Customs Around Marriage in the Shona Culture

It has been so interesting to learn about the numerous differences between what I know from "The West" and the Shona culture.  These differences are so important for me to take into consideration when counseling with students.

It is customary for young ladies to be married by the time they are 25, and marriage is almost a requirement in this culture.  From the time girls are very young they are taught and groomed to know everything about keeping up a home, taking care of children, and keeping their husband happy, as well as tending a large garden and often walking many miles to sell excess produce in the market!  I really admire these women ~~ they are such hard workers.

I know you have seen pictures of these women with heavy loads on their head ~~ sometimes many kgs of potatoes or wood for cooking.  In addition to what's on their head, they may also be carrying a small child on their back, and have parcels in each hand!!  Just try carrying even something light on your head and see how you manage; or tie a small child or baby on your back and spend the day cleaning the house!!!

It is the custom in many African countries for parents to arrange partners for their children, though this is changing as young people want to make their own choice!  Even in Christian families, a labola is paid by the future husband to the future bride's family ~~ this is usually negotiated between the families and can be anything from cash to goats to a herd of cows!

When a young man and young lady know that they want to spend the rest of their lives together, the girl will go to one of her mother's sisters (an aunt) and share the news.  The sister in turn shares the information with the girl's mother and family.  Then the boy goes to one of his uncles.  The negotiating for the labola is done at a gathering of the whole extended family, usually between the uncles on each side.

Once the labola is paid the couple are free to live together, sometimes in the home of the boy's parents, depending on the circumstances.

Step two would be going to the Court House and having the relationship legalized in the courts.

And finally, sometimes years and several children later (!), there will be a very large church wedding!!  The entire community is invited, so families have to save for a long time to provide the necessary food for such an occasion.

 I'm told that often the attendants at the wedding will be chosen mostly for how well they can dance, as opposed to how close they might be to the bride or groom!!  This wedding I attended last year was very large (the daughter of an AU grad who is a pastor).  Most weddings begin at 9:00 am and the ceremony itself can be quite long.  Then everyone moves to a "fellowship hall" or a nearby school auditorium for the rest of the day ~~ for the eats and the dancing!!  These young people were very skilled, and it was clear that they had practiced the routines many times!!  The bride and groom joined them on this very hot day!!

      The bride and groom are seated on the stage after some dancing, awaiting the cutting of the cake.  Then those remaining were invited to get up and dance, too.  Not very different from our wedding receptions.
     A bit later a group of young people appeared just below the stage dressed in rags with goofy hats, torn jeans, patched shirts, etc.  It took me a while to realize that these were the same dancers I had seen before in their wedding attire!!  And they were still extremely good!!!

Recently I attended a portion of the wedding of a nephew of one of our staff.  The ceremony was actually a part of the Sunday morning worship!  It began at 9:00 am; I arrived about 10:30, in time to recognize the Scripture reading, and sermon (all in Shona) and the offering.  Then the wedding ceremony continued with the pledges by each family, the lighting of candles (similar to our unity candle), and much cheering and shouting!  Since I didn't understand it all, I don't know exactly what was going on.

A big feast was then enjoyed by all in the church social hall, accompanied by dancing, dancing, and more dancing!!

May they live happily ever after!!!

A Red Letter Day!!!!

October 15, 2014

This was indeed a RED LETTER DAY!!!  Even though I don't have a picture of it, our office was graced with a new hp computer.  Two students serving as interns brought it ~~ all new ~~ keyboard, monitor, and mouse!!!!  They set it all up, transferred our files from the non-working one, and got us back in business.  We are so grateful, since we had been without a working desktop computer since last May!  (I know that Hewlett Packard is one of the companies being boycotted for their role in the Occupation of Palestine, so I am distressed that so many of the computers sold in Mutare are hp.)
 
This was also the day that we welcomed Amy and Wayne Van Devender and Shelly Strickland from the U.S.  What a pleasure to have Wayne and Amy with us for a week!  I learned so much from them, as well as from Dr. Ab Abercrombe and Dr. Chris Hope, two of my housemates at the Guest House at AU.

Dr. Wayne is a herpetologist ~~ with many photo credits for his work with such things as frogs, salamanders, spiders,  etc., etc.  Dr. Wayne and his wife, Amy, would go out every evening, along with Dr. Ab and Dr. Chris, with their headlamps, cameras, and equipment, and would always bring back fascinating creatures of God's creation that I had usually never heard of!!  These two gentlemen worked together to publish a book about the geology and animals on AU's campus.  (AU also has people on its property mining for gold in a serious way!)

And then are Dr. Ab and Dr. Chris ~~ they are always called upon to catch snakes when they are found on campus, frequently near the chicken houses!!

