PICTURE: Tsonga people (also known as Shangaans in Zimbabwe and Mozambique) dressed in Chikisa attire showcase Tsonga culture to Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko (with black jacket and hat) during the 2015 edition of The Great Limpopo Cultural Fair in Chiredzi. INSERT: Chief Tshovani and Chief Gudo
IN the previous article, we discussed the factors that lead to cultural cringe or inferiority complex worldwide. From a local point of view, we discussed a particular case of the Tsonga people who are officially recognised as Shangaan in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Tsongas are being regarded as backward and inferior by some sections of society.
Being a minority people in the country, the Tsongas have been on the receiving end and their case is so sympathetic. The question that still remains is that: Is there any culture that is backward and inferior? Can we really say that the following Tsongas culture is backward and inferior?
Food
Tsonga people’s staple food is just similar to that of any other native culture in Zimbabwe. Despite the drawback of little rainfall they receive in their regions, Tsonga people are hardworking farmers whose crops include rapoko, millet, sorghum and maize. They don’t have any restrictions of on food like pork as other cultures do. They have a unique part of their menu in form of bull frog meat. The best and remarkable recipe for bull frog meat is found in Tsonga communities.
Although most African people look down upon this part of Tsonga culture, cultural tourists descend on Tsonga communities each year to experience the bull frog dish. The Malilangwe Trust which runs The Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in Chiredzi has partnered a Tsonga community to give cultural tourists a treat of Tsonga lifestyle that includes bull frog meals. In Tsonga culture, bullfrog meat is called “Homba ya Tatani” meaning father’s royal dish. Is something that cultural tourists pay homage to experience really backward?
Initiation ceremony
When a child graduates into adulthood, he/she is expected to undergo an initiation ceremony. During that process, a boy is taught how to become a dependable man in society as a girl is taught how to be a responsible woman. They are both prepared for family errands. It is during the initiation ceremony that boys undergo circumcision. The circumcision act is an indicator of cultural graduation.
Those who used to smear circumcision as a backward Tsonga culture were left with an egg of their faces. Health institutions in Zimbabwe are campaigning for males to undergo circumcision as part of a healthy lifestyle. The question now is: Which cultures has been promoting circumcision in Zimbabwe from time immemorial? Aren’t they the “backward and inferior” cultures that are credited with circumcision?
Piercing of ears
Most elderly Tsonga and Ndau men are identified with pierced ears. Ear piercing is regarded as ideal for women in “superior” cultures. So when a culture has men with pierced ears, most people regard that as a backward value. How did ear piercing become part of the Tsonga and Ndau culture? Soshangana, the Nguni king whom assimilated some Tsonga tribes and the Ndaus into his people in the 1820s formed an empire named Gaza. Some think the name Gaza came from his grandfather’s name, Gasa. Other claim that the name was named after Arab traders from the Middle East who had been friends of the Tsongas in Mozambique long before Soshangana invaded the land. It is commonly believed that Soshangana might have also renamed all the people under his kingdom Shangana or Shangani after himself.
When King Soshangana died his sons, Mawewe and Mzila are believed to have fought for the throne. Although Mzila was supposed to be the heir, he is believed to have fled Mawewe to Swaziland. The Portuguese later came to Mzila’s rescue as they fought on Mzila’s side and dethroned Mawewe.
Mzila became king and is believed to have demanded that all men under his kingdom show loyalty to him by piercing their ears. Any man found without a pierced ear was regarded an outcast. King Mzila was succeeded by his son Ngungunyana. King Ngungunyana is believed to have also adopted the ear piercing act as part of the Tsonga people’s culture. Where is the backwardness here?
Dressing
Multi-coloured attire made out of various cloth pieces commonly called Chikisa is a unique part of Tsonga people. Chikisa also identifies the Ndau people. The Chikisa dress is unique attire worldwide. It is mainly found in south east Zimbabwe, north and eastern South Africa and southern Mozambique communities. While Zimbabwe is claimed to have no national dress, isn’t it that Tsongas and Ndaus are already a step ahead with their Chikisa as their cultural dress?
Traditional headship
Tsonga communities have maintained a traditional setup where a chief still commands respect. One has to be a cultural tourist to Tshovani, Sangwe, Sengwe and Matibi 2 communal lands to witness how Tsonga communities are threaded. Men and women still hold respect for each regardless of what human rights activists are campaigning for women to do this day.
Tsonga women understand their men. The men also understand their women as not cheap and useless like what some outsiders might want the world to believe. How many cultures still have men and women commanding a two-way respect process?
Traditional fishing ceremony
Every year, cultural tourists travel to south east Lowveld of Zimbabwe to witness the Tsonga traditional fishing ceremony called Saila. Conservancies and lodges around Chiredzi have been benefiting during Saila period. The Tsonga people still understand the value of sharing. After each traditional fishing ceremony, everyone who will be present at the Saila would get a share of their harvest without fighting or greedy. Is a culture of sharing backward and inferior?
Contacted for a comment, coordinator for Centre for Cultural Development Initiative in Chiredzi Mr Hebert Hasani Phikela indicated that it is wrong to regard any culture as backward and inferior.
Said Mr Phikela: “There is nothing like a backward and inferior culture in the world. People should not mistake being a minority group to be inferior. The problem mainly lies with us Africans. We applaud foreign minority cultures as “superior” at the same time despising fellow African cultures. What we have here are intricate aspects some people are failing to embrace. We need time and cultural lenses to comprehend the so-called backward and inferior cultures. Communities should be interconnected. Where one culture is left wanting, the other one should fill the gap.”