The Shona people, also known as the Karanga, are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily living in Zimbabwe, where they form the majority of the population. They can also be found in Mozambique, South Africa, and worldwide diaspora.
Map of Zimbabwe showing the distribution of ethnic groups.
Historical Overview
The history and culture of the Shona people is contested and complex.
During the 11th century, the Karanga people formed kingdoms on the Zimbabwe plateau. Construction then began on Great Zimbabwe, the capital of the kingdom of Zimbabwe.
Brother succeeded brother in the dynasties, leading to civil wars which were exploited by the Portuguese during the 16th century.
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The dialect groups of Shona developed among dispersed tribes over a long time and further groups of immigrants have contributed to this diversity.
Although "standard" Shona is spoken throughout Zimbabwe, dialects help identify a speaker's town or village.
The Ndau dialect, which is somewhat mutually intelligible with the main Shona dialects, has click sounds which do not occur in standard Shona.
The Shona people are grouped according to the dialect of the language they speak.
Social Structure and Family Life
Family is central to Shona culture.
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Traditionally, a few families lived together in a kraal (also called musha) consisting of many small huts surrounding a central area where livestock were kept.
Separate huts housed a kitchen, sleeping quarters for each wife, a granary, and storage.
The huts were circular, with wood-framed walls plastered with cow dung and mud, conical thatched roofs, packed cow dung floors, and west-facing doorways.
Gender roles were fairly rigid, with boys and girls learning their separate responsibilities from their relatives of the same gender.
Women were responsible for most of the farming work, as well as maintaining the huts, cooking, and brewing beer.
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Traditional marriages were polygamous and created large extended families.
At this time, a Shona marriage was considered a contract between two families as well as two individuals.
The Significance of Cattle
Cattle were a crucial component of traditional Shona life.
They were used not only as draft oxen for farming but also as a form of money, since prior to colonization the Shona had no currency.
Bride-prices were usually paid in cattle, and smaller transactions might involve the exchange of a goat or sheep.
Because of this the Shona would rarely eat beef, slaughtering a cow only for special occasions such as funerals or as a ritual sacrifice.
Religion and Spirituality
The Shona religion is a blend of monotheism and veneration of ancestors.
At the top of the spirit hierarchy are the mhondoro, spirits of dead clan founders and kings who watch over entire clans, regions, or the Shona people as a whole.
The vadzimu (singular mudzimu) are the ancestors of specific families, and they continue to exist as long as they have living descendants to remember and honor them.
A recently deceased person’s spirit does not become a mudzimu until the kurova guva ceremony, usually held one year after the death, at which the living relatives invite the spirit to return to the family and watch over them as an ancestor.
Those who die childless or very young cannot become vadzimu because they have no direct descendants.
All of these spirits communicate with humans through spiritual mediums, called svikiro.
Each medium can become possessed by one specific spirit, and takes on the authority and social role of that spirit.
Another important aspect of Shona culture are the n’anga, medicine men (and women) or “witchdoctors.”
Their healing methods include spiritual guidance as well as traditional herbal medicine (muti), since in the traditional Shona worldview many physical ailments have spiritual causes.
The traditional religion of the Shona people is centred on Mwari (God), also known as Musikavanhu (Creator of man/people) or Nyadenga (one who lives high up).
God communicates with his people on earth directly or through chosen family members in each family believed to be holy.
People can also communicate with God directly through prayer.
Deaths are not losses but a promotion to the stage where they can represent the living through the clan spirits.
When someone dies, according to the Shona religion, they join the spiritual world.
In the spiritual world, they can enjoy their afterlife or become bad spirits.
No one wants to be a bad spirit, so during life, people are guided by a culture of Unhu so that when they die, they enjoy their afterlife.
The Bira ceremony, which often lasts all night, summons spirits for guidance and intercession.
Shona religion teaches that the only ones who can communicate with both the living and God are the ancestral spirits or Dzavadzimu.
Traditionally Shona people believe in Mwari (God) whom they believe should only be accessed through their ancestors known as “Vadzimu”.
Vadzimu are the good spirits that protect the individual and lineage.
Every family has its ancestors and there are ceremonies that are performed intermittently to appease and appeal to them - as in the case of the rain-making ceremony to prevent drought.
What Did The Shona Peoples Believe In Before Christianity?
Mitupo (Totems)
In Zimbabwe, the Mitupo (translated as totems by colonial missionaries and anthropologists, a term which neglects the organizational system) is a system of identifying clans and sub-clans, which are named after and signified by emblems, commonly Indigenous animals or animal body parts.
Mitupo (the plural of Mutupo singular) has been used by the Shona people since the Shona culture developed.
They have provided a function in avoiding incest, and also build solidarity and identity.
They could be compared to heraldry in European culture.
There are more than 25 Mitupo in Zimbabwe.
Ceremonies and Rituals
The Shona have many traditional ceremonies to mark significant occasions such as marriages, births, and deaths.
Because of European influence, most of the ceremonies have ceased to exist, but a few still take place.
Mashavi (Spirits): This is a traditional ceremony which has been practised for a long time. It is an occasion when dead people state their needs and grievances through living ones.
Kuruva Guva (The bringing home ceremony): When an adult dies in Shona society it is believed that he will return to his relatives after the kuruva guva ceremony has been held.
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