Say "hi!" to a newborn Bush Baby!!!  So tiny, but with all the features ~~ eyes, ears, nose, mouth, little hands and feet with nails, etc.!!!  Ab and Chris found him on one of their nightly walks around campus.  Since bush babies usually ride on the back of their mother, they thought it was likely that it had fallen off into the grass.  So, it became a housemate overnight!!

Dr. Ab was afraid it might not survive the night, so he tried to feed the little baby some powdered milk.  He drank it from a little syringe, and slept the night through.  Next morning they took him back and placed him where they found him.  And by that same evening it appeared that his mother had found and reclaimed him!

This is only one of numerous snakes that have shared our Guest House for 1-3 nights!!  Of course, they remained in the long, breathable bag they are placed in when caught ~~ usually pythons and cobras!!  Some have spit at us, while others, like this one, were very mild mannered and he gave us a chance to see his full length on our living room floor!

I hope you can make this out ~~ Dr. Ab is inserting a "tracker" down the throat of this snake with a pair of forceps. The plan was for his students to try and locate it a few days later.  Unfortunately, the snake regurgitated it sometime after they released it.  Sometimes Dr. Ab with surgically implant a "tracker" and have students use their GPS to locate it later.





I don't have pictures, but Amy's passion was finding numerous kinds of snails.  The only ones I'm familiar with are the ones who tend to eat some of my flowers in the summer!  They brought back many from their evening treks ~~ most barely the size of a pin head!  WOW!  I never would have guessed that someone would spend their whole working life looking for, studying and photographing these amazing creatures who share our planet.  I've realized how much I have yet to learn!!

Meet Shelly Strickland, from SC, a recent Wofford College grad., who came for a month to help the Intensive English students practice their pronunciation!  What a delightful person!!  This is the guinea fowl banner we gave her the night before she flew home.

Shelly stayed at another Guest House on campus where Albert and Lucienne were her hosts.  The encyclopedia in front of Albert was used to look up information about mermaids.  Lucienne still believes that they really exist!!!  They are from D.R.C. ~~ Albert is doing an MA in the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance, and Lucienne is getting an MA in Pastoral Counseling.  They have five children, the youngest of which is 16 and staying with grandparents, and one grandchild.  A delightful clergy couple who will truly make a difference when they return to D.R.C.

This is much longer than I had planned, but I hope you enjoyed these happenings at AU through my eyes.

Be blessed and grace-filled!!

Lesson to Self ~~ In Africa, Never Leave Home Without . . .

Sept. 27, 2014

It was a beautiful Saturday when I set out to go to town, walking the 6-7 blocks to the parking lot to take the 9:00 am bus.  By the time it left campus it was fully loaded with staff and students eager to spend some time shopping or just looking around town!

I decided that before I got groceries I would walk to several stores to get quotes on a new computer.  Last semester I had been taken to three different ones to get quotes on a printer for our office.  So I was going strictly on my recollection of streets, surroundings, etc.  I walked down the hill from the main street through Mutare and turned left thinking this would take me to the e-technology store.  I must have walked about 6 long blocks before I came to a residential area and concluded that I had turned the wrong way ~~ so I reversed my direction and walked the other way, asking along the way for directions. 

One person told me to go to the end of that block and turn right and it would be right there!  Not!!!  After asking several other persons I DID finally find it!!  The salesman was very kind in saying that they didn't have what I was looking for, but he gave me a quote for one he could order!

I proceeded back up to the main street where I knew (or thought I knew) I would find the Xerox  store.  Once again I walked up and down on both sides of the street without success, only to learn that the entrance is OFF of the main street just a bit!  When I finally managed to find it, there were lots and lots of people waiting to be helped with copies of documents.  I asked for a quote for a computer and was told that they no longer are stocking them ~~ only large printers!!!  In fact, he said AU had recently purchased a new, large printer!! 

Never did find the third store, even armed with directions from a student ~~ "Mutare Computers."  It is quite a ways off the beaten path, so, recognizing how directionally challenged I am, I gave up on that idea!

I picked up cereal and a few other items at one grocery with really good prices, and decided to stop for lunch on my way to the next grocery store. 

A familiar lunch stop is this Burger Bar ~~ no McDonalds, Culver's, Wendy's, Hardy's, or Big Boy ~~ where I got a hamburger with tomato, lettuce and ketchup, an order of fries, and a Ginger beer (soft drink) for $3.00!!!! 


The AU bus usually picks up at its regular stop about 1:00 - 1:30, so I allowed myself an hour to grocery shop and get to the corner.  My list of items included several weighty things since I knew I could not go to town for the next few Saturdays because of the Symposium and Mental Health First Aid Training we were doing.  Of course, my bag was much too heavy to carry very far.

