13TH EDITION OF NATIONAL ARTS MERIT AWARDS: HIGHLIGHTS

NAMA 2014 Theme:

“Unite, Excite and Educate”

(Report By WIN-Zimbabwe)

Rising Star: Jah Prayzah, real name Mukudzei Mukombe, captured here performing at the 13^th NAMA Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 15, 2014, in Bulawayo. He walked away with four NAMA awards.

Irreverent artistic content condemned

Art represents the culture of a people and therefore it should convey an important message to the people, said the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Andrew Langa, when he presented his keynote speech at the 2014 NAMA Awards ceremony held on February 15 in Bulawayo.

The charming ceremony took place at the Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel under the theme ‘Unite, Excite and Educate’.

The Minister castigated artists, particularly the new generation of musicians, who have churned out profane lyrics which do not bequeath any sense of culture to posterity.

His call comes at a time when the country has witnessed a spate of anti-cultural, computerized musical potboilers which are being produced by some new musicians. 

“I would like to emphasize on the content that the creative arts, especially music, need to bring to the populace of our country. While the music arrangements in our creations are improving, the same cannot be said about the content. This is a challenge that I am making to you musicians,” said Langa.

He encouraged the upcoming musicians to dig into the wealth of Zimbabwean culture and send to the world the right message that depicts who we are instead of making “unnecessary noise”.

“We want you musicians to depict what builds our country Zimbabwe. That is why government created the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture. Zimbabwe has a rich culture and heritage that safeguards who we are,” he said.

Minister Langa also took the opportunity to advise gospel musicians whom he said have a great role to play in the promotion of ubuntuism because religion falls under culture.

Making reference to the recent fall of some local churchmen, Langa condemned churches which are taking advantage of vulnerable women.

“Most people go to church with problems which they need solved by you pastors and preachers but because you know they are vulnerable, you make them your wives. Government will heavily descend on you,” he said.

Meanwhile, artists Olivia Charamba and Enock Chihombori, who won the Outstanding Female Musician and Outstanding Screen Production (full length film) awards respectively, in their brief touching speeches, implored the Minister to take stern measures against piracy which has impoverished the arts industry.

Celebrated crooner Dorothy Masuku, who gave a superb performance at the NAMA ceremony, also requested the Minister to consider coming up with a special event to honor and celebrate the country’s departed great musicians such as Safirio Madzikatire, Chiwoniso Maraire, Leonard Dembo and others.

This year’s National Arts Merit Awards (13^th Edition) saw each winner taking home a trophy, certificate, cash prize and different vouchers while nominees were presented with certificates. According to the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the annual Awards, established in 2002, aim to reward excelling artists to stimulate more interest in the arts and raise the profile of creators. The Awards, among other objectives, hope to confirm the arts and cultural industries as capable of improving the status and quality of life of practitioners.

WIN-Zim Bags Home Second NAMA Nomination

Writers International Network Zimbabwe reached the nomination stage again at the recently concluded 2014 NAMA Awards, thus making it a second successive national recognition.

The WIN blog was nominated last year and this year for the Outstanding Online Media award (Media category) which has been scooped, also successively, by the Zimbo Jam.

The blog, created in 2010, among other websites such as award-winning Zimbo Jam, Panorama, and various other local arts and culture blogs, have made a convincing testimony that the internet is a critical tool, an enabler, in the development of our arts and culture.

Emmanuel Sigauke, writer and WIN Board member, congratulated WIN. He said, “The nominations are a sign that people are recognizing the important role the organization is playing. That’s already a winning spirit. Keep doing what you are doing.”

WIN members were strong enough to value the nominations as additional encouragement for the association to keep aiming high.

Alois Sagota aka Sagota Sagota said the NAMAs are good and promotional because they are held annually.

Another member in Kadoma, Tendai Chinhoro, said, “While we have not been able to win the award, the nominations have been helpful to some extent in marketing WIN-Zim.”

Mabasa Honors Charles Mungoshi

Writer Ignatius Mabasa (above) posing with his NAMA trophy after winning the Outstanding Fiction Book Award

Writer Ignatius Mabasa is humbled for having been included in the same category with one of Zimbabwe’s great writer Charles Mungoshi.

Mabasa’s Imbwa YeMunhu and Charles Mungoshi’s Branching Streams Flow in the Dark emerged as co-winners of the Outstanding Fiction Book Award.

In a brief interview after receiving the award, Mabasa said being nominated in the same category with Charles Mungoshi for NAMA was something that made him hate the concept of competition.

“How could I compete with Charles Mungoshi – one of my mentors and seniors? I felt I shouldn’t have submitted my work for consideration. My winning came as a big surprise. I am still surprised but I also feel I have been validated and given due recognition by Zimbabwe which means I no longer consider myself an underdog in Zimbabwean literature. I can now sit padare nevakuru (dine with the elders) and talk about literature and what needs to be done!” said Mabasa.

