The Avenging Spirit: Mapping an Ambivalent Spirituality in Zimbabwean Literature in English

Abstract

Spirit possession is a central trope in Zimbabwean literature, not only in English, but also in indigenous languages. This article looks at the avenging spirit as it is manifested in Zimbabwean literature in English from the colonial days to the present, and uses postcolonial theory and Lewis's social deprivation theory in the exploration. It shows how this trope, under colonialism, is used to represent contesting power discourses that seek a stranglehold on the people. It goes on to show how the same trope is used to recover suppressed discourses, voices and narratives, and also becomes a metaphor for fissures in Zimbabwean society in the aftermath of the war of liberation and the unfulfilled promises of the same. Finally, it explores the avenging spirit as a traditional belief system that is central in the psyche of many of the Zimbabwean people and which society has to contend with in the contemporary set up. The article goes on to argue however, that belief in the ngozi represents traditional knowledge systems that can be used to deal with African problems.

Keywords:

• Zimbabwe
• Bantu cosmology
• spirit possession
• colonialism
• traditional belief system

Notes

In fact in Bantu cosmology, spirits and witchcraft are viewed as the causes of illness and ill-fortune. Traditional healers' role is to cure or prescribe solutions and remedies to these illnesses and misfortunes. In a sense the traditional healer can be said to represent the good that is in perpetual struggle with the evil. The traditional healer as a quintessential figure representing good is, however, ambivalent as they can also deal in evil charms, and so the boundary between them and witches is often fuzzy. For more on this see Gelfand (1973) and MFC Bourdillon (2000).

For more on this see Schmidt (1997) and Maxwell (1999).

For more see Lan (1985).

For more information on the spirit medium, Nehanda, and her role during the 1896–7 revolts, see Ranger (1979).

For a further exploration of this see Nhongo-Simbanegavi (2000).

Rudo Gaidzanwa, in her text Images of Women in Zimbabwean Literature (1985), explores the negative consequences of portraying women as perpetual victims in greater detail.