Insight into VaPfumbi culture

Friday, 20 May 2011 20:20

By Thupeyo Muleya The Vapfumbi culture has stood the test of time, especially when it comes to chieftaincy matters and safeguarding their values and ethos. Chieftainship wrangles have been reported throughout the country for sometime where family members fight bitter wars with some even consulting traditional healers and witch doctors to ensure they secure the coveted throne. However, no wrangle has been reported among the Vapfumbi tribe which has for many years managed to follow tradition in solving the succession issue. When Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, the Government introduced a new system of governance which sought to decentralise power to the traditional leaders (chiefs). These fall under the Chiefs and Headmen Act. This was meant to help them preside over civil matters which didn't need the intervention of the justice system. Traditional leaders are also viewed as custodians of culture and values of certain tribes across the country. However, Beitbridge district was hit by a tragedy of living without senior traditional leaders (chiefs) for the last five years. The district falls under the jurisdiction of two chiefs - Chichewo Matibe in the East and Pariti Sitauze in the West. Chief Matibe passed away in May last year and was of the Vapfumbi tribe, while Chief Sitauze of the VhaVenda tribe passed on in September 2006. A fierce battle has been raging for sometime between the group led by the late chief's brother, Paul Sitauze and one led by a rival Johnson Mbedzi a descendent of the late chief's brother Marema who has since roped in the Ward 11 councillor Pini Mbedzi to his side. Marema was born with Matshavha and Mauda being sons of Diasikwa the man who started a bitter fight with Siturimani in the late 1930s. A 10-member research and steering committee was appointed by family members on February 24, 2007 to oversee the succession issue. The camp led by Paul has since chosen Mubuso Mbedzi, the surviving eldest son, following the death of his brother Simon to take over the throne, while Johnson is claiming that the late had been performing the duties on a caretaker basis and is not of "royal blood". He says Siturimani's father Mabukila was never a chief in his life. Mbedzi is alleging that the late Chief Pariti Sitauze was only a caretaker chief whose grandfather, Siturimani was "planted" by the then Native Commissioner a Mr Elliot during the Rhodesian era. The succession issue is yet to be settled and the two camps are failing to reach a compromise. Chief Matibe died at the age of 63 following a short illness at his Makothe village in Madaulo, some 80km out of the border town. Funeral procedures were carried out on the morning of May 11, 2010 in line with their cultural practices. Chichewo took over the reigns in 1976 following the death of his father in the early 1970s and was to be replaced by his nephew Timba Matibe as acting chief who then passed on in 1975. Chief Matibe is survived by his wife Maria Matibe, nine children and several grandchildren. The Vapfumbi tribe is naturally secretive when it comes to information regarding its cultural values and tradition. However, The Herald managed to penetrate the clan in a visit to the late chief's homestead recently. According to the late chief's brother, Joseph Lungano Matibe affectionately known as Two-Two by other villagers in Beitbridge East their clan does not take lightly to prying strangers. The Herald caught up with Lungano at Makothe village soon after Chichewo was buried formally. Ironically he is the only one in the family who can speak fluent Venda. All other members are comfortable in speaking their Pfumbi language. After some minutes of negotiating, Two-Two finally gave in and took us to the chief's homestead where we were told to wait at the Khoro (Chief's court), while he consulted with other family members to talk to us. The Matibe clan, whose totem is Chidzivahungwe derived from the crocodile, lives aloof from other villagers in Madaulo area just near Keyanse Estate on the boundary of Mwenezi and Beitbridge districts. They have their own dip-tank and borehole in the midst of their village. They also speak a language which is a mixture of Venda and Shona. "When a chief dies, we have a different way of burying him. We take his body to his hut (Pfamoni) where he used to keep his sacred tools and make a bed of logs made on top of a stilt. The body is then locked there and the house is sealed for 12 months. "The eldest aunt then selects some family members who will pour water into the hut every day through the top of the roof known as Chiludzini. "This is done until the body is rotten and only bones are left. After a year, we carry out some rituals to bury his remains at our local shrine Tshiendeulu at Malungudzi Mountains where our forefathers are lying," said Lungano. He added: "Our succession procedure is not very difficult. When the right time comes (after a year of the chief's death) just like now; we