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12 The nature of fatherhood and manhood in Zimbabwean texts of pre-colonial and colonial settings MICKIAS MUSIYIWA AND MEMORY CHIRERE I In nt tr ro od du uc ct ti io on n This chapter interrogates the notion of ideal fatherhood and manhood during pre-colonial and colonial Zimbabwe in novels written in Shona, Ndebele and English. However, it must be stressed from the outset that it is difficult to analyse fatherhood independently of motherhood since the two are mutually inclusive. Good fatherhood is normally attainable through being complemented by good motherhood. In Zimbabwean society whose both indigenous and European (mainly English) cultures are patriarchal, with fathers being heads of families and public institutions and with the socio-economic marginalisation of women often attributed to men, the endeavour to search for the idea of a good father in Zimbabwean literature is therefore justifiably paramount. In all socio-historical contexts fatherhood is defined by conjugal and family responsibilities (concepts of which are constructs of a particular culture), and these are relative to socioeconomic changes obtaining in that particular society. A man’s ability to accomplish such responsibilities earns him good fatherhood from his wife and children and also the community at large. Zimbabwean texts set in the pre-European era project ideal fatherhood thriving in the context of the agro-pastoral economy and supported by patriarchal values. In the same period national fatherhood is thematised to show leaders’ abilities to execute their responsibilities of governance vis-à-vis the interests of their subjects . The colonial period which saw the imposition of an exclusive capitalist economy, informed by Europhone paternalistic values, precipitated the transmutation of African manhood and fatherhood. Through sustained and systematic impoverishment and subtle physical and mental manipulation , the powerful explosion of the colonialist package and its principal fragments of land dispossession, monetarisation of the economy, colonial labour and education, inter alia, deprived African men of normal manhood and fatherhood. This gave rise to alienated fatherhood, in the form of feminised fatherhood and nomadic fathering and their attendant socially deleterious consequences. In a word Zimbabwean literature depicts manhood 156 and fatherhood during the colonial period as social tragedy. D De ef fi in ni it ti io on ns s o of f k ke ey y c co on nc ce ep pt ts s The meanings of the terms ‘fatherhood’ and ‘manhood’1 so central to the articulation of the chapter’s discourse, should be defined from the outset . Fatherhood is the condition of being a father, including the character, authority and responsibilities expected of a father. On the other hand, manhood is the state of being an adult man, normally as distinguished from childhood and womanhood. In further distinguishing the terms, it can be noted that while fatherhood is largely limited to a married man and normally with children, manhood is common to all adult men irrespective of marital status. In practice the terms signify the social roles a man in one or both of the social conditions is expected to execute in his interaction with others in his family and community at large. The practice of fatherhood and manhood are normally cultural constructs relative to a given society’s cultural beliefs and economic system. Consequently, as is stressed in this chapter, the manifestation of these social conditions changes once there is an alteration in the cultural and economic life of a particular society. F Fa at th he er rh ho oo od d i in n Z Zi im mb ba ab bw we ea an n t te ex xt ts s o of f a a p pr re e- -c co ol lo on ni ia al l s se et tt ti in ng g In Shona and Ndebele pre-colonial social settings the desire to create a family , seen as the most appropriate institution for the socio-economic survival, prosperity and security of a human being, necessitated fatherhood. Under clan ideology every man had a moral obligation to marry and to contribute towards the material well-being and social reproduction of his kingship group (Weinrich, 1982: 39). Thus fatherhood and its attendant responsibilities were sanctioned by a man’s clan/family. As head of family a man had heavy responsibilities thrust upon his shoulders. The socio-economic failure of the family was always blamed on him. Okot P’Bitek (1986: 19) contends that because of such roles as fatherhood, in Africa man is not born free because he ‘has a...

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