Moyo · Heart
Moyo Akatakwa is a Shona clan of the Moyo totem, the heart, which is part of an animal rather than a whole one. Its men are greeted as Akatakwa, Chirandu and Sahayi, and the detembo adds Nhandare, Mawire and Mugoverwa; its women are greeted as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo.
Maita Moyo, Akatakwa, Chirandu chamambo,
Mwana waKuredzamuswe, Mawire, Dunzvi renhika,
Chiri mugore, Chikwariwa chakabeta mwanzva wenyoka. Maita Sahayi,
Mhumba yangu yiyi Nhandare, Dooremhuka, Dunzvi renhika,
Aiwa zvaitwa Mugoverwa
Your mutupo and its detembo as an image for WhatsApp, your status or a post, carrying the Kwaunobva mark.
The Akatakwa detembo is short. It calls the clan Chirandu chamambo, the king's Chirandu, and the child of Kuredzamuswe, and gives it the names Mawire and Dooremhuka. Twice it greets the clan as Dunzvi renhika, a line that comes back like a refrain.
Its second half turns to Sahayi, a name the Moyondizvo detembo also uses, and holds the clan close as 'Mhumba yangu yiyi Nhandare', this Mhumba of mine, Nhandare. It closes on Mugoverwa: 'Aiwa zvaitwa Mugoverwa'.
Those who carry a totem do not eat its animal. Some families keep away from one part of it only, such as the heart, and the old belief holds that a person who breaks the rule loses their teeth.
The praise names are for every day, not only for ceremonies: a person is greeted by them, thanked with them, and a wife praises her husband with his.
Moyo Akatakwa mutupo weMoyo. Varume vanokudzwa seAkatakwa, Chirandu naSahayi, vakadzi seMaMoyo naVapamoyo. Detembo ravo rinovati Chirandu chamambo, mwana waKuredzamuswe. Rinovadaidzawo kuti Mawire, Dooremhuka naDunzvi renhika. Rinopera nezita rokuti Mugoverwa.
Men are greeted as Akatakwa, and the detembo also calls the clan Chirandu, Sahayi, Nhandare, Mawire, Dooremhuka, Dunzvi renhika and Mugoverwa. Women are greeted as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo.
The king's Chirandu. It is how the Akatakwa detembo first greets the clan, joining Chirandu, a praise name many Moyo clans share, to 'chamambo', of the king.
Traditionally, people of the same mutupo and chidawo do not marry: they are counted as one family. Between different Moyo clans some families allow it, often after a ceremony that cuts the kinship (kucheka ukama).
Pick your totem and clan once. The app greets you by your praise name after that.
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