NOTHANDO TO ATTEND 2020 OJAI PLAYRIGHTS CONFERENCE
By Beaven Tapureta
Young Nothando Cindy Usayi, author of Dreams Under The Noonday Sun, continues
to demonstrate she is destined for greatness in her arts career.
Last month, she was granted a scholarship together
with other five high school students in Zimbabwe to participate in this year’s virtual
Ojai Playwrights Conference Youth Workshop (OPCYW), an
annual Californian theatre festival aimed at bringing together dramatists and
help develop their new work.
This
year, Almasi Arts and the Ojai Playwrights Conference have partnered to
virtually unite youth from Zimbabwe and California at the two-month long OPCYW.
The Arundel School student is thrilled to be
part of this cultural exchange which has opened an opportunity to share her
love for the arts with other students from California and she is grateful to
her mentor.
“I owe this scholarship to Miss Chelsy
Nothando Maumbe and I am so excited and keen to see where this road will take
me. I am waiting patiently to share my love for creativity with the world once
again!” said Nothando.
Her namesake teacher teaches drama and heads
the Arundel School Drama Department. In the spirit of developing her talented
mentees, she heard about OPCYW and encouraged Nothando and others to apply.
For Nothando, the value of the conference
lies in the learning opportunity it has presented.
“I
have never considered myself a playwright because my artistic bias has always
been novel writing. However, my love for literature, acting and creating stories
has been the driving force of my journey that began the day I was able to read
my first word. It today has seen me anticipating a brand new path in
playwriting. The OPCYW has given me a confidence in my writing that I never
knew I needed until it arrived. Together with 15 other phenomenal writers, I am
working passionately to learn from my peers, to give them insight about the
life of a girl living in Zimbabwe and to improve not only my abilities as a
writer but as an individual in today’s society,” she said.
Despite having successfully discovered her
novel writing gift through the publication of her debut Dreams Under The Noonday Sun, an element for theatre has always
been with her since 2018 when she joined her school drama department. She has
been working with the highly esteemed department to help write and design
plays.
In 2018 she helped write the plot of a play ‘Courts’
and assumed a minor role in its performance. The following year she acted in a
support role in ‘Chatsworth Manor’ as a warm Sekuru who is the superintendent
of an apartment complex whose tenants he has taken in as his own family. She also
had helped in the plotting of the same play and was the props manager.
This year, she would be playing one of the
main roles in a play called ‘The Kids ‘R’ Alright’. In the play, she will be a husband and father
of two who with his wife are planning to adopt a child. The play has been on
hold due to COVID-19.
Almasi
Arts is a Zimbabwean American Dramatic Arts Collaborative Organisation that has
Danai Gurira, an award-winning playwright and actress and the first African
female to have a play on Broadway, as its Executive Artistic Director and
Co-Founder.
NGWENYA BOOK LAUNCH IN DECEMBER
Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya
For More Updates, visit:
tsitsinomsangwenya.com
CONGRATULATIONS EMMANUEL MHIKE
THE NEW
MANAGER FOR
“MAI PATAI AND VOICE OF PROPHECY”
Mai Patai and her new manager Emmanuel Hove Mhike
"Popularly known as 'The Prince
of Mazvihwa' Emmanuel Hove Mhike is a young but experienced Arts and Culture
Practioner whose work revolves around Arts Consultancy, Social
entrepreneurship, Writing and supporting grassroots Arts and Culture
initiatives at the margins. He is also responsible for coordinating
marginalized community/ ghetto based Artists and festivals. Emmanuel is a well-travelled Arts practioner
who has attended a number of international Arts and Culture indabas, workshops
and festivals around the World. Emmanuel is also a filmmaker whose creative
documentaries are available on Muonde Trust YouTube account. He is an
International Writer whose works are featured in international journals like
Munyori Literary Journal, California Poetry Now, Sacramento and in 2018 among
53 Writers he was the only African featured in Tule Review, an American
publication. Working at Muonde Trust as a proponent of Endogenous Development
(Community led or Development from within communities) Emmanuel to date
attended and presented at three key International Resilience workshops and
festivals (Ghana 2016, Kenya 2018, Canada 2019). His fantastic creative works
can also be found on his award winning blog: https://manumhike.home.blog/.
Academically, Mhike is a holder of a First Class B.Sc. Honors Degree in Music
and Musicology and an MA in Development studies all degrees attained at the
reputable Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. No doubt his creativity,
passion, cross cultural experience, local and international links/networks,
technological know-how and music field academic brilliance will professionally
take the Mai Patai and VOP brand to phenomenal standards and international
levels!
Mai Patai, real name Respina
Patai, is a gospel female musician who rose to fame in 2002 after the release of
the hit song Mazambara. She is a multi- award winning musician whose most
recent award includes a NAMA people's choice Award in 2019. To date she has
released three albums which are Makanaka
(2002), Samulena (2010) and Punish the Devil (2018). She is married
to Ephraim Patai. She leads the 12-member band The Voice Of Prophecy."
THE YOUTH PERSPECTIVE
With
Mimi Machakaire
I am Not My Hair
For many years I have seen and heard so
much discrimination against natural hair of black women and youth in Africa and
yonder. Most women and youths are cornered into applying very specific
hairstyles that are considered “neat” or “acceptable” in formal settings such
as school (primary, high school or tertiary) or work place environments but
what is the true danger here?
Many women and
youths whom I’ve spoken to have complained that they do not like being told how
one should keep their hair yet other ethnicities do not have such choices.
Thus, how does my hair affect my ability to learn or work in any environment?
