Comments on: Culture, personal identity, lobola and Zimbabwe

By: YEUKAI KUPARA

YEUKAI KUPARA — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:20:32 +0000

i am particularly impressed by the perspectives.it is true that there is a general misconception when it comes to roora,it has been typified as a commercial endevour,whereby value for money is put to the fore.Women are expected to be at the service of the men since they are assumed to have been boughtTheir opinion does not matter,they suffer extreme violation,abuse,subjugation and cannot even have a sense of authorship over their lives.roora must not be considered as a commercial pursuit but a means to establish community.TERRIFIC INSIGHT I LOVED YOUR INTERPRETATION.

By: Tonderai Chiyindiko

Tonderai Chiyindiko — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:00:24 +0000

I think that it does not profit us to develop ‘collective amnesia’ as a people/nation and forget that in our culture or whats left of it or what we have chosen to pick from it,it is and has always been crucial for social and moral cohesion to have some form of it no-matter how grotesque or distorted because in that practice we find that there is agreement that there is a relationship being created and not a ‘huretationship’ as in common nowadays..We need to pick what works from that culture and leave what is outdated in the ‘Cultural Archive’…cliche-Culture is dynamic because people are dynamic,and people make culture to be what it is.

By: T. Barduagni

T. Barduagni — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:16:15 +0000

Interesting point and I have to say I agree with you Upenyu. As a daughter of a woman who has married a murungu it is even more important for me to find a man willing to pay roora. NB the murungu did pay roora and for him it was symbol of his understanding and acceptance of our culture which he has come to love and appreciate as his own. I think you will find, not all Westerners find our culture outdated, barbaric etc. If anything it proves some still adhere to the old-fashioned values that unfortunately have become a distant memory in their own countries.
This is why it is important to hold on to ours. It is not a tradition that objectifies but rather I think a symbol of a great nation and its people. In a time when it is fairly easy to forget who we are an where we come from.

It is unfortunate that some individuals have abused this tradition and its significance has been diluted over the years. I am firm believer that just because you have paid money to my family that does not mean you own me. Could it be that recently the financial aspect has been given too much weight? I recall a few months back, a colleague at work remarked on how her brother/family went to pay $7000 for his bride. Surely that is a lot of money, and $7000 is a good sum for the newly weds to invest in their future together?

By: kabweza

kabweza — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:25:01 +0000

I think Dydimus’s arguments converge with yours on certain points. They’re only toned differently and emphasize on different points. I’m sure we all agree the kuroora process is a necessary part our culture and that it contributes to our wellness. I’m sure we all also agree the process has been adulterated to the point of tagging a price on a woman, and that this has resulted in a number of problems.

Is lobola still valid in the era of equality? Yes and No.
Yes. Its purpose is critical to Zimbabwe’s social wellness
No. In it’s current widely accepted form, roora has lost much of it’s purpose and needs serious decontamination.

By: Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa

Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:15 +0000

@ I Mutsaunobaya I should ask if these women you speak of are financially able to leave their husbands. I feel that the issue with these women is not cultural, but financial. In being so quick to put the blame on the tradition of roora, you lose sight of the responsiblity that everyone involved with these woman has towards them, this includes their parents, husbands and extended families. Having a member of your family married into another family doesn’t sever the relationship between you.
As I said in my blog before, the ill advised actions of individuals should not be interpreted as the intent of the tradition. When i said the tradition of Roora (and not the act of paying Bride-Price as you incorrectly assert) strengthens unions, it does so in terms of having one’s community in support of that marriage. Roora opens up channels of communication between a muroora and her husband’s family; and a mukwasha and his wife’s family. These channels are there in order to save the union, IF it can be saved. There may be instances where it cannot. It is important to remember that divorce, is not the only option when there are marital differences. Leaving a marriage, in any culture, is not easy to do when you have no money, nowhere to go, and no means of supporting yourself and your children (if ther are any). That being said it is not impossible.
If you wish to help your women friends there are organisations like Musasa Project that can assist them. Please check the Kubatana directory for more information.

By: I Mutsaunobaya

I Mutsaunobaya — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:16:47 +0000

I too read Dydimus’s blog, I think his view is correct in the sense that, I have some women who are struggling to get out of their marriages simply because their parents do not accept it easily, they ate pfuma yemukwasha, so they say. Now I wonder if that is the way Upenyu wants the pride price will reduce devorces. If it does the women still suffers in that relationship.

By: JP Matenga

JP Matenga — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:49:01 +0000

i read the blog by dydimus and was actually quite shocked. i have no doubt that he is an intelligent man but he tottaly missed the boat and i’m glad you highlighted some points that he missed. we have been led to believe (as tonderayi rightly says) by the west that things in our culture are antiquated and barbaric. i’ve heard people complain about lobola but never the dowry paid on a man in india

By: tonderayi

tonderayi — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:49:04 +0000

Interesting

I like that presentation, yes as pointed out, the whole world has been brain washed by europeans and made to believe that everything european is good and everything african or other wise is horrible or satanic, to put it in the christian terms. I am a true zimbabwean and have travelled to many countries and met different cultures, honestly one thing I have discovered suprised me, and that is, if you need a descent family, if you need to meet descent people, people who have moral respect in families. people who still know the difference between a brother and a sister, a father and daughter and mother and son, then those people are still only found in Zimbabwe.

So you can understand the onslaught the europeans are having on our people, they want to destroy this culture, because we have at least managed to hold on to it. Zimbabweans we must be proud of ourselves and our culture.