Traditional Wisdom
Traditional wisdom is the knowledge acquired and then applied by our ancestors to survive utilizing natural resources found in their environments. This acquired knowledge on the Motherland was generated, tested , improved over time by natives in relationship with their ecosystems enhanced and safe guided by norms, values, taboos, rituals and sacredness. Now with technological advancement and the come of profiteers who put more emphasis on profits now, ignoring future sustainability we rebelled against nature and deserted our own roots spoiling our excellent inheritance.
Our ancestors who lived primitively in these landscapes using few tools and antiquated methods acquired wisdom to protect the treasures of nature to satisfy their own needs in a sustainable way. If we look today with climate change caused by industrialization and modernization water resources of the world are replenishing and the nature and quality of soil is deteriorating causing droughts. Our health now is compromised we are now living in fear of the food we eat, the water we drink and even the air we breath which was not known by our ancestors who just use nature’s wise principles to live healthly .
Growing up in a remote rural area full of old cultural people there were certain norms , values, rituals, taboos and sacredness we set before them. This way of living imitate and respect nature in a certain unique way. Earning a living from land was the original culture which traditional wisdom tried to preserve using natural laws. Now we have interrupted the excellent inheritance trying to rearrange nature’s wise principles to satisfy our own needs. This interruption brings more challenges to our planet and our lives too.
Offsprings Of The Soil
Our ancestor truly belong to the doctrines of naturalism and thence I call them ‘Offsprings Of The Soil’. Their way of living imitate nature and to be knowledgeable about the natural environment, botany and zoology, was a valuable asset every man in the society must have. They conserve land as they know that abundance was found in the soil thus owning a fertile land was regarded as superiority. Everyman was taught to be resilient and resourcesfulness. Land care was laid on the shoulders of everyman in the society.
Spiritual people were the ones who generate the laws that protect landscapes evincing sacredness. Going against an law that protects the land was believed to bring plagues to the whole community if the one either young or old who committed such a wrong deed failed to pay an acceptable fine. I remember what happened when I was young, moonlight nights we used to gather as teens and play a lot of games. This day we were playing a war game, we lighted small sticks and chase each other around our homestead. The incident happened when wind carried a spark of fire from my young brother’s stick to my mother’s thatched kitchen. The fire burned down my mother’s kitchen and a small fraction of an acre. This incident was against the laws of the land as it was believed that veld fires and burning fire at night threatens the peace of the spirits so for this offense my parents paid a he-goat and a bullock.
Soil was believed to be the natural protector of mankind. Visitors on their first day of arrival they knee down and lick the soil chanting to the spirits of their hosting relatives so that they may be welcomed and protected. After giving birth the umbilical cord of a newly born baby was rolled in ashes and buried in the fertile clay soil in the land he will inherit when grown up , by doing so they believed that the baby’s life will be fruitful when grown up. Leader’s ancestors were believed to intercede directly with God to insure the fertility of the land and his people. The mutual interest of mankind and landscapes was so strong thus conserving soil was a responsibility of everyone in the community.
Praying For The Rain
Rain was believed to come from God thus meditation with God for rainmaking through ancestors was done every year on the onset of the summer season. The rainmaking ceremony was led by sacred leaders and spirit mediums especially rainmakers. Every household contributed with grains especially finger millet to brew the rainmaking ceremony beer. Brewing the rainmaking ceremony beer was done by widowed old women who no longer conceive.
The spirit mediums were the ones who lament to the ancestors for the rains. There were intercessors who stands between people and the ancestors. Beer was said to be water that cools the throats of the ancestors and to do so the first cup was poured on the ground by spirit mediums chanting to the ancestors so that the ancestors mediates their plea to God the creater of mankind to appreciate. On the rain ceremonial day people were told about the challenges they will face if they were there that season.
On the day of the rainmaking ceremony it usually rained late in the afternoon or the following day. These rains were celebrated by everyone as they were believed to be a sign that the ancestors have heard them and God the creator of mankind have appreciated. Any form of work in the fields or at home was not allowed on the day of rainmaking as it was believed that tilling the soil disturbs the peace of the ancestors.
Sacredness Of Water Sources
Growing up in my deep cultural community every natural water source was sacred. Metal pots or buckets and anything with soot were not allowed near any springs. Trees and reeds that grows near springs were protected. Frogs , crabs and any form of life that lives in springs were not allowed to be disturbed or killed. Unclean women, women in their menstrual periods, were not allowed to go near springs. This protected the springs from contamination and protecting the vegetation around them which avoid erosion and improves infiltration as well as limiting evaporation which promotes water security to our community.
The origins of rivers were believed to be the inhabitants of the water spirits, spirits that can abduct or kill trespassers, so we were prohibited to graze our animals near them or play around them. Furthermore water from the origins of rivers was said to have healing properties but it was fetched with community leaders , spiritual mediums and responsible elders only. Animals even snakes living around the origins of rivers were not allowed to be disturbed or killed. By doing this, the natural environment at the origins of rivers were conserved.
Rivers and their tributaries were regarded as a source of life to the community so littering in rivers or river beds was prohibited excluding the burial of infants in the sands of episodic streams. Certain pools were regarded as sacred, we were not allowed to swim in them, when fishing in these sacred pools speaking vulgar was not allowed as it was believed that grossness upsets the spirits. We were not allowed to cut down fruit trees like fig trees ,water berries and big trees that grows along the river beds. If an individual overtake or disobey the sacredness it was believed to bring misfortunes to the community as a whole. So everyone partook in conserving the sacredness of water sources protecting the natural ecosystem.
