Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales

This paper discusses the Ndau folktale that has not received scrutiny from scholars who have invested resources in studying oral literature of the Zimbabwean people. During the years that Ndau was regarded as a Shona dialect it occupied the most peripheral position and its oral traditions were equal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chigidi, Willie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor and Francis Online 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11408/5138
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1779905301619671040
author Chigidi, Willie
author_facet Chigidi, Willie
author_sort Chigidi, Willie
collection DSpace
description This paper discusses the Ndau folktale that has not received scrutiny from scholars who have invested resources in studying oral literature of the Zimbabwean people. During the years that Ndau was regarded as a Shona dialect it occupied the most peripheral position and its oral traditions were equally marginalized. This writer posits that in Ndau folklore there is a type of folktale that served to conscientize Ndau people about their historical circumstances for the sake of their safety and security. The researcher identifies folktales that reflect the history of Ndau labor migrations and Ndau experiences during Nguni raids. The writer concludes that the origins of this type of folktale, which is not found in the tales of the other Shona people of whom the Ndau were part up to 2013, is to be sought in the history and existential circumstances of the Ndau people themselves. The writer selects three folktales to illustrate risks faced by those who traveled to South African mines, cases of sexual infidelity during the long periods of spousal separation, and the dangers that befell locals during times of Nguni raids.
format Article
id ir-11408-5138
institution My University
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher Taylor and Francis Online
record_format dspace
spelling ir-11408-51382022-08-17T07:40:04Z Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales Chigidi, Willie Folktale Ndau labor migrations Nguni raids Historical folktale Oral tale This paper discusses the Ndau folktale that has not received scrutiny from scholars who have invested resources in studying oral literature of the Zimbabwean people. During the years that Ndau was regarded as a Shona dialect it occupied the most peripheral position and its oral traditions were equally marginalized. This writer posits that in Ndau folklore there is a type of folktale that served to conscientize Ndau people about their historical circumstances for the sake of their safety and security. The researcher identifies folktales that reflect the history of Ndau labor migrations and Ndau experiences during Nguni raids. The writer concludes that the origins of this type of folktale, which is not found in the tales of the other Shona people of whom the Ndau were part up to 2013, is to be sought in the history and existential circumstances of the Ndau people themselves. The writer selects three folktales to illustrate risks faced by those who traveled to South African mines, cases of sexual infidelity during the long periods of spousal separation, and the dangers that befell locals during times of Nguni raids. 2022-08-17T07:40:04Z 2022-08-17T07:40:04Z 2021-04-13 Article 2167-4736 2167-4744 doi.org/10.1080/21674736.2021.1901538 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/5138 en Journal of the African Literature Association;Vol. 15, No 3;Pages 573 - 589 open Taylor and Francis Online
spellingShingle Folktale
Ndau labor migrations
Nguni raids
Historical folktale
Oral tale
Chigidi, Willie
Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales
title Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales
title_full Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales
title_fullStr Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales
title_full_unstemmed Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales
title_short Matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in Ndau cautionary folktales
title_sort matters of survival: a case of heavy handed didactic moralism in ndau cautionary folktales
topic Folktale
Ndau labor migrations
Nguni raids
Historical folktale
Oral tale
url http://hdl.handle.net/11408/5138
work_keys_str_mv AT chigidiwillie mattersofsurvivalacaseofheavyhandeddidacticmoralisminndaucautionaryfolktales