No wonder the
statement, “I am not my hair” can be found in a lot of social media pages,
musical lyrics and nearly hundreds of platforms on the internet.
The Statement “I
am not my hair” initially became popular from a song by American soul and
R&B singer–songwriter India Arie featuring another singer called Akon. The song
appeared from her third studio album, Testimony:
Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006).
The song attacked
the way our society ideally views beauty. Although the piece was originally
written for women who had lost their hair due to cancer it also sends a very
clear message that is applicable to everyone. In our society today, women and
youth have to work more than most to attain society’s idealistic view of
beauty. Each race has its own respective issues. Either the hair isn’t curly
enough, too straight, or it’s too nappy or natural. In some cases, the hair on
your head may not even be yours.
For whatever
reason, black women and youth have connected with this statement in a
heart-warming way which does not mean they are rejecting their hair but rather
accepting that their hair and their person is not one in the same thing. One
can identify themselves as something that has nothing to do with their hair, while
their hair can also be a reflection of their personality but the choice is
theirs as an individual to decide how their hair plays a role in their lives.
In other words, I am not my hair.
Another question
arises: why is African hair considered untidy if the hair is not flat or shaved
for boys or put in braids and weaves for girls?
My hair grows
naturally the way it wants to and if one is bothered by the way my hair grows
on my head then they shouldn’t be looking at it, is my opinion, as a member of
the youth.
In recent times,
Clicks South Africa for example, had an advert that came out which described
African Hair as Dry and Damaged, while other hair was considered Fine and
Normal.
Latest research
from Statistics South Africa reveals that the country has a population that is
more than 80% Black.
Given this
majority Black citizenship, the advert that positioned white people’s hair as
the norm elicited widespread outcry.
The hash tags
#ClicksMustFall and #clicksadvert trended for days on social media.
Protests ensued
all around South Africa to either close down Clicks stores or some were simply
burnt down instead.
So, what message
does this send to women and youth? That
their hair is not deemed as normal in today’s society but how does hair affect
one’s ability to live as a functional human being? I repeat, I AM NOT MY
HAIR!
Some hair remains
almost rebellious in most traditions, such as dreadlocks. There is a stereotype
among this culture where dreadlocks are seen as Rastafarian, or associated with
drugs or even in some cases, crime. However, one can have dreadlocks and not be
a Rastafarian at all. What does it mean to be Rastafarian?
Rastafari also
known as Rastafarianism and the Rastafari movement is an Abrahamic religion
that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new
religious movement and social movement by scholars of religion.
While it has been
adapted in so many ways word wide, their belief was that dreadlocks are not
just for style. They believed that one should not cut their hair because that
is where strength lies and dreadlocks form naturally over time. Yet so many of us see dreadlocks among other
forms of natural hair as a sign of weakness, why? I repeat, I AM NOT MY HAIR!
I am an example also.
I have natural hair known as dreadlocks, though, I don’t fit the stereotype
that comes with many ignorant people out there in the world. I can still
produce work that is considered favourable in most organizations.
I can still live
and function as a normal female human being. Then in today’s society there lies
rules in some school environments that force youth to cut their hair when it is considered to be in its most natural
state. However, what difference does it make, before and after all the hair is
gone, are they still not the same student they were before? I AM NOT MY HAIR!
Another story
made headlines this year on a similar
topic of hair. In Kingston, Jamaica, it was well-known that Jamaica's high court ruled that a school was
within its rights to demand that a girl cut her dreadlocks to attend classes.
This was a surprise decision that touched on issues of identity and one the
most recognizable symbols of the island's Rastafarian culture.
The ruling by the
Supreme Court of Jamaica capped a two-year battle after the girl, who was then
5 years old and she was told she must cut her dreadlocks for
"hygiene" reasons to study at Kensington Primary School in a Kingston
suburb.
Others viewed the
court ruling as discrimination against
people who wear "natural" hair, including Rastafarians whose
dreadlocks are part of their religious tradition.
The girl and her
parents, Dale and Sherine Virgo, who both wear dreadlocks, had planned to
appeal at the time according to their lawyer, Isat Buchanan.
However, the
story ended with Virgo’s daughter who is now 7 years old and identified in
court papers only as Z because she is a minor, was seen attending classes at
the school. This was after the courts delivered an injunction against the
Ministry of Education, allowing her to go to school with her dreadlocks intact.
The judgment was
delivered in a small courtroom populated mainly by lawyers and the girl’s
parents.
Lastly, when the
school closed early this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the girl was
home-schooled.
In conclusion,
let me say that it doesn’t matter how
one styles their hair as long it doesn’t prevent them from their normal day to
day activities.
In this day and
age, especially now in Covid-19 times, we are living in so much uncertainty
that hair shouldn’t be an issue at all, yet it is still viewed as a problem in
most communities in Africa and across the world.
We shouldn’t be
focused on how one keeps their hair but on how they are actually contributing
towards making the world a better place. Are we decent human beings attempting
to at least make our communities better
or we are making our communities
worse?
If you are still
bothered by one’s hair, then maybe the problem lies within you and not the
person who has an afro because they feel like it or dreadlocks because it is
more convenient to them or for whatever reason they may keep.
Hair is not the
problem in this world but rather, Hunger, War, Poverty, Racism, Gender Based
Violence, Diseases such as the world pandemic known as Covid-19 and many more.
OPPORTUNITY FOR
YOUNG WRITERS
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN ZIMBABWE
With
Aleck Kaposa
One Of These Days The Rain Will
Come
For many, many days the
late October sun burnt from the azure blue sky like the fire of hell. Every
day, everyone at Kenzi Farm wished the rain would come.
