an opportunity for Chihera to enter into the informal sector where she generates income to sustain herself and her family. A large number of Zimbabweans who make a living in the informal sector are women and the youth. They make up the main actors in the informal economy (Price, 2020). In the informal sector, women are participating in cross-border trading, vending, agriculture, retailing, manufacturing and artisanal mining. Medina and Schneider (2018: 4) define the informal economy as “… all economic activities that are hidden from official authorities for monetary, regulatory and institutional reasons.” That having been said, this chapter provides a critical exploration of how women are emancipating themselves economically and the ways in which they are managing to survive as entrepreneurs, given that economic emancipation itself is a difficult process even for men. Moreover, it is

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worth noting that, in as much as women are striving toward economic emancipation (through the use of available opportunities), the advent of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has brought other challenges for women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. However, Chihera remains a prototype of Zimbabwean women entrepreneurs who keep their heads high even in difficult times.

Chihera in Context Chihera, as portrayed by social media such as WhatsApp and Facebook, is a woman who is talkative, confident, of high esteem who hustles, and economically liberated. She is a woman with a daring personality, an assertive mindset, one who cannot be quizzed when she uses resources as she deems necessary for economic benefits. A woman is economically empowered when she has both the ability to succeed and advance economically, and the power to make and act on economic decisions (Hunt & Samman, 2016). The Image 14.1 below taken from one of the social media platforms reflects the Chihera character that is presented and discussed in this chapter.

Image 14.1  Chihera Facts

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As noted in the introduction, culturally, Zimbabwean males have been socialized to view themselves as breadwinners and heads of households while females are taught to be obedient and submissive housekeepers (Kambarami, 2006). The reason behind such differentiation and discrimination is that society views women as sexual beings, not as human beings (Maunganidze, 2020). Furthermore, women are not only constantly defined in relation to men, but they are also frequently defined as subordinate to and dependent on men. Resultantly, women are socialized to acquire qualities which fit them into a relationship of dependence on men, and the qualities include gentleness, submission, passivity, and always striving to please men (Maunganidze, 2020 citing Diehl & Dzubinski, 2016). Moreover, society approves strong cultural stereotypes of men as providers of food, shelter, and clothing for the family and women as nurturers who take care of the cooking, cleaning, and domestic duties (Mapuva, 2013). However, Chihera refuses to be socially constructed in this way. For her, the only way to overcome limitations associated with the above culture is through female entrepreneurship which enables her to take a confrontational role. For Chikombingoi et al. (2017: 11), the desire to break new ground and do something new that is different from men is identified as one of the major factors behind women’s economic emancipation. In this regard, Chihera and other women entrepreneurs want to be their own bosses. For example, Ms. Ndhlukula, founder of a security company in a male-­dominated sector in Zimbabwe, is a good example. She noted that she wanted to prove a point that she was capable of running a business and making decisions independently without any superior as was the case when she was working for ZB Insurance (Chikombingoi et al., 2017). Women, in both rural and urban areas, seem to be starting their own businesses because that is the only way they can show that they can be their own bosses. This shows that Chihera and other women cited are entrepreneurs because of the desire to be their own bosses as well as breaking new ground in business. For Chihera, the aim is to empower herself so that she is able to feed the family, take care of herself and the welfare of the family, and become independent. That is the reason why the informal sector in Zimbabwe is largely constituted by women who aspire to be heads of their families and gain freedom and control over their lives. For Mupedziswa and Gumbo (2001: 28), even women of all marital statuses have continued to participate in cross-border trading activities to achieve economic well-being, either as their only earnings or as supplementary to husband’s earnings. Hence, the Chihera type of women in Zimbabwe have ventured into

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business despite their marital status, and this becomes one of the ways in which women in Zimbabwe are economically empowering themselves and making themselves less dependent on men. The power and influence of the Chihera traits has opened doors for more women to enter the informal sector as entrepreneurs. A large number of Zimbabweans, estimated at 94.5% in 2014 (IMF, 2016), make a living from the informal sector. Women and the youth make up the main actors in the informal economy (Price, 2020). In this case, there has been a realization that women contribute significantly toward the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employment since the economic woes of 2007 and 2008 (Nhuta & Mukumba, 2017). In this regard, Chihera and other women play a critical role and ensure the survival of families through cross-border trading and vending. Having said this, one can note that Chihera, as an entrepreneur, chose her own way of liberating herself and other women from being viewed as instruments or sexual objects for men. In the Zimbabwean context, Chihera is well known as a woman who does not hesitate to face life challenges and prevail against all odds. It is in this regard that the challenging macro-economic environment in Zimbabwe has seen more women venturing into buying and selling, and less into manufacturing activities, which, at times, require significant start­up capital (Price, 2020). The main activities in the informal sectors of the economy in which women are participating and making a living from include retailing (tuck shops and cosmetic outlets), cross-border trading, vending (food, fruits and vegetables), and agriculture where women are mainly into poultry and market gardening (Ledriz, 2017). In so doing, most women, as epitomized by the Chihera character, make a major contribution to the welfare of their families and communities despite some of the economic hardships experienced in Zimbabwe. Women in Zimbabwe epitomized by the Chihera character now own agricultural land that enables them to remain self-dependent and ensure economic emancipation in the process. In recent years, women been have entitled to apply for agricultural land in their own right under the A1 Village schemes, a departure from the traditional norm where women could only access land through their husbands, fathers, or other male relatives (Tarinda, 2019). Previously, the lack of economic rights in terms of access to, and ownership of, assets often left women dependent on their husbands, fathers, or brothers throughout their lives (Nhuta & Mukumba, 2017). However, currently the Chihera type of women in Zimbabwe now own agricultural land and are involved directly in agricultural activities as

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individuals and in group projects such as Kupakwashe Garden Project, Kupfuma Ishungu, and Nyamukovera Project all in Murehwa District, Mashonaland East Province, in Zimbabwe. With the support from the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), women have established control over land as a means of production and other economic resources as collateral to access bank loans. Economically, women can own property in their own right, and the majority of women are no longer financially dependent on men (Nani, 2011: ix). For Chihera, empowered people have freedom of choice and action. Such women are the agents of their own empowerment, and empowerment is about the pathways through which women acquire power and meaningful alternatives (Nhuta & Mukumba, 2017 cited by O’Neil et al., 2014). As a result of the economic self-emancipation, Chihera uses resources her own way and cannot be manipulated. Women are now very active, both mentally and physically, in terms of business ventures. They have realized that they can do what men do, sometimes even better than them, in terms of business ventures (Nhuta & Mukumba, 2017: 381). When women control more household income, either through their own earnings or through cash transfers, children benefit as a result of more spending on food and education, participation in domestic decision-making, and access to and control over resources. For Oxfam (2013), the current understanding of women’s overall empowerment encompasses aspects of women’s ability to make decisions and influence, women’s self-perception, personal freedom, access to and control over resources, and support from social networks. In particular, Oxfam’s (2013) global understanding of economic empowerment involves dimensions of access to and control of resources. In Zimbabwe, when the Chihera archetype has access to income, she tends to control it at household level, own productive assets, own savings and have access to loans. In business, the Chihera prototype is highly motivated by the need to generate money for a living. Chikombingoi et al. (2017) add that the fact still remains that for an entrepreneur, having your own business can result in financial independence. This is an enormous achievement for most people, especially when the economy faces continued challenges as has been the situation in Zimbabwe since 2000. The same applies to Ms. Ndhlukula as well, who used to sell clothes at work while employed, and Jane Maruta who set up a firewood sales point in Ardbennie Road in Harare to earn extra money. This demonstrates how Mrs. Maruta struggled to secure her freedom from poverty as suggested by Chikombingoi et al. (2017) citing

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Wild (1997). Thus, the Chihera type of women in Zimbabwe has managed not just to cope with poverty but to escape from it. In such instances, women have exhibited the energy, acumen and stamina to attain their goals through persistence to establish ways of generating income despite economic hardships.

Economic Opportunities and Challenges for Women in Zimbabwe Vending in Zimbabwe is one of the main sources of employment; it serves as a regular source of income for most women in both the rural and urban areas. This has become an opportunity for women to grow in their businesses. Price (2020) notes that 86.6% of vendors depend entirely on street vending as their source of income, implying that street vending has become an important source of employment for the urban poor. For example, the majority of vendors in the capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare, are females making profits averaging more than US$10 per day. Mazhambe (2017) also notes that street vending contributes to Zimbabwe’s economic development by creating jobs, providing alternative source of income, particularly for women, and providing low-cost products to mainly low-income groups in the city. It is also worth noting that one of the key benefits of Informal Cross-­ Border Trading (ICBT) is the employment creation potential. Revenues are often the main source of income for the households of cross-border traders (Price, 2020 citing Brenton & Soprano, 2018). According to Koroma et  al. (2017: vi), “In Zimbabwe, where unemployment is estimated to be up to 90%, when considering only the formal economy, ICBT has created significant employment opportunities, with an estimated 5.7 million people currently employed in the informal economy.” Hence, the ICBT offers supplementary family income in the wake of shrinking formal employment opportunities. It also assists in eradicating poverty and has proven to be more responsive to economic shocks compared to formal trade especially in times of food crises. In addition, the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development (MSMECD) sector, which comprises many women entrepreneurs, plays a critical role in economic development through job creation, foreign exchange generation, and poverty alleviation. The sector contributes over 60% of the country’s GDP, both directly and indirectly (Tarinda, 2019).

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Apparently, the advent of COVID-19  in Zimbabwe and other countries has brought economic hardships to everyone; women are shouldering the bulk of the burden. Despite the fact that some women in Zimbabwe, epitomized by Chihera, had succeeded in emancipating themselves economically, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed serious economic challenges. Price (2020) points out that in Zimbabwe, a 21-day national lockdown was put in place on 30 March 2020 and extended indefinitely on 16 May 2020, though the restrictions would be reviewed every two weeks. Zimbabwe’s borders remained closed to all human traffic (except returning Zimbabwe nationals and permit holders), but open for cargo. Yet a large number of Zimbabweans (mostly women) make a living through the informal sector. Chisiri (2020) argues that the COVID-19– induced lockdown in Zimbabwe will be challenging for the informal economy as most traders are subsistence traders and are already mired in extreme poverty. The border closures are expected to disproportionately affect women and the youth, who make up the majority of the population working in Informal Cross-Border Trading. On the same note, Mambondiyani (2020) suggests that Zimbabwe’s informal cross-border trading, which is largely dominated by women, has not been spared by COVID-19. The pandemic has ravaged even the world’s strongest economies. Most women in ICBT bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic that has left them with financial constrains to continue with business during the pandemic. According to Price (2020: 16), in a newspaper article for the Global Press Journal, …the president of the Zimbabwe Cross-Border Traders Association, Killer Zivhu, says that the coronavirus has put many cross-border traders in a dire situation as many live from hand-to-mouth and they must sell or move around selling goods to earn a living. Closing the border with South Africa has especially left traders and workers who support them vulnerable and without money to pay for rent, school fees or food.

Hence, many women in the informal economy have lost their means of livelihood. With limited or no savings, and no social security or safety nets, women are faced with more extreme levels of poverty (United Nations in Zimbabwe, 2020). The plight of vendors (the majority of who are female) is worsened by government actions. Zimbabwe has a history of cracking down on informal traders in the streets (Resnick, 2020). There have been news reports

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of a national crackdown on vendors during the first week of the national lockdown, particularly in the urban areas, with police officers raiding vegetable markets and destroying produce (Ndebele & Matimaire, 2020). On 3 April 2020, Sakubva Vegetable Market in Mutare was raided causing more than 300 vegetable vendors to flee and leave behind their produce. Police then burnt the vegetables (Ndebele & Matimaire, 2020). This was done despite the agriculture sector being flagged as an essential service sector during the lockdown. The vendors are yet to be compensated for their loss. The advent of COVID-19 has adversely affected street vendors. In a news article published by Chat263, the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA) expressed distress over the destruction of agricultural produce belonging to vendors. It is claimed that local authorities have taken the current COVID-19 lockdown situation as an opportunity to clear illegal structures (Price, 2020). As a result, the rigid enforcement of lockdown measures is causing further hardship, particularly in the poor urban areas, where informal traders have particularly been targeted (Price, 2020). Many small-scale and informal traders have been unable to survive without some form of daily trading. Furthermore, there is a cyclical effect at play, as many low-income households cannot afford to stock up food to eat while locked down in their homes. This has created a lot of distress for informal traders. Restrictions on the movement of goods, people, and services will likely have far-reaching impacts on all sectors including farming. Fifty-six percent of communal farmers in Zimbabwe are rural women (Price, 2020). Therefore, the family farming sector, which is dominated by women, is highly vulnerable to external shocks such as the lockdown measures. These farmers also occasionally sell surplus food informally outside their farms or at the roadside. In supporting the above argument, Carsten (2020) notes that these farmers also feed the urban population through informal markets and street vending; the products are packaged in different sizes to fit different needs for different households. These supplies work for the urban poor who live from hand to mouth. A restriction in movements in response to the spread of the coronavirus exposes a lot of rural women to limitations in participating in this sector, yet they play a significant role in agricultural value-chains, but rarely go beyond subsistence production (Sereumaga & Mutambara, 2020). Rural women have been hit harder by the social and economic impacts of the crisis. They constitute about 41% of the world’s agricultural labor force. In many countries in Southeast Asia

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and sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60% of women work in the agricultural sector (Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nation, 2020). In lower income countries, women’s rates of informal employment are higher than men’s. So, they are more at risk of income losses in the current situation (UN WOMEN, 2020). Furthermore, since women shoulder the main responsibility for care giving in their households, especially in the rural communities, they are more likely to be burdened with additional household tasks that increase when more people stay at home during the lockdown phase. This can cause further marginalization of women in rural labor markets, particularly when they have to compete with men for scarce lucrative jobs (UN WOMEN, 2020). Furthermore, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020) notes that the COVID-19 pandemic is a major economic and labor market shock, presenting significant impacts in terms of unemployment and underemployment for informal workers. In the rural areas, the livelihoods of the self-employed and wage workers are at risk because the agro-food supply chains and markets are being disrupted due to lockdowns and movement restrictions. Ready-to-harvest fresh farm produce is deteriorating and decomposing, leading to loss of income for the rural women and other small-scale farmers (Carsten, 2020). This also impacts negatively on incomes and access to food for the poor and vulnerable in urban areas who mostly depend on informal markets and street vendors for food supply. Families might resort to negative coping strategies such as distress sale of assets, taking out loans from informal moneylenders, or child labor. Therefore, specific groups of workers, including women, the youth, children, indigenous people, and migrant workers, who are overrepresented in the informal economy, will experience further exacerbation of their vulnerability during the COVID-19–induced lockdown. In addition, the lockdown travel bans are restricting the daily commute of people in (peri-) urban neighborhoods to the city; this can imply a total loss of income for women entrepreneurs who rely on daily wages. Gukurume and Oosterom (2020) note that it is estimated that over 90% of Zimbabweans work in the informal economy, and many subsist on a hand to mouth basis. Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA) (2020) report reveals that the impact of the lockdown on the informal sector will hit women the hardest, with women constituting the majority of informal workers. “If I don’t go to work, my whole family will die of hunger. So, what difference does it make? It is better to take the risk of getting the coronavirus than to see my family starve to death,” stated Josh (pseudonym), in a telephone interview (Gukurume & Oosterom, 2020). In this regard, Moyo-Nyede

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and Ndoma (2020) add that, while the lockdown may be a necessary evil, it represents a financial crisis for the three-quarters (75%) of the economically active population who earn their living in the informal sector (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, 2012). If vendors and other selfemployed workers are barred from leaving their homes to ply their trade, how are they to feed their families? (Mukeredzi, 2020 cited in Moyo-Nyede & Ndoma, 2020). Despite the fact that women in Zimbabwe, as represented by Chihera, have managed to emancipate themselves economically, cases of gender-­ based violence (GBV) recorded in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 lockdown reflect a sign of economic hardships. The Zimbabwe Situation Report (2020) recorded that from January to September 2020, about 5507 GBV cases were reported through the National GBV Hotline, a 200% increase compared with the same timeframe in 2019, when 1930 GBV cases were reported through the Hotline (Zimbabwe Situation Report, 2020). The national GBV Hotline (Musasa) has recorded a total of 6200 GBV calls from the beginning of the lockdown on 30 March until 27 November 2020 (1312 in April, 915 in May 2020, 776 in June, 753 in July, 766 in August, 629 in September, 546 in October, and 503 from 1 to 27 November), with an overall average increase of over 60% compared to the pre-lockdown trends. About 94% of distress calls are from women (The Zimbabwe Situation Report, 2020). This testifies to the fact that while progress has been made in broadening socio-economic opportunities for women and affirming their rights in the Constitution, challenges still abound. There are reported increases of cases of sexual and gender-­ based violence (SGBV) and financial distress due to the informal and the survivalist nature of the economic activities that women are involved in (Sereumaga & Mutambara, 2020). In this regard, women who are struggling to support their families face various forms of violence and harassment at home, with the burden of managing the household needs such as food, access to water, and energy remaining on their shoulders. Thus, the pandemic has worsened the women’s socio-economic situation. It is important to acknowledge that some of the economic challenges experienced by women are not as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, most of these challenges being encountered by women were already endemic well before the onset of the current pandemic. Nhuta and Mukumba (2017) observed that despite the apparent economic benefits for female entrepreneurs, the full potential of the female entrepreneurial sector has not been unleashed. Female entrepreneurs are today at

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crossroads. The existing incentive system no longer meets the needs of the sector and the challenges posed by the new economy. New incentives and support to female entrepreneurs are imperative to help women to build their capabilities and stay ahead of competition, both locally and in overseas markets (Mauchi et  al., 2014). Despite their legal right, married female entrepreneurs are still constrained by marital obligations leading to the conclusion that being married, to a certain extent, creates challenges for business women. This makes the Chihera quintessence to stand out because she is not restricted by marital obligations whatsoever. A survey conducted by the Oxfam (2013) shows that the face of poverty remains predominantly female in both urban and rural areas. Although initiatives by government and development partners have been made since the country’s independence in 1980, including the attempted setting up of a women’s bank and various women’s cooperatives, women still remain at the bottom of the economic ladder. Women’s challenges in achieving economic empowerment are rooted in structural patriarchy. Due to patriarchy, Zimbabwe remains a male-dominated society in all its aspects: economic, political, and social. Women face high levels of violence both in the private and public spaces which affects their economic participation. Mapuva (2013) citing Ndlovu (2009) argues that there has been little change in the status of women in the country. Zimbabwean women still face gender discrimination, play an insignificant role in decision-making (both domestically and nationally), and have limited access to resources, and their contribution to the national economy is still not officially recognized. For many business women who attempt to combine family and home, the day is constructed as a double shift: one at work and one at home. As a result, women often feel tired, stressed, and guilty, owing to the conflict of trying to fulfill the roles of both homemaker and business person simultaneously. While domestic lives may be a source of alternative strength for many women, they may also be another source of stress. Nani (2011) concurs that balancing the home and family with working full time places an insurmountable burden on women as performing dual responsibilities can cause a lot of stress and exhaustion. However, for the Chihera woman, this may be yet another challenge beckoning to be overcome rather than to be avoided. Labeling is another challenge faced by women in the informal cross-­ border trading sector. According to Muzvidziwa (2001: 6), Cross-border traders were labeled ‘unpatriotic economic saboteurs.’ They were often blamed for draining the much-needed foreign currency, thus

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deflecting criticism from politicians, government officials and elite business people who were the real foreign currency consumption culprits. Crossboarder traders were portrayed as smugglers of all sorts of wares, designated as criminals and distinguished from those operating legitimate, male-­ dominated businesses.

However, in their defense, Muzvidziwa (2001) noted that women’s cross-border trade was for the most part legal and for legitimate purposes. Women, cross-border traders themselves maintained that they used their legitimate foreign currency holiday entitlements. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs, particularly those engaged in cross-­border trading have often been accused of witchcraft (Muzvidziwa, 2001: 68). Media reports accused some traders of using dead zombies or spooks to churn out doilies for them. Despite these extremely negative images and incessant media attacks, cross-border trade has experienced exponential growth. Muzvidziwa (2001: 79) describes how during his trip from South Africa to Zimbabwe in 1995 he encountered female cross-border traders who expressed that being perceived as witches worked in their favor when it came to forcing defaulting clients to pay up. The women referred to several incidents in which they had made threats that implied the possibility of using witchcraft, and in all cases, these threats worked and payments were made promptly.

Chihera’s Responses to Economic Challenges Chihera, being the main character with a never-say-die spirit, lets her creativity, energy and strong will be useful in confronting the economic challenges of the moment. It is against this background that the Chihera woman must rise and shine using her natural survival instincts and resilience despite the multiplicity of challenges. Chihera and other women entrepreneurs have adopted online marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. For example, cross-border traders creatively adopted the concept of runners (a business network whereby Zambian, Chinese, South African, and Tanzanian business partners buy goods and supply to their fellow women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe). This has been made effective since the borders during the lockdown period have been opened to ensure the supply of goods. Some women, who are skilled in baking and cookery, are managing the lockdown economic challenges through conducting baking lessons online at the same time getting remunerations.

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This ensures their survival during this economic crisis brought by the advent of COVID-19. Thus, women entrepreneurs are at the same time using social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram to sell their products. Women have shown versatility by using the social media platforms to market their wares. The picture below shows the ways in which women are continuing to survive in business through online marketing and selling despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.

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Chihera would do whatever it takes to fulfill her economic goals. For example, fruit and vegetable vendors are still selling their products at their homes and purchasing bulk products at Mbare Musika or other marketing places. Women in vending have opted to risk their lives rather than staying at home in isolation and suffer from the economic crisis during this pandemic. ARISA report (2020) reveals that one of the women interviewees in a telephone interview said, “If I don’t go to work, my whole family will die of hunger, so what difference does it make? It is better to take the risk of getting the coronavirus than to see my family starve to death” (Gukurume & Oosterom, 2020). The same applies to rural women in agriculture; they would even risk either being caught by police or exposing themselves to being infected by the COVID-19 disease than to leave their farm produce perishing. On another note, Mambondiyani (2020) notes that during this pandemic, farmers have been struggling to sell their produce, but they employed another new method of selling their products through online marketing and home deliveries, thus virtual marketing is being embraced significantly. Despite the economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, some women in Zimbabwe, as epitomized by Chihera, have managed to emancipate themselves economically. The survival of their families, under the current difficult economic circumstances, bears testimony to the women’s fortitude. It is in such circumstances that the Chihera type of women take the bull by its horns and refuse to be victims but victors through unyielding behavior coupled with resilience. Both rural and urban women can be seen going about their daily business activities such as vending foodstuffs, selling second-hand clothing, airtime, kitchenware, cosmetics, and tending crops.

Conclusion A woman who seems not to be dependent on any man economically, socially and politically is epitomized by a woman character popularized as Chihera among the Shona people of Zimbabwe. She is portrayed as a liberated woman within the Shona society. Hence, Chihera can be seen as a feminist who emancipated herself from patriarchal structures. Chihera participates in the informal sector to secure her own finances through cross-border trading, vending, farming, retailing, manufacturing, and artisanal mining. However, as much as women are striving toward economic emancipation through the use of available opportunities, the advent of

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COVID-19 has brought other challenges to women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. For example, there is loss of income caused by the lockdown restrictions that do not permit entrepreneurs to conduct their day-to-day businesses. Again, as much as their responses have been worsened by the COVID-19 restrictive measures and the subsequent lockdowns, Chihera women have defied all odds and continue to do all in their power to enhance their families’ livelihoods.

