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The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain religious groups, in particular the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Catholic Church and Anglican Church venerate saints as intercessors with God; the latter also believes in prayer for departed souls in Purgatory. Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin.
Spirit possession is an unusual or an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Haitian Vodou, Dominican Vudú, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Wicca, and Southeast Asian, African, and Native American traditions. Depending on the cultural context in which it is found, possession may be thought of as voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects on the host. The experience of spirit possession sometimes serves as evidence in support of belief in the existence of spirits, deities or demons. In a 1969 study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, spirit-possession beliefs were found to exist in 74% of a sample of 488 societies in all parts of the world, with the highest numbers of believing societies in Pacific cultures and the lowest incidence among Native Americans of both North and South America. As Pentecostal and Charismatic Christian churches move into both African and Oceanic areas, a merger of belief can take place, with demons becoming representative of the "old" indigenous religions, which Christian ministers attempt to exorcise.
Mbira are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs, the right forefinger, and sometimes the left forefinger. Musicologists classify it as a lamellaphone, part of the plucked idiophone family of musical instruments. In Eastern and Southern Africa, there are many kinds of mbira, often accompanied by the hosho, a percussion instrument. It is often an important instrument played at religious ceremonies, weddings, and other social gatherings. The "Art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe" was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
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Traditional healers of Southern Africa are practitioners of traditional African medicine in Southern Africa. They fulfil different social and political roles in the community like divination, healing physical, emotional, and spiritual illnesses, directing birth or death rituals, finding lost cattle, protecting warriors, counteracting witchcraft and narrating the history, cosmology, and concepts of their tradition.
The Kingdom of Mutapa – sometimes referred to as the Mutapa Empire, Mwenemutapa, – was an African kingdom in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is now modern-day Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia.
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Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana also known as Mbuya Nehanda was a svikiro, or spirit medium of the Zezuru Shona people. She was a medium of Nehanda, a female Shona mhondoro. As one of the spiritual leaders of the Shona, she was one of the leaders of a revolt, the Chimurenga, against the British South Africa Company's colonisation of what is now Zimbabwe led by Cecil John Rhodes in 1889. She was a Hera of the HwataShava Mufakose Dynasty. She and her ally Sekuru Kaguvi were eventually captured and executed by the company on charges of murder. She has been commemorated by Zimbabweans by statues, songs, novels, and poems, and the names of streets and hospitals. The legacy of the medium continued to be linked to the theme of resistance, particularly the guerrilla war that began in 1972. Her name became of increasing importance to the nationalist movements in Zimbabwe.
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Sekuru Kaguvi, was a svikiro (medium), a traditionalist leader in pre-colonial Zimbabwe, and a leader in the Shona rebellion of 1896-1897 against European rule, known as the First Chimurenga. The sobriquet "Kaguvi" was a designation given at times those who were said to speak for the traditional Shona supreme deity Mwari.
Bernard Mizeki was an African Christian missionary and martyr. Born in Mozambique, he moved to Cape Town, attended an Anglican school, and became a Christian.
Forward Kwenda is a mbira performer from Zimbabwe. He was given the name "Forward" due to his involvement in many activities including his performances for guerrilla forces during the Rhodesian Bush War.
Henry Munyaradzi, also known as Henry Munyaradzi Mudzengerere, was a Zimbabwean sculptor. The sculptural movement of which he was part is usually referred to as "Shona sculpture", although some of its recognised members are not ethnically Shona. He worked initially at the Tengenenge Sculpture Community, 150 km north of Harare near Guruve, which he joined in 1967. In that Community, and ultimately in the wider world of lovers of Zimbabwean art, he was known simply as 'Henry'.
Dancing in Zimbabwe is an important aspect of the Zimbabwean culture, tradition, spirituality and history. There are many dances that reflect the culture of the people, although the dances may have changed throughout the years. Ethnic diversity is also a key factor in influencing the dances of the Zimbabwean culture. These dances are self-reflective, for the entire community because all music and dance are communal events. Dance to Zimbabweans is a very spiritual, powerful tool that carries on traditions, and chronicles the important events of their history and culture.
Spiritualism is a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least two fundamental substances, matter and spirit. This very broad metaphysical distinction is further developed into many and various forms by the inclusion of details about what spiritual entities exist such as a soul, the afterlife, spirits of the dead, deities and mediums; as well as details about the nature of the relationship between spirit and matter. It may also refer to the philosophy, doctrine, or religion pertaining to a spiritual aspect of existence.
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Bira is an all-night ritual, celebrated by Shona people from Zimbabwe in which members of an extended family call on ancestral spirits for guidance and intercession. Shona people believe that the only ones who can communicate with both the living and God are the ancestral spirits, or dzavadzimu. These spirits are summoned during the Bira ceremonies through the use of music and ritual dance. Bira ceremonies are also held to welcome back the spirit of an ancestor into the home where a family member is a svikiro who is occasionally possessed by one or more ancestors.
In Islam, the belief that spiritual entities—particularly, jinn—can possess a person,, is widespread; as is the belief that the jinn and devils can be expelled from the possessed person through exorcism. This practice is called al-'azm or ruqya, and exorcists are called raqi.
Mwari (Mwali) also known as Musikavanhu / Musikavhathu, Musiki, Tenzi and Ishe, is the supreme creator deity according to Shona, Venda traditional religion. It is believed that Mwari is the author of all things and all life and all is in him. The majority of this deity's followers are concentrated in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Mwari (Mwali) is an omnipotent being, who rules over spirits and is the Supreme God of the religion.
Indigenous religion in Zimbabwe is explained in terms of the Zimbabwe ethnic groups, beliefs, norms and values, rites and rituals, ceremonies and celebrations. Indigenous religion is more carried out by living it than with its theory. Religion among the Africans is very important, it plays a vital role for the individuals, the family and the community as a whole. Bourdlillon asserts that indigenous religion is one, though there can be various manifestation just like Christianity which is one but has various denominations. Thomas Gale defined the word indigenous as to anything that is native to a particular geographical culture. Mbiti says in Zimbabwe Indigenous religion is in two classes, the Ndebele and Shona. However, Zimbabwe has a lot of minority tribes including the Tonga, Venda, Kalanga and Sothu.
References
- 1 2 Bethwell A. Ogot (1992). Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Paris, France: UNESCO. p. 984. ISBN 978-9231017117.
- ↑ Ngoro, Roderick B. (2004). "Nehanda Nayakasikana". In Jestice, Phyllis G. (ed.). Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. p. 633. ISBN 978-1576073551.
- ↑ Kadenge, Levee (2020). Death and mourning among the Zezuru. Harare: Beyond Today Publishers. p. 17.