Farayi Mungoshi (above) represented his father Charles Mungoshi

Charles Mungoshi needs no introduction in local, regional and international literary circles, having so far produced about twelve books, some of them winners of prestigious awards. Waiting for the Rain and the classic Ndiko Kupindana Kwemazuva won the International PEN Award. The Setting Sun and the Rolling World won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region) and was a New York Times Book of the Year. Stories from a Shona Childhood scooped the NOMA Award and is also one of Africa 100 Best Books.

Walking Still which came out in 1997 won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Africa Region).

The recent NAMA Award which the veteran author has earned has come with revived hope that the book could actually become a school set text.

The author’s son Farayi Mungoshi, who represented him at the NAMA Awards, told WIN that it is encouraging that the book has gained local recognition before the publisher has even started looking for a wider market beyond the borders of our country.

“It has given confidence to the family (who published the book under their family stable called Mungoshi Press). It is the first book we have published on our own with the support from outside and it is performing very well,” said Farayi. 

Still with the 2014 NAMA Awards literary category, the Outstanding First Creative Published Work award was won by Solomon Mwapangidza for his debut book Rebel Soldier. Rebel Soldier  was published by AuthorHouse (UK) and is currently available online on Amazon.com as well as directly from the publisher.

 Fortune Tazvivinga grabbed the Outstanding Children’s Book award for her book The River God Unyaminyami.

NoViolet Bulawayo’s debut We Need New Names which has received wider appreciation earned Special Mention in the Literary Awards category.

 

Fortune Tazvivinga (above) won the Outstanding Children’s Book

Below are the rest of the winners in different categories:

Dance Awards

Outstanding Group – 8 Count Dance Crew

Outstanding Female Dancer – Maylene Chenjerai of Tumbuka Dance Company

Outstanding Male Dancer – Peter Lenso of Tumbuka Dance Company

Outstanding Choreographer – Sean George Mabwere of Rolex Dance Crew

Visual Arts Awards

Outstanding Mix Media – Nhapwasikana by Forbes Mushipe

Outstanding 2 Dimensional Work – House of Stone by Webster Mubayirenyi

Outstanding 3 Dimensional Work - Indigenization by Israel Israel

Spoken Word Awards

Outstanding Comedian – Simba Kakora aka Simba the Comic King

Outstanding Poet – Obert Dube

Theatre/Drama Awards

Outstanding Actress – Nyaradzo Nhongonhema in Pub Stories

Outstanding Actor – Tafadzwa Hananda in Pub Stories & Half Empty Half Full

Outstanding Theatrical Production – Half Empty Half Full (Savannah Trust)

Outstanding Director – Ryan Lawrence and Peter John Smith (The Woman in Black)

Media Awards

Outstanding Journalist (Print) – Shamiso Yikoniko of the Sunday Mail

Outstanding Journalist (Television) – Sifiso Mpofu of ZBC

Outstanding Journalist (Radio) – Problem Masau of Star FM

Outstanding Online Media - Zimbo Jam

Film and Television Awards

Outstanding Actor – Nash Mphepho in Decoder

Outstanding Actress- Eunice Tava in Sinners

Outstanding Music Video – Mwanasikana by Willard Magombedze featuring Jah Prayzah

Outstanding Screen Production (Full length film) – Gringo the Trouble Maker by Enoch Chihombori

Outstanding Screen Production (Short Film) – Decoder by Jasen Mphepho

Outstanding Screen Production (TV) – No nominees, no winner

Music Awards

Outstanding Female Musician – Olivia Charamba

Outstanding Male Musician – Jah Prayzah

Outstanding Album – Jah Prayzah

Outstanding Song – Jah Prayzah

Special Awards

Promoter of the Year – Divine Assignment

Arts Personality Award – Oliver Mtukudzi

Arts Service Award- Intwasa

People’s Choice Award – Jah Prayzah

We say congratulations to the 2014 winners!

WIN Newsletter, Issue No 75 coming soon….

Next Issue Coming Soon...

One of WIN-Zim's Greatest Moments of 2013

Writer Aaron Chiundura Moyo surrounded by students from different school writers' clubs at the official launch of the Epworth Community Outreach Programme last year

WIN Newsletter, Issue No 75 is coming soon....

