By Simon Ngena
AS a young boy growing up in the Eastern Highlands, I was used to herding my maternal grandfather’s cattle. By the time of his death at the ripe old age of 91, he had more cattle than the number of years he spent on Mother Earth.
But throughout the years I was blessed to spent with him he always stressed one thing — cattle are wealth. He was also quick to add that girl children also translated to wealth in the sense that, on marrying, the son-in-law had to part with a few beasts, including the mandatory mombe yeumai.
In summary, this is what my maternal grandfather told me:
A Shona man calculates his wealth in terms of the head of cattle he possesses;
- A man’s social status is determined by how many head of cattle he possesses;
The man with the largest herd occupies the most prominent place at the chief’s court;
The roora cattle are not paid in order to purchase the bride, but as a token of thanks to the parents of the bride for bringing up their daughter well;
Marriage without roora is incomplete;
All children born of a marriage which has been contracted through roora belong to the husband, whether they are biologically his or not; and
The husband claims the children by virtue of the cattle he has paid.
The roora cattle are paid in stages:
a) A man announces his intention to marry a woman by sending a beast, through a mediator, to his prospective in-laws;
(b) After the acceptance of the first, a second beast is sent. This is slaughtered and the meat is consumed by both families together. The meat is considered to strengthen the bond of friendship between the two families;
(c) The elders welcome this occasion to summon their ancestral spirits to bless the prospective couple;
(d) After this ceremony, the designated number of of cattle, which can range from five to 15, are given or pledged as part of the marriage;
(e) When this is accomplished, the parents of the bride escort their daughter to her husband;
(f) A beast is slaughtered by the groom’s parents to welcome the bride into her new home;
Cattle are used at fertility rites. When a newly-married couple fail to produce children, a young beast is slaughtered. Its meat is mixed with certain herbs and this mixture is given to the couple to eat to make them productive.
At wedding feasts, cattle are slaughted to make the feast success in the eyes of the community and ancestral spirits are summoned to bless the couple
When an adult member of the family dies, a beast is slaughtered and the meat is consumed by the people who attend the funeral. The beast is believed to accompany the deceased into the next world.
Later, a rite is performed to call back the spirit of the deceased. At this ceremony, a beast is slaughtered. Amid much drinking and eating another beast is brought in and given the name of the deceased.
If the deceased was a man he is given a bull, if a woman she is given a cow. If the beast is sold or slaughtered, a replacement is found.
If it has been determined that the cause of an illness or death in the family can be attributed to the displeasure of an ancestor, a beast is offered to appease the spirit of that ancestor.
Cattle are also used as a source of food mostly in the supply of milk which is preferred sour. Meat is obtained only when a beast dies, or is killed for ceremonial purposes. In times of famine, cattle may be exchanged for grain.
By and large, among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, cattle have more social than economic value. For the future, money threatens to replace cattle in roora. Also, money may well take precedence as a source of prestige and pride. Already the tractor is taking over the task of ploughing.
No doubt, in time to come cattle will no longer provide security against hunger for those who work in town. However, cattle still are a source of pride and they foster friendship and create relationships between people.
They will remain for some time the life blood of Shona society and one of the main vertebrae in the backbone of our society.