“The rain will
definitely come in a day or two,” Old Matope, a retired farm labourer and
neighbour of ours who was rumoured to have the power to make or stop the rain,
would say to Mother and Father, pointing
to the sky every day when we came back from the fields. He sounded so
sure that it would rain the next day in the same way he was sure that the sun
would rise on the following morning.
“It won’t be long I tell
you, before the rains come pouring down.”
For
several days in a row, late in the afternoon, the sky would turn grey with dark
clouds that looked pregnant with rain. The hot days seemed to have come to an
end at last.
On one
of the many cloudy afternoons, a fierce, dust-laden, cold wind from the north
started blowing so strongly as if it was trying to suck rain from a hideout
somewhere in the sky. A zigzag streak of blinding lightning tore apart the
darkened sky followed by thunder which rumbled like a heavy-loaded gonyeti lorry belching on an uphill
drive. Pius, Nono and I hurriedly left the wire-cars we were making near our
chicken run and scampered into the house. There was another angry bolt of
lightning and more peals of thunder. Soon a pit-a-pit of faint raindrops which
mother called amathe empukani in her
Ndebele language started falling on the corrugated iron roof of our house,
giving us so much hope for a downpour that night.
A few
hours later, as the sun went down, the wind had weakened but it swept away the
light showers. Mother went outside the house and we followed her. Cupping her
hands on her forehead, she glanced intently into the distance towards Mudzururu
forest and shook her head.
“Another
disappointment, no rain tonight. Perhaps there will be another drought,” Mother
whispered, shaking her head dolefully.
“One of these days the
rain will come MaSibanda,” Father
said with a voice full of hope.
“GOD will definitely
give us enough rains this season and we will have a bumper harvest, sell our
produce and make a lot of money.”
We all believed Father
and went back into the house with so much hope for tomorrow.
IN ZIMBABWE, LITERATURE IS PROTEST
By
Beaven Tapureta
In November 2017, when a military coup
removed Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s head of state after 37 years of rule,
euphoria gripped the whole country. Many saw it as an end to “the house of
hunger”—the title of a widely read 1978 novel by Dambudzo Marechera that
described the people’s suffering under tyranny.
Poet Philani A. Nyoni captured the
excitement vividly in a stanza of a poem he composed on the day Mugabe stepped
down:
Twenty-one-gun
salute to the November sun!
I washed my face and wiped it with the flag.
Not for lack of a more appropriate rag,
But in salute of the spirit of the time …
Read
complete article on Zocalo Public Square
VOICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS
With
Clever Simbarashe Kavenga
24 YEAR OLD DEAN MURINDA belongs to the
young generation of published writers based in the city of Mutare. He is also a
master of ceremonies, spoken word poet, voice over artist, and has graced the
Mutare National Gallery Shaura Poetry and Music Session on many occasions. Murinda has published three poetry
anthologies in English, one of them Blooming Lilies, was nominated for NAMA Awards. The
Genesis Melodies Of A Little Rising Voice is
his first anthology and the most recent is titled Wings That No longer Fly.
Murinda is a young man on a mission in
the arts fields. Below is the interview I had with him.
Dean Murinda
Kavenga
S:
When did your writing journey start?
Dean: My early days of writing can be
traced back to 2007 when I was still 11 and I attempted to write a novel but
serious and consistent writing I think I started in 2015.
Kavenga
S:
You are prolific marketer, and your books are available on print-on-demand basis.
Tell us how do you make someone in Bulawayo for example know about your books
that are not readily available but printed on request?
Dean: Well
like I said I'm a spoken word artist, I intend to invest more in spoken word
videos now which I will upload on several online platforms. A good following
will allow people to further look into me and in doing so my books will be
realized.
Kavenga
S:
Tell us briefly about Wings That No
Longer Fly, its title is so captivating.
Dean:
In
Wings That No Longer Fly I wanted to
mix despair and hope, so I thought of a bird with broken wings, in as much as
it can't fly it still tries to. I thought this imagery would show despair and
hope at the same time and so I pursued it through poetry.
Kavenga S: What's your view on
arts, writing in particular, in Zimbabwe?
Dean: You
really need to be exceptional to make it out there and to make money you need
to be always on the desk looking for opportunities. All I mean is you need a
special plan.
Kavenga
S:
Taking you a little back what really inspired you into writing poetry?
Dean: At
first it was personal experiences. What I went through in life makes up my
first two anthologies. I would say poetry chose me. I really wanted to be a
novel writer at first but poetry meant more to me although I intend to venture
into other genres. They say a poet over 30 years is simply an overgrown child.
Kavenga
S: Is
there any training you did to enhance your writing skills?
Dean:
No except one or two writing workshops, otherwise
it has been research on my own.
Kavenga
S:
Looking back, do you regret for the time you spent in the arts field?
Dean: Not
at all. It gave me hope outside the academic world; it’s only through art that
I imagine myself beyond any other dream.
Kavenga
S:
Who is your favourite Zimbabwean writer could be from the old generation and
the current generation?
Dean:
Chenjerai Hove is my hero. I love his irony. How he used simple words but
managed to come up with the greatest pieces. My favourite piece from him is Child's Parliament.
Kavenga
S:
Can you share with us your most joyous time in this field of arts and that dark
moment in your writing life that almost extinguished the writing flame burning
in your heart.
Dean: I
think my first book launch was the climax of all; it was something I had always
dreamt of. And in terms of darkest moments, I think I was so near to giving up when
I fell sick before an audition.