WIN-Zim Earns 2014 NAMA Awards Nomination

2014 NATIONAL ARTS MERIT AWARDS

MEDIA AWARDS

Outstanding Online Media

The nominees are:

• Zimbojam
• Writers International Network (WIN)
• Panorama

The rest of the nominees in different categories can be found here:

2014 NAMA NOMINEES

WIN Newsletter, Issue No 74

EDITORIAL

A pupil from Makomo Primary School, Epworth, performing his poem at the official launch of the Epworth Community Outreach Programme last year. The launch took place at Domboramwari High, Epworth

WELCOME to our first newsletter of 2014, being the 74th issue. Hopefully you are all well and writing. 2013 was a year in its own class indeed, with various literary activities happening around the country. Book launches, writers' meetings, book fairs, outreaches, etc. And your support was overwhelming. We would like to thank our sponsors of the Epworth Community Outreach Programme, the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust (in partnership with Sweden), for making it happen in Epworth. We are proud to say we now have a Branch in Epworth with a very supportive Committee. The Outreach continues.... WIN wishes to make up for the postponed writing skills training workshop with a two-day workshop that will, as we announced last year, include novel writing. Winners of the 2013 WIN Short Story Writing Competition will also be awarded with prizes at a ceremony to be announced in due course. Manuscript assessment has been prioritized this year as the basis for WIN's vision of a Publishing Unit that will transform aspiring writers' dreams into reality. We cannot, as a country, afford to lose literary talent as writers are 'surgeons' of society. We also haven't forgotten our '4 in 1' Poerty Anthology. We now only accept poems in Ndebele and Tonga as there were few submissions in these mother languages. In this issue we have introduced a new column The Youth Perspective to give a voice to young people who wish to share observations they make in life through writing. The trailblazer for this column is Mimi Machakaire, a very enthusiatic young writer. Please do enjoy!   

GLEN VIEW 2 HIGH STUDENT SHINES AGAIN

Evelyn Chiradza presenting a poem at a WIN meeting last year at the the National Art Gallery

Sixteen year old aspiring writer Evelyn Chiradza from Glen View 2 High Writers Club has so far graced the two editions of the WIN Short Story Writing Competition as a winner.

In the inaugural 2012 Competition Evelyn won 3^rd Prize in the Shona Category for her short story titled Zuva Randisingakanganwe. 

Last year, she won 2^nd Prize in the Junior Category for her story Nguruve Yakazvikanga Nemafuta Ayo which is published below.

Together with fellow club members Evelyn has poems and short stories published in booklets produced from a writing skills training workshop conducted by Centre for Development of Women and Children in collaboration with WIN-Zimbabwe.

Nguruve yakazvikanga nemafuta ayo

Na Evelyn Chiradza, Glen View 2 High, Harare

Waiva musi wa27 Kubvumbi 2013.

VaZimunya vakamuka runyanhiriri kugadzirira kunokohwa twubage twavo twavainge vasiya nezuro wezuva iri.

“Rega ndibve ndangomubikira svutugadzike ndingoisira imomo, wavakuda kurebesa muswe mhani!” VaZimunya vakadaro apo vainge votogumha chikuni chaiva muchoto kuti vabatidze moto wekubikisa svutu yavaitaura iyi.

Vakabika svutugadzike yavo nechimbichimbi. Apa mvura painge yopisa vaitotswanya-tswanya midzi yavainge vatotsvaga kare. Pachokwadi hama dzangu shirikadzi yainge yoda kuuraya muroora, mukadzi wemwanakomana wayo. Vakaita izvi pasina avaona nekuti zuva rainge risati rakwazisana nenyika. Muroora wavo Manyoni ainge atomukawo kare ari kwake kudhanduru achinetsana nezvirukwa zvake zvaairuka.

VaZimunya vaipfuura nepamberi pemba yaiva inaManyoni. Sezvo Manyoni aive akati zarurei musuwo, aitoona kuuya kwavamwene vake.

“Mangwanani Amai,” Manyoni akadaro achipfugama kuratidza kuti aive abva kuvanhu.

Semunhu ainyepera rudo netsika VaZimunya vakapfugamawo.

“Tamuka mamukawo muroora, ko chando hamuchinzwe here  zvamusina juzi kana kufuga chari zvayo?”

“Regai ndipfeke juzi chokwadi amai, chando chatondipinda. Dai Memory amuka atombondidziisira svutugadzike,” akadaro Manyoni. Apokaapo hama dzangu ndizvo chaizvo zvaikwenyerwa mhuno nekasiyanwa naVaZimunya.

“Zvoga here muroora? Ndabvira kare zvangu kunzwa kuti wamuka nemushina wako uyu wange uchitinhira ndatenge ndabika kare tea mugonwa.”

Manyoni akabva atanga kutenda achiombera,”Iii maita zvenyu amai, regai ndipedzise chirukwa chino nditononwa.”

VaZimunya vakabva vasimuka voenda vachisekerera vachiti zvavo zvainge zvaita. Zino irema chokwadi.

Dai VaZimunya vaive vasina godo, daka rese iri pangadai pasina. Pasina chinguva Manyoni akabva aswededza svutugadzike yake pedyo nemoto. Paakazopedza chirukwa chake akaona kuti zuva rainge ramhanya achibva angotora svutugadzike ndiye hutu akananga kumunda kwaive navamwene vake.