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Vending_to_the_Zimbabwe_Economy_A_Case_of_Street_Vendors_in_ Harare_CBD/links/5bb5c9bb92851ca9ed37b97e/Assessment-­o fthe-­Contribution-­of-­street-­Vending-­to-­the-­Zimbabwe-­Economy-­A-­Case-­of-­ Street-­Vendors-­in-­Harare-­CBD.pdf.com. Medina, L., & Schneider, F. (2018). Shadow Economies Around the World: What Did We Learn Over the Last 20 Years? IMF Working Paper, WP/18/17. IMF: Washington DC. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/ Issues/2018/01/25/Shadow-­E conomies-­A round-­t he-­World-­W hat-­D id-­ We-­Learn-­Over-­the-­Last-­20-­Years-­45583.com. Accessed November 25 2020. Moyo-Nyede, S., & Ndoma, S. (2020). COVID-19 Lockdown a Crisis for Informal Traders Disadvantaged by Government Inaction. Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 385. Mukeredzi, T. (2020). ‘Dying of hunger’: Zimbabwe street vendors hit by coronavirus clampdown. Reuters. Accessed June 16, 2020, from http:// dyingofhungerzimbabwestreetvendoershitbycoronavirusclampdown. Mupedziswa, R., & Gumbo, P. (2001). Women Informal Traders in Harare And The Struggle For Survival In An Environment Of Economic Reforms. Research Report No 117. Accessed December 2, 2020, from https://challengesfacedbywomenentreprenuersinZimbabwe.com. Muzvidziwa, V. (2001). Zimbabwe’s Cross-Border Women Traders: Multiple Identities and Responses to New Challenges; Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 19(1), 67–80, https://doi.org/10.1080/02589000124044. Accessed November 2 2020. Nani, G. (2011). Challenges Faced by Urban Zimbabwean Women Entrepreneurs. Accessed December 2, 2020, from https://challengesfacedbywomenentreprenuersinZimbabwe.com. Ndebele, L., & Matimaire, K. (2020). Fruit and Vegetables Impounded during Zimbabwe Lockdown. Times Live. [News article] Retrieved from https:// www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2020-­0 4-­0 3-­f ruit-­a nd-­v egetables-­ impounded-­during-­zimbabwe-­lockdown/. Accessed April 3, 2020. Ndlovu, M. (2009). What transitional justice in Zimbabwe? Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) prepares for popular participation. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 9(2). ACCORD. Nhuta, S., & Mukumba, S. (2017, June). Empowerment of Zimbabwean Women through Entrepreneurship an Economic and Social Perspective. Article in IRA-­ International Journal of Management & Social Sciences (ISSN 2455-2267). https://doi.org/10.21013/jmss.v7.n3.p1. Accessed November 25, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317865197. O’Neil, T., Domingo, P., & Valters, C. (2014). Progress on Women’s Empowerment. Development Progress.org. Accessed November 25, 2020, from https://www. womeneconomicempowerment.com.

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Oxfam. (2013). Zimbabwe Women’s Economic Empowerment Study. Accessed November 25, 2020, from https://www.women’seconomicempowerment.com. Price, R. A. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 Regulatory Measures on Small-Scale and Informal Trade in Zimbabwe. K4D Helpdesk Report 815–816. Institute of Development Studies. Resnick, D. (2020, 31 March). COVID-19 Lockdowns Threaten Africa’s Vital Informal Urban Food Trade. IFPRI Blog. [Blog] Retrieved from https://www. ifpri.org/blog/COVID-­19-­lockdowns-­threaten-­africas-­vital-­informal-­urban-­ food-­trade.com. Accessed November 25, 2020. Sereumaga, D., & Mutambara, S. (2020). ‘Building Back” Resilience of Rural Women after COVID-19. UNCTZimbabwe. Accessed November 25 2020. Tarinda, S. (2019). Gender, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion in Zimbabwe. Accessed December 2, 2020, from https://www.wom en’seconomicempoermentinzimbabwe.com. UN WOMEN. (2020). In Focus: Gender Equality Matters in COVID-19 Response. New York, USA. [Cited 27 March 2020]. Accessed November 25, 2020, from www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-­f ocus/in-­f ocus-­g ender-­e quality-­i nCOVID-­19-­response. United Nations in Zimbabwe. (2020). Immediate Socio-Economic Response to Covid-19 In Zimbabwe. Accessed November 25, 2020, from www.zimbabwe.un.org. Wild, V. (1997). Profit not for Profit’s Sake: History and Business Culture of African Entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe. Baobab Books: Harare, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT). (2012). Zimbabwe Census 2012 National Report [Internet]. Harare: ZIMSTAT. Accessed November 25, 2020, from http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/2986. Zimbabwe Situation Report 2020. Accessed December 6, 2020, from https:// reports.unocha.org/en/country/zimbabwe/. Zinyemba, A. (2013). Leadership challenges for women manager in the hospitality and financial services in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, 2(4), 15–21.

CHAPTER 15

Patriarchy and Disability: A Culture of Ubuntu, African Women with Disabilities and Sustainable Livelihoods in Matetsi Community, Zimbabwe Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale

Introduction Disability is often perceived as an inability, thus people with disabilities are often treated as not able to sustain their families. Women with disabilities are often portrayed as subordinate and passive family members in patriarchal and abled societies. Their role in sustaining families’ livelihoods is not acknowledged as significant, the families and communities where they live in continue to see them as dependents and passive due to the influence of outsiders. This perception defines women with disabilities as the poorest of the poor. The global economic and poverty indicators, including the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), continue to intertwine disability with poverty. For example, the perception that poverty causes disability and disability causes poverty (See United Nations: Department

S. S. Chisale (*) University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_15

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of Economic and Social Affairs 2018) is pervasive among development practitioners and agencies. Although it is true, however, the link of disability to poverty and vice versa needs to be compared to how people with disabilities negotiate their own livelihoods in communities and households. This, I believe, will promote the inclusion that the world and the disabled community have been fighting for, for a long time. I often have conversations with family, friends (including women with disabilities who participate in my community engagement project) and colleagues living with disabilities, and they often challenge the authenticity of linking disability to poverty. Their mutual argument is that the link generalises disability by overlooking the role of people with disabilities in sustaining families’ livelihoods and the influence of the culture of ubuntu in this process. Seemingly, in efforts to liberate and empower the marginalised, some of the development perceptions lead to further disabling and exclusions of the self-liberated and self-empowered through community interdependence. Health researchers categorise disabilities and impairments as mild, moderate and severe (Gluck, 2014). These categories are used when a health practitioner measures the intellectual ability of a person. This chapter does not seek to measure or categorise disability, but it explores disability as a social construction. Thus, I borrow Rosemarie GarlandThomson’s definition of disability as she says: ‘disability is a cultural and religious interpretation of human variation rather than an inherent inferiority, a pathology to cure, or an undesirable trait to eliminate’ (GarlandThomson, 2005: 1557). I also acknowledge and apply the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) of 2007, which describes disability as an ‘evolving concept’ and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. These definitions highlight the role of developmental practitioners, including society, religion and culture in disabling people. Generally, the rural women with disabilities in Zimbabwe in general and Matetsi in particular are the pillars of household economies that ensure improved livelihoods for their families. Matetsi is a small rural community that is located in-between the border of Matabeleland South (West Nicholson and Filabusi) and Midlands’ province in the district of Mberengwa West. The community is under the headship of Chief Bankwe and is Ndebele with their ancestry traced in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal

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province. They migrated from the present-day South Africa to the present-­ day Zimbabwe under the leadership of Mzilikazi who fled north from Natal currently known as KwaZulu-Natal after his defeat by Shaka in 1817. Matetsi is 150 kilometres from the Beit-Bridge border post. Due to their proximity to Beit-Bridge, several members of this community are residing in South Africa and they have left their homesteads under the headship of children who care for themselves, grandparents if they are still alive or their relatives with limited mobility such as those with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities. The aim of this chapter is to explore Chihera traits in a Ndebele context with specific reference to women with disabilities. The chapter highlights how women with disabilities resist patriarchal assumptions that family livelihoods are a preserve for men or abled family members. Women with disabilities have kept their family households safe and functioning by taking over the role of household caretaker or head. Chihera destabilises and disrupts patriarchy in households. Chitando (2021: 159) describes Chihera as a woman who dominates her domestic sphere, she is fearless and decisive. According to Chitando, Chihera unveils the strength of a woman by exhibiting initiation, determination and agency within her household (2021: 159). In this chapter, Chihera’s phenomenon is described from the perspective of Ndebele women with disabilities. In Ndebele, the equivalent of the Chihera persona is referred to as imbokodo or umaqhuzu. Umaqhuzu or imbokodo is a no-nonsense woman who represents a strong character, independence, strength, agency and determination. Umaqhuzu is radical and ‘calls a spade a spade’, she disrupts the patriarchal system by demeaning those who benefit from the system. While imbokodo is moderate and respectful, sometimes imbokodo reinforces patriarchy through implicitly socialising the girl and boy children in line with patriarchal culture. Thus, imbokodo is a bit conservative compared to umaqhuzu who stands tall even in traditional family meetings and she does not hesitate to correct the men if they are wrong. Both terms describe a woman who defines her territory and exercises agency. Umaqhuzu and, to a certain extent, imbokodo change the hierarchy of family livelihoods that are often defined through patriarchal relations. A woman who is referred to as umaqhuzu is described as such because she does not need a man to validate her or her decisions. Ekhanda likamaqhuzu akudlalelwa (no one messes up with her), ukhuluma kuzwakale (she speaks, and everyone listens). She disrupts patriarchy publicly and in daylight.

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In disrupting patriarchy, women with disabilities resist disabling environments. In rural areas, they are active agents in sustaining their household’s livelihoods and they sometimes do that much better than their abled counterparts who are constantly on the move searching for better livelihoods. They draw their livelihoods from the creative assets, skills and capabilities they have in order to care for their families. They have significant home economics, farming and entrepreneurship skills that sustain their families’ livelihoods. In their roles of sustaining families’ livelihoods, women with disabilities are not acknowledged but the abled family member is the one given credit for sustaining the family’s livelihoods. This chapter applies Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway’s definition of livelihoods. According to Chambers and Conway: A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims and access) and activities required for a means of living: a livelihood is sustainable which can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation; and which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels and in the short and long term. (Chambers & Conway, 1992: 6)

Using observations, this chapter argues that women with disabilities work in their special way towards transforming livelihoods of their families and communities in which they live, and they are the Chiheras (chiShona), imbokodo or omaqhuzu (isiNdebele) of their households. The chapter applies the livelihoods assets and ubuntu approach to explore the power and influence of women with disabilities in disrupting patriarchal beliefs that abled men and women are responsible for the wellbeing of the family. The chapter focuses on women with physical and visual impairments. The aim is to highlight the agency of women with disabilities in transforming livelihoods of their families through being the breadwinners and preserving the dignity of their households. To achieve this goal, the chapter seeks to answer the following question: How do women with disabilities in Matetsi community disrupt patriarchy by creatively using livelihood assets available to them to improve the livelihoods of their families?

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Patriarchy and Disability The main aim of African women’s theology is to disrupt and resist patriarchy in all forms of life. Etymologically, patriarchy emerges from the Greek word patriarkhēs, meaning ‘father of a race’ or ‘chief of a race’; this word refers to ‘the rule of the father’ or ‘head of tribe’ (Bryson, 2003: 166, Pateman, 1988). Sylivia Walby (1990) conceptualises and defines patriarchy in two different forms, the private and public patriarchy. According to Walby (1990), private patriarchy is household patriarchy where the family patriarch dominates and subjugates women and children in a domestic setting. While public patriarchy happens in the public sphere where women are collectively oppressed and dominated by structures and policies that excludes them from power, wealth and influence equal to that of men. Private and public patriarchy operates in a complex manner. Walby (1990: 20–21) describes this in six structures: firstly, patriarchal mode of production; in this structure, reproduction relations in the household reveal that women’s household labour is acknowledged as their husband or cohabitors’ labour. According to Walby (1990), women are the producing class while husbands are the expropriating class by claiming women’s hard work as theirs. The reward or payment for women’s productive labour, particularly those not engaged in domestic paid labour is their maintenance. Secondly, patriarchy is visible in paid work; in this structure, waged labour excludes women from better forms of work by pushing them to worse and low paying jobs which are deemed to be low skilled people. Thirdly, patriarchy is visible in state relations which are capitalist, racist and ableist. The state makes and implements patriarchal biased policies in its politics and actions. Fourthly, male violence is another form of patriarchy; regardless of its individualistic and diverse form, toxic and hegemonic masculinities which are visible from some men’s behaviour are harmful on women. The state condones and legitimates male violence against women by ignoring and refusing to intervene against it except in exceptional cases through the practices of rape, wife beating, sexual violence, femicide, and other forms of male violence that are too decentralised in their practice to be part of the state itself (p. 21). Fifthly, patriarchy is visible in heterosexual and double standard relations. Where the man is often the father, husband and decision maker in a heterosexual relationship. Sixthly, cultural relations are composed of a set of institutions which construct the representation of women within patriarchal surveillance and gaze in different spaces such as religion, education and media. Although

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Walby (1990) develops these structures from a westernised society, they are relevant to an African third world context. I would like to add the seventh form of patriarchy, which is ableist and is visible in ableist environments, relations and language. This form of patriarchy focuses on the physical appearance and strength of the body, and it often positions people with disabilities at the bottom in all structures of society. This then means that people with disabilities, particularly women, are dominated and oppressed not only by men and the state, but by abled women and children. Feminism is not inclusive of women with disabilities because they conceptualise feminist politics in opposition to disability. This chapter’s focus on patriarchy is twofold. On the one hand, it focuses on the patriarchy of production, where labour of women with disabilities in their family households is expropriated by men or abled family members. On the other hand, it focuses on ableist patriarchy, where abled members of the family and society, including women and children, dominate and oppress women with disabilities by ignoring their agency in sustaining livelihoods. Patriarchy is not only about male-female domination, but it is also about power relationships. Some feminists such as Amy Allen (1999:122) acknowledge this as they argue that the domination embedded in patriarchy is also visible where some women may dominate other women due to race, class, ethnicity, age, disability and sexual orientation (see Kanyoro, 2001:107). The power of patriarchy is also visible in how humanity dominates non-human creation; as a result, patriarchy is not solely perpetrated by men, but it is a system that favours men over women, privileged women over underprivileged women and men, elderly over young, abled over disabled, human over non-human. The system of patriarchy creates a pyramid of life and power as defined according to the levels of that pyramid. Women with disabilities are often at the bottom of the pyramid just above non-human creation. In this system, they live under the power of fathers, brothers, abled women and children. However, it is significant to describe cases where women with disabilities resist being passive victims of this hierarchy by building their own system of existence through livelihood assets that are available to them. Livelihood Assets, Ubuntu and Women with Disabilities This chapter applies an integration of livelihood assets and ubuntu in connection to how women with disabilities contribute to transforming

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livelihoods of their families and communities. Livelihoods are built on five different types of assets which consists of but not limited to five capitals such as human, social, natural, physical and financial capitals according to the sustainable livelihood approach developed by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) (1999) and Robert Chambers and Gordon (1991). Human capital includes a combination of ability to work, skills and knowledge, and good health which enables households and individuals to make livelihoods and attain secure livelihoods outcomes. Social capital includes social and faith networks and resources that individuals and communities draw on to make a living; for example, positive relationships with influential individuals, churches and other institutions based on trust and membership in a group or community, which are important for employment, loans and other types of assistance. Natural capital includes the natural resources available that people can draw on for their livelihoods, including land, forests, water, air and other natural resources. Physical capital includes basic infrastructure that people need to make a living, as well as the tools and equipment that they use. For example, transport and communication systems, shelter, water and sanitation systems, and energy. Financial capital includes savings, in whichever form, access to financial services and regular inflows of money (see also Beall & Schütte, 2006; Bennett, 2010; UNDP, 2013). In traditional rural communities, natural, physical, human and social capital are the main livelihood assets. This is because the primary form of livelihoods in rural communities is farming (cattle ranching, goat and sheep breeding and cultivation of small-scale crops). In rural areas, women with disabilities are active in sustaining livelihoods of their families through farming and craft. It is often generalised and assumed that people with disabilities are not able to perform normal duties towards the survival of their families. Although women and girls with disabilities are often discriminated in many areas such as education, employment, health services and marriage, they use assets available to them to build and increase their families’ livelihoods. Research and development practitioners have a tendency of addressing disability as a homogenous situation, ignoring the fact that disability is diverse. Some people can cope with a disability without the need of a care giver while some forms of disabilities require the services of caregivers. Women with disabilities are vulnerable to all kinds of shocks and stress like all other women. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Report on Zimbabwe and women

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with disabilities highlights that women with disabilities are more stigmatised in accessing employment (UNESCO, 2020). This stigma has motivated women with disabilities to rely on self-sustenance through informal work to sustain their families’ livelihoods. It is significant to argue in this chapter that stigma of people with disabilities is diverse and it is context based. In rural areas, the exclusions and stigma of disability is not as rough as in urban areas. This is because communities’ livelihoods in rural areas are connected and interdependent upon each other, because of the African way of life informed by philosophies such as the culture of ubuntu. Ubuntu and Disabilities Ubuntu refers to the African normative of life. Ubuntu triggers communities to live in harmony with each other, other creation and God. Johann Broodryk describes ubuntu as ‘a comprehensive ancient African worldview based on the core values of intense humanness, caring, sharing, respect, compassion and associated values, ensuring a happy and qualitative human community life in a spirit of family’ (2002: 26). Ubuntu emphasises the relationality of African communities and is prevalent in rural areas, where all are related and interdependent upon each other. In the relatedness, every member’s dignity is interconnected. The violation of one person’s dignity or right is a violation of every member of the community. As a result, interrelationships are meant to protect the community’s wellbeing, where all humans and all creation form the web of life or unbroken circle where people and all creation depend on God, ancestors and each other. This relationship is understood ‘as the heart of traditional African thinking about humanity’ (Shutte, 2001:12). In this relationship, communities enjoy shared humanity and shared dignity. The emphasis of ubuntu on shared humanity and dignity invokes the protection of the inalienable rights or natural rights of individuals in a community. It disrupts the pyramids that emerge due to patriarchy or ‘patriarchalising’ life. Inalienable rights are realised in a community, where each member of the community feels obliged to live in right relationships with all members of the community. Right relationships include protecting and being in solidarity with other members of the community considered weak and vulnerable. Thaddeus Metz (2010:84) says solidarity invokes reciprocity where a person acts in right and positive ways that benefit other members of the community through sympathy and helping them for their sake. Elsewhere, I have described how the elderly comprehend ubuntu as

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solidarity and positive responsiveness. In that study, participants explained that generosity is summoned by the community’s duty to be in solidarity with each other, particularly the lacking and those who have experienced a misfortune because izandla ziyagezana [hands wash each other] (Chisale, 2018a:5). Community members with disabilities benefit from the solidarity that is stimulated by ubuntu for the common good of the community. It is clear that in ubuntu, emphasis is on the right and harmonious relationship with each other. In rural African communities, it is every member’s right to be interdependent on the other. In this interdependence, communities share their wealth, gifts and skills. Thus, resources are communal and shared for the benefit and common good of all. In interrelationships, there is no gender, ability/disability, class, race or creed as all are equal in their diversity. In my view, ubuntu rejects dichotomies and fosters right relationships entrenched in the dignity of the community. In the right relationships, women with disabilities as equal members of the community play a significant role in the wellbeing and livelihoods of the community. They, like any other members of the web of life or unbroken circle, sustain the livelihoods of the community in significant ways. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to explore the livelihood strategies of rural women with disabilities. I explore livelihood strategies from a glass half-full rather than glass half-­ empty approach (McDonald, 1997: 115). The glass half-full rather than glass half-empty ideology emerged from the asset-based community development (ABCD) approach as pioneered by John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann that focuses on building the strengths and resources of individuals and communities rather than their deficits (1993). Massive literature focus on deficits and how women with disabilities are stigmatised and excluded from public livelihood spaces, but this chapter seeks to document how they humanise themselves and their communities through what they have.

Households Headed by Women with Disabilities in Matetsi In African rural communities, it is often assumed that a household should be headed by a male. Households without a male head are often put under the spotlight and research headlines such as female-headed households commonly known as omazakhela (single mothers), child-headed

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households commonly known as entandaneni (orphanages), households headed by persons with disabilities (emzini wezilima) are common suggesting that there is something lacking in that household. The structure of households often changes with times, and it is influenced by many factors. In Zimbabwe in general and Matetsi in particular where migration is endemic, most rural households are under the headship of women including women with disabilities, children and the elderly. This is not a new phenomenon in this community as it continues from the history of colonialism, where men migrated to the cities and mines leaving women and children to take care of the homesteads and assets in the rural areas. The visible change in migration is that contemporary families migrate together as a nuclear family, husband, wife and children, leaving the extended family in charge of the rural homestead, particularly the grandparents if they are still alive or aunts who had failed marriages, nephews and nieces and relatives with disabilities. The Zimbabwean unstable and poor economic climate often forces the abled to be constantly on the move; this means that the abled aunt from a failed marriage is constantly on the move in search for a means of survival for her children. This leaves the woman with a disability as the primary caretaker and head of the rural household. Women with disabilities and their children cope and survive, in spite of the constraints, lacks and shocks that Zimbabwe faces. As a result of this, in Matetsi community, women with disabilities and their children are often referred to as caretakers of the households. It is unfortunate that the hard work they do in the absence of abled family members is not often acknowledged. They are still treated as dependent, although they are the ones doing all the groundwork of home care taking. In the rural areas, when a homestead is abandoned, that homestead quickly deteriorates and is called inxiwa (ruins). Abandoned homesteads which have turned to ruins are given to the next available relative seeking for land. In such cases, families try by all means to secure their land by either employing a caretaker or asking underprivileged family members to take care of it. Women with disabilities and their children have proved to be an asset in homesteads caretaking because of their limited mobility. This role played by women with disabilities in Matetsi has encouraged families to appreciate them and their children, especially in the current transition where rural land is increasing value. This is because the Zimbabwean community in the diaspora is borrowing from the lifestyles they see in other countries and are increasingly turning their rural homes to expensive modernised palaces.

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The assumption and reality that people with disabilities need caregiving is complex, as some women with disabilities are care givers themselves as discussed above. I have observed women with disabilities during my pastoral visits and have learnt a lesson about livelihoods and survival. These women have kept their households standing in the absence of abled family members; they have taken the role of household leadership by making decisions on the day-to-day administration of the household. They have cared for their children, nieces and nephews all alone.

