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

Abstract

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.

Keywords:

• Folktale
• Ndau labor migrations
• Nguni raids
• historical folktale
• cautionary folktales
• oral tale

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 The three Ndau cautionary folktales given as examples in this article are not yet recorded anywhere. They come from childhood memories of the author who listened attentively as the stories were told over and over again by his grandmother and other local story-tellers during story-telling cessions in Chimanimani in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Willie Chigidi

Willie Chigidi is a Professor of African Languages & Literature at the Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. His research interests lie in the areas of literature, written and oral, and indigenous knowledge systems. He has special interest in detective fiction.