VaZimunya semunhu ainge ave nenzara vakainwira zvekuenda. Vapedza vakabva vazembera badza negokora ndokuti, “Manwa here nhai Manyoni?”

“Hongu Amai maita zvenyu. Ndange ndafa nechando,”Manyoni akareva nhema.

VaZimunya vakabva vaenda kwavainge vasiira ndima yavo uyuwo Manyoni akabva adzokera kunosuka ndiro achiti aizodzoka kana apedza.

Nenguva isipi kusunga kwemudumbu pamwe nekumira moyo kwakanzwikwa naVaZimunya. Vakatadza nokudaidzira rubatsiro chairwo nekuda kwemarwadzo. Zvino vainge voti kurutsa, kuzvimba dumbu nekutanga kuumburuka mumhukuti imomo. Nenguva diki shirikadzi yakarisiya rakacheka nyika.

 Manyoni apedza twubasa twake pamba akabva ati kuna Memory, “Rega ndichienda kumunda kunobatsira vamwene. Iwe Memory mwanangu chisara uchibika sadza tinodzoka zvino zvino tave nenzara zimhandara.”

Manyoni akapedza kutaura mashoko aya atove munzira.

Asati arova nhanho iwe, akaona tsvukukuviri asi hazvina kumbomutyisa. Ava mudundura pedyo nemunda waive navamwene vake, hana yake yakatanga kurova. Paakasimudza meso ake achipinda mumunda akaona haanoi mashura amai vainge vatogunduruka. Zvakamunetsa chaizvo kuti chii chainge chaiitika. Akashaya pekubata apo akaona changove chando muviri wavamwene vake. Akambofunga kuti airota asi akaona chiri chokwadi chaiva mumeso achibva atanga kuzhambatata.

“Amai kani, chiiko chakudyai?”

Pasina chinguva ruzhinji rwakange rwatekeshera kare kubvunzurudzwa kwaManyoni kukavepo asi Manyoni akavaudza kuti ainge asina chigumbu navamwene vake.

ZIBF HEEDS WRITERS' CONCERNS

By Beaven Tapureta

(Article first appeared in the online Panorama Magazine on January 28, 2014)

Musaemura Zimunya, ZIBF Executive Board Chairperson

Following recommendations made last year by writers to have a whole conference devoted to indigenous languages and knowledge systems in Africa, the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) has responded.

The 2014 theme is: “Indigenous Languages, Literature, Art and Knowledge Systems of Africa”.

Writers who attended last year’s ZIBF Writers Workshop raised a heated and prolonged debate on indigenous languages and recommended that ZIBF considers providing a whole conference devoted to the topic.

Musaemura Zimunya, the ZIBF Executive Board Chairperson, said the theme had been built around factors among which included “the compelling indications” from the ZIBF 2013 Writers Workshop regarding the urgency to recognize African languages, literatures and art forms as creative media and repositories of knowledge systems deserving as much attention as languages and literatures conveyed in English and other Western languages.

Author Ignatius Tirivangani Mabasa triggered an engaging discussion on mother languages when he presented his paper titled “Behind my Children’s stories” during the Writers’ Workshop which focused on writing for children.

He uses modernised folklore to create stories which children can easily identify with without losing the essence that develops them into responsible adults.

Other writers questioned the suitability of modernised folklore which, they said, may not appeal to rural children.

Mabasa’s argument is that he attempts to respond to social changes and accused educationists of conspiring to destroy mother languages by making it difficult at school.

Students have shunned local languages at high school citing them as complex subjects. Mabasa used his award-winning book Mapenzi which was also a prescribed school text at Advanced Level.

At the same workshop which was attended by published and unpublished writers, renowned writer and actor Aaron Chiundura-Moyo questioned why the Curriculum Development Unit penalises students who respond to examination questions in their own dialects. Dialects, he said, should be recognized at final school examinations.

According to Zimunya, factors that contributed to this year’s theme include, among others, limited time the 2013 Indaba Conference allocated to important deliberations on African languages, literatures, heritage and knowledge systems,   and patterns and benefits of the use of African medicines and the dangers of losing valuable health practices due to prejudice and official neglect and the timely movement to beneficiate African heritages through the tourism economy.

Following the announcement of this year’s theme, Zimunya said the main Book Fair will run from July 28 to August 2 while the Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare and Gweru book fairs will take place from March 28 to 29, May 30 to 31, September 26 to 27, and October 24 to 25 respectively. 

WIN WHATSAPP PLATFORM HELPFUL

USA-based Zimbabwean writer Emmanuel Sigauke

WIN-Zimbabwe’s bid to constantly create links and platforms that enable its members to express their aspirations is paying off with the association’s Whatsapp group proving to be an indispensable meeting place.