A Half-Glass Full Approach: Reinterpreting Livelihoods by Rural Women with Disabilities The assumption and narrative that people with disabilities live in poverty is contested by women with disabilities in many ways. Poverty is a complex phenomenon and has many dimensions covering the financial, economic, social, material, environmental and seasonal (Gweshengwe & Hassan, 2020). Due to this, the poverty of people with disabilities is complex and hypothetical. Our understanding of women with disabilities’ livelihoods ignores what they have; we mainly focus on the deficit which is the disability rather than their abilities and skills. In this chapter, I have deliberately ignored the deficits of women with disabilities, and I have chosen to profile on the livelihood assets that women with disabilities have. Profiling the Livelihood Assets that Women with Disabilities Have in Matetsi Generally, rural communities and in particular Matetsi community’s key assets are often accessible to communities and women use these to increase and secure their families’ livelihoods. Women with disabilities like their abled counterparts exploit these assets to enhance their families’ livelihoods. For women, sustaining livelihoods is never about them, but it is about their families and communities. The livelihoods assets which include, social, financial, human, physical and natural capital are used by members of the Matetsi community to enhance households’ livelihoods without favouritism.

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Social Capital Although patriarchal, Matetsi is also communal; every household is linked to a community one or the other. In Matetsi, the community is a rich bank of social capital because individuals rely on communal networks to recover from the shocks and stresses. Communal networks in Matetsi are linked to ubuntu’s (humanness) values of interdependence and interpersonal network of life. Drawing from social capital particularly community, women with disabilities benefit from the ubuntu dictum umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is a person through other persons). This allows women with disabilities to experience a sense of being connected to the communal family (Sindima, 1995:127). In Zimbabwe, the Shona link ubuntu to ukama to describe the relatedness of a community as one family. Murove (2004) asserts that in ukama, relatedness and interdependence extend to the wider environment which is the biophysical world. Rural communities apply ubuntu or ukama in their relationships where everyone is related not by blood but because they come from the same community or village. Women with disabilities in Matetsi are not dependents of the community but they are interdependent with everyone in the community. It is everyone’s responsibility to provide any form of assistance to any member of the community so that there is no lacking in the households. This promotes trust and respect between communal members. Thus, in a relationship where trust and respect form the basis of existence, women with disabilities are able to utilise the available help and social assistance without feeling discriminated or objectified. The abundance of communal support that is available in Matetsi makes it stress free for women with disabilities to draw their livelihoods from available resources. During the farming season, the community in Matetsi usually organises ilima or amalima which means cooperation, extending a hand, collaboration, community or team work to households that lack resources or assets for farming. This is encouraged by the community’s harmony informed by ubuntu. Financial Capital In the majority of households in Matetsi, there is at least one member working in South Africa. This is because of the proximity of this rural area to Beit-Bridge border post. Thus, households benefit from the diaspora remittances sent by relatives; these remittances include the groceries sent

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through omalayitsha (informal courier services) which relieve households of the stress of looking for food. Women with disabilities in rural areas rarely beg for money like their counterparts in urban areas. They have access to tangible financial capital which may include livestock such as cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, including chickens and other domestic birds. In the early 1990s, the Lutheran Development Services (LDS) in Zimbabwe, particularly Mberengwa, gave rural communities a cow each to boost the rural livelihoods assets. As a result, the majority of the households in this community own cows. Livestock and craftwork by women with disabilities improve their credit rating in the community’s lending schemes. Access to tangible financial capital allows women with disabilities to hire services that they are not able to do, such as roles and tasks that require physical strength like during the ploughing season; they may sell some livestock to hire men and women to till the farm. In instances where there are relatives in the diaspora, they may receive money to hire the services that are physically hard for them. The financial capital in Matetsi is connected to human capital and social capital. Human Capital Human capital is central in achieving livelihood strategies, thus access to human capital is critical for women with disabilities. Although they have abilities from where they draw on their good health, skills, knowledge and labour for their household support, the reality is that they need more human capital to ensure progress towards a sustainable livelihood. Women with disabilities’ ability to coordinate labour is a critical form of human capital. Thus, they have children who form part of the human capital. In rural areas, children start engaging in household or domestic duties at an early age; this is called socialisation, where young boys and girls are taught to participate and assist in domestic chores as early as seven years. They start small, by learning to clean their plates after eating, fetching water using small buckets, fetching firewood, shepherding the domestic animals and feeding the chickens, among many other roles. Although this may seem like child labour, it is however socialisation in Matetsi. In addition to their human and their children’s capital, women with disabilities may hire human capital using the financial capital they receive from their craft work, sale of livestock or diaspora remittances from family to assist with other duties. Rural communities often use barter trade, and in Matetsi, this form of business is common where women with disabilities or any other

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member of the community may exchange some livestock for some forms of human capital such as labour. Physical Capital Physical capital helps to turn raw materials into finished products and/or services (Ellis, 2000). In rural areas, physical capital includes basic farm equipment such as hoe, ox-drawn plough, oxen/cows, donkeys for farming. This equipment is accessible for women with disabilities through amalima (cooperation). In talking about women with disabilities, one may wonder how they access childcare services in rural areas. Access to childcare is in the form of a community, and ubuntu values, for example, the following saying: ‘it takes the whole village to raise a child’, are often enforced. I have argued elsewhere that for women with disabilities, motherhood and mothering is community oriented (Chisale, 2018b). Although there are hindrances and limitations for people with disabilities to access physical capital in rural areas, the community eases this by helping where they can. The interdependence of the rural communities eases the environmental barriers that limit people with disabilities from accessing physical capital. In most rural areas, bus stops are usually far from communities, thus a member of a community may provide his scotch cart to transport those with limited mobility to the bus stop. Although in Zimbabwe transportation is a barrier to the movement of people with physical disabilities, the community extends a helping hand accordingly. Natural Capital In Matetsi, people have access to free land where they build their homesteads and small-scale farms. There is abundance of natural capital in Matetsi and this makes it easy for communities to enhance livelihoods. Women with disabilities draw their livelihoods from the available natural resources such as land, forests, water, air and other natural resources. In Matetsi, land is often linked to the patriarch of the family: women access land through their association to male figures in particular fathers, brothers and uncles. The surname and ancestry lineage plays a critical and strong role in land allocation in African rural settings. Although this is a hindrance in the long-term access to land as an asset, women with disabilities exploit their connection to their fathers or uncles to own the land and pass

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it to their children. Land is critical and fundamental in rural livelihoods as a source of food and income.

The Agency of Rural Women with Disabilities and a Culture of ubuntu Zimbabwean rural families’ livelihoods depend on farming, informal entrepreneurship and diaspora remittances. Women with disabilities possess assets which they utilise to sustain the livelihoods of their families as well as those of a community. They participate in the entrepreneurial economy through various rural livelihood strategies that include pottery, cooperatives, vending and agriculture, among others. Different forms of capital are intertwined in their personal inner strengths. Women with disabilities have self-confidence and self-esteem which motivate them to lead and coordinate in enhancing their livelihoods. Their skills in craft and taking care of the family household in the absence of other adults and abled family members contribute to the ‘I am able’; ‘I am a human being’ and ‘I am worth it’ attitude cultivating their confidence and selfreliance. In Matetsi, the confidence of women with disabilities is boosted by their inclusion in community projects such as ukusebenzisana or mushandira pamwe meaning working together as one. Using their skills and gifts towards the development of their community cultivates their self-­confidence to participate and collaborate in community building and enhancing the livelihoods of both community and family. Involvement in community livelihoods contributes to the ‘I belong’, ‘I am part of a community’ therefore invoking the African philosophy of existence by John Mbiti ‘I am because we are, since we are, therefore I am’ (1970: 141), moving from the ‘I’ to ‘we’ and ‘them’ to ‘us’. In this philosophy, communal life takes precedence over individual life, promoting interdependence. Theologically, ubuntu culture challenges communities to bear one another’s burden, share in one another’s joy and utmostly walk the extra mile for one another’s sake as taught by Paul (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor.12:26). Interdependent communities are made possible only by God’s grace and peaceful ancestors who intercede for the community to be at peace with God, each other, other creation and prosperous through their interdependence. The culture of ubuntu rejects sin that divides the community from one another and from God by promoting healthy and good

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neighbourliness, where each member of a community has a responsibility to be a ‘neighbour’s keeper’. As a neighbour’s keeper, the community is responsive to the needs of another community member. This is because for African communities, the essence of being is caring and belonging. According to Cornell and Van Marle (2015:3), the ontological understanding of ubuntu highlights the interdependence where emphasis is on the being of a human. This promotes the ethic of care for one another, the whole community and other creation through compassion and communal solidarity. As a result, in exploring how women with disabilities enhance their households’ livelihoods, it is clear that they use what is available to them, such as the culture of ubuntu which enhances the community. The culture of ubuntu validates women with disabilities and their role in sustaining livelihoods of their communities and families. Drawing from community assets, women with disabilities contest the developmental practitioners’ assumptions and narratives that disability leads to poverty and that those living with disabilities experience poverty more than other community members. This assumption undermines the agency of women with disabilities. In a culture of ubuntu, every member of the community contributes to the agency of the self and that of a community. In defending the agency of African communities, Tinyiko Maluleke (2002: 22) argues that: I suggest that we are being called to a humble but careful observance of the struggles of Africans to be agents against great odds, not by ignoring or discounting the odds, but by confronting them. Africans have always been agents, never ‘simply victims, wallowing in self-pity’; they have always exercised their agency in struggles for survival and integrity. However, their agency has not always been recognised let alone nurtured.

Developmental practitioners in Africa assume that African rural communities are suffering due to poverty; they present this mindset to donors, who donate their money with the belief that what is lacking in Africa is development. This is worse for developmental practitioners that focus on women with disabilities and children. These practitioners’ assumptions and narratives present the case of African women with disabilities as a glass half empty rather than half full and African women with disabilities as passive. Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2013) argues that seeing Africa from lacks and deficits leads to the process of objectification, ‘thingification’, ‘commodification’ of Africans as slaves. Development practitioners such as John

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Kretzmann and John McKnight’s (1993) workbook, Building communities from the inside out: A path toward finding and mobilizing a community’s asset, corrected this approach as they call it the traditional path, ‘needs-driven dead end’, and rather proposed an alternative a­pproach/ path which they call ‘capacity-focused development’. For the sake of my argument, I choose to refer to this as ‘capacity-focused livelihoods’. The capacity-focused livelihood critiques the dependence syndrome and promotes communal resources which are abundant and promoted by the culture of ubuntu. The capacity-focused livelihoods acknowledge the significance of what all community members have rather than what they do not have. According to Kretzmann and McKnight (1993), the assets of local community members is critical, although they may not be sufficient to move the community out of poverty. Maluleke’s discussion on the rediscovery of the agency of Africans highlights that Africans survive on what they have. He argues that in the midst of the tragedies that may be taking place in Africa, Africans live and survive. According to Maluleke: …ordinary Africans are surviving. In countless African villages in remote areas unreached and ignored by government, people find ways and means to survive. In countries without infrastructure, without effective government and with the lowest GDP imaginable, Africans are surviving. Despite the heavy assault of certain destructive versions of American culture, urbanised Africans are fashioning out their own ways of being. By diverse means, ordinary Africans are finding ways to neutralise the stifling “hands” of globalisation and IMF policies. This view of Africa is informed by a slightly different gaze at Africa - it is a gaze from within and a gaze that zooms in on Africa’s creative, innovative and agentic spirit. (2000: 27)

The survival of Africans described above by Maluleke is inclusive of everyone including women with disabilities in rural areas. In African rural communities, women with disabilities draw strength from the culture of ubuntu as active agents towards the sustainable livelihoods of their families and communities. The culture of ubuntu is an asset that African communities have invested in to dignify and humanise their communities. In a culture of ubuntu, everyone has something to contribute or give to the community. Maluleke’s description of the agency of African people conceptualises the culture of ubuntu which is the foundation where the existence of African communities is built. In a culture of ubuntu, women with disabilities are agents and never ‘simply victims, wallowing in self-pity’;

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‘they have always exercised their agency in struggles for survival and integrity’ (Maluleke, 2002: 28) and have been surviving before the human rights treaties were developed and signed by different states. They, like any other community member, have been active in the livelihoods of their families and communities. We cannot overlook that the culture of ubuntu has existed in the history of African communities and has been influencing the survival and livelihoods of African communities.

Conclusion This chapter sought to explain how women with disabilities in Matetsi community disrupt patriarchy by creatively using livelihood assets available to them to improve the livelihoods of their families. The chapter explored the Chihera traits within the Ndebele context with reference to women with disabilities and presented how women with disabilities use the Chihera (chiShona) traits or umaqhuzu or imbokodo (isiNdebele) to resist patriarchal assumptions that family livelihoods are a preserve for men or abled family members. Women with disabilities have kept their family households safe and functioning by taking over the role of household caretaker or head. Findings indicate that women with disabilities draw their livelihoods from the culture of ubuntu which puts them at the same level as all other community members. It is true that some communities use ubuntu to enforce patriarchy or to dominate the vulnerable and marginalised communities, but the culture of ubuntu rejects the ‘othering’ of community members. In assessing the livelihood assets that rural women with disabilities have access to in Matetsi, one can understand that some of the developmental practitioners’ assumptions are informed by the patriarchal and colonial ideologies of a family structure. It is true that a community may conform to the culture of ubuntu in one aspect and lack the culture of ubuntu on the other. However, that should not deter us from promoting the culture of ubuntu sustaining livelihoods.

References Allen, A. (1999). The Power of Feminist Theory: Domination, Resistance, Solidarity. Westview Press. Beall, J., & Schütte, S. (2006). Urban Livelihoods in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Synthesis Paper Series. Retrieved from http:// www.refworld.org/pdfid/47c3f3cc0.pdf Accessed May 18, 2021.

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Bennett, J.  N. (2010). “Sustainable Livelihoods from Theory to Conservation Practice: An Extended Annotated Bibliography for Prospective Application of Livelihoods Approaches in Protected Area Community Research.” Protected Area and Poverty Reduction Alliance Working Paper No. 1. Retrieved from https://mrnathanjbennett.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/bennett-­ papr-­2 010-­s ustainable-­l ivelihoods-­f r om-­t heor y-­t o-­c onser vation-­ practice-­4-­4-­mb.pdf Accessed May 18, 2021. Broodryk, J. (2002). Ubuntu. Life Lessons from Africa. Ubuntu School of Philosophy. Bryson, V. (2003). Feminist Political Theory: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. Chambers R. and Conway G.R. (1992), Sustainable rural livelihoods: practical concepts for the 21st century, Institute of Development studies Discussion paper, 296, Cambridge. Chambers, R., & Gordon, C. (1991). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century. IDS Discussion Paper 296: London: Institute for Development Studies. Retrieved from http://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/ sustainable-­rural-­livelihoodspractical-­concepts-­for-­the-­21st-­century. Accessed April 10, 2020. Chisale, S. S. (2018a). Ubuntu as Care: Deconstructing the Gendered Ubuntu. Verbum et Ecclesia, 39(1), a1790. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v39i1.1790 Chisale, S. S. (2018b). Disabled Motherhood in an African Community’: Towards an African Women’s Theology of Disability’. In die Skriflig, 52(1), a2375. https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v52i1.2375 Chitando, E. (2021). “Jojina,” “Marujata” and “Chihera”: Celebrating Women’s Agency in the Debate on Roora in Shona Culture. In L.  Togarasei & E.  Chitando (Eds.), Lobola (Bridewealth), in Contemporary Southern Africa: Implications for Gender Equality (pp. 147–164). Palgrave, MacMillan. Cornell, D., & Van Marle, K. (2015). Ubuntu Feminism: Tentative Reflections. Verbum et Ecclesia, 36(2), 8., Art. #1444. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve. v36i2.1444 DFID. (1999). Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets. Department for International Development. Ellis, F. (2000). The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 51(2), 289–302. Garland-Thomson, R. (2005). Feminist Disability Studies. Signs, 30(2), 1557–1587. Gluck, S. (2014, May 21). Mild, Moderate, Severe Intellectual Disability Differences. HealthyPlace. Retrieved from https://www.healthyplace.com/ neurodevelopmental-­disorders/intellectual-­disability/mild-­moderate-­severe-­ intellectual-­disability-­differences. Accessed May 24, 2021.

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Gweshengwe, B., & Hassan, N. H. (2020). Defining the Characteristics of Poverty and Their Implications for Poverty Analysis. Cogent Social Sciences, 6(1), 1–10. Kanyoro, M. R. (2001). Introducing Feminist Cultural Hermeneutics: An African Perspective. The Pilgrim Press. Kretzmann, J.  P., & McKnight, J.  L. (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out, a Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research. Maluleke, T. (2002). The Rediscovery of the Agency of Africans: An Emerging Paradigm of Post-Cold war and Post-Apartheid Black and African Theology. The Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 108, 19–37. Mbiti, J. (1970). African Religions and Philosophies. Doubleday and Company. McDonald, L. (1997). Building on the Strengths and Assets of Families and Communities. Families in Society, 78(2), 115–116. Metz, T. (2010). Human Dignity, Capital Punishment, and an African Moral Theory: Toward a New Philosophy of Human Rights. Journal of Human Rights, 9(1), 81–99. Murove, M. F. (2004). An African Commitment to Ecological Conservation: The Shona Concepts of Ukama and Ubuntu. Mankind Quarterly, 45(2), 195–215. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S.  J. (2013). Why Decoloniality in the 21st Century? The Thinker for Thought Leaders: The Journal for Progressive Thought, 48, 10–15. Pateman, P. (1988). The Sexual Contract. Polity Press. Shutte, A. (2001). Ubuntu. Cluster Publications. Sindima, H. J. (1995). Africa’s Agenda: The Legacy of Liberalism and Colonialism in the Crisis of African Values. Westport Connecticut. United Nations Development Program. (2013). Livelihoods and Economic Recovery in Crises Situations. UNDP.  Accessed November 20, 2015. Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/crisis%20prevention/20 (130215_UNDP%20LER_guide.pdf. Accessed May 18, 2021. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Report. (2020). Women and Girls with Disabilities in Zimbabwe Speak About Their Challenges. available at: https://en.unesco.org/news/women-­and-­girls-­ disabilities-­zimbabwe-­speak-­about-­their-­challenges. Accessed May 18, 2021. United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2018 [2019]). Disability and Development Report: Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with Persons with Disabilities. United Nations, . Walby, S. (1990). Theorising Patriarchy. Basil Blackwell.

PART V

Confounding Chihera: Patriarchy Fights Back

CHAPTER 16

The Chihera Mystique in Selected Writings by African Women Theologians Excellent Chireshe

Introduction This chapter considers some written texts by African women theologians in light of the qualities of the Chihera personality, as portrayed in social media. Chihera epitomizes assertiveness, self-affirmation, independence, dominance, and transgression of cultural boundaries, among other characteristics. The chapter begins with a conceptualization of Chihera after which it discusses themes in selected writings by African women theologians in the context of the Chihera mystique. The selected writings under consideration in this chapter are those of the following African women theologians: Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Isabel Apawo Phiri, Musa Wenkosi Dube, Madipoane Masenya, Rosinah Gabaitse, Elizabeth Amoah, Nyambura Njoroge, Puleng LenkaBula, Anne Nachisale Musopole, Theresa Okure, and Marthe Maleke Kondemo. All of these are from a Christian and Indigenous African religious background, but it should be borne in mind that African women theologians are from diverse religious

E. Chireshe (*) Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_16

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and cultural backgrounds. Going through some of the writings of these African women theologians, it can be noted that the Chihera mystique is pervasive, notwithstanding that in some cases it is negated. Conclusions and recommendations wrap up the chapter.

Conceptualization of Chihera Chihera is a Shona clan name used to refer to  a female whose totem is eland (Shona: Mhofu or Nhuka). The plural is vanaChihera. “VaChihera” shows respect for the woman so designated since Va- is an honorific prefix. In the contemporary discourse, the designation Chihera has now mutated in meaning. While it continues to refer to women of the eland totem, it has also assumed a new meaning, that is, it is now being used to refer to any woman who is independent, assertive, brave, and expresses agency in her conduct. Chihera has thus become an epitome of assertiveness, self-­ confidence, agency, transgression of cultural boundaries, and independence. Unlike most women who subscribe to the patriarchal prescription of feminine submissiveness, passivity, and docility (Chitando & Mateveke, 2012: 46; De Beauvoir, 1949/2009: 727; Hendriks & Rutoro, 2008: 43; Kiruki, 2010; Machingura & Nyakuhwa, 2015: 92; Musopole, 2006: 201), Chihera asserts her full humanity and refuses to be regarded as the “Other,” the exception rather than the norm. She goes against the cultural grain when it comes to deferring to men. Chihera assumes full citizenship in a male-dominated society, as she challenges relationships of male dominance and female subordination, what Schussler-Fiorenza (2002: 210), a Western feminist biblical scholar, terms “cultural common sense.” Chihera rejects the traditionally held Christian belief that women’s subordination was predetermined by God. She does not consent to the sexual “colonization” sanctioned by both religion and culture. Chihera has a mind of her own. She makes her own independent decisions, trusting her own perceptions, and does what is traditionally considered masculine. She repels gender stereotypes. She exhibits what can be referred to as a masculine femininity. While it is a challenge for most African women to unlearn internalized sexist practices, attitudes, beliefs, and patterns (Njoroge, 1997: 82), this is not so with Chihera, who violates gender norms.

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Representation of Chihera in Social Media The social media is replete with images of Chihera as an assertive and domineering woman. She does not want to be the tail but wants a place at the center, not on the periphery. Chihera “finds a home” wherever she is because of her versatility. Chihera defies all odds; she dares to “rise and walk” in the face of religious and cultural factors that may threaten to pull her down. She does what she believes is right regardless of what other people say. In the manner of a border jumper, Chihera “trespasses” traditionally masculine spaces. To use Musa Dube’s (2012: 17) expression, Chihera “transgresses the gender divide that relegates most women to the periphery of power.” The forthcoming sections present some of the portrayals of Chihera in social media. Talkative and Speaks Out Chihera is represented as a talkative, eloquent woman, who does not hesitate to express her mind. When she begins to talk, she refuses to be silenced until she says all she intends to say. In some cases, her talk is abusive. She does not hesitate to shout at people who offend her. She even shouts at her husband if she feels that he has done something unbecoming. She does not apologize easily and would not be pushed into apologizing when she is convinced that what she has done or has said is right. She remains adamant; she does not budge. Her “No” is a “No” and her “Yes” is a “Yes.” She stands firm on her ground. She can even call her husband to account, contrary to what is culturally expected of a well-groomed African woman. Chihera does not fear to speak out and disagree with the majority, even if that means being labeled rebellious or facing reprisals. She does not believe in suffering in silence. She is her own person and does what she believes is right. She is a symbol of resistance to that which is dehumanizing and diminutive. She refuses to be treated as a second-class citizen; hence, she speaks her mind whenever she feels that she has been unjustly treated. She resists marginalization and oppression, even if that means paying a price. While Chihera values marriage, she does not believe that one should cling on to being married even if it brings misery and violation of personhood. As such, she does not idolize marriage, but she believes that marriage should be protected on the condition that it serves as a source of happiness.

