A bira to remember
ON AUGUST 22 as the leader of Zimbabwe National Practitioners Association, I hosted a traditional ceremony (bira) to thank our ancestors for everything they have been doing for me, my family and others in the community.
Zinpa members and many others thronged Chundu at Chisanyu Village for the ceremony.
People from as far as Binga came to be part of this very important bira which also saw officials from the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the traditional leadership attending.
People started gathering at the Chisanyu homestead a week before the event for preparations. During this period, many litres of beer were brewed as an offering to the ancestors. As part of the festivities a cow and seven goats were sacrificed - also as an offering to the ancestors.
Thereafter, people who gathered were served meals with this meat.
As part of introductions, the spirit mediums were given a clay pot with beer known as musumo in their secluded room, which is called dendemaro. This is a way of introducing the spirit mediums and alerting the spirits that there is an event taking place.
As part of the rituals, people went through their dancing paces accompanied with singing as a way of provoking the spirits to manifest.
One by one the possessed spirit mediums came to the ground (nhanga) and started dancing.
Their traditional regalia reflected the spirit they were possessed with. At around midnight I also came out of my hut possessed. As I led the singing and dancing, people joined in and this went on for hours. After some time I went back to the hut during which time people would take turns to come in for consultation on different problems.
People wanted to know the cause of their problems and how they can be solved.
At around 5am, I came out of the hut and began dancing again. An old lady came to the dancing floor holding a wooden plate filled with fresh goat blood. It is known that on some of these traditional functions the people who will be possessed with a spirit will drink that blood.
When that woman came they were only two possessed people on the dancing ground. That is myself and a certain spirit medium from another area. We tussled for the wooden plate so as to have an opportunity to drink the blood. It is believed that if one drinks that blood when they are not possessed they can die. After I drank the blood, two more ladies came to the ground with wooden plates filled with ashes mixed with water. This mixture was also applied to their bodies.
As I danced I threw coins to the people forming a circle around me. These coins are believed to be blessed and one should keep them safe for good luck.
One member from the Johane Masowe Apostolic sect was possessed with a spirit. People were shocked to see a well-known faith healer being possessed by ancestoral spirits.
Members of the association lavished me with gifts to appreciate the spirits and they also gave me a walking stick which is a sign of leadership.
At around 11am, the spirit had left me and I was back to myself.
People were served food before they started leaving. This was a very good experience. You get to learn a lot about our culture.
It is good to know that there are people out there who still believe in our tradition. ◆ Sekuru Friday Chisanyu is the president of Zimbabwe National Practitioners Association.