The group, created on November 13, 2013, has given aspiring writers an opportunity to get instant answers from the office regarding any literary matter and also to exchange information with fellow writers.

USA-based Zimbabwean writer, Emmanuel Sigauke, who also sits on WIN Advisory Board, is in the group and has become the anchorman for the group, motivating the aspiring writers with valuable information and ideas.

Members such as Witness Mujubi, Alois Sagota, Gweru-based Tendai Chinhoro and others have shared with others their short poems and extracts from their unpublished manuscripts. The feedback has been helpful.

Among other burning issues, the group, which also includes Christian writers, has discussed Christian literature, copyright, the local publishing industry and the plight of unpublished writers in the face of economic hardship.

The Whatsapp Group is a free platform which allows members to join via Admin and leave anytime maybe due to other pressures in their daily lives. Below is a poem by Witness Mujubi, who is currently in South Africa, shared on the platform:

Witness Mujubi

Pasi godi dzangu nhendeshure dzorova

Kareyo nzanga isati yarohwa neyeunhubu nyundo

Pasichigare vatana vachiri vapenenguro

Mazuvayo nzanga ichigere kuodzwa

Bodo zvanhasi unhu wasvodzwa

Rusvava kupisa musoro serechirimo

Makaringa dzimba atova matongo

Sei sorojena asi makasungwa muromo

Kutopa gotsi hamuoni tawira mumangondo

Dzorai vanhasi

Isu toshuwira mano

Witness Mujubi was born in June 1988 in Chipinge. He did his primary and secondary education at Devuli Primary and Secondary Schools in Buhera. He proceeded to Goko High for his Advanced Level studies. He left Zimbabwe in 2010 for South Africa where he is currently staying.

THE YOUTH PERSPECTIVE

Imagination

by

Mimi Machakaire

Imagination is a gift many of us receive.  It is within us for years and all we have to do is believe. Imagination breathes life into what is seen to be dead. Imagination is strong enough to take something old and make it new. As youths we possess this power and use it to entertain ourselves but somehow as we grow our imagination is left behind and yet still forever it stays by our side. We later learn how to use our imagination to our advantage and take it all in stride. We look at other sources that help us see what is in our minds. We hope that others will understand our views and decide to stay by our side. We wander and explore a different world and then somehow bring it to life. 

Some forget the beauty that imagination can hold. Every single mind has its own story to be told. We allow books, music and movies to describe the stories that we choose to think. Though there is a chance that it may not always appear as accurate as possible, we still decide to either swim or sink. We entrust those skillful hands to recreate that which we see in our imagination. We let complicated matters take place in the hope that they set our minds free.  If what we have imagined is as accurate as we hoped, we continue to look deeper and further as though searching through a telescope. We attempt to materialize all which we see in our minds. We do not give up until the puzzle is complete.

Imagination has a way of revealing the intelligence of one particular human being. As we always try to uncover the stories that we read, we wonder how the individual has managed to think of such a plot. When we finally get the answer we either accept it or think it not. Even though we do not know or have not met the person who has created that said set, we judge them using the story that they have told despite how our actions may seem cold.

I love how our imagination can take us into another world. How ideas can just spin, circle and swirl! There are no rules or regulations; it’s filled with nothing but our hopes, dreams and anticipations. Imagination can take a simple object and turn into a huge project. It can take whatever you see and allow it to fly as you set it free. You can become whoever you want to be. No one can change what you see in your mind. It is yours and yours alone, which makes it harder for others to look for what they think they can find in you.

(Mimi Machakaire was born nineteen years ago and currently lives in Harare. When she was two years old, her parents moved to England where they stayed for a year before moving back to Zimbabwe. Her family then moved to Namibia where she attended Orangemund Private School.  She did most of her secondary education in Botswana at Westwood International School and Rainbow High School before coming back to Zimbabwe in 2012. Mimi is inspired by JK Rawlings and Steven King. “I want to share my stories to the world while still being versatile at the same time and not just stick to one genre but attempt to challenge myself in many different ways,” she says.) 

POETRY FROM EPWORTH

A Brand New Year

 By

Brighten Muvindi

Of it we have no fear

Our plans we will carry

Obstacles God will make us parry

We have started so there’s no fun

Good health is what we pray for

As we destroy laziness uncalled for

The writing spirit is on

We will press it on with a huff

All the writing glory is to be on

As in the skies is Orion

(Brighten Muvindi is a teacher and also the Writers’ Club Patron at Muguta Secondary School in Epworth. He is also the Publicity Secretary for the Epworth Chapter of Writers International Network Zimbabwe. The chapter came into being under the Epworth Community Outreach, a WIN-Zimbabwe programme supported by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust.)