Kavenga
S:
Mutare is referred to as a tourist destination because of its beautiful
sceneries. Does this city inspire you in your writing?
Dean:
Hahaha in my new art yes I'm going to be using the nature world in Mutare that
much. I want my fans to know I have something called 911 coming up and it will have nature alongside.
MUBIRIRA’S
AMAZING LOVE POETRY
By
Edwin
Msipa
She
may not be a big name now. She may not have won any of the arts merit awards so
far. She may be presently unknown in
the literary arts field but her work is by far convincing and looks
poised for higher levels.
Her
name is Rumbidzai Olivia Mubirira, a
young,
humble,
quiet and assertive woman.
Mubirira is slowly rising and she has found the groove already: LOVE POETRY!
She has
traces of being a follower of one of the forebears of Zimbabwe's Shona spoken
word poetry, Miss T. Mutongwizo who published great love poems. And Mubirira is
churning out serious love pieces which will surely inject therapeutic 'venom'
in those who are willing to make-up or break-up in their love relationships.
Rue, as
Rumbidzai is affectionately known, has quite intriguing pieces. In 'Ndimuudze
Here?', (Mafuro Manyoro,
2017), the persona is rooted in fantasy
land, dreaming of a man and wondering
whether she should tell him the three little words, 'I love you!' or to remain quiet when she see him again:
Kuti ndimuudze simba rinopera
Mabvi oroverana nekudedera
Hana tigu tigu!
The
persona professes her fear of telling the man that she loves him. Even in our
African culture, a girl or grown woman may like a man but it is difficult for
her to say it out.
It is
unacceptable. The only way it was allowed was through a marriage process called
kuganha in which a young woman would
defy the odds, choose her lover and throw herself on him by going to the
lover’s compound. She would sit close by the kitchen and wait for the people
inside to see and ask her why she came.
In the
last stanza of the poem, the persona asks:
Ndodii nhai?
Ndomuudza here?
She is
clearly at crossroads. Can she put aside our African way of doing things just
because of her personal desires? In real life, we face the same challenges and
fail to make proper decisions. This happens often in religion, marriages, work
and social settings.
Just
like in Mutongwizo's poem, 'Chido
Chitaurirwa', (Mabvumira
eNhetembo, Mambo Press, 1969), a lover may feel the arrow piercing in the heart
but circumstances may make it difficult for them to tune in on one station. In
Mutongwizo's wonderful piece, the girl is a young sister to the man's wife, a muramu. Men, most of the times, live
with their wives' young sisters and they usually take advantage of these girls
and impregnate them. Is this acceptable?
Furthermore,
in one of the most exciting poems of love to ever come from our earlier great
poets, titled 'Kana Wamutanga Musikana' written by Mordecai A. Hamutyinei, one
can see that the poet agrees that it is not normal for a woman to ask a man
out. She may seduce him but to throw or let go the arrow is an unacceptable
behaviour for her.
In her other piece 'Roja Murudo', a lover cries
foul because he or she is not getting satisfied by the relationship. Is it
because of work commitments?
Irwo rudo rwunoda jee here?
Fambe dzoke serwaivhi kwete,
Rwunoda ndichikupavhurira
Iwe uchindipavhirorawo.
Harwudi ndichikupa negapu,
Iwe uchindinyesvurira
nekamugwaku….
Heya zvichigere!
Unoti unoda kuteya mariva
ehupenyu hwako,
Heya, ndini chipingaidzo chako?
Ndava kukuvhiringa nhai?
Mubirira
echoes the same vibes in the poem, 'Muzvinapembe' which is about a man who is always judging his woman. ‘Muzvinapembe’ literally means a ‘referee’.
Through
her poetry, Mubirira brings out the hidden realities of our love life. A lot is
happening under the roofs covering our houses but no one sees it until poets
like Mubirira expose these things we take for granted but which ruin
relationships.
Being a young woman writer, Rue believes women
have a role to play in marriages and in everyday life. She bemoans the lack of
financial support in the arts industry as a major drawback for many writers in
Zimbabwe. Rue shares some of her poems on the Writers International Network
Zimbabwe (WINZIM) and Essential Publishing WhatsApp groups.
Truly,
the sky is the limit for Rue and her peers.
BRIEF LOOK AT WATSIKA
RUFUSE
By Chenjerai Mhondera
The moment you hold this
book by Tawanda Chigavazira, you are met with a vivid cover picture of a young man in torn and rugged clothes, a
loose black tie round his neck, sitting and trying to nurse his swollen or
blistering feet!
And by
holding this book, you have stepped on red, hot coal or charcoal hidden or buried in the pages. Sometimes it
doesn't seem to make sense when you see a formally dressed someone, out in the
bush and seeming up to
herd cattle.
But for
Gangauswa (Gange), it's a different story anyway!
Watsika Rufuse is a story chronicling how a villager, Gange of
several mischiefs, rose from being
naughty to being ‘notorious’.
Such a
narration and its setting which
involve places such as Mhondoro and the urban Norton walks the reader
through phases of life imbedded in crime and law. What does
it mean when a murderer and armed robber like Gange escapes from getting
sentenced through certain technicalities?
But as
this and that happens in Watsika Rufuse,
as the law seem to favour an
offender, does it sit well with Karinge, whose brother Chatambudza, a
breadwinner gets murdered and dies a
painfully, bathing in own blood? Shall Chatambudza's family members simply bury
the deceased and fold hands - perhaps write, 'rest in peace' in anticipation of
hype round eternity? But how can this be, for someone who dies under such
mysterious circumstances?