The Greek Orthodox Church and School are my landmarks for locating the proper corner to catch the bus!!  So I walked the two blocks and arrived in plenty of time.  As the day had worn on it had gotten increasingly hotter, and of course, by now was very hot and sunny!  Before long a couple of students arrived and we all walked a short distance to stand in the shade of a small tree.  As we chatted several staff members joined us.  I began to feel really hot, and I think at one point I kind of blacked out and found myself on the curb, where I stayed for a bit to rest and regain my composure.

The AU group continued to expand as time kept moving on and we lamented about how late the bus was.  Finally, at a little after 2:30, we saw it coming down the street, and we all flocked to get on.  It felt really good to just sit down, even though the breeze through the window was very hot and dry.  Fortunately, the driver was kind enough to let some of us out at the entrance to staff housing, and one of the students offered to help carry my bag of groceries for a part of the way to the Guest House.  I arrived "home" at about 3:15, very hot and tired.

Lesson to self ~~ in Africa, NEVER leave home without a bottle of water AND an umbrella to use for shade!!!  A lesson learned the hard way!!

And yet, even this morning I had to retrace my steps about a block because I had left my bottle of water with ice sitting on the kitchen table!!  When will I ever learn??!!!

Hope you are continuing to receive and offer God's grace to those around you.

Zimbabwe's Version of a County Fair!

Sept. 26, 2014

The Manicaland Agricultural Show is a BIG event every late September, and it reminds me of our county fairs at home ~~ exhibits of what would be 4-H projects, art projects from elementary schools, all kinds of vendors and food, and performances in front of the grandstand!!

Our missionary, Larry Kies, has major responsibility for setting up a fairly large area to promote Africa University.  Most of the Faculties send a representative or two to share about their programs with those who come.  The Health Sciences faculty is always present to do blood  pressures, blood sugar, and malaria checks.  They bring a white lady manikin whose body parts come off!!  Children are really fascinated by that and sometimes hang around for a while!!

 Here is a banner welcoming folks into the building where Africa University has many displays!! I did not see any showing of animals, such as cows, pigs, rabbits, etc., but lots of booths advertising their wares, just like at home!

I usually go around and visit companies that have a stand and talk with them about possibilities for internships for our students.  Most of them are very appreciative of the info about AU, but most don't have any options for students to get experience.

Prizes are given for the best presentations, set up, etc.  Here is our agricultural horticulturalist who received the first prize award for the best live decoration!!  His son is always happy to get in the picture, too!!

This year I took time to watch what was happening in front of the grandstand!  Many different school groups come in fancy uniforms and perform as drill teams, etc. ~~ very colorful and a big hit with the crowd!

This year was a little different and not at all what I expected!  When we arrived at the show grounds we noticed quite a number of soldiers with police dogs walking around the perimeter.  Later they demonstrated how these dogs are trained to sniff out drugs, or take down an intruder, etc. 

 Then all of a sudden this brigade of soldiers came on to the field with their guns and took up their position against the "terrorists" across the field.

 Here they are advancing on the "terrorists" and apparently have killed many of them.

And then they set off tear gas to create a smoke screen between themselves and the "terrorists" (or enemy).  I'm quite convinced that there is a strong military presence, not only around Pres. Mugabe, but throughout the country.  They are not visible on the streets of Mutare or surrounding area however, but maybe need an opportunity now and then to flex their muscles and show their stuff!

Never fear ~~ Zimbabwe is a peaceful nation, so there isn't any reason to worry about my safety.

These are a few of our children from the AU farm enjoying their lunch and all the activities!!  Face painting seemed to be an extremely popular activity among all the children!!

I did not see any fun things for the children last year at the Ag Show, but this year there were lots and lots of inflated jump houses, a very tall inflated slide, and this opportunity to ride in an inflated boat or climb around on the inside of one of these huge balls.  Often 5-6 children would be inside and could make it roll over and over, getting in the way of the boats!!  A great time was had by all!!  And on a hot and dusty day it was especially fun!!

What fun have YOU had today??

May God's grace surround you with love and peace as you receive it and generously give it away!!

Worshiping and Singing Praises to God!

Sept. 20, 2014

In my visits to various churches here in Zimbabwe, I am overwhelmed by the number of men in the congregations.  In some churches the men sit on one side and the women on another!  Several churches I visited were built in the shape of a cross, and the two sides of the crossbar were men on one side and women on the other.   Hilltop UMC (below) the largest UMC church in the Mutare area has about 2,000 members. 

During the serving of communion there were often people four rows deep on their knees waiting to be served.  As folks left, others would move up to receive the elements.  It was hard on my old knees, but I made it back to my seat!

This is one of the side entrances ~~ note the women in blue dresses with red trim and white hats ~~ they are members of United Methodist Women and wear their uniforms proudly!!  Gentlemen who were in the choir or serving as ushers all wore blue banners with the UMC symbol on them across their chest.