Teerera Unzwe

Na Thomas Tembo, Domboramwari High Writers Club

Teerera unzwewo

Chimed chenyevero yakagochwa

Inonakira vanyerere

Teerera kuti mangwana usazochema navaTete

Chokwadi vechidiki ndati teererai

Kunzi pakata handi kunzi ridza

Uye kumhanya hakusi kusvika

Rega kuchemera zviri mugapu rerudo

Sewanyimwa, hazvisizvoba!

Nguva ndoisati yadonha

Dai ivo vaya vekurwira nyika

Vakadziridza pasina muvengi

Tingadai tiine rugare nhasi?

Newewo ukadziridza dzowako muviri

Unenge watamba nevhu pasina mvura

Ndokusati ndati teerera unnzwe

Dzikama ufunge zvakadzama

Rega kuita bararamhanywa kuzvikwidza ndege yemashanga

Uchiti wakura

Aiwa kwete! Handizvo

Asi tsvaka zivo utsvakewo uchenjeri

Uzvishandise kuvaka chinobatika

Simudzai Izwi Vakuruwe

Na Luckson Chakuma, Kubatana Primary School Writers Club

Hero basa vakuru vanhasi

Tachema kudeketera kwamuri isu vadiki vanhasi

Yataberekwa iyi nguva izere madzudzo

Yodemi kutsiura kwazvo kwazvo musingasiiriri

Tave kubarwa nekukurira munyika ine meno

Motiyarutsa pedzisai kutaura musati, “Hamheno”

Mukurarama dzamakaona nekutamba dzizhinji

Mukangosairira mucharemadza nekuodza zvizhinji

Tsika nemagariro zvakagarirwa nezvakauya

Enyu matama mazwi enyevero nhasi otorwa nenguva

Vana torairwa nezvhivhitvhiti mishina yemhiri

Shumo dzakare dziya nhasi achanzwa hapana

Ruzivo rwemishina rwapfukuta tsika nemagariro

Zvaiera muchakura nhasi nazvo totamba

Kuzviwaridza pamhene kuti nemakunguwo zvigodyiwa

Vazhinji vanhasi vadiki hatichakwegura

Tave kusiya nyika mikaka pamhino ichayerera

Tapota simudzai mazwi vatana imi muripo

Zvinozvimbira tsiurai tisati tadya

Zvinorutsisa bvutai tisati tamedza

Mukangotarisa mangwana nyika ichashaya vanonzi vakuru

____________________________________________

Let us write.



Get to know Mercy Dhliwayo, author of "The Bundle of Joy"

Hi writers, we gladly bring you Mercy Dhliwayo, whose short story "The Bundle Of Joy" won 2nd Prize in the WIN 2013 Short Story Writing Competition (Senior Category, English Language section). The story was published in our previous post. 

 Mercy Dhliwayo

Mercy Dhliwayo is a Bulawayo born poet and writer. She is a Law graduate and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Pretoria. In 2013 she was one of the winners of the Femrite 5^th Regional Residency for female writers from Africa held in Entebbe, Uganda.  Her short story, “Stofberg Remnants” was 4^th place in the 2013 Yvonne Vera Award. 

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WIN Newsletter, Issue No 74 coming soon....

Stay blessed

Complements of the Season

It’s a brand new year and glory be unto Most High for this renewed energy to write and write and publish! At WIN-Zimbabwe we are ready. Please note that we will open offices on Wednesday, January 8, 2014. We strongly encourage members to commit themselves to their 2014 annual subscriptions. Your support for our work is very much appreciated. We start the year with The Bundle of Joy, the short story which won 2^nd Prize in last year’s WIN Short Story Competition (Senior Category, English section). Writer Memory Chirere, who adjudicated the Competition, commented on The Bundle of Joy as follows: “A persuasive short story. Natural conversation. Pacy. The surprise element comes out at the right time, with the devastating truth and its effects.” The story scored 72 marks out of 100. We also would like to thank established writers who got in touch and passed worthy comments and suggestions for each story that we have published on the blog so far. We will make sure those suggestions will be incorporated into our skills workshops which are to be held this year. More updates coming soon in the first issue of our WIN Newsletter for 2014 (WIN Newsletter, Issue No 74). Please enjoy! 

THE BUNDLE OF JOY

By Mercy Dhliwayo

A sudden “what if” pops into Idah’s head. “What if this does not work?”  She ponders at the unwelcome possibility as she puts her bundle of joy into a basket. Before she knows it, her first “what if” gives birth to plenty more “what ifs” which are daunting than the pain of giving birth unassisted. “What if something happens to him? What if they take him away?” Behind these questions there is a familiar fear. It is a fear she has carried since learning of her pregnancy. For a person fully bodied as herself, concealing the pregnancy had not been difficult. Now having given birth, concealing the child was to be no easy task. Of the child’s father, there is much to tell. Neither pride-evoking stories to share with a smile nor romantic moments to remember with a blush. All that is there is a vague moment of drunken moment of sexual engagement and of course, the heartless demands to have the pregnancy terminated. With fear and uncertainty clinging on her like stubborn lice, she lifts her head weighed down by a dozen “what ifs” and sets out on the mission to veer her child into safety.