Tawanda
Chigavazira is not new when it comes to
Shona traditions. He doesn't pay a blind eye to the culture of Africans. For
instance, in his book he examines the rituals, that is, the mixing of
traditional medicine (muti) and water, and the powerful recitations by the most
senior of Karinge's family
members to awaken the spirit of the departed to avenge his offenders and expose
them. Such is the compensatory behaviour by our Shona or African customs and
traditions when professionalism seems to fail and justice delayed. The book is just but what Shona readers will
enjoy since it is richly
expressed. In it, figurative language is expertly used. Tawanda’s diction is a marvel throughout the book.
NGATINYOREI
Na
Tinashe
Muchuri
Chikamu chino chauya
COVID ichiita kunge yave kuderera ukasha hwayo munyika asi yava kunyanya
kuwanikwa pakati pevanhu vari vagary vemunyika yeZimbabwe. Izvi zvinoreva kuti
zvave kuda kuti vanhu vangwarire pakuzvichengetedza kuti vasatatapurirane
ugwere ugwu. Vanyori zvakanakawo kutsvakurudza zvakawanda pamusoro peugwere
vutsva ubwu. Izvi zvinoita kuti zvinyogwa zvedu zvive nevudzamu uye chenjedzo
yakakwana kuvaravi vazvo izvo zvinoita kuti kugarisana munyika kuve
kwakarungama.
Mukudero
chikamu chino chichasimbirira nyaya yekuti sei iko kunyora neShona kwakanaka
vuye kuchikurudzirwa kune vanokugona uye zvingava zvipi zvibingaidzo pakunyora
nyaya, nduri, ngano, nganonyorwa nezvimwe zvinyiorwa zvingada kusvitswa
kuvaravi. Ichi chauya apo vazhinji vanogarondivhunza kuti iwe unombonyorerei
neShona mutauro wevashoma. Zvino mhinduro yangu inouya ichiti vakatanga kunyora
vakaona zvakakodzera kuti munyori ashandise mutauro uyo anonyanyisa kunzwisisa
zvine udzamu nokuti izvozvo zvinoita kuti anyore zvine udzamu uye zvine shwiro.
Zvino mutauro weShona ndiwovo wandonzwisisa.
Pamusoro
peizvi, hakusi kuti kana uchigona kutaura mutauro uyu kana kunge wakazvarwa
uchitaura mutauro uyu wobva wati unouziva. Kuziva mutauro kunopinda kungotaura
mutauro basi asi kunopinda mukuziva mitemo inotevedzerwa pakunyora nomutauro
uyu. Vamwe vanogona kuti iri rekuziva pokuisa chikuwo, muvhunzo, chiturabefu
nezvimwe zvose zvinoitwa nomupepepti, asika kupavo mupepeti basa rakawandisa
zvakapindiridza. Zvakanaka chose kuti munyori akwenenzvere basa rake kuitira
kuti mupepeti aiitewo basa rake risingamurwadzi. Zvino kana munyori akangokusha
mbeu mukati mebundo, angatarisira kukohwa zvakadii idzo mbeu dzichivhungwa
namapundo? Hapana. Zvinodavo’ka kuti iye murimi atange atsindikira munda wake
uye ozoshandukura apo asati aisa mbesa kuitira kuti vanouya kuzosakurira
zvirimwa zvivaitire nyore kufambisa ndima. Kunyange izvo zvikomo zvisingapindi
geja, kunotanga kwabvukutirwa kuitira kuti zvirukweza nemapfunde kana mhunga
zvinozowana ndimo. Ndizvo zvimwewo nekunyora nomutauro weShona, zvinoda kuti
munyori ange achiziva zvinodarika kungogona zviperengo bedzi.
Tichibva
ipapa pamitemo yekunyora mutauro zvinodawo zvakare kuziva mashandisire
ezvirungamutauro. Kazhinji unoona kuti vanyori vanopiringisha tsumo namadimikira
nenzira yokuti vanongoda havo kuti vanzi vakashandisa tumor namadimikira uye
kuti vagonzi vanonyora mutauro wavanoziva zvamandorokwati, izvo hapana
chinozivikanwa. Kana usingazivi hako zvinoreva tumor kana dimikira
unorimanikidzirei kuti rireve zvarisingarevi? Wadii hako kunyora chinyorwa
chako usingaisi tsumo kana madimikira asi wakaronga hako mutauro wako zvine
udzamu zvichitapira? Ndinodaro nokuti hazvishandi izvi kuti upiringishe
chinyorwa chako netsumo namadimikira zvisingarevi chinhu munyaya yako.
Panduri
unovova vamwe vanyori vachida kushandisa chidobi chemahwi anomutinhimira
unoenderana zvichida pakutanga mutsara, kwekupera kwemutsara kana pakati
pemitsara, asi zvoonekwa kuti chivavarirwa chomunyori kuda kuva nemutinhimira
asi chabudamo pasina kana chimwe chinoonekeravo. Ipapa ndipo paya paunenge
waita iya inonzi chawagona hapana jere reBindura kana Chabuda hapana rumbo
rwaBob Nyabinde.
Imwe
nyaya iri pamazita ezvinhu. Hazvibetseri hazvo kuti kana uchinyora nyaya
yekuNyanga ushandise mazita ezvinhu zvekuMasvingo kunotaurwa Karanga iyo nyaya
ichiitikira kunotaurwa Manyika. Zvakanaka kuti tione kuti nyaya iri kunyorwa
iyi iri kuitikira kupi, izvi zvinobva nemutsika dzavanhu uye mazita ezvinhu
zvakaita senharaunda, michero, zvirimwa, nemidziyo yekushandisa. Kuunza mazita
aya mumutauro kunoita kuti mutauro weShona upfume uye vadzidzi vemutauro vagone
kugarisana nekudyidzana zvakanaka navamwe pasina mheremhere.