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Unfeminine Actions The social media is replete with accounts of Chihera daring to do what is traditionally considered masculine, for example, she is often depicted carrying a heavy load on a bicycle or on her head. She is also not shy to express herself physically. She makes herself visible. She can even go to dance on the dance floor alone while everyone else is watching. She believes that life has to be enjoyed, not endured. In seeking to enjoy herself, she does not seek the approval of anyone, even her husband. She is courageous and is determined to accomplish what she sets out to accomplish. Chihera believes in gender equality and expresses that in word and deed. She does not believe in the superiority of males. To her husband, she is an equal, not a subordinate as prescribed by Shona culture. She is depicted as a domineering woman, even dominating her husband sometimes. She is an authority unto herself and, in some sense, the household head, contrary to the dictates of Shona gender norms, wherein the wife has to defer to her husband, seeking his approval before doing anything. Through her actions, Chihera refuses patriarchal definitions of womanhood. She challenges oppressive social systems that are branded “our culture.” In social media, she is portrayed as questioning the conduct of her husband. Chihera does not obey her husband for its sake, she only “obeys” him because she is convinced that what she is being asked to do is right. This suggests that she has not internalized a patriarchal mindset. She demands that her husband consult her before doing anything. As such, she refuses to be a mere implementer of decisions but demands to be actively involved in decision-making on matters that affect her. From her actions as portrayed in social media, Chihera is an epitome of an assertive, empowered, independent African woman. Being a liberated woman, Chihera refuses to be the Other. She is neither afraid nor shy to express herself in word and deed, both “on camera” (in public) and “off camera” (in private). Chihera rejects trivialization. She is not content with being treated as just a means (having only utilitarian value) but demands to be treated as an end (having intrinsic value), notwithstanding that she often treats other people as mere means to achieve her goals. She is determined to accomplish her goals against all odds. This sense of agency suggests that Chihera experiences “her own experience”: doing what she feels is right and not succumbing to pressure to do anything against her will.

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From the depiction and representation of Chihera through social media, it can be noted that she is both an insider and an outsider when it comes to African (Shona) culture. She has “dual citizenship” as she subscribes to Shona culture by upholding heteronormativity, that is, getting married to a man, but lives outside the culture by refusing to submit herself to her husband, being her own master. Thus, to Chihera, not everything in Shona culture is acceptable. In view of this, it can be inferred that Chihera applies a hermeneutic of suspicion when she considers the culture of her society.

Chihera’s Attributes Exuded by African Women’s Theology An Overview African women’s theology, which is God-talk from the perspective of African women, was prompted by the desire for liberation from injustice and exploitation that came with androcentric interpretations of religious and cultural texts and traditions. African women’s theologies seek to challenge what Schussler-Fiorenza (1998: 154) refers to as a “spirituality of quietism” that accepts marginalization and objectification. Writings by African women theologians reflect and uphold some elements of Chihera in that the writings call upon women to assert their full humanity, claim equality with their male counterparts, speak out, challenge oppressive patriarchal systems, abandon customs and traditions that are unjust to women and uphold those elements that are life-affirming, and promote health and well-being of all people. The writings show a desire to see women and other marginalized persons happy, healthy, and successful, which is only possible in an environment free from objectification, marginalization, and oppression. Speaking out against all forms of oppression, which is a key feature of African women’s theology, is commendable, given the adage that “Until the lion learns to talk, the hunter will always tell the story.” African women theologians apply a hermeneutic of suspicion to both religion and culture; a hermeneutic that is based on the standpoint that not everything in religion and African culture is good for women. As Amoah (2007: 95) states, the general goals of African women’s theology are to “challenge patriarchal systems and structures and develop life-affirming paradigms that respect the

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dignity and worth of women as capable of participating in all aspects of the community.” In view of this, African women theologians challenge what Chitando and Mateveke (2012: 41) refer to as “cultural nationalists” who hold the view that feminist thinking is Western and, therefore, seeks to destabilize the African society. African women theologians uphold the Chihera spirit of exercising agency and call upon other women to fight for inclusion and recognition in all spheres of life. It can be noted that the deconstruction of harmful cultural systems and practices is the method of choice for African women theologians, as they refuse to consider women’s subordination and marginalization as the will of God; as the way things ought to be. Demand for Inclusion African women’s theology is inspired by the desire to be included in all spheres of society; to change the narrative from one of marginality to inclusivity. African women theologians challenge the church to be an inclusive community in which all are equally valued and given an opportunity to participate fully in ecclesial ministry. They demand that opportunities be shared equally without gender bias, so that those who feel called to ministry are allowed to take heed to their vocations regardless of gender. It is worth noting that the theologians call for what Schussler-Fiorenza (1995: 20) refers to as a “discipleship of equals.” In so doing, they challenge male monopoly and leadership in the church. Mercy Amba Oduyoye, regarded as the matriarch of African feminist theology, contends that the church must shed its image as “a male organisation with a female clientele” by involving women in decision-making and all operations of the church (Oduyoye, 1995a: 9). She states that women should be allowed any vocation in the church that they believe God has called them to. Her conviction is that since women, like men, were created in God’s image, they warrant equal representation in church structures (Oduyoye, 1995a: 6). Related to this is Njoroge’s (1997: 82) argument that preventing women from undertaking theological education is contrary to the gospel message that is inclusive. In a similar vein, Phiri (1997: 74) states that women demand to be included in ecclesial ministry and authority. She sees the demand for inclusion as a search for wholeness in the church. The argument is further taken up by LenkaBula (2008: 295) who says “Exclusionary perspectives against women’s ministry and their full participation in the life and work of the church contradicts the

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egalitarian experience of Pentecost and the praxis of Jesus” during his earthly ministry. Further contributing to the inclusivity theme, Gabaitse (2011: 165) interprets the tearing down of the temple curtain (Luke 23: 45) to symbolize the tearing down of boundaries of systems of exclusion that separate men and women. She argues that both men and women should have access and opportunities to flourish and that women should be allowed to be in leadership positions without “being reminded that they are women” (Gabaitse: 165). The demand for full inclusion of women in all sectors of life by African women theologians is a demand for equality and recognition as full human beings in their own right, within their societies. In Musopole’s (2006: 2002) view, the right of women to defend their humanity must be seen as a right to defend what it means to live as truly human. This is related to Oduyoye’s (2006: 23) conviction that women are “persons-in-­communion not persons who complete the Other.” As such, African women theologians insist on women’s independence; the sort of independence Chihera exudes. Like Chihera, African women theologians refuse to buy into the patriarchal agenda by demanding the right to live independent lives, free from marginalization, oppression, and exploitation. African women theologians show a commitment to the end of oppression against women and are critical of aspects of religion and culture that put women in oppressive positions (Phiri, 2002: 21). Theirs is a theology of resistance; a protest theology (Phiri, 2004: 16), which seeks to fight for liberation from patriarchy and other oppressive systems. African women theologians call upon women to dare to “rise and walk,” to have agency, in the face of religious and cultural forces that are against their expression of independence. They insist on living full lives here and now, not waiting to experience happiness in the afterlife. As Oduyoye (1997: 204) asserts, “It is important to see the goodness of God here in the land of the living, for that is what establishes the presence of God among human beings.” This suggests that living fulfilling lives is a manifestation of God’s presence among people, and this is precisely what African women theologians want. They do not seek dominance over men but they yearn to be free and successful, working hand in hand with men (Musopole, 2006: 201; Phiri, 2004: 21). Just as Chihera is not content with being subsumed, African women theologians, as represented here by Oduyoye (1995a: 6), want to be fully present in decisions and operations that affect the whole church, and not just to be confined to “women’s affairs.” Oduyoye further argues, on the

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basis of Genesis 1:26–28, that women, like men, were created in God’s image and therefore must have equal representation in church structures. Being critical of the dehumanization of women in the name of culture and religion, Oduyoye suggests that women, like other socially marginalized groups of people, have to be willing to die to that which dehumanizes them on both personal and societal levels. Oduyoye (1995a: 8) sees the suppression of the full humanity of persons as sin; as violating God’s original plan for humanity. Reading Scriptures to Empower Women African women theologians, most of whom are Christian, articulate their theology from the perspective of African religion and culture as well as Christianity. From their writings, one is tempted to conclude that the African women theologians are calling upon fellow women to each dare to be a “Chihera,” to reject marginalization and dehumanization. Given that the Bible has historically been used oppressively against women (Phiri, 1997: 75), African women theologians engage in readings of scriptures that empower women to find their own voice and choice. Musa Dube (2012) refers to such readings as Talitha Cum hermeneutics (hereinafter referred to as TCH). The term Talitha Cum is derived from the occasion of the raising of the daughter of Jairus by Jesus (Mark 5: 21–43). In raising the daughter to life, Jesus commanded, “Talitha cumi” which, according to Mark 5: 21 (RSV), means “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Dube (2012: 18) describes TCH as “the art of living in the resurrection space, the power of continually rising against powers of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation, and all forms of exclusion and dehumanization.” Since Chihera fights dehumanization and subverts patriarchy to assert her independence and agency, TCH can be said to “breathe” a Chihera spirit. In view of this, it may be extrapolated that TCH is a brand of “Chihera hermeneutics,” given its stance as a hermeneutic of resistance to all that threaten women’s health and well-being. The TCH is the hermeneutic of choice for African women theologians; it calls upon women to rise up and not continue being treated as the Other; “living and insisting on staying alive, even when confronted with oppressive powers that crush” (Dube, 2012: 18). The TCH challenges African women to free themselves from different forms of oppression to attain liberation and life. Musa Dube seems to be urging African women to embrace the spirit of Chihera by forcefully freeing themselves from patriarchal entanglements, when she

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says, “There is no need to ask for permission from those in power” (Dube, 2012: 20), to attain freedom. Those in power (beneficiaries of the “patriarchal dividend”1) are more often than not, not willing to shed off power to liberate those whom they are oppressing. As Oduyoye (1986: 84) states, “The powerful never let go because they cannot exist as entities in themselves.” It should, however, be noted that there are some men who have foregone the patriarchal dividend by siding with women in the fight against gender injustice. The TCH, as employed by African women theologians, resists oppressive readings of scriptures and traditions. As noted by Oduyoye, God empowers women with a spirituality of resistance to dehumanization (Oduyoye, 1997: 202). She views the Exodus and prophetic traditions as empowering women under oppression. She sees the prophetic Jesus as challenging oppression. Phiri (2004: 21) sees Jesus as a liberator of women and other socially marginalized groups. Jesus’ life-giving encounters with women and his response to them are empowering to women. Phiri (2004: 22) repels the theology of women being portrayed as “suffering servants” on the grounds that Jesus already suffered for them so they need not suffer any more. Theresa Okure, cited in Dube (2012: 26), suggests a hermeneutic of life that corresponds with TCH.  Articulating the hermeneutic of life, Okure states that authentic biblical interpretations are capable of promoting and supporting life (Dube, 2012: 27). African women theologians reject interpretations that denigrate women. They challenge patriarchal, sexist, and androcentric readings of scriptures. The theologians assert their full humanity on the basis of Genesis 1:26–27, which states that God created both male and female in his own image. They insist on the reinterpretation of biblical texts so that everyone is included and is empowered to fully participate in both church and society (Oduyoye, 1995a: 7). Rosinah Gabaitse, reading Luke 23: 45 from a feminist perspective, shows how the text empowers women to take on the traditionally masculine role of priesthood. The verse comes from the account of the death of Jesus. It describes one of the strange things that happened at the death of Jesus, namely that the curtain of the temple was torn in two. For Gabaitse, the curtain (veil) in the temple reveals a patriarchal system that privileged a few men over and above other men and women (Gabaitse, 2011: 160). 1  The advantage all men have over women since they are set to benefit from the overall subordination of women

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Access to the innermost part of the temple (the Holy of Holies), believed to be the dwelling place of God, was limited to a few men serving as High Priests. Gabaitse (2011: 160) interprets the tearing of the temple curtain, which separated the Holy of Holies from other parts of the temple, as signifying the end of the privilege of the male high priests. Everyone could now access the Holy of Holies as the barrier (the curtain) was torn. Gabaitse (2011: 165) argues that the tearing of the temple curtain signifies that leadership and opportunities were now open to both men and women. The Bible has historically been used to justify the subordination of women. Such texts as I Corinthians 14:34, Ephesians 5: 22–24, 1 Timothy 2: 11–15, Titus 2:5, and Colossians 3: 18, which tend to promote male dominance and female subordination in church and society, have often been used to silence women. Genesis 2:18, which points out that a woman is a helper, has been interpreted to mean that women must be obedient and submissive to men (Musopole, 2006: 198). However, African women theologians adopt liberating interpretations to show that God desires the freedom of all and that he sides with the oppressed. Thus, as Phiri (2004: 21) states, African women theologians focus on the liberating potential of the Bible. They insist on the reinterpretation of biblical texts so that everyone is included. In their reinterpretation, African women theologians challenge the language of domination and, instead, place emphasis on inclusion and partnership; a roundtable community in which everyone is valued and respected. Like other African women theologians, Marthe Maleke Kondemo (2016) upholds a “Chihera” reading of scriptures. She rereads the story of Queen Vashti in an empowering way. She valorizes Vashti, whose story is in the book of Esther (1: 10–21). In a “Chihera style,” Vashti refused to obey her husband when he instructed her to do what was against her sense of morality. She displayed boldness by defying patriarchal objectification. In Christian circles, Vashti is often portrayed as a wicked woman who disobeyed her husband, contrary to the dictates of culture and religion. At bridal showers, kitchen parties, and other social gatherings where Christian women advice one another on how to be good women, women are taught not to emulate Vashti but to be subservient to their husbands, obeying given rules. Contrary to the general perception that Vashti was a wicked woman, Kondemo (2016: 1) considers Vashti as a hero who serves as a model of empowerment. She argues, “The character of Vashti, especially her sense of independence and courage, can serve as a motivation for

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Congolese2 female theologians in their search for new identities.” Kondemo considers the “Chihera” qualities of Queen Vashti as worth emulating. Kondemo urges women to emulate Vashti by resisting marginalization, abuse, and objectification. She says they must know what they want and be prepared to pay the consequences for violating social norms, particularly those relating to feminine submissiveness and silence. In her reading of Genesis 2: 18–24, Musopole (2006: 203) concludes that the institution of marriage demands adjustments for both men and women but this is not what happens. It is women who should adjust, and those who fail to do so are labeled deviant. Musopole suggests that women should not be content with being subsumed; they should expect their husbands to adjust as well so that none loses their being to the other. This kind of thinking falls within the Chihera paradigm since it involves questioning long-entrenched practices, in this case, a woman being demanded to adjust to her husband. While wives are to submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5: 22), husbands are commanded to love their wives. Ephesians 5: 28–29 says, “Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” In view of this, Musopole (2006: 2002) contends that it is difficult to submit to abusive men, who do not show any signs of being loving or compassionate. In essence, she is advocating for an empowering reading of Ephesians 5: 22–33, which is against unconditional submission. Hence, Musopole is suggesting that there is no moral justification for a woman to stay in a loveless marriage (although African culture exhorts women to persevere in the face of abuse in marriage). This is related to Masenya’s criticism of the “idolization of marriage” (Masenya, 1997: 66; Kondemo, 2011: iii), wherein women are determined to stay in marriage in spite of it being harmful to their well-being. A Critique of African Culture In their critique, African women theologians apply the hermeneutic of suspicion which has as its starting point the conviction that not everything in African religion and culture is good news for women. According to Masenya (1997: 57), it is an undeniable fact that African cultures hold women in low esteem. She looks critically at Sotho traditions in search for liberating paradigms (Dube, 2012: 23). Masenya (2008: 6) upholds the institution of marriage like other African women theologians but she does not subscribe to the cultural belief that for a woman to be complete, she 2

 Her reference to Congolese women is influenced by her Congolese background.

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must enter into a marriage union with a man. She insists that womanhood does not always have to be attached to a wife or mother and that marriage should no longer be idolized. Masenya further argues that while procreation and nurturing children are good, they should not be taken as normative for all men and women (Masenya, 2011: 89). She also challenges the traditional gender stereotype that women cannot lead as well as the traditional division of household labor which sees more men having more leisure time than women. Furthermore, she challenges the designation of a husband as lord but advocates partnership. Isabel Apawo Phiri calls for the re-examination of African culture. She says that African cultural practices “that promote fullness of life for both women and men should be encouraged, while cultural practices that are hurtful to any group should be stopped or changed” (Phiri, 2004: 17). Phiri (2004: 21) goes on to critique African rituals, arguing that most of these favor men and place women in oppressive positions. The message of African women theologians is that heritage should be accepted and upheld critically. The African expression that the family belongs to a woman (Shona: musha mukadzi) is liberating to women if it gives them decision-making powers as well as flexibility of movement, but if it is used to confine women to the home, it becomes dehumanizing (Masenya, 1997: 64). In the book entitled Daughters of Anowa, Oduyoye shows how African women, symbolized as daughters of Anowa, have been socialized to preserve norms of society (some of which are oppressive), through myths, proverbs, and folk-talk (Oduyoye, 1995b). She challenges the African women to confront religion and culture for perpetuating patriarchal oppression and to work toward the liberation of women.

Conclusion Writings by African women theologians reflect some, but not all, characteristics of Chihera, notably demand for equal treatment and inclusion, respect, recognition as complete human beings in their own right, and independence. Like Chihera, African women theologians do not accept everything there is in religion and culture, but those that are deemed to promote health and well-being. While Chihera is domineering, insisting on her own way, African women theologians believe in negotiation and mutual respect. They do not seek to dominate men like what Chihera is sometimes represented as doing, but to work with men as partners. Thus, while the writings of African women theologians reflect most aspects of

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Chihera, they shun some. Notwithstanding the excesses of Chihera that may be counterproductive, like not being quick to admit that she has erred, shouting at people and wanting her voice to win the day, she can serve as a model for empowerment by her sense of agency, refusing to be oppressed and exploited, courage, boldness, speaking out when wronged, refusing to be treated as the “Other,” and not accepting everything in religion and culture as normative. If the life-affirming attributes of Chihera could be inculcated and upheld in society, then there could be enhancement of human flourishing.

References Amoah, E. (2007). Reflections on the Impact of “The Teaching for Change” Conference. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 23(2), 95–98. Chitando, E., & Mateveke, P. (2012). Challenging Patriarchy and Exercising Women’s Agency in Zimbabwean Music: Analysing Careers of Chiwoniso Maraire and Olivia Charamba. Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa, 92(2), 41–52. De Beauvoir, S. (1949/2009). The Second Sex. Vintage Books. Dube, M. W. (2012). Talitha Cum Hermeneutics: Some African Women’s Ways of Reading the Bible. In M. W. Dube, A. M. Mbuvi, & D. Mbuvayesango (Eds.), Postcolonial Perspectives in African Biblical Hermeneutics (pp. 1–29). Society of Biblical Literature. Gabaitse, R. (2011). Reading Beyond the Veil: A Feminist Reading of Luke 23: 45. Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa, 17(1), 154–169. Hendriks, H. J., & Rutoro, R. (2008). Attitudes Towards Women in Leadership Structures in the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe. Dutch Reformed Theological Journal, 49(1 & 2), 40–52. Kiruki, J.  K. (2010). Women’s Liberation: A Paradigm Shift for Development. AMECEA Gaba Publishers. Kondemo, M. M. (2011). Women’s Security Through Heterosexual Marriage in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An African Woman’s Reading of the Book of Ruth. MTh dissertation, University of South Africa. Kondemo, M.  M. (2016). What Now of the Vashti Character in the Hebrew Bible? Ruminating on the Future of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians Among Emerging Scholars in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Verbum et Ecclesia, 37(2), 1–7. LenkaBula, P. (2008). The Shift of Gravity of the Church to Sub-Saharan Africa: Theological and Ecclesiological Implications for Women. International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 8(4), 290–304. Machingura, F., & Nyakuhwa, P. (2015). Sexism: A Hermeneutical Interrogation of Galatians 3: 28 and Women in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe. Journal of Pan African Studies, 8(2), 92–113.

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Masenya, M. (1997). Proverbs 31: 10-31 in a South African Context: A Reading for the Liberation of African (Northern Sotho) Women. Semeia, 55(1997), 55–68. Masenya, M. (2008). An African-Conscious Female’s Reading of Steve Biko, Presentation at the Forum for Religious Dialogue Symposium of the Research Institute for Theology and Religion, held at the University of South Africa, 23–24 August 2008. Accessed September 24, 2014, from http://hdl.handle. net/10500/4313. Masenya, M. (2011). The Woman of Worth in Proverbs 31: 10-31: Reread Through a Bosadi (Womanhood) Lens. In T. Faix, H.-G. Wünch, & E. Meier (Eds.), Theologie im Kontext von Biographieund Weltbild, GBFE, Jahrbuch, 3 (pp. 79–96). Francke-Buchhandlung. Musopole, A.  N. (2006). Sexuality and Religion in a Matriarchal Society. In M. A. Oduyoye & M. Kanyoro (Eds.), The Will to Arise: Women, Tradition and the Church in Africa (pp. 195–205). Cluster Publications. Njoroge, N. (1997). The Missing Voice: African Women Doing Theology. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 99(1997), 77–83. Oduyoye, M.  A. (1986). Hearing and Knowing: Theological Reflections on Christianity in Africa. Orbis Books. Oduyoye, M.  A. (1995a). Calling the Church to Account: African Women and Liberation. The Ecumenical Review, 47(4), 1–10. Oduyoye, M. A. (1995b). Daughters of Anowa: African Women and Patriarchy. Orbis Books. (Indicate this in the references as well). Oduyoye, M. A. (1997). The African Experience of God Through the Eyes of an Akan Woman. Cross Currents, 47(4), 195–206. Oduyoye, M.  A. (2006). Women and Ritual in Africa. In M.  A. Oduyoye & M.  Kanyoro (Eds.), The Will to Arise: Women, Tradition and the Church in Africa (pp. 9–24). Cluster Publications. Phiri, I. A. (1997). Doing Theology in Community: The Case of African Women Theologians in the 1990s. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 99, 68–76. Phiri, I. A. (2002). Why Does God Allow Our Husbands to Hurt Us? Overcoming Violence Against Women. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 114, 19–30. Phiri, I. A. (2004). African Women’s Theologies in the New Millennium. Agenda, 61(2004), 16–24. Schussler-Fiorenza, E. (1995). Bread Not Stone: The Challenge of Feminist Biblical Interpretation. Beacon Press. Schussler-Fiorenza, E. (1998). Sharing Her Word: Feminist Biblical Interpretation in Context. Beacon Press. Schussler-Fiorenza, E. (2002). Method in Women’s Studies in Religion: A Critical Feminist Hermeneutics. In A. Sharma (Ed.), Methodology in Religious Studies: The Interface with Women’s Studies (pp.  207–235). State University of New York Press.

