Moyo · Heart
Moyo Chirandu is a Shona clan of the Moyo totem, the heart. Its men are greeted as Chirandu, and the detembo also calls them Gonoren'ombe, Sahi, Dhewa and Bvumavaranda; its women are greeted as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo. The clan's praise is built around cattle, every part of which it puts to use.
Mazviita Moyo, Maita Chirandu, Gonoren'ombe, Mushayachirashwa, Mukaka tinomwa,
Mafuta tichizora, Nyama tinodya, Ganda tichikakise ngoma, Ndove tinodzurisa mudzimba, Muswe tinopumhisa, Nyanga tichiita gonan'ombe. Maita Chirandu, Maita Moyo, Maita Sahi, Maita dhewa rangu. Maita Bvumavaranda, Gono raMutindi naGochedza, Vari Maronga. Maita vana vaPfupajena, Vari muDuma neChidumana. Maita vari Dikitiki, Vari Ushava,
Mushenjere wavaDuma usina pakaminama, Pakaminama tinoorora. Mhuri inobva Mandara, VaMareranherera vanorera nedzavamwe, Ndikafira pano wani, Kudai kuenda ndichidzoka zvinoita huyo, Chinondiona sechina meso, Navaripowo namangwana musanyara.
Your mutupo and its detembo as an image for WhatsApp, your status or a post, carrying the Kwaunobva mark.
The Chirandu detembo opens by calling the clan Gonoren'ombe, the bull of the herd, and Mushayachirashwa, the one with nothing to throw away. Then it shows what that means, going through the beast part by part: the milk is drunk, the fat is smeared on, the meat is eaten, the hide is stretched over drums, the dung is spread on the floors of the houses, the tail is put to use, and the horns are made into a gona, a horn for medicine.
The second half greets the clan by name and place. It is Bvumavaranda and the bull of Mutindi and Gochedza, at Maronga; the children of Pfupajena, at Duma and Chidumana; those at Dikitiki and Ushava. It says the family comes from Mandara, and praises the clan as VaMareranherera, those who raise orphans and bring up other people's children with their own.
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 Chirandu mutupo weMoyo. Varume vanokudzwa seChirandu, Gonoren'ombe, Sahi, Dhewa naBvumavaranda, vakadzi seMaMoyo naVapamoyo. Detembo ravo rinorondedzera kuti mombe yose inoshandiswa: mukaka unonwiwa, ganda rinokakiswa ngoma, nyanga dzinoitwa gona. Rinoti mhuri inobva Mandara, uye rinovakwazisa vari muDuma neChidumana. Rinovarumbidza seVaMareranherera, vanorera nherera nevana vevamwe.
The detembo greets the clan among the Duma, at Duma and Chidumana, as the children of Pfupajena, and says the family comes from Mandara. The Wikipedia article on the Shona lists the Duma among the Karanga group of Shona dialects.
Mitupo: A Collection of Some of Zimbabwe's Totems, p. 29; Shona people (Wikipedia print), p. 2
Men are greeted as Chirandu, and the detembo also calls the clan Gonoren'ombe, Mushayachirashwa, Sahi, Dhewa and Bvumavaranda. Women are greeted as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo.
The one with nothing to throw away. The Chirandu detembo explains it with cattle: the milk, fat, meat, hide, dung, tail and horns all have a use.
Those who raise orphans. The Chirandu detembo praises the clan this way and adds that they bring up other people's children with their own.
In Bikita and Buhera, though families carrying it live all over Zimbabwe and beyond.
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.
Made in Zimbabwe by Invalcre (Pvt) Limited. Free, and they work offline.
Provisional Test ZimbabweZimbabwe VID test and Highway Code
DanhoZIMSEC O and A Level past papers
BhaibheriThe Shona Bible and its hymnals
DenheZimbabwe's public record