Tichibva
panyaya yemazita iyoyi tinopinda munyaya yemwaka. Zvakaoma hazvo ipapa nokuti
mumwe nomumwe mwaka unotarwa nemichero inowanikwa mumwaka uyu. Zvinorema
zvikuru kuti tiwane harurwa semuenzaniso mumwaka wezhizha. Kana wanyora
nezvekudyiwa kwadzo mumwaka wezhizha, kana mazhanje mumwaka wechirimo zvava
kutoda kuzivikanwa kuti akachengetedzwa sei kuti awanikwe mumwaka uyu. Ukanyora
nezvemukumbi mumwaka wechirimo, muravi anenge ofanira kuziviswa nzira yakaita
kuti mapfura achengetedzwe kana kuti iwo mukumbi wacho unge wakachengetedzwa
zvekuzosvika pakumwiwa mumwaka wechirimo uyu. Zvakakosha chose kuti munyori ave
neruzivo rwemwaka uye michero kana kumwe kudya nokunwa kunowanikwa mumwaka
mumwe nomumwe. Izvi zvakasaitwa zvakanaka zvinosakisa muravi kusaziva udzamu
hwemutauro uye chokwadi chehupenyu.
Panouya
nyaya yemitambo uyo inowanikwa kumatunhu akasiyana-siyana enyika ino
yeZimbabwe. Zvinorema kuhwa kuti Katekwe kaitambwa kudunhu reZaka. Kana izvi
zvaitika totoziva kuti kune vanhu vakatamba vakainda kune iri dunhu naizvozvo
ngazvive zvakajeka kuti uyu mutambo wakaunzwa munzvimbo nevakauya uye
uchirevei.
Kune
tsika dzekuroorerana nadzo. Zvakakosha kuziva tsika idzi kuitira kuti munyori
asapiringisha nyaya idzi. Ndinogarosangana nenyaya inonetsa inotaura nenyaya
yekutiza mukumbo nekutiziswa, uye kutizira. Izvi zvinonetsa pakuti anotizira mukumbo
ndiye uya anenge ave nemimba naizvozvo atyorwa gumbo nekudaro otiza mukumbo
nekuti pamba pavabereki hapachagarika. Anotizira anogonavo zvakare kuve
napamuviri kana kunge iye asvibirwa zvakanyanya kwave kutya kundotongeswa
navabereki obva aenda kumukomana ari ega. Kutiziswa uku kazhinji kunzvengeswa
kunoitwa musikana apo anenge asina pamuviri uye pane imwe nguva ave nepamuviri
asi pane kutenderana kwevaroorani. Nzira mbiri idzi ndidzo dzaikonzera
kutandaniswa kwaanasadombo/munyai/samukuru/samutume apo anenge aenda
kundozivisa kuti mwana aishaikwa aivepi. Hazvaikodzera kugara nemwana wevanhu
kwenguva refu mwana wevanhu pasina kuzivisa hama dzake kuti iye aivepi.
Izvi
ndizvo zvimwe zvinotambudza vanyori izvo zvandati tibetserane pamusoro pazvo.
Muchikamu chinotevera tichapfuurira mberi tichitaura nezvezvimwe zvingadikanwa
kuzivikanwa nemunyori kunyanya vaya vari kuda kutanga kunyora nyaya, nduri,
ngano nenganonyorwa. Zvishoma nezvishoma tiri kugadzirira kuti tiwane kusvika
pakukwenenzvera basa redu kuti apo tinoripa kumupepeti tinenge tamureretsira
basa uye zvinozobudawo zvakatinakira nekunakira varavi vedu.
Akupa
dhamba ndewako kurega kusunga uchirimisa hwatovawo utera hwanyakupiwa. Panhasi
togumisira pano asi tisakanganwa kuzvichengetedza pakutapurira kana kutapurirwa
utachiona hwerudzibhwamupengo rutsva rweCOVID-19. Utano ndiwo mufaro,
ngatichengetei mufaro wedu.
IN SEARCH OF INNOCENCE, JUSTICE, AND INDEPENDENCE IN FIVE NIGHTS BEFORE THE SUMMIT
By Beaven Tapureta
Zambian author Mukuka Chipanta’s second novel Five Nights Before The Summit (Weaver
Press, 2019) substantiates his storytelling prowess which readers discovered in
his previous work. The novel engages with what one might call its soul-touching
hunt for the true meaning of innocence, justice and independence amidst an
avalanche of surprises.
In this novel, African crime fiction is rendered at
its best. Mukuka has managed to weave a universal story that mesmerizes with
such intricate build-up of events and emotions.
Mukuka, an aerospace engineer by profession, lives in
the USA with his family. His first novel A
Casualty of Power (Weaver Press, 2016) won him the Best Book and Gold for
General College Level Book at the 2017 Classic American Literary Awards in
South Dakota, USA, and longlisted for the 9Mobile (formerly Etisalat) award for
African Literature in 2018. The novel depicts the impact of China’s presence in
Africa.
With Five Nights
Before The Summit, he has made a comeback but with another thriller. The
story happens in 1979 but it is rich with backstories that drift back and forth
into the past. The murder of Henry and Laura Hinckley a week before the much
anticipated Queen Elizabeth’s visit to the newly independent Northern Rhodesia
(Zambia) not only triggers a spurt of emotions of different degrees but also
excavates secrets that even today’s Africa is still grappling to ‘un-puzzle’.