CHAPTER 17

Chihera as a Game Changer in the African Churches’ Masculine Leadership Hierarchy: A Case Study of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe Terence Mupangwa

Introduction The role and status of the Shona/African mother has been distorted due to the impact of colonialism and the mismatch between Africa and Europe. This chapter argues that it is possible for the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFMZ) to come up with a gender-inclusive leadership model over time by utilizing the home environment through the mother as the training ground for leadership, including for girls and women. The AFMZ since its inception in Zimbabwe has been under the leadership of men. Women are the majority in this church, but they are at the periphery of decision making. Despite the fact that women are the majority of the church’s membership, the AFMZ does not have leadership models that are gender inclusive. This state of affairs may be attributed to the fact that

T. Mupangwa (*) Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_17

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the mother’s power and status in the home have been eroded over time. In particular, the boy child has missed out on appreciating the leadership of women. The mother, therefore, has to be resolute about socializing the boy child to become respectful and accommodative about women’s leadership capacity or potential. This will set the foundation for a gender-­ inclusive and gender-equitable society. The home environment currently has been an accomplice in reinforcing the practice of excluding girls and women in leadership. In the traditional African home, women yielded a lot of power in the past; they also exercised leadership roles in the society as a result of the empowerment they got from the home environment. The African home environment was distorted with the passage of time by a number of factors such as colonization and westernization. The mother in the original African home set-up was the centre of life, the glue that holds the social life intact and alive both in the home and society at large. Destroy her and you destroy also the life of the children in that home and society. Drawing insights from the original African home set-up, in this chapter I am contending that if AFMZ women are intentional about inculcating the “Chihera” traits in the home, it will lead to the change of the AFMZ leadership model. A “Chihera” is audacious. Her homestead is known by her name despite being in a patriarchal setting. She is courageous and confident and not hesitant to use resources in the home as she deems fit and necessary. Despite being expected to be submissive and docile a “Chihera” stands tall and challenges all oppressive and restrictive forms of life (Chitando, 2021: 143). She is the embodiment of confidence, such that those who want to maintain the status quo of female submissiveness, view her assertiveness as disturbing the “order of nature”. Chihera is generally an empowered woman who is defiant to patriarchy (Chitando, 2021: 143). The woman therefore is significant in changing the attitude towards the inclusion of women in church leadership.

The History of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe The Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe is a Pentecostal church that was established in 1915 (Machingura & Chivasa, 2016: 10). It has been in existence for more than a century in Zimbabwe, and it has been predominantly under the governance of men. It has never had a female president, overseer or elder (Madziyire & Risinamhodzi, 2015: 81–86). Women do

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not hold any decision-making position in the church except if one is a female pastor. It took a lot of time for the church to accept the ordination of women as pastors. The church had its first ordained female pastors in 1999 (Kwaramba, 2004: 59). Its basis was the Old Testament and New Testament passages such as Genesis 1; Corinthians14:34–35 and 1 Timothy2:9–15. The AFMZ believes in the work of the Holy Spirit which was its trademark from its establishment in Zimbabwe. The AFMZ confesses that any person, including women, can be used by the Holy Spirit despite their gender. From that perspective, one can view the AFMZ as democratic in the way it runs its affairs, but in practice it is not. Women generally were and still are not allowed to sit in decision-­making boards of the church (Kwaramba, 2004). This development is at odds with the position of women in African societies prior to colonialism.

The Zimbabwean Pentecostal Gender Ideology Pentecostalism has been viewed to be democratic and liberative when it comes to gender relations. However, this has not been the case in Zimbabwean Pentecostalism. Patriarchy has not spared Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe as well. Sande (2017: 50) notes how the Pentecostal churches have not been an exception on how patriarchy is influencing a variety of social organizations. Generally, there is no gender equality in Zimbabwean Pentecostalism especially in leadership. Women are still facing a lot of resistance if they show interest in occupying positions of influence in the Pentecostal churches. Biri (2016: 230) highlights that women in ZAOGA hold ceremonial titles because in reality they do not have any decision-making powers. The teaching in ZAOGA through its founder upholds that men and women are not equal and men should assume a position of Lordship in marital relations. A woman is considered as second-­ class citizen because she is believed not to think as a man does (Biri, 2016: 232–233). Hence, due to the influence of culture, Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe has not enhanced the empowerment of women in order to have a safe space both in marital relations and leadership positions.

Women in Africa Before Colonialism The general perspective that most scholars have is that women in Africa before colonialism were empowered both economically and politically (Sudarkasa, 1986: 91). According to Ogbomo and Ogbomo women in

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pre-colonial West Africa were not a uniform group that lived fixed lives relegated to the domestic sphere. In West Africa, women challenged, bargained, complemented and altered their societies via their participation in various roles in the political, social, religious and economic events before the coming of the colonizers. Women from Asante to Mali to Zazzau participated in public life, social and economic production and reproduction, and spiritual life. Pre-colonial West African societies valued women, as did those in other parts of the continent, including Southern Africa (Zimbabwe) which is the focus of this chapter. Pre-colonial Africa is well-known for its inclusion of women in very high positions in the formal governmental structure. More so, Africa is also noted for having parallel chieftaincies, one line made up of males and the other one made up of females. In most pre-colonial sub-Saharan African societies, women were visible in “high places” (Sudarkasa, 1986: 91). They were queen-mothers, queen-sisters, princesses, chiefs, occasional warriors and holders of other offices in villages. Furthermore, it was almost regularly the case that African women were also seen in the economic life of their societies, being involved in farming, trade or craft production. Women were “outside the home” as well as in it (Sudarkasa, 1986: 92).

The Colonial Period and Beyond Colonization had detrimental effects on the status of women in Africa through its introduction of education, “modernization” and “development”. These forces cooperated in denying African women access to contributing to the political and economic arenas of their countries. Female education was perceived to be very necessary to enhance their role as mothers and housewives. The colonial market of employment was directed at the educated male (Sudarkasa, 1986). Keeping women out of governing and decision making was open to colonial policy. Most of the few women who had access to colonial education were trained in homemaking, thus incapacitating them from participating in decision making and leadership. The colonial state right from the beginning had a direct relationship with the men through labour regimes, while women largely remained at the periphery. Colonization degraded the position and status of Shona women. The colonizers through their laws prevented women from possessing anything, even the smallest item like a National Identity card (Barnes & Win, 1992:

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138). The colonial system did not even allow women to hold a bank account as the economy evolved from being agricultural based to being monetarized (Barnes & Win, 1992). For the colonizers, the African woman had no source of money which would enable her to maintain a bank account (Makaudze, 2015: 270). All this in a way shows that the colonizers viewed the African woman as less human compared to the man.

The Mother Amongst the Shona In an African society, the mother plays a fundamental role in the raising of children. She is the one who spends more time with the children than the husband. The traditional Shona milieu poses a scenario in which the mother wielded a lot of power. Therefore, she was in a position to release into the society empowered boys and girls who knew that they could both make decisions and gather wealth. This chapter posits that a mother wields a lot of power in the Shona milieu. The mother had both the authority and freedom as well as influence in various situations. This chapter notes that the mother has a great influence in the lifetime of a Shona person. Before colonization, the mother had control and influence in and on marriage negotiations. The mother owned property and had property rights and she also participated in deliberations about family issues (Makaudze, 2015: 267). For marriage negotiations to take place, the mother or mother figure has to be present. Even if she is divorced from the girl’s father, her presence during marriage negotiations is mandatory. During the period of the boyhood of her sons, she also had a lot of influence. Thus, the mother, just like the father, has a very significant position and role to play at this stage in the life of a daughter. A mother is a very important being among the Shona and losing her is a very tragic experience in one’s life. The mother stands for warmth, love and security among others. Knowing the position and role she plays in one’s life, the Shona use her image in curbing unwanted behaviour. Thus, no child dares to embark on behaviour that would make them lose an important person in their life, their mother. In this case, the mother is presented as a very powerful and influential figure whose fear of loss is strong enough to discipline children. No child further argues or questions the consequences of their unwanted behaviour (Makaudze, 2015: 268). The mother was not bound to a man. Having a family with children to look after did not disempower a woman. Mothers were not condemned to the domestic and feminine duties, and they were not at the periphery of

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mainstream social and economic activities of a society. A mother was not just docile and sidelined. Her voice was so powerful in both the socioeconomic and political arenas. A closer look at Shona milieu shows that motherhood was intertwined with great respect, authority, independence and economic emancipation, virtues enshrined in the African Feminist theology propounded by the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (the Circle). It is for this reason that Gelfand (1968: 43) strongly advises that “It is wrong to judge the African without spending some time with the people in their villages in order to better understand their practices and motives.” Besides owning her own wealth, she also had a say in the running of the wealth of the whole family. Thus, whilst in western circles women are generally considered to be weaker sexes, the Shona mother is the exact opposite. She has great power and agility. The Shona mother also has and demonstrates physical power.

Theoretical Framework This study is part of a doctoral research which was conducted between September and December 2017 focusing on the place of women in the leadership of the AFMZ. This chapter analyses the issue of improving the participation of women in leadership in the AFMZ from the perspective of African Women’s Theology. It addresses the religious and cultural injustices that African women encounter in an African milieu (Sprong, 2011: 10). African women’s theology focuses on promoting equality in all dimensions, including power sharing. African women theologians recognize men and women as equal because they are both created in the same image of God (Amoah, 1995: 2). Hence, they challenge patriarchal hierarchical structures and the subjugation of women. The Circle theologians are the major proponents of this theology. They argue that, worldwide, women have been treated as “outsiders’ in the church. According to Sprong (2011) and Kanyoro, God’s original intention at creation was for men and women to reign as equals in their dominion over creation. In like manner, Njoroge (2014) avers that power inequality between sexes should never be tolerated as it is perpetuated through culture and religion. She reminds everyone that “It is sinful, and injures the creation in God’s image. It violates human dignity, and diminishes life” (Njoroge, 2014). For this reason, Njoroge (2009: 5) persuades churches to “provide effective and collaborative leadership that leads to changed lives and changed communities.”

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In a way, the African women’s theology encourages the moulding of the Chihera persona in the church and society. African Women theologians advocate for a woman who is assertive, independent and non-­ submissive. This theology is spreading the message that being a decent woman or girl does not mean that you cannot question or resist oppressive systems and tenets in the church and society at large. This theology becomes relevant for this study since it celebrates women who shake patriarchy to its core. The African women’s theology views the challenging of patriarchy as good news to women even though this may be considered as going against the norm. The work of African women theologians emphasizing gender parity in ecclesiastical structures is relevant to this study in that it seeks to investigate ways of improving the participation of women in church leadership. It advocates for the liberation of women in relation to decision making in the church. Hence, African women theologians’ advocacy for a gender inclusive church provides a solid foundation for this study because it is premised and rooted in African culture and world-view which is seemingly a principal driver of the treatment of women in the AFMZ.

Findings and Discussion What Is Expected of a “Chihera” in the Christian Home?  aving Talks and Bible Studies on Empowerment H Married women through the committee of the Sisters Union (The Sisters Union is the women’s department in the AFMZ. It comprises of married, single and widowed women) at one of the assemblies in Harare highlighted that the mother can empower both the boy child and the girl child through having regular talks and holding bible studies on empowerment. The married women emphasized that the mother should always instil in the boy child that an empowered woman is not a threat to him; rather she should be considered as a perfect complement to men in the society. The men and boys should not seek ways to pull her down or control her, instead, they should allow the girl child to flourish in whatever gifting they have, especially in leadership. The bible studies and regular talks will also inspire the girls to take up influential roles both in the home and in the society. More so, the bible studies will also inculcate a culture of boldness

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and confidence in the girl child such that she will not be afraid of taking up leadership roles, especially in the church. The girls’ fellowship indicated that most women sometimes refrain from taking up some leadership roles in church because they are always being told in the home, church and society at large that leadership is for men. It was observed through the interviews with 80% male pastors and focus group discussions with the Boy’s fellowship that most men are intimidated by an empowered woman. Eight out of ten of the male pastors indicated that violence against women is usually initiated by the fear of a strong-willed woman. By being violent or by beating her, the men will be trying to control and subjugate the woman. These talks should therefore emphasize empowering the boy child to accept a powerful woman because a boy, young man or man who is not empowered will seek ways to denigrate the girl child. The focus group discussion with the boys’ fellowship brought to light the idea that the mother during the talks and bible studies should include issues such as the importance and possibility of the girl child to acquire and possess her own wealth, be it in leadership, making decisions in the home and in society, taking up science subjects in school or roles that are considered to be a preserve for men. The boys’ fellowship emphasized that the mother in the home should inculcate the understanding that all these opportunities are open to the girl child and she should not be afraid to tackle them. The girl child will go out into the school ready to do science subjects, to take up professions that are mainly referred to as masculine careers in the society and to take up leadership roles in society. The boys’ fellowship also raised the view that the bible studies will boost the confidence of the girl child whilst building an understanding in the boy child that the girl child is as capable as they are, or sometimes even more than they are. The boy child should be able to cook, sweep and do all household chores. The mother should also emphasize that by doing household chores, the boy child is not being denigrated but it is a way of showing that boys and girls can do the same chores and they need to be exposed to the same life skills in life. By raising such well-equipped boys and girls, the mother will be a game changer. The trend, especially after colonization, has been that the girl child has to accept that it is the man who should make money, make decisions and take up all leadership roles. Words are powerful. If these talks and bible studies are done regularly, they will definitely produce positive results.

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The same approach towards the bible in the home has to be adopted. This is informed by the fact that the bible writers were also influenced by culture, which was also patriarchal. Discussing the misuse of the Bible in Africa, Magesa (1997: 29) argues that the Bible is used as an instrument to preserve the status quo. As a result, women have suffered as victims because its interpretation is solely left as the responsibility of men. The mother should be a game changer by taking the responsibility to interpret and explain bible verses that empower the children in her home. Just like in the African culture, there are verses that display the egalitarian nature of the bible. For instance, verses such as Galatians 3v 28 which says “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV) need to be emphasized in the home by the mother who spends most of the time with the children. Furthermore, Genesis 1v 26–28 highlights that men and women were created in the same image and both were given power to dominate. In the same vein, Acts 2 heralds the Pentecost day in which both men and women were filled by the Holy Spirit. These are the bible verses the mother should emphasize in the home. Such verses have been neglected, especially in the church, when it comes to issues of leadership which has resulted in the marginalization of women in leadership. The emphasis in the church has been on verses that emphasize on the submission of a woman. This led Masenya (2004: 50–51) to conclude that the bible can be a double-edged sword. It serves both the purpose of liberating and oppressing. Observing the same in Asian communities, Kwok (1993: 101) stated, “the Bible has been used to legitimize racism, and classism, as well as to condone colonialism and cultural imperialism.” Concurring with Kwok (1993) and Masenya (2004), Gabaitse (2012: 17–18) opines that “the same Bible can be used by men and women to seek liberation from slavery, labour exploitations, colonialism, racism and other forms of injustices precisely because it is a significant book for faith.” If the mother regularly reads and preaches on and interprets the bible in a life-affirming way in the home, girls and older women will stand a greater chance of being included in church leadership. If the bible is approached in that manner in the home through the mother, it does not become a wounding sword; on the contrary, it becomes a life-giving tool. According to Phiri and Nadar (2005), the bible has to be demystified so that it does not add to the oppression of women, but rather that it should become a life-giving resource. The mothers in the AFMZ should rise up and take up theological training so that the bible is not understood through an “all-male pastor” only.

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 ivision of Household Chores D Eight out of ten male pastors highlighted that the mother in the home should focus on the upbringing of the girl child and that of a boy child by making sure that they are exposed essentially to the same skills and responsibilities in the home if she is to become a game changer. According to the male pastors, among the Shona, in the home, the boy child is always being told that he is the father and leader, whilst the girl child is made to accept that she is a “mutorwa” (alien) because she will eventually get married. The mother will be a game changer if she makes all children regardless of their gender to do the same household chores. This will create a positive work ethic in all the children. As it stands now, the girl child is the one that wakes up and does all the household chores early in the morning whilst the boy child is sleeping. The boy child only wakes up to eat and is free to leave the house and come back at whatever time he desires. The mother can be a game changer by making sure that all children despite gender are exposed to the same household chores in the home. The rules in the home on household chores should apply to every child in the home. The rules from the mother in the home should never be gender specific. The rules about household chores should be applied and be observed by both the boy child and girl child in the home. It should be the norm in the home that a boy child, just like a girl child, should prepare meals and serve the whole family. In that way, even if the boys get married, they will not have problems with sharing household chores with their wives and children in their own homes. In that way, the mother would have changed the general practice in homes for generations. The girl child should not be raised to endeavour to fulfil motherly roles as a goal. Besides, gender roles were and are not created by God. In fact, it is the people in a particular society that create them. Therefore, they can be changed and amended in order to meet people’s needs as they evolve from time to time.  xposing All Children to the Same Education E The girls during the focus group discussion highlighted that the mother can be a game changer by making sure that the girls are exposed to the same education that the boys are accessing. The girls’ fellowship pointed out that the mother can achieve this by making sure that funds are also availed to the girl child to acquire higher education as well. The mother should make an effort and not just accept the concept that it is the boy child who is supposed to go to school and attain higher academic qualifications. By fighting the concept, they will be equipping the girl child to

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know that she deserves the same privileges as the boy child. By refusing the girl child access to education, “patriarchy seeks to keep her in an inferior position to men, a position where women were men’s slaves” (African Weekly 1946 cited in Barnes & Win, 1992: 65). Education enables a person to be adventurous. By denying women access to education, women will be confined to limited tasks such as farming, child minding and cooking. That does not only subjugate them, it also denies them the freedom and equality with men that women deserve. Denying women access to education excludes them from the socio-economic elevation and development that is brought about with education. Without education, women experience many marital problems. They become susceptible to being easily divorced, humiliated and denied socio-economic assistance by their male counterparts, creating problems for them. Remaining with basic education, as Longwe (2012: 221) contends, will keep women “in a perpetually inferior and subordinate position”. Given that a lot of things work against women’s access to information, it is crucial that they acquire the relevant information relating to their emancipation. According to Chitando (2004: 156), the empowerment of women through education implies equipping them with the necessary economic skills to resist oppressive patriarchal beliefs and practices that convey messages of pain and death. Marumo (2016: 68) contends that empowering women with education “will make women feel part of the church and not people who are only good for special services like healing, praying for the sick and pastoral aftercare”. Education will stimulate and inculcate the desire to engage in theological reflection in women. Education makes women more confident and ambitious; they become more aware of their rights and they can raise their voice against exploitation and violence. A society cannot progress if its women are silently suffering. They have to be empowered with education to carve out a progressive path for themselves as well as their families. History is replete with evidence in which women were treated equal to men because they were educated; hence, they prospered and grew socially as well as economically. It will be a mistake to leave women behind in our goal of sustainable development and it could only be achieved if both genders are offered equal opportunities in education and leadership. Paradoxically, men wish to marry educated and employed women in an environment where most men despise women’s access to education. Patriarchal tendencies have the propensity of blaming women for being victims of their socio-economic set-up whilst men who are equally influenced by the same environment are condoned.

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Education enables women to efficiently and effectively carry out their tasks, something they could not do without education. By allowing the girl child to acquire the same education as the boy child, the mother will be showing that the girl child is quite determined, hardworking and intelligent. The fact that education is indispensable to development is captured through the Shona adage “Kusaziva kufa” (Ignorance is the same as death). Such a position stems from the view that education provides people with manual or mechanical skills (Blaug, 1980: 146) and that it works to eliminate poverty (Blaug, 1980). In modern Zimbabwe, educated women have assumed various positions as ministers, nurses, teachers, engineers, doctors, pharmacists and lecturers. These positions have also accorded some of these women a very good life style, of good accommodation, cars and good remuneration. It has empowered them socially, intellectually, economically, materially and politically. In contrast, the less educated women lead a pitiful life, as general workers, house cleaners and beggars. This justifies Siyachitema’s assessment that education means money and a good life, and without it, one is as good as a dead person (2005: 26). Likewise, Mandela observes that “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to conquer the world” (A quotation inscribed at the entrance to the University of South Africa, Pretoria Campus, South Africa). Apart from providing a sound knowledge of their rights, education also makes women and girls to stand greater chances of getting well-paying jobs thereby reducing their dependency on men who are not always trustworthy when it comes to offering women and girls the much-needed financial support. With education, women become professionals who are capable of looking after themselves (Kahari, 1997: 93). They do not need to go down on their knees seeking favours from their husbands or from their mothers-in-law (Kahari, 1997: 93). The less educated are usually tossed around by irresponsible men since they have to place themselves under their men for them to be guaranteed of continued support. In addition, education is imperative for many especially in respect of the new technology that is being introduced in life, technology that is also used by women. Education is therefore power. If before the coming of the Whites and western form of education, the girl child, just like the boy child, was never denied an education as testified by prominent scholars on Shona culture like Gelfand (1968, 1979), Bourdillon (1976) and Gombe (1998), the mother in the AFMZ has the responsibility to bring that culture back among the members of the

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church. The above-mentioned scholars contend that both sexes received the relevant and necessary education through folktales, riddles, children’s songs and games. As we condemn colonialism and its negative effects on the availability of education to the girl child, the mother in the African milieu can turn the tables by making sure that education has been availed to all children.

Fighting Against Patriarchy All the ten female pastors concurred with the boys’ fellowship on the idea that patriarchy denies the girl child the chance to acquire a number of privileges, limiting these privileges to the boy child only. The ten female pastors concurred that patriarchy should never be tolerated in the family. The boys’ fellowship during the discussions also indicated that the mother in the home should not uphold patriarchy either by works or by speech in the home. For the female pastors, patriarchy marginalizes the girl child in so many activities. Usually, according to the female pastors, patriarchy is perpetuated by cultural beliefs. By dismantling patriarchy in the home, the mother will be commencing a new culture. Culture is made by people and it should never be rigid. There should be flexibility on culture and how it is made. Culture should be relevant and not harmful to those that are observing it. It should be specific and it should directly meet the needs of the people practicing it. Culture should never be imposed on people. Patriarchy as an element of culture has been imposed on women and children. Culture should not be static, indeed it should be dynamic. Women are the ones who teach or inculcate culture mostly in children from the time they are born. Kanyoro (1999: 56) stated that “Women and especially older women in Africa are the custodians of culture and you had better think twice before you challenge them.” Arising from this view, if older women are perceived as the custodians of culture, it means that they hold the power and they stand a better chance of changing culture, since they spend most of the time with the children. Ultimately, greater work lies in the hands of women to some extent, because they are the ones who raise the children. Women, according to Mazuru and Nyambi (2012: 597), are the first teachers and cultural bearers in Shona families. Therefore, women are urged to take advantage of this responsibility of raising children as an opportunity to teach the children equality and that there is no gender that is superior over the other.

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This is because the present culture has been imposed on us, and so through their will power, it is possible that women can change the culture of marginalizing women in leadership. I agree with Ayanga (2008: 36) who says that culture is a human creation to serve the overall needs of a society. If culture is a human creation, women in the AFMZ who are human beings and created in the image of God can definitely also transform the culture of marginalizing women in leadership. This is because it has been observed that some of the cultural aspects in Shona culture and the biblical culture no longer serve the needs of women in the AFMZ. As Ayanga (2008: 37) puts it, culture is said to be dynamic—it has to change just as human needs change. “As a way of life, culture is constantly being created and recreated” (Ayanga, 2008: 37). As the mother fights against patriarchy, it does not mean that women do not need men in their lives. Makaudze (2016) echoed the same sentiments when he stated that women cannot successfully do away with men. Instead, they should join hands with men to work for the re-socialization of humanity. The goal of the mother should not be to remove men and dominate them but to work with them as equal partners in all aspects of life. Verses 18–20 of Chap. 2 in Genesis show that the presence of a woman in this life was significant. The verses say that God realized that it was not good for a man to be alone. The impression one gets is that a man is not complete without a woman and this includes even in decision making. Just as a man needs the help of a woman for him to be successful in life, so too does a woman. The mothers in the AFMZ should take up the responsibility in the home to raise children who do not uphold the superiority of men above women.

