Customs and beliefs of some African peoples – Part 3

In this the third and final part of this series we will discuss the relationship of the African man and his children, his home and labors, his manners and his environment.

Children

The African man and woman want children more than anything. In the  older, traditional, village environment when a couple is expecting their first child the wife usually returns home to be instructed by and cared for by her mother. The first child is often born at her father’s home.  After the birth the child’s father will be sent for and it may be a day or two before he can see his child over whom he assumes full parental control. He has both the rights of custody and guardianship over all the children of his marriage.

It does not really matter by whom the woman bears the children as long as she was lobola’d in which case the children always belong to the man who paid the lobola.  So, if a child is conceived in an act of adultery, it still belongs to her husband. The husband may, after accepting payment for “damages” by the lover, accept a customary payment and then relinquish his right to the lover.  After the child is old enough to leave its mother the natural father makes a further payment (for the rearing of his child) and then acquires full rights of custody and guardianship.

A man exercises his rights over his sons until they marry and set up their own homes. His daughters remain under his control until they are married and come under the care of their husbands. A child born as a result of his daughters’ seduction “belongs” to him and he has total discretion as to whether he will hold onto or relinquish custody to its natural father.

Though customary laws in Zimbabwe have always been strict with regard to parental rights, the courts of the country have laid down laws protecting the welfare of children. The welfare of the child is of primary importance when awarding custody. In the case of babies or toddlers who need a mother’s care, custody will often remain with her until they reach the age of about seven years.

The home and his labors

In the rural village, custom demands that there should be a clearly defined division of labor between the men and their women. The man only performs work considered worthy of his superior position in relation to his wife. The traditional woman would not expect her husband to do otherwise.

Throughout the 20^th century, as an economic necessity, many African men earned their living in domestic or other service jobs (such as housekeeping, hotel and restaurant waiters and gardeners) performing daily tasks which they would not dream of doing in their own home environment.

In her home, the African woman is responsible for all the chores connected with rearing her children and keeping her husband contented.  She has her own hut, like each of her husband’s other wives. When she dies, no other woman will ever live in it and it will be left to disintegrate. She shares in the building of the hut.  The husband carries the heavy poles from the surrounding “veld” and sets them up in a circle.  She plasters the walls and floors and carries the long thatching grass for her husband to tie to the frame of the conical roof.

The housewife is constantly busy in the village setting.  She stamps the grain and grinds the meal between two flat stones. She brews the beer, collects the firewood and water, and feeds and tends to the children.  She is responsible for keeping the family larder and sees to it that there is no waste of the food supply.  She also helps the husband cultivate the land. The man is primarily an agriculturalist, for he tills the land, with a plough if one is available. He takes on most of the heavy tasks, making the wooden handles for his tools, fashions the wooden pestle and mortar for his wife’s use, prepares animal skins and even weaves baskets. He is also the hunter, fashioning nets from fibrous tree bark, making snares or pits, and setting traps.

While the man has nothing to do with the village domestic tasks, the woman takes no part in the affairs of the state or tribe.  It is the man who attends the meetings and voices his opinion. The older he is and the greyer his beard, the more his opinion is likely to be respected.

Much of rural tribal life relies on the “nhimbi,” a social gathering attended by men and women from nearby villagers.  Men will squat on their haunches in a circle and pass around a foaming beer pot. Women gather nearby in the shade with their babies and laugh and gossip among themselves. Others will be working happily among the crops.  The onerous day to day tasks are therefore shared among many.  The nhimbi is an important social event.  The guest workers are paid for their hard work by hospitality and tomorrow the nhimbi may be held at their homes and they will benefit from the work on many hands and provide the beer and hospitality. When the crops have been harvested threshing parties will be held and this becomes an enjoyable event. Men and women will gather on the threshing floor and beat the grain from the husks with singing and frequent intervals for a thirst-quenching quaff of beer.

The man and his manners

African people are extremely respectful to others and are polite to a fault. But wherever we go in the world we will encounter local customs that we may think show bad manners when, in fact, manners differ from culture to culture. This is very evident in African society and the multiracial societies that are found in Africa.

When a European man is addressed by a superior or when someone he respects enters the room, he will rise and remain standing as a way to show his respect. An African man, on the other hand, considers it most respectful to squat down as soon as he is addressed by a senior. When entering a room he is being polite by sitting down without waiting for an invitation to do so.