As the story unfolds, one asks: what is innocence or
justice or independence in a place where political power interferes with the
pursuit of positive values? In Five
Nights Before The Summit, layers of what we think is innocence, justice or
independence are peeled off to reveal the dark web of motives, deceit and guilt
of some of the characters to whom society looks up to. Their secret selves are
laid out in the open.
With this ‘important’ murder in the limelight, the
Queen’s visit to officially open the 5th Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting spells a test with a close deadline for Northern Rhodesia’s
newly gained independence. And it is the police upon whom the task falls to
save the country from embarrassment.
Mukuka presents a police force that is committed to
pursuing criminal matters until they are resolved. Detective Maxwell Chanda, the leader of the
investigation team, handles his job with passion despite having to also cope
with his family life. It is interesting how this commitment to justice is
pitted against an overwhelming political force straddling between N Rhodesia
and England. The suspicious authority of England over N Rhodesia regarding the
murder case is clearly articulated through characters like Peter James from the
British High Commissioner’s office.
Peter’s words, when he meets with Chief of police and
Max, rings of power.
“I have come here charged with the explicit
instruction to ensure that all the culprits are apprehended and brought to
justice immediately. This issue cannot loom over Her Majesty’s trip, we simply
can’t have it overshadowing the royal visit. The British public will simply not
tolerate it!” he tells them.
Peter James’ counterpart, Secretary David Owen from
the British Foreign Office in London, is too worried as he is not satisfied
with the progress so far made three days before the Queen’s visit. He snaps at
his young administrator: “…No, I need you to call our mission in Zambia
directly. We need to get a hold of somebody high up in the Zambian government
to sort this out… we need them to put every resource they have into catching
these bloody murderous thugs and put a stop to these headlines. I want you to
go as high as Kaunda himself if you much!...”
All these British maneuvers leave the reader coming
close to concluding that although Zambia in the novel has gained independence,
it is still a British colony in the guise of an African flag, somehow a
dependent! Due to the unexpected death of the Hinckleys, it seems attention
suddenly swerves towards the preservation of elitist, political prestige.
The diary form in which the story is told shows how
important time is for the characters; time as a scant resource pushes the
momentum up, thus Five Nights Before The
Summit does not waste a reader’s time with too much commentary. The
emphasis is on the chase, the action and as ‘action speaks louder than words’,
the author gracefully unveils an inner view of each character’s psyche;
something like a pure, un-judged inscape of their motives and secret fears are
uncovered.
But why doesn’t the British solve their own matters
without involving the Africans, for it is their own kind – Frits Hubercht and
Peter James – who behind the scenes have orchestrated the crime despite it
turning out to be what they hadn’t planned? Does it show the vulnerability of
the African?
Amos, rich and educated, is the most wanted criminal
but still at first, had it not been for Peter James who came with an
opportunistic offer to him, he had denied Paul’s invitation to lead the pack
that would break into the Hinckleys’ house. Paul, poor and uneducated, surely
is aware of the consequences of getting involved in another crime soon after
coming from prison but Frits, who strikes a chance friendship with him, baits
him with promise of large sums of money and therefore takes advantage of his
poverty.
Frits, a close friend of the Hinckleys and a Boer who
is in terrible debt yet can’t stand the status of “being a poor white man in a
black man’s country” and Peter James who should protect the dignity of his
country, are both hounding Henry, a farmer but secretly a ‘wanted’ ex-British intelligence officer and an illegal
minerals dealer. They are hounding him for different reasons. Henry, now
confined to the wheelchair, is defenseless to his ‘next of kin’ designing his
fall. To confront Henry, Africans are secretly used – Amos, Paul, Musa and
Mambwe.
The novel gets emotional in paragraphs that
descriptively capture places like Kabulonga suburb where the rich families of
black upper-class citizens live in contrast with the township conditions of
most black workers. When Paul first visits Amos’ residence to ask him to lead
the break-in at the Hinckleys, the narrator tells us, “In Paul’s eyes, the size
of the guest house could have been many times the size of the biggest home in
the township.”
When at some point later detectives visit the township
where Paul lived, the narrator tells us it “was a settlement of ramshackle
dwellings that covered the landscape like mushrooms budding over a
hillside”.
Mukuka clearly displays a certain disillusionment that
also settled in the hearts of several African authors who realized that the
hard won independence of their mother countries was benefiting only a few
individuals in positions of power. In the same spirit, Mukuka subtly portrays
this inequality through the lives of his characters.
Five Nights Before The Summit is written in a language that is fast-paced and
lucid. Culture is captured when African characters speak in their indigenous
language and act in accordance with tradition.
The seemingly innocence of the Hinckleys is felt when
the farm foreman, during interrogation, describes their cool relationship with
their farm workers. Beneath their innocence lay terrific fear especially in
Laura who had spoken out against colonialism, thus became a disgrace to the
British rule in the colonies.
Laura Hinckley’s reasoning and sympathy for Africans
makes her ‘the Doris Lessing’ in the story. Lessing, born in 1919 in Tehran but
grew up in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), was a prolific white author whose
support for Africans irked Britain. She was in 1956 “declared a prohibited migrant
after speaking out about the white minority regime.”
Laura’s enthusiasm and love for equality echoes in her
words in the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of Five Nights Before The Summit and the reaction she gets is that of
astonishment. Twenty one years earlier in England she tells Henry: “My point is
that we need to let the Africans live their own lives and make their own
choices. This whole business of colonialism has only brought misery and
oppression….”