Co operating With The Ecosystem
Traditional wisdom conserved the wild animals, natural forests and insects. Taboos and sacredness enforced by our ancestors promoted sound natural resources management. Earning a living from land they acquired wisdom that protect the natural ecosystem. Certain landscapes were believed to be the homes of the spirits and certain trees and animals were also believed to be the hosts of the spirits, thus ancestral knowledge protected certain landscapes, trees and animals from extinction using cultural beliefs, taboos and sacredness.
In our ancestors’ culture certain shrubs and trees were believed to ward off lightning and evil spirits, others were believed to bring good luck , togetherness and happiness at homes. Trees like the candlebra plant, (mukonde in Shona), was planted at homes with the belief that it ward off lightning. Mobola plum ( muhacha in Shona) was associated with the ancestral spirits, traditional ceremonies were done under it and it produces fruits that sustain lives during droughts. There are many more trees our ancestors valued and protected some didn’t even produce fruits or medicines , I will write about them in the near future. These trees were not allowed to be cut down or used as firewood at homes and when extracting roots or barks for medicine was done at the east side of the plant.
Hunting and gathering being a crucial sector of our ancestors’ economy, this implies that to have abundance they have to conserve the natural environment. Wild edible plants, edible insects and animals provided a balanced nutrition and medicines even in times of drought when they have experienced crop failure. Hunting was not done for fun, it was done to cater for their survival needs encouraging the most efficient utilization of available resources. Cultural beliefs like the use of totems helped to protect animal species from extinction, for example anyone of Mhofu clan is not allowed to eat or kill an eland as it is sacred to them eating it brings bad omen. Edible insects which a lot of them mark the coming of a new season, were not just gathered without being heralded by messengers of the chiefs this ensures that insects are harvested when mature and restrict over exploitation and extinction.
Protection Of Indigenous Livestock And Native Crops
Our ancestors practiced ecological agriculture , their animals and crops were climate resilient and environmental friendly. Their animals and crops evolved overtime with them and they were selected by nature thus they were resilient but in terms of production in this modern world these animals and crops are less productive as compared to the hybrids that are scientifically improved to make huge profits in a short period of time. I think from my own point of view the comparison between hybrids ( science products) and the heritage breeds our ancestors grow is unfair, because it was done centered much on profits not taking some important factors into consideration, factors like meat quality, nutritional value, flavour, environmental friendly and resilient to drought and diseases of which the heritage breeds and crops are winners. These animals and crops our ancestors did not only grown for human consumption, they were important in cultural and socio-economic activities.
Livestock didn’t signify wealth only as I have highlighted above they were used in many cultural and socio-economic activities. Cattle was the most valued animal in the society. Some bulls were selected to be the host of ancestral spirits of the clan or family. When someone offended the ancestors or the spirits of the land he or she used livestock especially black bulls or black cows or black goats as a fine. The only way to ease the spirits of a murdered person the murderer’s family was to pay livestock to the deceased person’s relatives. On almost every ceremonies, either prestigious or social gatherings and cultural activity our ancestors use livestock even to cleanse bad omen on a person.
Furthermore as livestock signifies wealth, like owning a large herd of cattle long back was regarded as being rich , having fertile pastures was of more importance for wealth creation. The availability of vast fertile pastures was of economic reason to our ancestors as it gives their livestock sufficient freedom that improves productivity as animals were left to exercise their natural behavior. They tried by all means to minimize stressing their livestock by proper handling even when slaughtering so that their animals can produce quality products for them, for example when a sheep bleat in the process of slaughtering they freed it with the belief that the ancestors are not permitting its meat. When boiling milk it was not allowed to let milk spill into the fire, if it did so the cow that produced the milk will have blisters on it’s udder they believe so. On cultural activities or prestigious ceremonies they were certain laws and regulations enforced on how to handle, slaughter, prepare the meat or even consuming , for example the saltless meat prepared on magadziro ceremony which was done to bring back the spirit of the dead to his or her home to oversee his or her family. Allowing livestock to perform their natural behavior , avoiding overcrowding and limiting stress made their livestock more productive and resilient.
Native crops were used in cultural activities , these crops evolved ecologically to be with the local landscape where they grew. In addition they were opportunistic that is good for food security. If grow these crops today we can save the farming costs and we can even have better yields in drought.
Growing of ecological plants that grows easily and doesn’t need pesticides and chemical fertilizers is economical as the cost of production are minimized. They use natural ways to store their native seeds as they are resilient and easy to store so that they will use them in the future. Food they get from these plants was food that was meant for the people nutritionally rich and digestible. Utilization of wild foods and native crops ensures biodiversity which is necessary for survival.
Food And Health
Traditional wisdom believes that to live to the hilt of life one must understand the factors of the fundamentals laws of life and avoid interrupting them. They know that the environment plays a big role to have natural immunity thus why they licked the soil or mixing the soil with herbs to prevent or cure l illness. Food to our ancestors was not just food , it was medicine as well as the expression of love, thence they put the burden of health to the nutrition of body cells.
The traditional daily diet consisted of low protein and high carbohydrate which organizes the body for peace and quiet except on certain occasions when warriors were going to war they eat high protein and low carbohydrate to prepare their body for fight and flight. In times of abundance during the summer season they utilizes wild weeds and edible insects that grows abundantly and preserve them for the winter season. Hunting was done to supplement their diet. Medicine was found in the nature and it was consumed as food.
Furthermore as food was medicine and an expression of love it was a taboo to waste it. They cherishes natural imperfect produces using wise judgement not to waste food. They value sharing of food. They used natural ways to preserve food so that they will survive in times of need. The most used preservation ways was sun drying , fermentation, salting and application of herbs.
Bundu Cultura 