Moyo · Heart
Moyo Mukumbuzi is a Shona clan of the heart, Moyo, whose detembo spells its name Mukumbudzi. Its men are greeted as Mukumbudzi, Chirandu, Mutakurwa and Bvumavaranda, and its women as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo. The poem calls the clan Rozvi and the child of Mukwengapasi and Munyepi.
Hekani Mukumbudzi, Vaera Moyo, Vari Zvihota, Vanoswera kuteverwa nevakadzi
Hekani Mukumbudzi, Madevanoruwere
Maita Mukumbudzi, Maita veGuruuswa, Chirandu,
Hekani Moyo yangu iyi,
Kuziva zvenyu varikuMatsvitsi,
Vari Tanganyika,
Mutakurwa,
Bvumavaranda,
Vauya veMhani,
Mwana waMukwengapasi naMunyepi,
Moyo Mukumbudzi pasi rose.
Maita vari Zangaome, vari Mahumwi,
Hekani Mbuya, Ziriwosehwa.
Maita vari Garara, Matandare.
Tatenda vari Daranjiva vana vaMupfumbwa.
Hekani Moyo, vari Mahusekwa.
Maita vari Chikwizu neChikura,
Zvaonekwa vari Jeranondo,
Chipfuwamiti, vakadzi vachiuya vega,
Gwezvavanhu vari kuna Mucheranegombe.
Maita vari Wona, totenda vari Dikitira,
Mwana waZiriwosehwa, hekani Nhandare.
Maita vari uRozvi, vakabva Guruuswa,
Your mutupo and its detembo as an image for WhatsApp, your status or a post, carrying the Kwaunobva mark.
The Mukumbuzi detembo tells of where the clan came from. It calls it 'veGuruuswa', those of Guruuswa, names Tanganyika and Mhani, and ends by saying the clan is Rozvi and came from Guruuswa. It names the clan the child of Mukwengapasi and Munyepi, and later the child of Ziriwosehwa, and praises Moyo Mukumbudzi as known throughout the land (pasi rose).
Most of the poem is a long greeting by place: Zvihota, Matsvitsi, Zangaome and Mahumwi, Garara, Daranjiva, Mahusekwa, Chikwizu and Chikura, Jeranondo, Wona and Dikitira, and Gwezvavanhu at Mucheranegombe. Twice it speaks of the clan's pull on women: they are followed by women all day (vanoswera kuteverwa nevakadzi), and women come to them of their own accord (vakadzi vachiuya vega).
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 Mukumbuzi mutupo weMoyo. Varume vanokudzwa seMukumbudzi, Chirandu, Mutakurwa naBvumavaranda, vakadzi seMaMoyo naVapamoyo. Detembo ravo rinoti vaRozvi vakabva Guruuswa, vana vaMukwengapasi naMunyepi. Rinovakwazisa kunzvimbo dzakawanda, kubva kuZvihota kusvika kuDikitira. Rinoti vanoswera kuteverwa nevakadzi.
The detembo says the clan is Rozvi and came from Guruuswa, and names Tanganyika. The Duramazwi reChiShona describes Guruuswa as a place in the east of Africa said to be where the first Shona people came from. The Wikipedia article on the Shona names the Rozvi, of the Moyo totem, among the major royal dynasties of the Shona states.
Mitupo: A Collection of Some of Zimbabwe's Totems, p. 33; Duramazwi reChiShona (monolingual Shona dictionary); Shona people (Wikipedia print), p. 3
Both spellings are in use. The Mitupo collection heads the poem Moyo Mukumbuzi, while the detembo itself greets the clan as Mukumbudzi throughout.
From Guruuswa. It calls the clan Rozvi, those of Guruuswa, and names Tanganyika. The Duramazwi reChiShona describes Guruuswa as a place in the east of Africa said to be where the first Shona people came from.
They are printed as separate clans, but the Mitupo collection's Wakapiwa poem shares many lines with this one: both trace the clan to Guruuswa and Tanganyika, and both name it the child of Mukwengapasi and Munyepi.
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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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
