Shona Sentential Names: A Brief Overview

Chapter VI - Conclusion

149 Chapter VI Conclusion This book has discussed and highlighted Shona sentential names as a means that is used by the Shona, specifically the Manyika as a means of relaying messages to different people. It has discussed these names on in three different categories, not because these are enough, but because the researcher is of the opinion that they are representative enough. The study has focused on the Manyika, a group of Shona speakers who are found in both Zimbabwe and Mozambique, hence the names Manicaland (in Zimbabwe) and Manica (in Mozambique). It has however focused on only two districts that are in eastern Zimbabwe that are Mutasa and Nyanga. The bulk of the research focuses on Nyanga. Mutasa only comes into the picture in as far as it housed some guerrillas who overlapped in their operations between the two political districts that may in the war times may have according to ZANLA demarcations fallen into one operational zone. Mutasa also comes into the picture because part of the Tangwena chieftaincy fell under Mutasa in the area that the white settler regime in Rhodesia called Holdenby but which the Tangwena call Mashena (Machena). One aspect that the book has highlighted is that Shona names are not mere labels that are attached to people, but are words or sets of words by which people are addressed or referred to. It has noted that names among the Manyika and the other Shona groups in general are carriers of messages. They are not innocent. This truth cuts across all names, whether they are of human beings, dogs or cattle. What came 150 out clearly in this research is that in most cases when the Manyika give names, they give ‘talking names’ that is names that create statements by either making declarations or by giving statements that reflect the namer’s ideas or thoughts on a given area or given circumstances. In short, the research has brought to the fore the fact that names are living testimonies of different people’s experiences. The research has also noted that despite the fact that there are numerous books that have been published on Shona names, there is still a lot that has to be done in this area in an effort to give to the world a better insight into the practices of the Shona. This is very important because some historians have labelled the Shona a peace loving people. The question that some of the names raise is, is it not possible to state that the Shona fought their wars not through metal and shields of hides, but in some instances through words? The book is therefore a call to both academics and other interested parties to research further into this area that also carries a lot that relates to Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage. It has as well noted that even though names are linguistically placed under parts of speech, and in sociolinguistics are given the name onomastics, they are much more than that because they also function as heritage bearers as well as platforms of cultural expressions. It is clear from the names that have been discussed in this chapter that names are part of cultural practices and expressions as given in the UNESCO 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage. When they come up as expressions, names also become part and parcel of social practices in that they may be used to express the namer’s opinion on political or religious matters. It is for this very reason that the book has observed and asserted that Shona names then become bolts and nuts of a living heritage. 151 The book has also observed that while names are cultural expressions and platforms, they also function as a means of communication. As a means of communication, what has come out in the discussion is that names communicate to the world the namer’s joys, sorrows or tribulations. They therefore become living summaries and symbols of life’s scars and landmarks. They tell the story of the journey that the namer would have travelled. In addition to conveying messages, names also function as memory centres. They play a major role as depositories of the histories of particular periods. This reality comes out very noticeably in the names that are discussed in this book. Besides the names that are given in a socio-economic environment that reflect and tell the history of a people from a...