Raising a Boy Child Who Is Not Challenged by a Powerful Woman All the ten male pastors interviewed together with the Boys’ Fellowship and the Girls’ Fellowship focus group discussions brought up the view that most men have been raised to believe that the girl child is supposed to be a subordinate and any woman who tries to defy this norm is considered to be a threat. Using the home environment, the mother should work towards raising a boy child who is capable of accepting the girl child who is powerful and can lead. The boy should not be challenged but he should see the girl child as another capable human being and not a threat.

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The boy child has to be socialized and trained to know that the girl child can also be powerful. For the mother to be a game changer, she is expected to begin to raise and teach the male children in such a way that can help the boy child to accept that his sister is equal to him. All familial roles must not be different in the home. As stated earlier, boys and girls should be given equal and the same roles in the home. This culture has to be taught in homes so that it can spread in schools, the church, political arena and the society at large. The AFMZ should also emphasize in its teaching that the home should produce empowered boys and girls that are empowered through the knowledge that they are equal and should be exposed to equal opportunities in life. It is actually a concern that pastors only talk about the emancipation of women but often times fail to walk the talk. But if the teaching is generated within homes by the mother, it means that it is the beginning of a new dawn, a new generation with a different perspective on how men and women should be relating. This is the generation that may acknowledge the co-existence of men and women and that they are equal beings. Thus, if the effort to empower both the boy and girl starts within the home through the mother, there is a possibility that the problem of the exclusion of women from leadership may be eradicated.

Involving Both the Girl Child and Boys in Decision Making Because the mother is the one that spends more time with the children, she should involve both genders in decision making. Nowadays, most men will be working in the diaspora and the mother is left to make decisions in the home. So whenever she intends to make a major decision, she can always invite the children so that they will help her in the decision-making process. This equips them with skills of decision making. In most patriarchal settings, it is expected that “men should always control, rule their households and keep women in subservient positions” (May, 1983: 61). Men’s deeds, opinions and world-view in patriarchal societies are always deemed final. Patriarchy labels women negatively and closes doors for women who want to emancipate themselves in life. By involving the girl child as well in decision making, the mother will be challenging the notion of patriarchy which presents women as incapable of decision making. Women tended not to be able to make decisions because they were not socialized to do so.

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However, this task of raising an empowered generation of both boys and girls should not solely be shouldered by mothers only in the home. A Chihera is wise enough to find ways of engaging the husband in this noble cause. Men despite spending a lot of time away from the home should also participate in empowering the children in the home as well.

Conclusion Observations by sociologists have shown that people’s behaviour and approach to life is mostly directed by how they have been brought up to conceptualize it. Consequently, bad or remarkable behaviour is usually explained in terms of one’s upbringing. Using the same premise, the status of a woman or the girl child in the AFMZ especially will depend highly on how the mother will raise the children in the home and stand against all the odds that intend to subjugate and marginalize them. The mother is a valued and adequate resource of knowledge and life skills. That is the reason why the whole world entrusts mothers with children from birth. The mother is usually entrusted with children during their critical years. Therefore, the mother should take the responsibility of being entrusted with children from a tender age as an opportunity to raise an empowered “Chihera” girl child who is not afraid of taking up responsibilities. The mother in the AFMZ should break the cycle of learned and taught submission to discrimination, carried on from one generation of women to the next.

References Amoah, E. (1995). Theology from the Perspective of African Women. In O. Ortega (Ed.), Women’s Visions: Theological Reflection, Celebration, Action (pp. 1–7). WCC. Ayanga, H. (2008). Religio-Cultural Challenges in Women’s Fight Against HIV/ AIDS in Africa. In T. Hinga (Ed.), Women, Religion and HIV/AIDS in Africa: Responding to Ethical and Theological Challenges (pp. 34–48). Pietermaritzburg. Barnes, T., & Win, E. (1992). To Live a Better Life: An Oral History of Women in the City of Harare, 1930–70. Baobab Books. Biri, K. (2016). Proverbs 31 Woman: Pentecostalism and “Disempowering Femininities” and “Oppressive Masculinities” in Zimbabwe: A Critique. The Bible and violence in Africa: Bible in Africa Studies, 20, 223–238. Blaug, M. (1980). Common Assumptions About Education and Employment. In J. Simmons (Ed.), The education dilemma (pp. 145–152). Pergamon Press.

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Bourdillon, M. F. C. (1976). The Shona Peoples: An Ethnography of the Contemporary Shona, with Special Reference to Their Religion. Mambo Press. Chitando, E. (2004). ‘The Good Wife’: A Phenomenological Re-reading of Proverbs 31:10–31  in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. Scriptura, 86(2), 151–159. Chitando, E., 2021. “Jojina,” “Marujata” and “Chihera”: Celebrating Women’s Agency in the Debate on Roora in Shona Culture. In Lobola (Bridewealth) in Contemporary Southern Africa (pp. 147–163). Palgrave Macmillan. Gabaitse, R.  M. (2012). Towards an African Pentecostal Feminist Biblical Hermeneutic of Liberation: Interpreting acts 2: 1-47 in the Context of Botswana (Doctoral dissertation), University of KwaZulu-Natal. Gelfand, M. (1968). African Crucible: An Ethico-Religious Study with Special Reference to the Shona-Speaking People. Juta. Gelfand, M. (1979). Growing Up in Shona Society. Mambo Press. Gombe, J. M. (1998). Tsika dzavaShona (2nd ed.). College Press. Kahari, G. P. (1997). The Moral Vision of Patrick Chakaipa: A Study of Didactic Techniques and Literary Eschatology. Mambo Press. Kanyoro, M. (1999). My Grandmother Would Approve: Engendering Gospel and Culture. Feminist Theology, 7(20), 53–70. Kwaramba, J. (2004). An Investigation into the Roles of Women in Church Ministry: A Case Study of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe. Masters Dissertation, University of Zimbabwe. Kwok, P. (1993). Racism and Ethnocentrism in Feminist Biblical Interpretation. Searching the Scriptures: A Feminist Introduction, 1, 101–116. Longwe, M. (2012). A Paradox in Theology of Freedom and Equality: The Experiences of Pastors’ Wives (Amayi Busa) in the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA). PHD Dissertation UKZN. Machingura, F., & Chivasa, N. (2016). Mainstreaming HIV and AIDS Programmes in the Ministry of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe. Alternation Journal, 23(2), 10–30. Madziyire, A., & Risinamhodzi, T. (2015). Pentecostal Dawn in Zimbabwe: The History and Tenets of AFM. The Brand Guy and Associate. Magesa, L. (1997). From Privatized to Popular Biblical Hermeneutics in Africa. In H. W. Kinoti & J. M. Waliggo (Eds.), The Bible in African Christianity: Essay in Biblical Theology. Nairobi. Makaudze, G. (2015). The Power of a Mother in Shona Milieu. Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(1 & 2), 266–276. Makaudze, G. (2016). Empowerment or Delusion? The Shona Novel and Women Emancipation. Journal of Literary Studies, 32(1), 70–83. Marumo, P. O. (2016). A Call for the Recognition and Empowerment of Women in Ministry in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 42(3), 55–70.

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Masenya, M. (2004). How Worthy is the Woman of Worth? Rereading Proverbs 31:10–31 in African- South Africa. Peter Lang. May, J. (1983). Zimbabwean Women in Colonial and Customary Law. Mambo Press. Mazuru, M., & Nyambi, O. (2012). Celebrating Africana Motherhood: The Shona Proverb and the Familial and Social Roles of Mothers as First Teachers, Cultural Bearers and Co-Partners. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2(5), 596–601. Njoroge, N. (2009). Gender Justice, Ministry and Healing: A Christian Response to the HIV Pandemic. Progressio. Njoroge, N. (2014). Teaching Men all about Women. Accessed December 12, 2019, from https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2014/11-­april/features/features/teaching-­men-­all-­about-­women. Phiri, I. A., & Nadar, S. (Eds.). (2005). On Being Church: African Women’s Voices and Visions. World Council of Churches. Sande, N. (2017). Faith and Equality: Rethinking Women in Leadership Positions in Pentecostalism. Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa, 23(1), 50–62. Siyachitema, R. (2005). Mbuya Nemuzukuru: A Girl’s Journey to Adolescence in Zimbabwe. Galaxy of Arts Publications. Sprong, J. L. (2011). A feminist Ecclesiological Study on the Gap between Gender Policy and Practice in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA). PHD Dissertation UKZN. Sudarkasa, N. (1986). The Status of Women. Indigenous African Societies Feminist Studies, 12(1), 91–103.

CHAPTER 18

Chihera’s Matriarchal Traits: A Mirror of Reverse Patriarchy Nomatter Sande and Clemence Makamure

Nomatter Sande holds a PhD in Religion and Social Transformation from the University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa). Nomatter is an African Practical Theologian. He is a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion (RITR) in the College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA). His research interest includes theology, disability studies, missiology and gender issues. Dr. Makamure Clemence is a senior lecturer, Curriculum Designer and Chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at Zimbabwe Open University. He has research interests in African Christianity, with special focus on African Independent Churches and their leadership system, Religion and Politics, Religion and Development, Human Sexuality, Human Rights, Religion and Environment and Leadership and Ethics.

N. Sande (*) Research Institute of Religion and Theology, Pretoria, South Africa C. Makamure Zimbabwe Open University, Harare, Zimbabwe © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_18

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Introduction This study adopts Chihera’s profile as an archetypal model of an indigenous Zimbabwean woman deflating patriarchy. Chihera is a visible and assertive woman whose matriarchal leadership mirrors reverse patriarchy and male dominance in Zimbabwean societies. Josolyne (2011) reiterated that the problems of violence and service needs of female and male victims are immensely incongruent, and as such, it is argued that treatment programmes for male victims should be developed, which are tailored to meet their specific needs. Violence against women includes forms of physical violence, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse. Whatever your circumstances, though, most women fail to find help or break free from an abusive relationship. Somewhat, Chihera women seem to have defied most of this gender-based violence and patriarchy—a gap this chapter intends to fill and explore how Chihera women’s traits is a form of reverse patriarchy. This study is qualitative and uses the narrative inquiry methodology approach. Narrative inquiry is a sociocultural theory that studies how human beings experience the world and tell their stories, conversations and autobiographies (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). The narrative inquiry was used to profile Chihera women through stories told, conversations and autobiographic claims. Further, data for this study were gathered from social media, newspaper articles, news channels and text-based research. This chapter begins by giving a synopsis of the issues of domestic violence in Zimbabwe. Second, the chapter gives a profile of Chihera’s traits. Third, the chapter discusses how Chihera women’s characterisation is a mirror of reverse patriarchy.

The Synopsis of Domestic Violence in Zimbabwe To profile Chihera women in Zimbabwe, it is critical to give a synopsis on domestic violence in Zimbabwe. Like most African countries in Southern Africa, domestic violence is still prevalent. According to Devries et  al. (2013), in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a 36% domestic violence prevalence. Domestic violence is often used to dominate and maintain control over women within the context of intimate relationships (Clowes et al., 2010; Nawaz et al., 2008). Domestic violence is one form of violence against women, which shows the struggle within society. The existence of violence within a society shows the absence of freedom but a promotion of gender inequality. Due

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to the growing domestic violence, the Domestic Violence Act 14/2006 focuses on reducing the risk of domestic violence; in 2007, the Domestic Violence Act was ratified with the Marriage Act Chapter 5: 16. The enacting of this Domestic Violence Act had been long waited since the United Nations declared the need for the total elimination of domestic violence. The United Nations made all member countries to commit to ending violence against women whilst giving room for countries to pass their laws (United Nations, 2015). The Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (2015) showed that husbands and intimate partners had beaten 35% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years. However, there is a paucity of published empirical evidence in Zimbabwe that gives information about domestic violence. Lasong et  al. (2020) argued that in Zimbabwe, information about domestic violence follows culture-specific and diverse geography. Hence, this study seeks to ascertain how the characterisation of Chihera women is a mirror of reverse patriarchy. Though there are many factors that facilitate domestic violence, some include but are not limited to less educated women being prone to violence and women with husbands who drink beer. Socioeconomic and cultural factors are prominent causes of violence in developing countries (World Health Organisation, 2018). Conversely, other scholars like Lasong et al. (2020) argued that there is no significant correlation between women and men’s education levels and domestic violence in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is still tangled in the history of traditional African patriarchal society regardless of the legal conventions and etiquette instigated by the Zimbabwean government to exterminate all forms of abuse in the country. Chuma and Chazovachi (2012) clearly stated that despite the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in Zimbabwe, domestic violence is still a cause for concern. It has to be noted that domestic violence is both a social and a health problem. It is pervasive and it cuts across all divisions of class, race, religion, age, ethnicity and geographical region (Allen & Wozniak, 2011; Golubski, 2012; Maluleke & Nadar, 2002; McCloskey, Williams, & Larsen, 2005; Nawaz et al., 2008; Shaw & Lee, 2009). The forms and intensity of violence may vary from context to context but no society can claim to be free from domestic violence (Gnanadason, 2012). Kambarami (2006) argued that men and women are socialised into gender roles whereby men are the breadwinners whilst women are allocated the roles of caregivers. It is imperative to note that gender roles often compromise and limit women’s freedom to meritoriously contribute to the social, political and economic spheres of life, thereby bracketing them out of the domes

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of development (Kambarami, 2006). The injustices and violence experienced by both men and women did not end, notwithstanding the legal frameworks adopted by the Zimbabwe government, such as the Domestic Violence Act of 2007. This is supported by the Gender-Based Violence Strategy of 2012 to 2015, which states that over 60% of Zimbabwean women continue to be victims of domestic violence across the country. Generally, domestic violence is linked to the desire to control. In this connection, domestic violence serves as a mechanism by which abusive men ensure conformity on the part of their partners. The desire to control suggests that abusive partners largely perceived their wives as inferior, as possessions that required monitoring. A multitude of factors such as poverty, unemployment, economic dependency, patriarchy, food insecurity, cultural beliefs and a weak civil society undermine the process of ending all forms of domestic violence in Zimbabwe. In most cases, men are silent wailers of domestic violence. There are many cases whereby men who are abused do not report the abuse to the authorities due to the fear of being castigated by society. According to the Freedom House’s, 2014 report, Zimbabwean “women enjoy extensive legal protections, but societal discrimination and domestic violence persist” (Freedom House, 2014). In a 2015 paper on domestic violence experienced by Christian women in Zimbabwe, Excellent Chireshe reports that when domestic violence cases are made public, there is often a stigmatisation “of both the abuser and the abused” (Chireshe, 2015: 267). The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 notes that 48 percent of Zimbabwean women believe that a husband “is justified to beat his wife” (US 27 February 2014, 40). More often than not, female victims of domestic violence are commonly reprimanded by their families if they file a case with the authorities (Chuma & Chazovachii, 2012; Womankind, 2011). It has to be noted that women’s access to justice in domestic violence cases in Zimbabwe is often obstructed by gender imbalances in social, cultural and religious beliefs (Chireshe, 2015: 264). According to Chireshe, cultural beliefs and tradition often instruct women to endure the suffering as it tests love and sincerity. This is the reason why the Domestic Violence Act in Zimbabwe includes protection from cultural or customary practices such as forced virginity testing, female genital mutilation and forced marriages (Zimbabwe 2006, Art. 3). Nawaz et al. (2008)) and Takyi and Mann (2006) indicated

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that violence relates to a range of coercive behaviours aimed at controlling a victim and it includes physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse. According to Chireshe, when a victim reports a domestic violence case to the police, the officers may either “arrest the perpetrator or advise the victim or his/her representative to apply for a protection order” (Chireshe, 2015: 260). Article 5 of the Domestic Violence Act similarly states that police officers are supposed to advise victims of their rights and protections under the Act, as well as their right to lodge a criminal complaint against the abuser (Zimbabwe 2006, Art. 5). According to the Domestic Violence Act, protection orders are valid for five years and are issued with an attached warrant of arrest (Zimbabwe 2006, Art. 10). According to the National Coordinator of WLSA, “a protection order remains valid for 5 years and it will have attached to it a warrant of arrest such that if the perpetrator breaches the order, the warrant of arrest will be effected” (WLSA 13 May 2015). Historically, domestic violence cases can be traced back to the pre-­ colonial era in Zimbabwe, where the main causes were power and dominance. The historical patriarchal society and cultural values that perpetuated male dominance and gave men an upper hand in all walks of life were chief among the causes of domestic and gender-based violence (Chireshe, 2012). Male dominance also had a hand in promoting female subordination and thus muffling the voice of women in abusive relationships. A man had the liberty to beat or discipline his wife in whatever way without any social sanction. Schmidt (2008) submitted that the husband had the mandate to punish his wife when she refused to clean, cook or have sexual relations with him in pre-colonial Zimbabwe. This shows a stretch of history of violence and abuse in Zimbabwe, which goes back to the pre-­ colonial era. Longwe (2003) contended that domestic violence cases witnessed today have been due to the traditional Zimbabwean patriarchal society of the pre-colonial societies, which has stubbornly stood the test of time. This control by men has led to the penetration of domestic violence by men against women in Zimbabwe. Further, harmful pre-colonial Zimbabwean cultural practices against women and girls, such as female genital mutilation, virginity tests, early and forced marriages, and widow inheritance, continue to hamper global efforts to eradicate all forms of domestic violence against women. Traditional cultural practices of lobola payment have also exacerbated the rates of women abuse in Zimbabwe. The birth of independence in Zimbabwe in 1980 did not put an end to the injustices and violence experienced by women during the pre-colonial

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and colonial era. Until today, cases of violence in Zimbabwe have been on the increase. Actually, domestic violence continues to mutate as advancements of societies are continuing  (Nadar and Potgieter, 2010). In Zimbabwe today, cases of women abuse continue to escalate due to the patriarchal society, economic difference, power and the social and structural justification of women abuse in the country. It is vital to mention at this juncture that by the coming of social and technological advancements, improvements in awareness on gender-based violence and other mechanisms, shifts are being witnessed where men are opening up and standing on their feet to express how they are also facing and experiencing violence perpetrated by women. As stated earlier, domestic violence had been thought to be a one-way channel where women were the receptors of violence and men being perpetrators. Nowadays, women like Chihera are now standing out voicing against and challenging male dominance. However, it has to be mentioned that the view of men as victims of domestic violence still has to gain popularity as most researchers have not yet embarked on intensive researches to unveil how men suffer at the hands of women. Education about domestic violence is a critical tool for reducing the phenomenon. The Report by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (2010) showed that the mainstream media has failed to raise meaningful awareness about gender-based violence because the subject of violence is treated as secondary. Below we proceed to reflect on how some Chihera women who exhibit masculine traits have become perpetrators of gender-­ based violence targeted against their male counterparts.

The Characterisation of Chihera Women There are certain personalities associated with different totems in Zimbabwe. The most notorious and outstanding character traits come from women born to the Mhofu totem who are called Chihera. Chiheras are known to be assertive, violent, brazen and talkative. Ostensibly, the Chiheras are known for controlling not only their homes but their brothers’ homes as well. They are known to be talkative and unashamedly exhibiting loose morals. Their brothers are known as Museyamwa. The Chiheras are brave and have no fear of anything. They are regarded as Mbiru (pillars). This implies that they are thought to be the pillars of their households. In essence, the Chiheras are considered as “female males”. The people of the Mhofu (Eland) totem whether male or female are all identified as bulls. They are all referred to as Mhofu Yemukono, meaning

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Eland bull. This means that they have characteristics of males in society and in their homesteads. As a way of epitomising their courage and brevity, the Chiheras are said to be crossing the river against the currents. One of the common stories told about the Chiheras in social media and traditional talks is that vane pamuromo pasina shoko risina maturo, vane shoko rinobanda kunge mvura yechando (they are women who do not take words with simplicity and the words coming from their mouths are painful like snow water). The Chiheras are said to be very beautiful with big feet and they are said to be good in bed. They are thought to be mostly very mean and unforgiving. Once angry, they become violent and are ready to fight for their rights and of those around them. Men who are married to Chiheras are thought to be living in hot soup whenever in Chihera’s presence. Despite the bad connotations which are associated with the Chiheras, they are also very productive. They are hard workers in the fields and all sorts of chores they may deem necessary to take part in. They can do even some duties which are culturally ascribed to males in African societies (The Herld 2013). The female Chiheras as purported by their totemic praise are men unto themselves. Most men married to the female Mhofu who were interviewed for this study bear testimony to abusive characteristics as obtaining in the Chiheras. They overrule everybody in their wake, husbands, brothers and even their fathers. In their matrimonial homes, whatever Chihera says goes. Regardless of her being away and now having her own home, she still wants to have a say in all that goes on within her maiden family. It is generally believed that whenever one comes across a group of women, chances are that the most vocal or the one delegating duties to the others is a Chihera. Such is the character of the females of the Mhofu totem. As for the male Mhofus, they are masters in the matters of the heart. They are so romantic that once a woman falls into their love tentacles, it becomes a mammoth task to untangle her. They know no boundaries when they fall in love. Like their sisters, the Mhofus have a knack for leadership. They tend to be good organisers, but lack the finishing touch. In this sphere, they can be equated to a soccer team that is so good in all other departments but falters when it comes to scoring—they miss more than they score. It is because of this shortcoming on the part of those belonging to the Mhofu totem that today we find people referring to all business ventures that are not run properly and struggle all the way as Bhizinesi raMuseyamwa (Businesses owned by those of the Mhofu totem).

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This means that the Mhofus, whether male or female, are quick takers of new things or ideas but they do not delve into seriousness or commitment because of their nature of laxity. The term Chihera can also mean the sacred from the term zviera meaning the sacred. This implies that the people from the Eland totem are respected. The sacred also means a place which cannot be approached at want. So, the Mhofus, whether male or female, are not easily approached since they have a heavy presence and they command a lot of respect. This also goes on to demonstrate how enterprising those of the Mhofu totem are. A visit to any community in Zimbabwe will reveal that most businesses are owned by the Mhofus. Above all, be they male or female, the Mhofus have abundant love for each other. They identify with their totem so much that they are found everywhere. This implies that they always address each other with the totem wherever they are. Men who are married to Chihera face many ills on her hands. During the three focus group discussions that we conducted prior to writing this paper, one of the male victims of violence from the Chihera women said that Chihera haaite, unoswera nenzara kana kurara panze kana atsamwa. Kunyange ukamuripota kumapurisa, nyaya yaChihera haiperi nekuti zviri maari zvekunetsa (Chihera is a tough woman, sometimes you can spend the whole day without food or you may be forced to sleep outside at night when she is angry. Even when you report her to the police, her harshness will never come to an end because violence runs in her bloodstream).

Chihera Women and the Reverse Patriarchy Motif While the characteristics of Chihera women are assertive and visible, they mirror the reverse side of patriarchy and male dominance in Zimbabwe. This study discusses the reverse patriarchy motif, focusing on the following findings of Chihera’s traits: causes of Chihera’s violence against men; forms of abuses—physical, sexual, emotional and financial.

The Causes of Chihera’s Violence Against Men Chihera is a woman who does not tolerate any mischief. She is always referred to as the “male chastiser”. One woman who belongs to the Chihera totem said that “it is our role as Chiheras to remove the ‘Lion in men’. In her view, “men tend to boast as they bully women but with us, we remove the lion in them because we do not tolerate nonsense.”