Three months before she and her husband are murdered,
and few years after N Rhodesia’s attainment of independence, she challenges
Frits: “I mean doesn’t it bother you sometimes that here we are, white in a
black man’s land, living better than the black man himself?”
As a novel
written in diary form and with many entries, it would have added an advantage
for the reader had there been a contents page. Hardly do works of fiction carry
a table of contents but with this unusual story, it would have been smoothening
oil with such a table because often surprises loom up which make the reader
want to go back to previous scenes quickly to get a better view before moving
forward with the gripping tale.
Despite this small weakness, the novel Five Nights Before The Summit is a
murder mystery, suspenseful and engaging, which confirms Mukuka Chipanta’s
determined authorship that will echo across Africa and beyond. The novel will remind many readers that crime
and conspiracy are still a threat to Africa’s total democracy.
MABHUKU EDU, OUR BOOKS
Na
Prosper
Njeke
Makadini vanyori nevaverengi. Ndakuunzirai imwe hurukuro
yandakaita nanyanduri wechidiki ari kurura mazuvano nenduri dzinotapira,
idzo dzatekeshera padandemutande. Anonzi Nyanduri Chamapezi zita rokuzvarwa riri Munashe Dhliwayo
wekuMarondera akabarwa musi wa24 Chivabvu 1997. Heyo tandarai nayo!
Munashe Dhliwayo
Nyanduri Chamapezi, ndinokutambira
muchirongwa chino chevanyori vechidiki, Mabhuku Edu / Our Books.
Ndinotenda mukoma Njeke nekundikokawo pano.
Zvakanaka nyanduri. Tiudzewo kuti uve
nyanduri wemandiriri kudai nezera rako iri, zvakanyatsotanga sei kuzoti uve
nyanduri?
Mukoma, ndakatangira ndiri kuchikoro paRakodzi High School. Ndaidaidzwa
paasemburi nemudzidzisi ndichinzi ndimboita
detembo. Ini ndaisatya, ndaibva ndavaratidza kudavadika kwangu. Ndakazosara
ndopedza zvidzidzo zveA’ Level, ndichingonzi “ nyanduri nyanduri”, nazvino
ndiri kunyandura.
Zvinofadza izvi. Ko, zvimwe zvinyorwa
zvako zvinowanikwa pai, pekuti tingazviverengewo?
Zvinyorwa zvangu zvinowanikwa paMunyori Journal raOctober
2020, rakatsikiswa pandandemutande neChisiya Writers’ Workshop rinowanikwa pa http://munyori.org/2020/10/poetry-by-chisiya-writers-workshop-members/. Mukaenda paYouTube munoona mavhidhiyo
enhetembo dzangu, pa https://youtu.be/bfIZYH1Uxvo .Dzimwe dzacho dziri mumabhuku emiunganidzwa
yenhetembo ayo asati zvawo abuda asi ave pedyo anoti; DZINE MAUNGIRA, MWENJE,
MAUNGIRA EZIMBABWE, NDURI UPENYU, DZINOBVA MUROPA, MUNHURUKA WENHAPITAPI,
kozoita imwe nyaya yangu iri mumuunganidzwa wenyaya pfupi dzevanyori vechidiki
vemuZimbabwe unonzi HAUSUNDI uyo uchiri kubikwa zvekare.
U-u, uri kufamba munyori! Ko, ndeapi
matambudziko ari kusanganikwa nawo nevanyori vechidiki?
Matambudziko aripo mukoma Njeke. Chekutanga, vanyori vadiki
havasi kupiwa mukana wekuti zvinyorwa zvavo zviverengwewo muzvikoro. Kunongoverengwa evanyori vakatanga
kare. Piri, maEditors kana kuti vapepeti vari kupiwa basa nevanyori
vadiki, havasi kudzosa kuti
vaone pakagadziriswa. Editor anotora makore matatu kana kurautsira asati
adzosa.
Ya,
zvinorwadza izvi. Saka ndezvipi zvaungati zvingaitwa mukuedza kusimudzira
vanyori vadiki ava.
Vanyori vadiki vanofanira kuti kana vakatsikisawo mabhuku
avo agoverengwa pamakungano makuru kuti
vazivikanwewo. Zvekare, vanofanira kushandidzanawo nevanyori vakatanga kare
mungava mumibatanidzwa yenhetembo kana nyaya pfupi. Ivo vanyori vakuru vanofanirawo kuti vakaona
munyori mudiki anouya kwavari achida kubatsirwa vomugamuchirawo vachimupawo mazano kuti angasimukira sei.
Wataura mashoko makuru apa. Ko, iwe
unosimudzirwa kana kuti kukurudzirwa nani kuti urambe uine simba rakadai pakudetemba nemamwe mabasa ako
ekunyora.
Ndinokurudzirwa naKelvin Muzira, Ruramai Kuhudzai, newe
Njeke pamwe chete nevateereri venhetembo dzangu.
Zvakanaka
izvi. Ko, kunze kwekuvanyanduri ndezvipi
zvimwe zvaunoita muupenyu?
Mazvita mukoma. Ndinoshanda semutariri ndichishandira
mudhorobha reMarondera ndichishandira kambani
yeGuard Alert.
Ndatenda
hangu nyanduri nenguva yatava tose. Mupfuurire mberi nebasa renyu.
***
THANK YOU FOR READING OUR NEWSLETTER
The WIN Literary Newsletter is edited by the WIN
Editorial Team and published on the blog monthly or bi-monthly by Writers
International Network Zimbabwe (WIN). For more information, contact us: winzimbabwe@gmail.com