make all his children form a queue to push the door inside. Who ever pushes it and falls in will be installed the next chief, whether it's a boy or girl. "In this case, Elsh who happens to be the late chief's eldest son beat 16 others who were vying for the throne. They had to go through the process twice until Elsh broke the jinx. "When inside the hut there is stone which they take from his remains and swallow it. This will guide them through their rein as chief. This has been in practice since time immemorial. The stone was taken from the stomach of a crocodile which is our totem." He said after that they take him to a secluded house where we keep him for a few hours until the end of the day. "We will then take the remains and put them in a cow hide and bury them at the shrine where only close members are allowed. "We dig the grave using sticks and bury him using our own hands, no metal objects are allowed at the shrine. The new chief initiate will only see his father's grave on the following morning. As soon as that has been done we take him to Matonjeni (Matopo) where other members of our clan stay with our ancestral spirits. "He will only be installed the new chief after we come back from Matopo and have a gathering open to members of the public. Until that is done, we will on every Wednes-day play the ancestral drum known as Nengwani at night. "This is the cradle of our tribe and is four generations old. Furthermore, we will construct a hut for him at his homestead and we will keep the drum behind it until he passes on and it goes to the next heir of the chieftaincy" he said. Lungano added that in their tradition when a chief passes away they do not appoint anyone to act in his capacity, instead whenever there is a dispute they come together as family elders and make a decision. He explained that from the first day of the chief's death until a successor is found, the family members gather together at his homestead with her widow. "We don't cry and we beat a drum until the next morning when we disperse to our houses. We use it in happy or sombre times. Let me warn you this is a very sacred drum which cannot be touched by anyone who is still of child bearing age. They can only do that with the permission from the family elders," he pointed out. He said the drum is made in such a way that it makes a lot of sound adding that there is a special uniform which is worn when they beat it. The Nengwani drum is over 120-years-old. He added that after the new chief is installed, he is indoctrinated with their beliefs and ways of life. Lungano said unlike other tribes, the chief needs not carry out the rainmaking rituals himself, saying a council of family elders sits and allocate tasks to each other. He said they had similar practices with those Vapfumbi living under Chief Maranda as they are always in contact with each other. "In our culture, the chief doesn't necessarily need to go to Matonjeni (Njelele Mountains) for rain-making rituals himself. Instead, we come together as a council of elders and allocate each other responsibility with his guidance," said Two-Two. A historian from the Border town, Mr Samuel Mulaudzi said the Vapfumbi had an amicable way of dealing with succession. He said the tribe was a section of the Venda people who were known for rain-making rituals. "This is a clan which was responsible of rain-making rituals. Their language was formerly termed a sacred one as they used it to communicate with the Gods during rain- making ceremonies. "It then spread into the community through women from one of the ceremonies at Njelele mountains. "It so happened one year soon after conducting the rain making ritual. "The group told people to look for a lot of firewood that would last them for a month saying they were going to be heavy rains that following month. "The heavy rains came as they predicted resulting in other members of the Venda community calling them Vha Bvumbi Vhamvula (meaning they could predict what would happen in the next rain season). Thus the name became to be known as VhaPfumbi," said Mulaudzi. He added that the clan swallowed a stone from a crocodile to show their strength which they equate to that of the reptile. Renowned author and Professor Ntambeleni Charles Netshisaulu (Venda) of the University of Venda (UNIVEN) in South Africa said the VhaPfumbi were descendents of the VhaNgona tribe. He said it is common practice that every eligible Venda chief should swallow that stone which forms the essence of the chieftaincy. "This is a common practice among the Venda chiefs. You will realise that every eligible chief in the Venda tribe has to swallow the stone which is known as Ngwedi. "In most cases, the chief vomits it on the very day he passes on. The stone is then kept in that scared hut and will be given to the heir to swallow it. That can only be swallowed by an eligible heir to the chieftaincy," he said. Only time will tell if this mysterious culture will continue to be passed on from generation to generation. www.herald.cozw