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Among other factors, violence against men is perpetrated by patriarchy and male dominance in the family. Chihera is often accused of having poor anger management, antisocial personality, borderline personality disorders, a pattern of dominating relationships, communication problems and a general attitudinal fondness for violence. Chiheras have a strong desire to control their partners. Chiheras are more likely than men to be controlling and aggressive towards their partners, as a desire to control their partners and more likely to use physical aggression in ensuring that control. The other cause of violence against men by Chihera is their need for popularity. The Chiheras are known to be people who want to be well known. They want their power to be felt through whatever means possible. As a result, some of the Chiheras end up perpetrating violence as a way of gaining popularity (The Herald, 2013). Another common trait that Chihera is well known for is that she is naturally violent. No matter whether one has done good for her or not, she can fix one just for the sake of fixing men. This implies that violence is part of Chihera’s nature. During the focus group discussions, it was pointed out that once Chihera starts behaving in a non-violent manner, then she ceases to be Chihera. Poverty is one of the major causes of domestic violence. Because of her character, Chihera always wants to be a shining star. She likes a lavish lifestyle. Once poverty has stricken the household, then the husband is likely to lose all the respect from Chihera. Chihera is a pace setter, she always wants a good life and in most cases through the hard way. Most of the abused men continue to live in abusive relationships due to poverty. They cannot provide for the family and Chihera cannot tolerate such a situation since she is a hard worker herself. Alcohol and drug abuse has also influenced the high prevalence of domestic violence cases. There is a general link between alcohol and violence. Drug abuse can weaken decision making and thereby increase impulsive behaviour. Therefore, the lack of inhibition can affect and cause the drug abusing person to do certain things that he/she would not do when not drinking or taking drugs  (Migliaccio, 2001). Therefore, the abuse of alcohol has made people to misbehave and lose control thereby making them brutal to their partners. If Chihera becomes a victim of drug or substance abuse, she becomes more dangerous. Once she is drunk, she starts shouting, beating up her partner and even becoming more vocal. Infidelity, promiscuous behaviour and extramarital affairs commonly known as small house are some of the factors that have caused friction and

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violence in most relationships. The promiscuous behaviour of most men and women has been the main source of marital disappointment leading to maladjustment and friction in most relationships. Hence, the unfaithfulness of women becomes the centre point of the quarrel in relationships. Thus, they feel hurt, cheated and disappointed, consequently leading to violence. Chihera does not tolerate any form of cheating from her spouse. Once she discovers any cheating, then violence will be the order of the day. On another note, there are some people who believe that Chihera is a woman who is known to be promiscuous as well. For this group of people, the Chiheras cannot be fully trusted. They can be cheats in a relationship. They are talkative and they do not want to settle in one relationship. As such, her chances of cheating are high.

Chihera and Forms of Abuses It is important to explore the various forms or nature of abuses experienced by men who are married to Chihera in order to fully understand its impact. Incidents of abuse perpetrated against men in the country range from physical abuse, emotional and psychological, sexual abuse and financial abuse. When most people think of domestic violence, high profile cases such as Rihanna and Chris Brown, Tina Turner, Nicole, Simpson quickly come into people’s minds. Rather, people quickly figure out how women have been suffering in the hands of men instead of the other way round. Hence, most people are oblivious to the fact that there are men who have never tasted peace in their marriage especially those married to Chiheras. There are many forms of abuse which men experience under the hands of Chihera. Physical Abuse/Violence Physical violence is the deliberate use of physical force with the intention of causing injury, harm, disability or death. Physical violence is one of the frequent forms of abuse perpetrated by Chihera against men. Physical violence includes behaviours such as hitting, slapping, kicking, punching, burning, use of weapons and other harmful acts that can cause physical injury. Physical violence can also include extreme behaviours such as denying the victim or the injured permission to seek for treatment when needed or even denying the victim room to report the case. In one of the informal discussions we participated in, a male study participant shared that if one

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reports Chihera, then one would have started an unending war. In his own words, he said that “Chihera havaripotiwe, unenge wadenha mago. Uchibva kumapurisa ikoko unosvika uchizvambaradzwa zvakare” (Chihera cannot be reported to the police, one can only do that at his own risk because on your way back from the police you will be thoroughly beaten). Medzani (2000) further stated that physical violence has been documented as the utmost form of domestic violence affecting victims of abuse. It should also be highlighted that physical violence was also included in the Domestic Violence Act thereby clearly showing that it is the major form of abuse which calls for victims to be assisted. Therefore, there is a need to establish whether victims of domestic violence in Zimbabwe are aware that physical violence is a punishable criminal offence and there is a need to report the case to the police whenever it is committed. The abuse of men in the hands of women has been regarded as something that makes the male victims of such violations susceptible to becoming a laughing stock in many societies and social communities. As a common human mentality, men who report domestic violence mostly face social stigma regarding their perceived lack of Machismo and other denigrations of their masculinity (Eugene, 2004). Rather, violence against men is generally less recognised by society than against women and this acts as a hunk to men reporting their experiences of domestic violence. In our modern societies, men who are abused by women are often given all sorts of names which at times undermine their masculinity. This makes violence against men to be significantly underreported. To make matters worse, domestic violence researchers and academics have ignored this area in order to protect the fundamental gains of the battered women’s movement. It is in this vein that this research assumes that the actual number of male victims of domestic violence may be greater than law enforcement statistics suggest due to the number of men who do not report their abuse in the hands of women. Sexual Violence Sexual violence includes any sexual behaviour performed without the partners’ consent or approval. The National Baseline on the Life Experiences of Adolescents (2012) postulates that this type of abuse takes different forms which include physically forced sex; denial of sex; unwanted touching, kissing, grabbing or fondling; pressured sex which includes threats, harassment or tricking without the approval of another partner. Lovett

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(2005) highlighted that sexual violence is a term used to describe rape and the humiliating range of unwanted sex. Therefore, it should be noted that forcing an individual to engage in sexual activities against his or her will or denial of conjugal rights despite the fact that the victim is your intimate partner has been regarded as a violent behaviour thereby calling for legal action. So, sexual violence is another form of domestic violence which has been affecting most men across the globe. In Zimbabwe, the Sexual Offenses Act has been introduced in order to protect marriage partners who continue to suffer from sexual violence and sexual harassment. Sexual violence occurs in different forms that includes rape, sexual harassment, forced marriage, trafficking and other violent acts that deprives the sexual integrity of a victim. In Zimbabwe, sexual violence has caused detrimental health problems such as obstetric, psychological health problems, gynaecological health problems and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/ AIDS. For Chihera, her best weapon to control men is denial of conjugal rights. Chihera is a good performer in bed, and she knows that if she wants to control her men, then she just “closes her legs” (denies the man conjugal rights). In one of the conservations, a study participant shared the following insights; “Chihera is sweet but when she is angry or when she wants her husband to act according to her expectations, she denies him sex for several days.” Under normal circumstances, sexual discrimination allows men privileged access to the material and social resources needed to gain advantage in power struggles (Ramírez, 2005). However, this is not the case when it comes to Chihera women because they are resourceful and they take charge of family leadership. We therefore contend that this blanket and generalised perception of womanhood and masculinity results in the trivialisation of men’s experiences of gender-based violence (GBV). Emotional and Psychological Violence This type of abuse intends to weaken the victim’s psychological integrity. Emotional and psychological abuse includes such acts as name calling, insults, intimidation, shaming, humiliation, isolation and denial of access to needs and requirements (Grady, 2002). However, emotional violence is difficult to detect thereby making it difficult for victims to seek help and report cases of psychological abuse to the police. Emotional or psychological abuse can lead one to lose sense of self-esteem and sense of worth will be undermined thereby controlling the victims’ confidence and

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autonomy. Campbell (2000: 80), stated that “emotional abuse leads to degrading the victim behind closed doors, even in public and behind family members thereby controlling the do’s and don’ts of the victim with the intention of making the victim feel humiliated and diminished”. This type of abuse usually separates the victim from close family members and friends. Chihera is a power grabber as others would want to call her. Wherever she is, she controls all the modes of power. To make her wishes come to fruition, Chihera often uses emotional violence. She silences her husband for good because she is very talkative. Chihera muffles the voice of men no matter how rich, violent or poor a man can be. The nature of our laws and cultural perceptions in Zimbabwe have made women not to be viewed as abusers but as victims always and this has made men to fear that if they report to the police, they will be assumed to be the abuser, and placed under arrest (Grady, 2002). It is in light of this view that Goodmark (2008) rightly said that the legal system fails to view women who use violence against male partners as perpetrators due to gendered high expectations on women to be the “perfect victim” and the culturally pervasive stereotype of the passive, “cowering” battered woman. Financial Abuse Financial abuse is also another type of abuse used by violent perpetrators. In most households in Zimbabwe, men are the breadwinners leading to misuse of family funds through extra marital affairs or small houses. However, this is not the case in Chihera’s household. Chihera women, as stated earlier, are hard workers and they are enterprising. They also have the power to access their husbands’ incomes, and once that has been achieved, they make sure that they do not give back the money to their spouses. Financial abuse entails being denied access to sufficient household funds which involves withholding money, causing a partner to lose their job, controlling financial assets and damaging a partners’ credit score. Chihera can limit her partner’s access to financial and other family resources leaving most of them financially dependent on their partners. This dependency makes most men to be vulnerable to different acts of abuse from their partners. The motive behind financial abuse is to prevent a partner from acquiring resources thereby forcing the other partner to be financially handicapped. This type of abuse might also include preventing the victim from advancing their education, finding employment and acquiring assets. Under such circumstances, the administration of the family income

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falls wholly in the hands of Chihera and the husband will not have a say. Swan, et  al. (2008) reiterated that men who are facing violence from women think that reporting their case may lead to exposing themselves as batterers. Some male victims fear that people will assume that the woman is not the real perpetrator, leading them to conclude that she must have been acting in self-defence or retaliating for abuse and thus wrongly exposing men as abusers and not the abused (Migliaccio, 2002). On average, the reports on male-on-female violence have been shown to cause ominously more fear and more unadorned hurts than female-on-male violence (Caldwell et al., 2012). As a result, this has led men not to consider themselves as victims, and or not realising that the violence they are experiencing is a criminal offence (Robertson, 2009).

Conclusion This chapter used Chihera’s profile as an archetypal model of an indigenous Zimbabwean woman controverting patriarchy. This is contrary to the status quo which is perpetuated by the notion that womanhood is often associated with submissiveness, politeness and modesty. Chihera women’s character is a complete opposite of men’s attempts to dominate women. They are overruling, they can make the family name of their husbands to be changed to theirs, for example, their homesteads are often known as pamusha pavaChihera (Chihera’s homestead). They dominate in family leadership. To a larger extent, Chihera women are a representation of reverse patriarchy perpetuating gender-based violence perpetrated against men.

References Caldwell, J., Swan, C., & Suzanne; Diane Woodbrown, V. (2012). Gender Differences in Intimate Partner Violence Outcomes. Psychology of Violence, 2, 42–57. Campbell, D. (2000). Forms of Abuse Experienced by Females. Oxfam Press. Chireshe, E. (2012). The Utility of the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Act: Christian and Muslim Women’s Experiences (Doctoral dissertation). University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. Chireshe, E. (2015, January). Barriers to the Utilisation of Provisions of the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Act Among Abused Christian Women in Zimbabwe. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 16(2). Accessed May 8, 2021.

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Chuma, M., & Chazovachii, B. (2012, Quarter IV). Domestic Violence Act: Opportunities and Challenges for Women in Rural Areas: The Case of Ward 3, Mwenezi District, Zimbabwe. In International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, 3(4). Clowes, L., Sandy, L., & Kopano, R. (2010). Risk and protective factors to male interpersonal violence: Views of some male university students. In African Safety Promotion Journal, 8(1). Connelly, M. F., & Clandinin, J. D. (1990). Stories of Experience and Narrative Inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19(5), 2–14. Devries, K. M., et al. (2013). The Global Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women. Science, 340(6140), 1527–1528. https://doi.org/10.1126/ science.1240937 Eugene, L., & Elaine, G. (2004). Intimate Partner Abuse Against Men (PDF). National Clearinghouse on Family Violence. Freedom House. (2014). Zimbabwe. Freedom in the World 2014. Accessed May 23, 2021. Gnanadason, A. (2012). Violence Against Women Is Sin: God of Life Accompany us on Our Journey Toward a World Free of Violence. The Ecumenical Review, 64, 241–253. Goodmark, L. (2008). When Is a Battered Woman Not a Battered Woman? When She Fights Back. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 20(1), 75–129. Government of Zimbabwe. (2006). The Domestic Violence Act (Act 14/2006) of 2006. Zimbabwean Government Gazette: Government Printer. Government of Zimbabwe. (2015). Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) - Key Findings. Accessed April 5, 2021, from https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/ pdf/SR234/SR234.pdf. Grady, A. (2002). Female-on-Male Domestic Violence: Uncommon or Ignored? In C. Hoyle & R. Young (Eds.), New Visions of Crime Victims (pp. 93–95). Hart Publishing. Josolyne, S. (2011) Men’s Experiences of Violence and Abuse from a Female Intimate Partner: Power, Masculinity and Institutional Systems [online]. Accessed May 11, 2021. http://www.mankind.org.uk/pdfs/Thesis%20Web%20Version%20 060412.pdf Kambarami, M. (2006). Femininity, Sexuality and Culture; Patriarchy and Female Subordination in Zimbabwe. University of Fort Hare. Lasong, J., Zhang, Y., Muyayalo, K. P., Njiri, O. A., Gebremedhin, S. A., Abaidoo, C. S., Liu, C. Y., Zhang, H., & Zhao, K. (2020). Domestic Violence Among Married Women of Reproductive Age in Zimbabwe: A Cross Sectional Study. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 354. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-­020-­ 8447-­9 Longwe, S.H. 2003. Women’s Voices Crucial for Democracy, Zambia, 39–45.

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Lovett, J. (2005). What a Waste; The Case for an Integrated Violence Against Women Strategy. Women’s National Commission. Maluleke, T. S., & Nadar, S. (2002). Breaking the Covenant of Violence Against Women. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 114, 5–17. Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ). (2010). In Peace Insight [Internet]. Medzani, J. (2000). Experiences and Perceptions of Domestic Violence Among Male Victims in Kwekwe. University of Zimbabwe. Migliaccio, T. A. (2001). Marginalising the Battered Male. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 9(2), 205–226. Migliaccio, T. A. (2002, July). Abused Husbands: A Narrative Analysis. Journal of Family Issues, 23(1), 26–52. Nadar, S., & Potgieter, C. (2010). Living It Out: Liberated Through Submission? Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 26, 141–151. Nawaz, N., Nawaz, Z., & Majeed, I. (2008). Mental and Physical Victimisation of Rural Women. Journal of Agriculture and Social Sciences, 4, 74–76. Schmidt, E. (2008). Peasants, Traders and Wives; Shona Women in the History of Zimbabwe, 1870–1939. Heinemann. The Herald. (2013, March 23). Paidamoyo Chipunza. Zimbabwe: Domestic Violence Cases Up. Accessed May 11 2021. United Nations. (2015). Violence Against Women-Key Findings. Violence Against Women. In: World Health Organization [Internet]. Available: http://www. who.int/news-­room/fact-­sheets/detail/violence-­against-­women. Accessed April 5, 2021.

CHAPTER 19

Implications of Consolidating Patriarchy Through Exploitation of “Better” Ways of Conveying Disagreeable Practices to Chihera, the Epitome of Empowered Women in Zimbabwe Angela Gubba and Sinenhlanhla Sithulisiwe Chisale

Introduction This contribution attempts to explain the deep entrenchment of patriarchy among Zimbabwean women from the psychological perspective. The discussion is philosophical and follows the reinforcement theory of motivation to explain how women’s minds are manipulated to accept patriarchy as the norm. Women’s acceptance of “the standard” results in their unconscious consolidation of the practice. The dominance of patriarchy is a major factor that discourages women’s emancipation in various aspects of life (Asad et al., 2017: 3). This view is also acknowledged by the African feminist theory which says that the suffering of women is both a passed down inheritance and a legacy of colonialism that created gender

A. Gubba (*) • S. S. Chisale University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2_19

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hierarchies in the education and professional sectors (Feminist Africa, 2009: 34). Accordingly, African feminists challenge and critique both traditional practices and government policies and systems that enforce and entrench gender injustice. Feminists’ aim for critiquing practices and policies is to eradicate patriarchy in all its forms so that gender equality can ultimately prevail in all spheres of life (Mikell, 1997). While some of the women have acquired education, sought employment, and even migrated to other countries in order to liberate themselves from being constantly discriminated against socially and culturally, they still experience deep-­ seated prejudice because patriarchy is psychologically and deeply entrenched in them. The practice is cunningly reinforced through extremely effective ways which, however, do not directly involve the benefactor, hence “better” ways for perpetrators. Individuals’ positions of social influence among Zimbabwean African families include mothers, “the female patriarch,” and “the male matriarch,” among others. This contribution focuses on how mothers are psychologically pressurized to convey disagreeable patriarchal practices on their children, especially girls. Such psychological reinforcement through the mother gives the impression that patriarchy is the standard culture and motivates its maintenance. Yet, using the motivational reinforcement derails the feminist agenda for gender justice because the method prolongs unjust male dominance which continues to benefit men. This non-empirical examination is a philosophical consideration from Skinner’s reinforcement theory of motivation to explore Chihera’s plight in women as mothers. The theory, also known as “behaviorism” or “operant conditioning” in the world of psychology (Gordan & Krishnan, 2014: 2), was chosen for reviewing the role of motivation in consolidating patriarchy through using inventive ways that subtly transmit disagreeable patriarchal practices in order to thwart Chihera traits. Chitando (2021: 159) points out how Chihera fearlessly and decisively dominates her domestic sphere, hence unsettling and threatening patriarchy in the household. The choice of this methodology included non-empirical analysis of literature related to the enquiry because, according to Chitando (2021), women of Chihera’s disposition are strong, determined, and have a sense of defiance. Regrettably, the women exuding Chihera traits would be persuaded through Skinner’s reinforcement theory of motivation aspects that comprise positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, extinction, and punishment, among others, to strengthen patriarchy using women. Thus, the chapter concludes by considering the implications of consolidating

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patriarchy through the exploitation of “unsuspecting” ways in order to cover-­up disagreeable practices. The main aim for this input is to add on to the broader debate on the dominance of patriarchy and gender disparities by exploring different approaches that are used to manipulate women to consolidate patriarchy, which Chihera resists. The discussion follows the philosophical methodology, and it also analyzes published and unpublished literature on patriarchy. Not many investigations look particularly at patriarchy consolidation from the behavioral psychological viewpoint. Literature, precisely on operant conditioning ways that involved women themselves in consolidating patriarchy through psychological motivation, is limited. Patriarchal practices are imposed by men on women. In turn, women unsuspectingly accept them as the norm and transmit them to girl children believing that it is “good” behavior. These girls then grow up “knowing their position” as “future wives” (Ademiluka, 2018: 354). Patriarchal practices are also transmitted to boys who are expected to behave as “real men” (Chisale, 2016: 7280). Transmission responsibility follows the role and task of the significance of mothers as the first educators of children and their role in coaching those children for life (Gubba & Chisale, 2018: 10). Consequently, the chapter puts patriarchy consolidation through behaviorism exploitation of seemingly upright practices into context, then presents Skinner’s reinforcement theory of motivation into perspective before methodology. The chapter deliberates on ways of conveying disagreeable practices through reinforcement approaches and then presents recommendations and conclusion.

The Notion of Patriarchy “Patriarchy” is a word derived from the Greek term patriarkhe ̄s whose literary meaning is “father of a race” or “chief of a race.” The word “chief” means “leader or ruler of people.” In Latin pater means “father” and arch is “rule” and, hence, rule of the father (Ademiluka, 2018: 339). More research has linked patriarchy to a broader view that includes social organizations where the father is supreme in a clan or family inheritance that follows the male line or where wives and children depend on the father (Gopal & Salim, 1998). Patriarchy, originally describing the position of the father as a household head, has become a systemic establishment of male superiority and female subservience (Soman, 2009). The general implication is that patriarchy is a system where men hold most, or all, of

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the power and women are of less importance. The practice stratifies and differentiates society on the basis of gender, providing material advantage to men but at the same time severely constraining the role of women using various taboos to guarantee conformity with specified gender roles. This chapter attempts to show how control includes using women to ensure strengthening the position of patriarchy. This discussion concurs with the view that patriarchy is a structural procedure where males dominate females. That male domination is manifested “in the values, attitudes, customs, expectations, and institutions of the society, and maintained through the process of socialization” (Guarneri & Poston in Ademiluka, 2018: 340). Males psychologically use women to consolidate the above practices. Generally, society today is characterized by the historic gender imbalances in power-sharing (Ademiluka, 2018: 340). In practice, women are methodically oppressed using women themselves in consolidating patriarchy. The approach originates from not only men using force but also the “traditional way” of educating girls which is different from that of boys. Such an attitude leads to an attempt to establish the origins of patriarchy. Research based on the international perspective (Richards & Saba, 1990; Hunter, 1986) traces patriarchy as far back as classic Greece views that portrayed indoor work as “morally, intellectually and physically” inferior (Radu, 2014). Such work was then relegated to women. Another perspective, which also is adopted to African women, is the woman’s biology which allows her to bear and rear children rather than perform decision-­making and leadership in battles (Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender, 2017: 53). It is in bearing and rearing children that women were exploited psychologically by men so that they could reinforce and perpetuate patriarchy. From another view, patriarchy is said to have begun as far back as the era of the rise of militarism around the second millennium B.C.E. (Fox, 2002: 16). Victorious groups of male combatants stressed their power over those whom they defeated who included women and children, strengthening their power through institutes that justified their superiority (Ngubane, 2010). It can be said that patriarchy developed from the view that persons who did not belong to the distinct male group were separate and lower to the champion males. A notable observation is that women were the weakest target for features of patriarchy that included abuse. Men took advantage by psychologically influencing the same women as instruments for consolidating and perpetuating patriarchy. In the Zimbabwean experience, males strengthen patriarchy by exploiting

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social institutions that involve women’s roles in families. An example of such institutions is that of “ubuntu,” “unhu or “hunhu,” a term that is equated to the moral foundation of African philosophy with societal norms that are set to consolidate patriarchy (Chimuka, 2001: 29; Manyonganise, 2015: 1). Persons who choose to deviate from these norms of what has been characterized wrong and what is dubbed right are considered “bad.” That is why it is made women’s responsibility, as the first educators of children (Chisale & Gubba, 2018: 10), to mold “good” people by using the notion of motivation.