The African, like Arabs and others who have existed in countries where there is barely enough water for survival, let alone for washing, regards his right hand as his “clean” hand.  He uses the right hand for conveying food to his mouth and his left hand for various unclean tasks and would not dare take food from a communal cooking pot with his left hand. Politeness demands that he use his clean hand when handing anything to someone else.  When he receives a gift, he will hold out both hands. No matter how small the item may be he is indicating to you that it so big, so heavy and so generous that it takes two hands to hold it.  To receive a gift with one hand as we do, belittles the gift and does not express gratitude.

If two people are talking the European would not walk between them, but the African will often do so as a way to show he intends no harm. It is very common to see a heavily laden African woman, with a bundle on her head, and perhaps a child or two in tow, walking behind a man who carries nothing but a stick or an axe. In the traditional culture, the man would be unable to protect his wife if he were encumbered with the luggage.

Those of us accustomed to the hectic, busy, western way of life tend to be very abrupt in our greetings and conversations. The traditional attitude of many Africans is far more patient and it is important to give lengthy, polite, greetings and light conversation before getting down to business. It is polite to tell a person what it is thought he wants to hear rather the blunt truth.  So, when asking directions of a rural African man, you may ask, “Is it far to the nearest river?” The answer may well be “No, it is not far.”  A few miles further when your thirst is becoming unbearable you will wonder why the man did not tell you the honest truth.  It is because he was showing his best manners in telling you what he thought you would like to hear.

The list of differences in manners between cultures can be very long. It is very important to understand these differences and to adapt to them. Patience and understanding have never been so important. During my 13 years living in Zimbabwe I gained an immense respect and admiration for the African people with whom I came into contact. These characteristics are still evident.  Even in the strife torn country that is Zimbabwe today, the men and women you meet in their society are almost always hospitable, friendly and welcoming. This is not just because their livelihood may depend on it; it is also because this is the most natural way for them to conduct themselves.

Customs and beliefs of some African peoples – Part 2

The Spirits

Africans living in Zimbabwe, as in most African countries, are powerfully influenced by their spiritual beliefs. They believe in God, or the Great Spirit who created and controls the heavens, the earth and the elements. He is called Mwari, or Umlimo and he is thought to have little concern with the affairs of particular tribes or of men. He has never been mortal. Of course there are many Africans today who have come to accept the Christian faith and who know that Mwari is deeply concerned with the lives of individual men and He is approachable through the Church.

It is Mwari’s sons who are thought to be almost as powerful and who “possess” the bodies of mediums through which they communicate with man. Many of these have the power to make rain. Some of their names are Chaminuka, Nehanda and Nyamuswa. When the powerful human medium (host) dies, the spirit may not choose another for a long period of time but it will “come out” later in another human who will be recognized as the temporal home of the spirit and who will be revered by others.  The power of these individuals to sway opinion and direct the affairs of vast numbers of people should not be underestimated.

Tribal spirits are all ancestral and of a lower order.  These are spirits of the first chiefs, who look after the interests of the tribes and punish their transgressions. Their relationship with the tribes is linked through the present day Chiefs, but they communicate through mediums (called swikiros). Hallowed as these swikiros may be, it is the family spirits which hold paramount importance in the traditional tribes-people’s lives. 

A family does not consist only of its living members. Departed male ancestors are still a part of the family and are concerned with the health and well being of those on earth. They watch over them and guard them unless they themselves are neglected and forgotten. The living therefore worship their ancestors and consult them in all important family matters. Some families will use the services of diviners, while some may have their own medium in the family through whom the spirits speaks. The medium may go into a trance and may not remember afterward what he said or did. 

There are many more aspects of the spiritual influences on traditional Africans.  Some spirits, such as the “shave” (sha-vee) might be the graveless wandering shade of a person who was not afforded customary rites on his death.  Another is the “Ngozi, or the spirit of a man or woman who died with a grievance and who might be seeking revenge.” These multiple spiritual influences are very powerful and even highly educated and “modern” Africans will defer to their relatives' beliefs in many aspects of their lives.

The Chiefs

The Chief is the most important man in his tribal area. His election to the chieftainship has the full support of his followers and their tribal spirits. He becomes the intermediary between the people and their ancestors seeing to the peoples’ welfare and maintains order. His role is spiritual, judicial and administrative. Selection of the chief differs for the Matabele and the Shona tribal groups.

The Matabele chief who passes away is replaced by his oldest son - a primogeniture system, similar to that of the succession, for example, of the English monarchy. This system may, quite possibly, result in the selection of a young king. In a warrior tribe, this system would give rise to a brave warrior chief who could lead the tribe in battle.

The Shona custom is a system of “collateral succession” which, in most cases, will provide an elderly man.  The Shona regard maturity as equal in value to bravery, and this system ensures that grey-haired rulers will assume the Chief’s role.

