The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility

The study is a phenomenological navigation of the indeterminate but much talked about concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people. The paper begins by defining who the Manyika are and then moves on to look at the practice of kuromba ‘acquisition of special powers’ at Shiringoma done by some o...

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Main Author: Mwandayi, Canisius
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Kwazulu-Natal 2022
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2020/sp35a10
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4815
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author Mwandayi, Canisius
author_facet Mwandayi, Canisius
author_sort Mwandayi, Canisius
collection DSpace
description The study is a phenomenological navigation of the indeterminate but much talked about concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people. The paper begins by defining who the Manyika are and then moves on to look at the practice of kuromba ‘acquisition of special powers’ at Shiringoma done by some of the Manyika people. While an outsider may easily dismiss, for example, the idea of a dead person restarting a new existence somewhere as a hoax or something gullible, there are some who really believe it is possible. Kuromba is such a complex phenomenon which makes it difficult, if not almost impossible, to tell realistic appearances from those which are not unless one wasc schooled into the art of performing it or once saw it really happen in one’s life experience. Pieces of data were collected through interviews and especially through snowballing, as the practices at Shiringoma were largely secretive. This paper argues that although kuromba appears unrealistic to the ordinary Zimbabwean, there is evidence that there are some Manyika people who have been initiated into the cult. Therefore, stories about the practice are not products of people who are gullible enough to believe in superstition.
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spelling ir-11408-48152022-06-27T13:49:07Z The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility Mwandayi, Canisius Gullibility Phenomenology Manyika people The study is a phenomenological navigation of the indeterminate but much talked about concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people. The paper begins by defining who the Manyika are and then moves on to look at the practice of kuromba ‘acquisition of special powers’ at Shiringoma done by some of the Manyika people. While an outsider may easily dismiss, for example, the idea of a dead person restarting a new existence somewhere as a hoax or something gullible, there are some who really believe it is possible. Kuromba is such a complex phenomenon which makes it difficult, if not almost impossible, to tell realistic appearances from those which are not unless one wasc schooled into the art of performing it or once saw it really happen in one’s life experience. Pieces of data were collected through interviews and especially through snowballing, as the practices at Shiringoma were largely secretive. This paper argues that although kuromba appears unrealistic to the ordinary Zimbabwean, there is evidence that there are some Manyika people who have been initiated into the cult. Therefore, stories about the practice are not products of people who are gullible enough to believe in superstition. 2022-04-13T11:37:01Z 2022-04-13T11:37:01Z 2020 Article 1023-1757 https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2020/sp35a10 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4815 en Alternation;Vol. 35: p. 160-173 open University of Kwazulu-Natal
spellingShingle Gullibility
Phenomenology
Manyika people
Mwandayi, Canisius
The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
title The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
title_full The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
title_fullStr The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
title_full_unstemmed The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
title_short The concept of Shiringoma among the Manyika people of Mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
title_sort concept of shiringoma among the manyika people of mutasa: navigating the misty horizon between reality and gullibility
topic Gullibility
Phenomenology
Manyika people
url https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2020/sp35a10
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4815
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