The atrocities of the traditional customary practice of “kuripa ngozi”
Filed under: Books & literature, How Zimbabwe can be better, I was just thinking
The African continent has diverse cultural backgrounds and in contemporary Zimbabwean culture, traditional customary practices have a strong foothold and remain an integral part of the everyday lives of many Zimbabweans. In this regard, women in Zimbabwe are still vulnerable to some entrenched customary practices, despite the legal prohibitions which have since been enacted by the Zimbabwe judicial system. Blatant violations of women’s and girls’ human rights are made possible by the maintenance of some of the detrimental and discriminatory customary laws which allow for the continuation of practices, that negatively affect women, and among these persistent practices are:
“KURIPA NGOZI” – The customary practice of offering a young girl or grown woman as compensatory payment in inter-family disputes as well as in the appeasement of avenging deceased spirits. An avenging spirit is appeased by offering a young woman in marriage to the aggrieved spirit in an uncanny and an extraordinary spiritual marriage covenant and the spirit husband is the spiritual manifestation the inevitably follows.
“KUZVARIRA” – The practice of forcibly pledging a young girl to marriage with a partner not of her own choice. Even unborn babies are pledged in exchange for things such as economic protection. Such girls are often “married” well before the age of twelve years.
“NHAKA” – The inheritance of women after the death of a spouse.
“LOBOLA” –The customary obligation of a groom to pay a bride price to the parents of a would-be –wife.
Of these cultural customary practices I would like to highlight the “KURIPA NGOZI”, which is quite commonplace in Zimbabwe. In 2007 an article was published in The Sunday Mail newspaper, with the title, “Ten Girls Offiered To Appease Spirits: Traditional Practice Against The Rights Of Girls” and in the article the writer, Phyllis Kachere, elaborates on how a number of young girls from The Honde Valley in Manicaland Province, had been rescued by police and the Girl Child Network, after their families, who had been accussed of having partaken in a ritual murder, had tried to offer them as compensatory payment to the murdered man’s family.
The families were informed that even though they wished to settle the issue with the avenging spirit or the “ngozi” spirit, which was tormenting their families, it was illegal for them to surrender their daughters to the deceased family as reparation. But it was difficult for the families to heed to this, because they felt that this was the only solution to the spiritual problems that had befallen their familes from the avenging spirit of the murdered man, which was wrecking havoc in their families.
In my forthcoming novel, which is titled Recompense, I unravel this very touching and fearful phenomenal that is hardly discussed, which is one of those taboo or “unsafe issues” in Zimbabwe.The novel combines both Biblical insight and research on the subject highlighted, and it gives a Christian perspective. It is an informative story on the subject of the spiritual stronghold of a “spirit husband”, emanating from “kuripa ngozi” and what some of the causes are and suggesting a way out of the problem, from a Christian perspective, through transformation into the Christian faith and a life of prayer.
Women’s experiences in Zimbabwe have shown that many women are suffering in silence at the hand of a “spirit husband”, borne out of having been given off as compensatory payment to a deceased spirit, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Possibly many families do not think much of the problem, because of ignorance and my proposed novel Recompense will no doubt open a can of worms that many Zimbabwean families would rather keep tightly shut as it explores the cultural practice of “kuripa ngozi” and its atrocities on the lives of womenfolk.
I do hope that I have succeeded in drawning enough curiosity in your mind to want to read the novel Recompense, when it does eventually get published.
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Laws alone are not enough. People’s outlook and beliefs have to be changed. This is where we writers come in, holding up a mirror to society.
I look forward to your novel, please let me know when it comes out. I also have one on women’s rights in Zimbabwe, but I have chosen the subject of sexual abuse and rape- clothed in a macabre horror novel about avenging demons etc. I pointed out that attitudes and beliefs can change, citing as an example the archaelogical evidence that early Europeans practiced cannibalism, yet their descendants do not. (in fact, in New Guinea there are people who have been cannibals, but have abandoned the practice, further proof that culture can change in a generation)
If anyone tried to sell off any of my sisters for ngozi, I would get really mediaeval!!!