In the book referred to in Part 1 of this blog there is a good example of how this system works. Say Chief Goredema was the first chief of the nucleus of a tribe.  He has four sons by his first (senior) wife and the oldest is Mutsvago, then Marimba, then Ningi and finally Tsuru.  When Goredema dies, the chieftainship passes to Mutsvago.  When Mutsvago dies he is succeeded, not by his son, but by the oldest surviving male of the house of Marimba, then to Ningi and finally to the oldest surviving male member of the house of Tsuru.  When the houses of all four brothers have held the chieftainship, it passes back to the house of Mutsvago and the whole complicated process is repeated down through the generations.

As there were no written records before the early 1900s, and no birth records, this system would often result in many old men laying claim to the chieftainship. So how would this succession riddle be resolved? The spirit mediums would consult the old chief Goredema, who died many generations ago. He will tell the people who the rightful successor should be.

In Zimbabwe Africans can decide whether to have their grievances aired in the Government court system or whether to have their problems resolved in the tribal courts. Both verdicts are given legal recognition. Unlike government courts, tribal leaders are more likely to go out of their way to bring about reconciliation between the parties. Under the British system, as in the American system, a confessed murdered, for example, might be found not guilty due to a legal technicality. Tribesmen would consider this grossly unjust. It is worth noting that Africans in Zimbabwe can also choose to be married in the Christian faith, and having done so, they cannot then decide to return to the village and acquire other wives.

It is worth noting that since the earliest occupation of Zimbabwe by the British, the government has left the selection of Chiefs to the tribal members according to their age-old customs. Once an heir has been accepted then he is given recognition by the Government.

These days, the administrative responsibilities of Chiefs have grown enormously and include local government, community projects, establishment of business centers and rural schools and hospitals and so on. As one would expect, many of the Chiefs today are well-educated and more capable of dealing with these responsibilities than they might have been 50 or more years ago.

Marriage

The traditional African tribesman does not regard himself as an individual in the way that a European does, but rather as part of a greater whole. His continuing existence after death is achieved through having children. His oldest son will replace him and take his name and perhaps even having children with his wives, except for the son’s own mother.

The oldest surviving son is responsible for the debts his deceased father may have had, for the care of his family, and for maintaining the good will of his ancestral spirits. Continuing the life stream beyond death has given rise to the forms of marriage that have evolved over centuries.  When a couple marry, a very close relationship is established between their two families; much closer than is generally the case in a “western” marriage. The marriage contract is between families, not between the husband and wife as individuals. If the couple quarrels, their families may go to great lengths to prevent the union from dissolving.

There are several forms of traditional marriage, two of which have not been permitted for over a century. (One is the taking of a wife by a captor during a tribal war; and the other is pledging of a child for the payment of a debt.) The most common forms of customary marriage, recognized in law in Zimbabwe, involve the payment of “lobolo,” generally in cattle, by the groom’s family to the bride’s father. When a father accepts lobolo in respect of his daughter he undertakes to furnish the bridegroom’s family with the children who are so necessary for a continued existence.  In some tribes it may be the custom to withhold lobolo until the wife has proved herself by producing an infant.

After payment of lobolo, if the wife proves to be unable to bear children the husband has the right to claim a refund or another woman of his wife’s family, often a younger sister. If the husband proves to be sterile his brother may be called upon to father a child by his wife.

What happens to the lobolo that the father of the daughter receives? To ensure against the possibility of having no grandchildren, he may use this lobolo to purchase a wife for his son. In the past, and probably today, it was common to pair off his sons and daughters so that each son knows from which sister his own lobolo will come.

Lobolo serves in many ways as an insurance policy. It insures that children will be born to them to carry the family into the future. It helps assure a successful marriage by encouraging good conduct on the part of the husband, for it he ill-treats his wife she may leave him and he forfeits the right of any refund of the lobolo his family paid. On the other hand, the father is responsible for the good behavior of his daughter. If she is lazy, or a bad cook, of nags and scolds her husband, she may be sent back to her father to learn how to behave.

Polygamy is still practiced in Zimbabwe although many Africans enter into marriages solemnized in the Christian Faith. Even in these marriages however, lobolo will generally pass between families. The High Court of Rhodesia ruled that such payments are permissible in a Christian marriage as far back as 1912.

The death of a husband does not necessarily end the marriage for his widow.  She remains with his family and is later inherited by his brother or one of his sons. This is a custom similar to that illustrated in Chapter 25 verse 5 of Deuteronomy.

In Part 3 of this series we will discuss the relationship of the African man and his children, his home and labors, his manners and his environment.