Chaminuka

Chaminuka is an ancestor of the Shona people, who include VaZezuru, VaKaranga, VaManyika, VaNdau, VaKorekore, BaNambiya, BaVenda, and BaKalanga. These are dialect groups of the Shona as a family. Chaminuka's stature as a religious figure is best understood in relation to his place in the Shona lineage as a family and the role that he played as a founder of Zimbabwe. The original Chaminuka belongs to the lineage of Tovera, the earliest known ancestor of the Shona according to their history. Tovera's son, Mambiri, is the father of Murenga Sororenzou, the founder-architect of Zimbabwe. Murenga's children include Chaminuka, Nehanda, and Mushavatu. Mushavatu's descendants are the preferred mediums of Chaminuka.

The original home of the Shona before they came to Zimbabwe was Tanganyika (Tanzania), which means Origin of the World in Shona. The Shona migrated from Tanganyika to southern Africa as a family. They maintained their family structure as a model for their political and religious systems. That is why it has proved difficult to penetrate or divide them to set one group against the other.

God is the head of the Shona family and their political and religious systems. The ancestors are the guardian spirits, followed by the Mutapa as the ruler of the nation. The first Shona settlement in southern Africa was at Mapungubwe near the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashi Rivers. A town [Page 157]south of Mapungubwe is named Thovela after the Shona ancestor Tovera. Another is named Thoho ya Ndou after Murenga Sororenzou. The Shona later moved to Zimbabwe and built their capital at Wedza in Marondera.

Chaminuka's son, Kutamadzoka, became Mutapa I. After his death, Chigwangu, his brother, became Mutapa II and moved the capital to Great Zimbabwe, where he became known as Rusvingo, which means Builder of Stone Walls. After the deaths of Murenga, Chaminuka, and Nehanda, the Shona continued to revere them as their ancestors and founders of the nation. Their spirits are invoked together especially in times of wide-scale wars and struggles.

Murenga's spirit operates as a voice from the caves of Njelele in Matopo. This is where the First Chimurenga started. It was organized in his name. All wars of the land in Zimbabwe are Wars of Murenga. They are called Chimurenga. The organizing spirits behind them are Chaminuka and Nehanda. Both operate through mediums. The first medium of Nehanda was Nyamhita, but the best known was Charwe, who guided the First Chimurenga and was executed by the British in 1897.

The first medium of Chaminuka was Kachinda, but the most famous was Pasipamire. His fame was associated with miracles and as a great prophet, healer, and rainmaker. His powers were especially manifest during the conflict with Lobengula, at the time when Europeans were invading southern Africa from Natal, forcing Africans to migrate northward and come into conflict with one another. Lobengula had tried several times to attack the Shona and take away their land. But Pasipamire would take the message of peace to him from the ancestors suggesting harmony and coexistence with the Ndebele. Lobengula would not listen.

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