“Look at him, he has my nose,” Simon gazes at his son and smiles.

“Yes he does,” his wife smiles too. A woman walks in strategically balancing a tray of food in one hand and a jar of water in the other. She places everything on the table and takes a moment to absorb the young couple’s joy before announcing: “Breakfast is ready.”

“Thank you Idah.” Noma’s eyes sparkle as she speaks. It has a sparkle her eyes had lost; a sparkle the child has birthed. Her husband too beams with joy.

“This is amazing,” he says. “I could have sworn Doctor Munyoro said it was a girl.”

“You know how it is Simon; these things are never 100% reliable. I was not expecting a boy either, but I would be lying if I said I am not happy about this.”

“I know love. I have always wanted a son. But what are we going to do with all those girl clothes. My son is definitely not wearing those!” Simon laughs.

“If the child is his,” ma-Sibanda mumbles. The conversation and the laughter from the dining room suppress her appetite.

When Idah returns from the dining room, maSibanda does not wait for her to settle down before the kitchen table. “You know Idah, something about that child is not right. According to my calculations, that woman should have given birth by the end of next month. It therefore does not make sense that she has already given birth more than a month earlier. I am certain she is hiding something but my son is just too blind to see and too stubborn to listen.”

Idah, pouring herself a cup of tea, bites her lower lip and notices her hand shaking against the handle of the teapot.

“Tell me something Idah. Since you are here every day, have you not seen anything peculiar around here? For example, has there not been any men coming here while my son is away on his business trips?”

“No, Mama. Sisi is not like that.” From the corner of her eye, Idah notices maSibanda’s inquisitive eye on her. She bites a mouthful of dry toasted bread without realizing that she has not yet spread butter on it. The dry bread scratches her as she swallows and settles sharply in her throat.

“Are you certain?” maSibanda asks.

Idah nods her head to answer as she attempts to push the bread down her throat with a mouthful of tea. Ma-Sibanda’s presence in her employer’s home unsettles her. She knows the likes of maSibanda quite well. The type of women to whom no other woman is good enough for their sons and thus they cling on to them as if themselves would marry their own sons and bear children. The type that is threatened by the existence of other women in their sons’ lives and therefore constantly dig for flaws in their daughter-in-laws. Her own mother-in-law was one of those mothers but with her husband in prison, Idah did not have to see or tolerate her that much.

Idah watches Noma pace about the room.  Since telling her of the numerous questions raised by maSibanda, Noma is a nervous wreck. Although maSibanda has not raised further questions in over three days, Noma is edgy, especially having been summoned by her husband who awaits her in the dining room with his mother.

“Did they tell you what they want to see me for?” Noma asks Idah.

“No.”

“Do you think they know?”

“I do not think so. How would they have known? Your secret is safe with me.”

“I hope so Idah. This is a secret I am willing to take with me to the grave. You have no idea how important this child is to my marriage…and his career.”

“His career?” Idah is curious.

“Yes, his career. According to his father’s will, his first grandson inherits 50% of the shares in the deceased’s  companies, which shares will be controlled by the child’s father until the child turns 18 years of age. Sometimes I feel like that is the only reason he married me. I was with him for five years before his father’s death. And in those five years, he never mentioned marriage. And suddenly after his father’s death, he decides he wants to marry me. No romantic marriage proposal, just a decision like any other business resolution. And that’s what our marriage has been all about: trying for a baby.”

Idah notices the tears well up in Noma’s eyes. She has not seen her cry since the baby’s presence and she prays, for both Noma and the baby’s sake that the secret does not come out.  Noma wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and picks the baby up from his cradle.

“Let me go and hear what that woman wants,” she says. “Please bring me his bottle when it is ready.”

Simon and MaSibanda sit in suspicious silence. Noma’s face heats up as she takes her seat. When Simon clears his throat to speak, she foresees her marriage fall apart. She sees the reserved truths and secrets come to light. She contemplates volunteering the truth before it is thrown at her. Perhaps that would lighten her plight.

“My love,” her husband starts. Hope beams as she notes the manner in which her husband addresses her. He is not angry. Perhaps the truth is not yet out. She relaxes.

“You must be wondering why we have summoned you here. Mother has something to say.”

Noma looks at her mother-in-law. She is not the usual intimidating figure. She looks harmless. In fact, a tail wiggles between the old woman’s legs. She watches the woman curiously and waits for her to speak. Idah walks in with the baby’s milk and places the bottle on the side table adjacent to where Noma sits. Noma picks the bottle, squeezes a few drops onto the back of her hand before carefully inserting the bottle into the baby’s mouth.

