Zimbabwe's Cultural Heritage

Origins of the VaRemba

96 Origins of the VaRemba Kufakunesu Hamandishe retrieves a booklet from his desk drawer. It is a prayer book entitled Salah. I suspect this is Arabic. Just what is the connection between Hamandishe from Gutu and Arabic writing? Hamandishe belongs to a group of people known as VaRemba or VaMwenyi (AbaLemba in Ndebele). They claim descent from an Arab man. “The Lemba have existed as small groups all the way from the Nyanga plateau to the Soutpansberg ...” (Beach, 1997). However, Beach discards as speculation any suggested link with the Arabs “... a great deal of speculative writing has been published by unscientific writers who claim to see them (the VaRemba) as descendants of the early Muslim Arabs, pre-Muslim Arabs or even Jews.” That there were Arabs on the East Coast is not in doubt. Both the Mapungubwe and Zimbabwe States traded with them. In fact, the capitals of the two states owed their growth largely to the lucrative trade with the East Coast. Posselt penned the following words with regard to the origins of the VaRemba. “Judging by the features of some natives, there certainly has been an admixture of Semitic blood due to their intercourse with the early Arab traders who had settled on the East Coast and penetrated far inland.” According to the traditions of the VaRemba, their origin dates back to the days of Munhumutapa. “An Arab man married a Shona woman and lived among his in-laws. The man, who used to wear a skullcap called chiremba in Shona, later died. His children were called VaRemba to indicate their father’s religious/cultural practice of wearing a skullcap. In other words, VaRemba are descendants of a man who wore a chiremba,” says Mr Hamandishe. Interestingly, Abrimosh Mohammed, who I met in Arusha, Tanzania, told me the skullcap is called kilembe in the Kiswahili language. I can’t help seeing a similarity between chiremba and kilembe. The VaRemba’s totem is zhou/nzou (ndlovu) - elephant. An elephant is said to resemble a shrew mouse, with its long nose. The Arab man’s nose, as indeed was the case with his children’s, was longer than is generally the case with an African nose. The choice of the totem of an elephant was perhaps influenced by this physical characteristic. The VaRemba belong to the following groups: VaDumha, VaTonga, VaNyakavi and VaSariri. Today they use various surnames such as Musoni, 97 Beta, Zhou, Mbeva, Surungwani, (or Silingwana in Ndebele), Makotore, Muzhinga, Hamandishe, Seremani, Mutangadura, Murimazhira, Foroma, Senderai, Zindoga, Mupanganyama, Mhizha, Katerere and Chissungo. The VaRemba are found in various areas of Zimbabwe, particularly in the east and south, for example: Mutoko (Katerere), Manicaland (Beta), Gutu (Hamandishe), Buhera (Makotore), Mberengwa (Zhou, Shurungwani and Seremani), Hwedza (Mutangadura in Zviyambi area) and Mount Darwin (Chisunga). Hamandishe, also known as Mapanganyama, was a prominent man under Chief Gutu. He was killed by the Ndebele at Gondwi, between Chatsworth and Gutu. The present Hamandishe, my interviewee, is a counsellor (gurukota) for the present Chief Gutu, a Makuvaza. During Mfecane, some of the VaRemba in Mberengwa fled to the Venda area of South Africa. When the security situation improved, some of them trekked back to settle in Mberengwa, where they are still to be found under Chief Mposi, who was a tributary chief under the Ndebele. To this day, some of the VaRemba adhere to cultural practices that point to an Arab origin. Circumcision is one example, particularly in the Chinyika area of Gutu and Nyajena in Zaka. When pressed for reasons why circumcision is practised, the answer, invariably, is: “it is our tradition”. Even during the liberation war, the VaRemba of the Gutu area were provided with policemen to guard over them during the period of seclusion. The boys going for circumcision are called madzinga. The ritual itself is called kudzingira. The common greeting during the circumcision period is saramariko. I wish you well or peace be unto you. Salama (corrupted to sarama in Shona) in Kiswahili means well, or peace. A story is told of Chief Dliso Mkhwananzi who could not father an heir. A MuRemba inyanga provided herbal treatment until the chief’s wife conceived. The child was named Madzingire, later corrupted by the Ndebele to Majinkila. He later fathered Ngungumbane. Apparently, this is not the first time that the Mkhwananzis had contact with VaRemba. Mhabahaba Mkhwananzi, the chief of Intunta village, was sent away by King Mzilikazi for his role in installing Nkulumane. Contrary to popular belief that Mhabahaba Mkhwananzi was...