Some years back an addition was built on the back of the church as you can see in this picture, and still,  there is not enough space for everyone to sit down. My camera is not good enough for a picture that would show the filled sanctuary!!

When I inquired about why they didn't schedule multiple services, they said the congregation wouldn't stand for it!  They love the feeling of community, and the opportunity to visit with everyone!!

 Most churches have both a Men's and Women's Choir, and each year they compete with choirs across several Districts.  When I was here in 2011 we heard one of the Women's Choirs which had won top honors in a recent competition!

The Men's Choir competition was held this year at the church on the Old Mutare Mission on Sept. 20.. There were 39 choirs ranging in size from 12 to 35 members.  Each choir sang two anthems ~~ one that they selected, and one that every choir sang.  Awards were presented after all had performed!!  The program began around 8:30 am and finished at about 4:30 pm, and the sanctuary remained full during the entire day!!  I hope the above video is available for you to hear.  At the end of the afternoon I felt like I almost knew the anthem that every choir sang!!!  What a wonderful way to praise God with beautiful voices!!  Just wonder what a difference it would make if our churches had good Men's Choirs??????

Through their music they certainly provide many blessings!!!





 

A Real Moral Dilemma . . .

Sept. 10, 2014

Last Mon. afternoon I had the privilege of visiting The Berry Farm, just down the road from AU.  It is one of the few large, white-owned farms in this area that hasn't been taken over by war veterans as part of Mugabe's land allocation program.  All too often these folks just move right on to the property, claim any equipment, etc. that is there, and literally force the owners off their land.

The Berry Farm (L'Amour) is operated by two brothers, Garath and Robert ~~ one oversees the dairy, and the other the crops of maize, wheat, silage, etc.  By Zimbabwe standards it is huge, milking over 300 cows around the clock.  This is all accomplished very scientifically, with special measured grains, etc.

These two young calves have been taken from their mother and will be held in separate pens such as these for about 90 days, always having their height, weight, etc. monitored.  As they reach a certain growth level they are then moved to a larger area of the farm.  They keep extremely detailed records of their birth and growth information, as they mature and begin to produce milk.  There is one bull, but mostly they use artificial insemination.

 Second stage of growth!

 Almost ready to go to the milking barn!!  Females are specially selected for bearing offspring, and are also kept on their own part of the farm.  Much of the grain that is raised is baled and used for feed, along with added nutrients which are NOT GMO!!
    

These two brothers have already lost a portion of their farm.  Robert is known to be an excellent mechanic, and I understand that the government brings most of their vehicles to him because he is so good!  This keeps the brothers and their farm in "good graces" with the government officials!  This repair service is free but is well worth whatever it costs.  All the livestock seemed to be very well taken care of and treated like special commodities.

The milking barn was immaculate!  Garath employs about 127 Zimbabwean workers, some of whom are highly trained to do what they do in keeping track of the amount of milk each cow produces, etc.  He pays them a bonus at the end of each month if they have had perfect attendance.  Since this is a 24-hour operation, he needs workers he can rely on to keep everything working smoothly.  The milk is piped into cooling tanks, and then loaded on to milk trucks for the Dairybord Company, which produces butter, yogurt, and many other products.

 This dial is Garath's way of keeping track of each cow from birth to death,  their growth, milk production, etc., etc.  You can see that it is very detailed and complex, but at a glance he can see the entire history of any particular cow.  All the details really boggled my mind, but he has everything costed out and knows exactly the amount of fat and nutrient content each one produces.  He has brought in specialists to help him improve the way everything operates. . . like his own "continuing education!"  And he continues to make modifications and improvements.
     The Health Dept. makes regular visits to be sure it is "up to snuff."  Because it is one of the biggest dairies in the country, they have been pretty much left alone by the government.

The dairy itself doesn't make much money because the government doesn't pay much for the milk, and keeps a tight control over the pricing ~~ I believe he said he only makes a few cents per litre from Dairybord for raw milk!  Always the entrepreneur, he turned his workshop into his own business!  He went to South Africa and purchased this packaging machine which loads a specified amount of milk (lacto) into each package and seals it.  Then they are put in crates and stored in two huge coolers.  He actually makes more on this process than on the raw milk he sells!  These small packages are sold/used in schools, by small vending companies, etc.  It is very good, too!!

So, here is the morale dilemma ~~ Is it better to allow this large farm to continue to employ black Zimbabweans or to force these brothers to give up their farmland to war vets who feel they are entitled to it??  It's so sad to see so much land not being productive because those who received small parcels do not have resources, know-how, or experience to make it produce even enough to feed a family.  What is "justice" in this situation?