“None of my children ever had the bottle,” the old woman strikes unexpectedly. “They were all breastfed for over eighteen months. And this child of yours is barely two months old. Is there something wrong?” Noma is defenceless. She removes the bottle from the baby’s mouth and she attempts to place it down, the baby begins to cry.

“Mother, please do not start. That is not what we are here for. My wife does not have to explain why she is not breastfeeding,” Simon defends his wife although he too does not understand his wife’s reason for not breast feeding. “As I was saying, mother has something to say to you. Mother…!”

Stern with pride and annoyed at her son for forcing her into a degrading position, MaSibanda gazes into the blank television screen that stands parallel to where she is sitting and then takes her time to mumble, “Mmm sorry!”   

“Mother, I don’t think she heard you.”

MaSibanda, like a peacock burning, rises from her seat and yells, “I said I am sorry. What do you people want from me? Do you want to drive me to my grave before it is my time? If you no longer want me in your house just say so. I had no plans of staying here that long anyway.” MaSibanda storms out of the room. A surprised Noma stares at Simon searching for an explanation.

“This will probably make you angry but you will be able to forgive my mother. She can be over-protective sometimes but she really does not mean any harm.” Simon pours himself a glass of wine before he goes into explaining to his wife about how his mother secretly had a paternity test done on their child. Noma panics at the news. Her hand which is holding the baby’s feeding bottle shakes uncontrollably. Too weak to control it, she puts the bottle down.  She does not know whether to ask what the results of the tests were or start explaining and begging for a second chance. Detecting his wife’s panic, Simon assures her that there is nothing to worry about. “I have never once doubted that Moses was my son. And now that these results prove that he is indeed my son, my mother will not bother you anymore,” he says. Noma does not know how to react. Her eyes dance about the child’s face, whose tiny mouth searches for the bottle it sucked on a few seconds earlier. She gazes at the child long and hard and finally says, “Congratulations Simon. I guess all we needed was a paternity test to prove that you were indeed his father.” She rises from her seat and dumps the baby in Simon’s arms before she rushes to her bedroom. She locks herself inside and weeps bitterly for hours.

Weak with emotion, Noma recalls holding the child in her arms for the first time. Fragile and needing a mother. She hurting and desiring a child to fill her void. “Karma really has a very brutal sense of humour,” she laughs at the irony of her secrets and untold truth. But her laugh is a tormented laugh. A laugh that holds so much pain. The pain of embracing a child as a miracle only to lose the child to the truth of its paternity. Her unmarried sister, a single mother of three, had all her children, by different fathers, unplanned and by accident. Yet she, married and after a long time of trying, had finally gotten pregnant only to miscarry. Not once but twice; and the second time, it happened it was a month before her due date while her husband was away. She could not face her husband again or her demanding in-laws. She preferred death over such torment. But then, like a miracle, the baby came. Just as she was evaluating her purpose in life, the baby brought her joy and a new lease of life. She would have not known such joy had Idah not planted the idea of keeping the child and concealing the miscarriage.

“No one would find out. It would be our secret.” Idah, her house maid and confidant, had said this the morning they had found the helpless baby abandoned at their gate. This was a secret Noma was prepared to keep from her husband and live with for the rest of her life. Now the ironic truth robs her of her motherhood. How can she mother a child fathered by her husband with another woman? How had she not seen it? It was no miracle that of all the places in Bulawayo, the child had been dumped on her yard. It was all, perhaps, the fury or spite of a jilted lover forcing responsibility on an adulterous man who had probably denied responsibility for his actions.

Noma hears the baby cry from the kitchen. Her heart breaks. Although it is painful to just think of him in isolation of the truth, she longs to cradle him against her breast which longed to be suckled and hold him as though he was of her own womb. After all, she had loved him like her own and she could not just suddenly stop loving him. In the kitchen, Idah rocks the baby in her arms. With the revelation of his paternity, she wonders what will happen with the child now.  She looks at him, fragile and needing a mother. It cries uncontrollably. His crying breaks her heart. Overwhelmed by emotion, she unbuttons her blouse and digs for her bra. She pulls out her plump breast and plunges it into the child’s tiny mouth. The child instantly queitens as it suckles from the familiar tender breast. But it is not long that the sound of his crying is replaced by that of breaking glass. Idah looks up, and is met with Noma’s shocked and tearful eyes. Idah’s eyes fall back on the child and they carry with the pain in Noma’s eyes. She cannot bring herself to face Noma, so she keeps her eyes affixed on the child. Her bundle of joy and one result of her mistakes that made her smile. Pure and innocent, yet a permanent reminder of the consequences of one mistake born of a vulnerable moment of immense loneliness….

The End 

Copyright: Mercy Dhliwayo

 

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