Motivation as a Concept Motivation is the notion applied when describing the forces or motives acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior (Pakdel, 2013). According to Lai (2011), motives refer to a certain category of logics, which are recognizable by specific reasonable characteristics. As such, motivation also explains differences in the course of the behavior. More influential behaviors may be considered the outcome of higher levels of motivation and at the same time showing and highlighting the direction of behavior (Petri in Gordan & Krishnan, 2014: 681). Motives behind patriarchy are specific to male continued dominance over women in all aspects of social events. Women generally experience individual forces that explain the direction, level, and perpetuation of effort in reinforcing patriarchy (Soman, 2009). Reinforcement motives are designed in such a way that women who hold different social roles, which include mothers, aunts, and grandmothers, are pressurized to motivate other women to follow the same features in settings that portray seemingly “better” ways of conveying and consolidating disagreeable patriarchal practices (Social Norms, 2015). The term “better” implies that men hardly put practical effort in laying the groundwork of patriarchy. Rather, women do it for them and theirs is to enjoy the benefits. The effect of motivation, or activation, is most seen in the behavior where recipient girls of the instruction behave as expected, not by the tutor but by males who are the implementors of the expectations. Behavior is motivated. This goes back to Manyonganise’s (2015: 2) concept of “unhu/ubuntu.” In such a case, the individual behaves according to set norms on what is right, hence a good person. Where some recipient of behavioral activation question why, the behavior activation is

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considered inexplicit or overt and the tutors are blamed for failing their duties that support male dominance. Using women in consolidating patriarchy ensures men’s persistence in remaining dominant (Ademiluka, 2018: 357). For example, mothers in their capacity as the first educators of children are expected to carry on encouraging behavior in certain ways regardless of changing times in history (Freiburger, 2010). Mothers are also expected to behave in the manner purported by norms so that they become an example to the girl child. Gordan and Krishnan (2014: 681) say that psychologists are of the opinion that usually if a person lives under the influence of continued habits, those practices become an index of motivation. Equally, mothers’ behavior is necessary for children to learn patriarchy through observation, imitating and applying what they are taught. In a way, it is like Piaget’s (in Wood et  al., n.d.) concrete operation, which relates to showing emphasis by using applicable and visual examples. Behavioral practices are maintained in societies through handing them down to successive generations. Likewise, patriarchy follows specific directions. Among Zimbabwean women, behavior is deliberately influenced in a desired manner, hence directionality. Gordan and Krishnan (2014: 681) say that many psychologists have argued that motivation is involved in deciding the direction to follow regarding conduct. Like Petri’s (1986) view on directionality, in Zimbabwe behavior is often considered a pointer to and motivational of patriarchal practices. Those practices become accepted as custom and norm of life and they are handed down to the next generations, hence reinforcing patriarchy.

Skinner’s “Reinforcement Theory of Motivation” Skinner’s “Reinforcement Theory of Motivation” enabled scrutinizing consolidation of patriarchy through exploitation of women and to identify ways of conveying disagreeable patriarchal practices. The theory illustrates explicitly how, through behavior, people learn and apply what is expected of them (Bacanli, 2016). Equally, under patriarchy, women acquire expected behavior through instruction. Patriarchy involves different instructors, mainly female, who motivate fellow women and girls who are conscientized on what tradition expects of them. Yet, expectations actually fortify patriarchy through ways that seem positive, reasonable, and acceptable. Reinforcing of patriarchy is indirect, hence operant conditioning which leads to a particular and expected behavior. When analyzed,

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behavior demonstrates the kind of response outcome either immediately or way after the behavior has been performed. A girl child is taught how to behave in the presence of men, a lesson which becomes a state of her mind to be more applicable when she is a woman. A boy child is made aware that girls and later women are there to serve him, and that also becomes the state of his mind. The reinforcement theory of motivation underlines individual girls’ and boys’ mental state, emotion, and feeling. The theory concentrates generally on changes which occur in women when they go through the course of some action or conduct themselves according to the type of behavior which is considered acceptable, hence positive reinforcement. Basing on Skinner’s analysis, the external environment which children, especially girls, grow in is designed effectively and positively in order to motivate them into strongly maintaining patriarchy. The reinforcement theory of motivation is a powerful way of controlling the process of action and behavior in women. The theory underlines some features which contribute to the shaping of behavior and action. Following the above observation, this discussion considers the contribution of the reinforcement theory of motivation to molding the Zimbabwean women’s state of mind. Similar to what Skinner (Schunk, 2012) says, the reinforcement theory stimuli explain stages in the strengthening of patriarchy by shaping women’s behavior.

Methodology This chapter is guided by the philosophical approach and it also explores published and unpublished literature on the concealed ways of consolidating patriarchy among the Zimbabwean women. The chapter also draws from the authors’ reflection on ubuntu which is a multi-featured philosophical system that involves logic, knowledge and ethics combined with its concerns of life that is involved with the general reinforcement of unity, oneness, and solidarity among people, but twisted to engage women in strengthening patriarchy. Limited studies explore the reinforcement of patriarchy using women themselves. There is hardly specific literature on consolidating patriarchy through exploitation of the philosophical approach to motivate women into strengthening the disagreeable practices of patriarchy. The lack of literature is an indication that this is the niche area in gender and patriarchy.

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“Better” Ways of Conveying Disagreeable Practices Through Reinforcement Approaches Women hold special and multiple social roles of influence in society. The most important role is that of mother and grandmother. Both the mother and grandmother are the first educators of a child, augmenting essential involvement especially with girl children. They impart the culture capital. Such positions compel them to contribute to the strengthening of patriarchy. Women innocently find themselves trapped in the combination of ubuntu and some of the approaches of the reinforcement theory characteristics which include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment (Cherry, 2019), becoming themselves enforcers of the cores of patriarchy and making it even harder to uproot. Women become their own oppressors. It is possible for women to play multiple social roles of mother, aunt, and grandmother following different stages of the life cycle. As mothers, the women are accredited significant responsibility in realistic and symbolic work of cultural reproduction (Al Dweesh in Gubba & Chisale, 2018: 3), hence their importance in educating a child in ubuntu or hunhu. For example, girls may never contribute to family discussions and only boys may sit on a stool in the house. It is the mother’s duty to see that such rules are adhered to. A positive reinforcement for the girl could be being told that later when she is a married grown up, both her husband and in-laws will be pleased with her conduct. On the other hand, the boy child, after completing a task could be given an assurance that should his parents die, the family inheritance would be in his hands. Such positive reinforcement encourages other children in the family to emulate those who would have been praised. Yet, ubuntu or hunhu can be considered as engendering patriarchy; for instance, its philosophic aspect connects to the belief in and reverence of ancestral spirits who among the Zimbabweans are mostly related to patrilineal descent (Manyonganise, 2015: 2). The mother’s position as the first teacher of children is exploited in such a way that she unconsciously consolidates the high regard of male children over and above their female counterparts. The mother’s reference to the boy child as “father of the family” ensures that the family lineage is carried forward through the boy child, ensuring that the home does not go extinct (Chitando & Mateveke, 2012: 23). Such references are often repeated, and they result in

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strengthening stimuli whose presentation is dependent on responding in order to enhance the consolidation of patriarchy. A quiet girl child is regarded as displaying good behavior while a boy child who is talkative is considered assertive. A girl child who asserts herself is deemed having a boy’s character, something which is not emulated and must be discouraged as early as in childhood. Silencing of the girl child goes to decision-making later in life when they remain voiceless. In most cases, women are not consulted and, as a result, their voices are silent. Whether it is a family or community court, women’s behavior is controlled—they should remain quiet. Patriarchal opinions and outlooks toward women and young girls make their lives very difficult (Manyonganise, 2015; Machingura, 2013). Women are made to reinforce a range of patriarchal attributes through concepts that include beliefs and intentions. Similar to what Baron and Galizio (2005: 85) say, reinforcement selects adaptive responses within each individual’s lifetime, so does patriarchy choose to emphasize response for its consolidation. Mothers also use negative reinforcement in some cases. Like positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement is able to increase an accepted and positive behavior (Gordan & Krishnan, 2014: 682). For example, a girl child fails to execute “girls’” chores as expected. The mother chides the child, telling her how she will be an embarrassment to her wherever she would be married. The comment would not only make the girl child perform as expected, but also make any other girl children listening to try not to be an embarrassment to the family. In this case, chiding is a negative reinforcement transmitting patriarchy down the family through the mother’s influence. As noted by Gubba and Chisale (2018: 4), the practice is a result of the family’s unconscious contribution to aspects related with the consolidation of patriarchal practices and system. Mothers unintentionally engage negative reinforcement by the removal of aversive stimuli in order to increase the probability of girls repeating behavior that consolidates patriarchy, thus benefiting men. Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. When a girl child does not toe the line of patriarchy strengthening, she is punished under the pretext of bringing disrepute to the family. In most cases, the boy child does not need to do anything to enhance patriarchy because mothers do that for them through ways of raising “decent” women. Skinner (1972) says that punishment encompasses meting out negative action in order to reduce an undesired behavior when it occurs. For example, beating the child or withdrawing a meal, especially supper,

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may be punishment for arriving home late. Similar to what Robbins, Odendaal and Roodt (in Gordan & Krishnan, 2014) say, the disciplinary action is applied very close to the action of offence so that the child would associate the punishment with the unwanted behavior. Such behavior for a girl is associated with prostitution which is not acceptable for a well-­ behaved child, hence uyu munhu or lo nguye umuntu (This is a well-­ behaved person). The same punishment is regular because every time the wrong act is performed, the same punishment is meted each time the behavior is repeated. This follows what Baumeister, Bratslavsky et  al. (2001) say, namely, that bad communications are more commanding emotionally than good interactions. That is why the drilled behavior that favors men is carried into womanhood because of fear of punishment. For a boy, such behavior is equated to courage. It is important to note that a girl child who is repeatedly punished becomes withdrawn and remains quiet, she will have no communication with the mother and other people for fear of being punished unnecessarily. However, the quietness, in the majority of cases, is misconstrued as politeness and good manners. And yet quietness is consolidation of the voiceless women in patriarchy and are not consulted in decision-making, hence the common expression, “women should be quiet” (Chimuka, 2001: 28). Through inflicting punishment, mothers are used to strengthen patriarchy using their social position which exploits “better” ways of conveying the disagreeable practice. Later in life, the girl child could be abused physically, verbally, sexually even in the private spaces of the home under the pretext that the secrets of the home need to remain untold (Collette, 2009). The silence is further reinforced using the proverb that Chiri mumwoyo chiri muninga (What is in the heart is a concealed secret). Thus, the public would never know about the abuse. The silence of women has become so deep that to a greater extent, some professional women in the corporate world are unable to come out and express themselves. They cannot even negotiate benefits and exert vigor as much as the men because silence was instilled in them from birth. This is mainly because such women would have grown up knowing that boys and men come first. Patriarchy is, therefore, mainly socially reinforced. This method is considered effective. Comments such as “Kana kwaucharoorwa uri munhu” (chiShona) or lalapho ozalotsholwa khona bazabona ubuntu bakho (isiNdebele) (Wherever you will be married, they will consider you a well-behaved person). In Zimbabwe, the girl child’s behavior is almost always linked to marriage. Such an example of social reinforcement, which usually includes

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admiration and praising action which has been done, communicates socially with the recipient and it has a positive impact on them. By the time girls mature, they would be “well and better-trained” in the reinforcement of patriarchy. Patriarchal practice is designed in such a way that women themselves are made to preserve it.

Conclusion and Recommendations This chapter presented how patriarchy becomes deep rooted in Zimbabwe by using women to consolidate the practice. The chapter explored the Chihera traits among Zimbabwean women. Unlike the theory of motivation which concentrates on internal needs, Chihera is challenged by the reinforcement theory focusing on external conditions and situations. It is clear that Chihera and other women hold varied social responsibilities in family and society. Those social positions are subtly manipulated for women so that they strengthen the patriarchal system. The most common social position used is that of the mother as the first educator on the child, especially the girl child. What mothers impart as culture in educating a child in ubuntu or hunhu actually culminates in the cycle of reproduction and consolidation of the rule of men. The cycle confirms the African feminist theory which acknowledges the suffering of women as a passed down inheritance. Therefore, there is a need for the Zimbabwean government and traditional and religious leaders to realize how some entrenched patriarchal values are disadvantaging women. These three stakeholders must therefore act on and improve policies which entrench gender disparities. A positive attitude and not a superiority complex would not only improve social life but also eradicate the root of social injustice toward women and girls. Women would motivate girls through external factors that empower girls, emphasizing the importance of girls’ education rather than preparing for oppressive marriage. Children, regardless of their gender, should be taught to be assertive. Mothers, in their capacity as the first teachers of children, should be allowed the freedom to transmit the culture of fairness and respect of human beings. They should reinforce humanity and by emphasizing equity rather than strengthening patriarchy. Girls need not to be silenced for saying the same things that boys are allowed. Allowing girls to speak out as they grow would equip them to speak out their needs when they become women. Women suffer a lot of abuse that includes domestic violence, but they cannot speak out because, right from childhood, it has

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been drilled in them through their mothers to accept it as the norm. Proverbs such as, “Chakafukidza dzimba matenga” (implying that the secrets of the home need to remain untold) would become irrelevant when women openly speak out especially on abusive behavior. The reinforcement of patriarchy delays women’s awareness of the need to speak out. That is why it is important for both girls and boys to learn to eradicate patriarchy rather than reinforcing it. Patriarchal values reinforced through women educating children become accepted as other socio-cultural norms and values. As a result, men exert their power on women through the help of other women. Later on, the practice further reinforces the institutionalization and normalization of gender discrimination. This creates an environment of fear among victimized women that makes it difficult for them to stand against the practice. The fear to speak out has serious negative consequences for them especially in the majority of cases where nothing is done to address the problem. The consolidation of patriarchy through reinforcement ways that suit men creates deep gender discrimination and it becomes very challenging to combat. Solutions to it equally require psychological long term and on-­ going innovation and strategic ways that include men and women relating to each other as equal before educating girls and boys on equity. This, among other things, requires strategies targeting men and involving them in strategies that seek to eradicate practices that are unfair on women.

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Index1

A Abject hegemony, 182 Achihelele, 124 Aesthetics, 41–43, 45, 62 Africana Womanism, 66, 67 Africana Womanist theory, 67 African culture, 10, 42, 66, 105, 149, 151, 154, 201, 205, 212, 216, 217, 291, 297–298, 307, 309 African indigenous woman, 49 African womanism, 5, 117 African womanist perspective, 22, 105–119 African women’s theology, 269, 291–298, 306, 307 African women theologians, 2n2, 24, 287–299, 306, 307 African women with disabilities, 24, 265–282 Against the current, 122, 325 Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFMZ), 25, 301–316

Assertiveness, 20, 41–49, 88, 97, 98, 111, 126, 287, 288, 302 Assimilation, 55 B Buhera, 35–51, 91, 106, 108, 122n1 C Chihera, 1–26, 35–51, 54, 65–83, 87–100, 105–119, 121–133, 135–157, 161–174, 179–193, 195–219, 222–240, 245–260, 267, 287, 301–316, 320–332, 335–346 Chihera identity, 21, 105–119 Chihera metaphor, 7, 161–174 Chihera mystique, 24, 287–299 Chihera personality, 142, 225, 230–235, 287 Chihera reading, 296

 Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. Chitando et al. (eds.), Chihera in Zimbabwe, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12466-2

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INDEX

Chihera spirit, 4, 11–15, 17, 24, 292, 294 Church, 20, 25, 97, 129, 139, 163, 164n3, 167, 173, 174, 201, 205, 237, 271, 292–296, 301–316 Colonialism, 133, 196, 274, 301, 303–304, 309, 313, 335 Consolidation, 25, 26, 335, 337, 340, 343–346 Coping strategy, 55–59, 254 Countercultural, 8, 186 COVID-19 pandemic, 22, 23, 145–157, 252, 254, 255, 257, 259 Cultural grain, 288 Cultural identity, 97, 106 Culture, 3, 42, 54, 65–83, 87–100, 149, 164, 180, 199, 248, 265–282, 288, 303, 321, 336 Customary laws, 179–193, 229 D Decision making, 46, 113, 141–142, 167, 182, 250, 256, 292, 298, 301, 303, 304, 307, 314–316, 327, 338, 343, 344 Dehumanization, 294, 295 Disagreeable practices, 335–346 Domestic violence, 320–324, 327–330, 345 Dominance, 43, 185, 222, 236, 287, 288, 293, 296, 320, 323, 324, 326, 327, 335–337, 339, 340 Dzimu, 36, 38, 41–50 E Economic challenges, 23, 252, 255, 257–259 Economic crisis, 148, 245–260 Economic opportunities, 251–257

Education, 41, 155, 250, 269, 271, 292, 304, 310–313, 321, 324, 331, 336, 345 Eland, 2, 3, 36–38, 43, 45, 50, 53, 56–58, 62, 63, 66, 88, 90, 91, 93–96, 100, 106, 121, 130, 161n1, 181, 197–201, 227, 288 Eland totem, 20, 21, 37, 45, 87, 94, 99, 100, 106, 137, 288, 324, 326 Entrepreneurs, 15, 23, 246–251, 254–258, 260 Exclusion, 5, 14, 170, 174, 266, 272, 293, 294, 315 Exploitation, 169, 291, 293, 294, 309, 311, 335–346 F Female agency, 192 Female ancestry, 20, 35–51 Female masculinities, 87, 89, 91, 96, 100 Feminine submissiveness, 288, 297 Feminine vulnerabilities, 192 Femininity, 17, 21, 40, 53, 87–89, 106, 116, 117, 119, 163, 173, 234, 288 Feminism, 3–5, 65, 66, 79, 83, 89, 163, 169, 246, 270 G Gender, 2, 36, 65, 88, 113n2, 148, 161–174, 180, 195, 222–240, 246, 273, 289, 303, 320, 335 Gender analysis, 20, 88, 92 Gender-based violence (GBV), 6, 25, 162, 163, 166, 168, 169, 208–210, 222, 255, 320, 323, 324, 330, 332 Gender equality, 5, 6, 12, 19, 48, 88, 98, 113n2, 196, 218, 222, 224, 226, 228, 290, 303, 336

 INDEX 

Gender inclusive, 301, 307 Gendering, 48 Gender mainstreaming, 98 Gender norms, 3, 8, 11, 222, 230, 288, 290 Gender phenomenon, 222–224, 228, 240 Gender stereotype, 95, 234, 288, 298 H Hera people, 35–51, 57, 90–91, 93, 130 Hermeneutics, 113, 118, 291, 294, 295, 297 Home, 4, 41, 56, 68, 88, 111, 121, 152, 162, 182, 196, 225, 253, 268, 298, 301, 324, 342 Horse power, 123 I Identity, 13, 16, 20, 21, 39–43, 45, 48–50, 53–59, 63, 90–91, 93, 98–100, 105–119, 136, 157, 164n3, 181, 187, 190, 196, 226, 233, 297 Identity Process Theory (IPT), 55, 56, 58 Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 70, 225 Indigenous Zimbabwean woman, 25, 147, 320, 332 Inheritance, 12, 22, 26, 56, 179–193, 323, 335, 337, 342, 345 Intangible heritage asset, 23 K Kuera, 49–51

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L Leadership, 14, 25, 46–48, 66, 71–72, 83, 92, 95, 98, 126, 149, 155, 171, 171n5, 267, 275, 292, 293, 296, 301–316, 325, 330, 332, 338 Legal system, 188, 191, 331 Liberation, 2–7, 18, 67, 99, 115–119, 125, 162, 169, 171, 196, 291, 293, 294, 298, 307, 309 Lineage, 8n5, 72, 74, 91, 93, 107, 137, 197, 278, 342 Lived experiences, 6, 90, 99, 100, 106 M Manipulation, 188, 192 Marriage and motherhood, 72 Matriarchal leadership, 25, 320 Matriarchy, 237 Mbiru, 88, 93, 94, 122, 126, 137, 324 Mbuya Nehanda, 72, 124–126, 133 Mhofu, 2, 3, 22, 35, 40, 42, 45, 62, 66, 88, 90, 92, 95, 99, 106–108, 109n1, 111, 113, 116, 117, 121, 137, 162, 166, 168, 181, 197–200, 227, 233, 288, 324–326 Mhofuyomukono, 20, 53, 56, 58, 62, 130 Mischievous, 216 Modern law, 187, 189–192 Mother, 20, 38, 55, 72, 90, 107, 124, 137, 150, 163, 197, 273, 298, 301, 336 Motivation, 56, 296, 337, 339–340 Moyo Mukumbudzi, 55, 56, 59, 61–63 Museyamwa, 56, 58, 91, 95, 106, 107, 121, 129, 133, 137, 201, 324 Musha waChihera, 45

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INDEX

N Narrative practices, 181 Ndakaziva, 20, 53–63 Ndebele, 24, 95, 164, 165, 197, 227, 266, 267, 282 Neria, 22, 180–193 Nyashanu, 37, 47 P Pamusha pavaChihera, 332 Pastoral work, 146 Patriarchy, 1, 36, 67, 89, 112, 146, 162, 187, 196, 237, 245, 265–282, 293, 302, 320, 335–346 Personality, 23, 44, 45, 136–140, 142–144, 174, 225, 230–236, 247, 287, 324, 327 Physical abuse, 118, 328–329 Polygamous, 42, 61, 128, 186 Post-colonial Zimbabwe, 36, 87, 161–174 Practical theology, 146 Prototype, 20, 23–24, 50, 63, 198, 222, 247, 250 Pulled in identity, 89 Pushed up identity, 89, 97–99 R Reinforcement, 25, 26, 335–337, 339–346 Reverse patriarchy, 25, 320–332 S Sexist, 51, 288, 295 Sexual violence, 22, 161–174, 269, 329–330 Shava, 37, 51, 53, 56, 61–63, 91, 93, 95, 106–108, 111, 116, 117, 127, 197, 201, 227

Shona Indigenous Culture, 65–83 Social media, 3, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 21, 23, 88–90, 96, 97, 99, 100, 106, 107, 114–117, 119, 161–163, 161n1, 165, 166, 170, 171, 195–219, 223–225, 227, 230–232, 239, 247, 258, 287, 289–291, 320, 325 Social media narratives, 100 Social reconstruction theory, 23, 225, 227, 228 Spirit medium, 42, 43, 61n1, 71–72, 89, 92–94 Status, 3, 8, 9, 15, 16, 18, 25, 41, 42, 48, 50, 62, 65–83, 88, 89, 92, 114, 153, 162, 167, 169, 170, 180, 196, 204, 232, 248, 249, 256, 301, 302, 304, 309, 316, 332 Storytelling, 49, 145 Sustainable livelihoods, 265–282 T Theory of motivation, 335–337, 340–341, 345 Totem, 3, 16, 35, 53, 87, 105, 122n1, 135–144, 162, 181, 195, 226, 288, 324 Totemism, 35, 36, 39, 50, 105, 137, 197, 226, 227 Traits, 21, 22, 24, 25, 43, 44, 76, 93–96, 107, 111, 112, 117, 121, 135–144, 153, 162, 166, 170, 201, 222, 225, 227, 249, 266, 267, 282, 302, 320–332, 345 Transformation, 5, 18, 19, 47, 146, 156 U Ubuntu, 11, 22, 24, 25, 91, 145–157, 187, 265–282, 339, 341, 342, 345

 INDEX 

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V VaHera tribe, 20, 37, 43, 63, 91, 92, 97, 99, 130, 227 Vigilance, 216 Violence, 3, 12–14, 25, 192, 196, 209, 255, 256, 269, 308, 311, 320–324, 326–332, 345

Womanhood, 15, 20, 21, 23, 25, 44, 45, 73, 83, 96, 106, 117, 119, 180–182, 190, 234, 235, 239, 240, 290, 298, 330, 332, 344 Women’s economic emancipation, 246, 248

W Westernization, 25, 302 Women empowerment, 182, 192, 219

Z Zimbabwean indigenous women, 36 Zitete remhuri, 48–49