Moyo · Heart
Moyo Nematombo is a Shona clan of the Moyo totem, the heart. Its men are greeted as Nematombo and Dhewa, and the detembo also calls them Bvumavaranda, Maseka, Shai and Chirandu; its women are greeted as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo. The poem names the clan the child of Mugumu and of Gumboremvura.
Maita Moyo, Maita Nematombo, Bvumavaranda vakadzi vachiza voga,
Kuziva zvenyu vari Uzozvi Nhandare, Vomuti unokope chirimo, Kukope zhizha unoshura ndove,
Zvaitwa mwana waMugumu, Maita Dzimbabwe, VaMarumbidza,
Vakarumbidza mhuri nedzisi dzavo, Vano muti unobva Njaira, Ukarinze matehwe achaona.
Tatenda Maseka, Moyo yangu yiyi. Maita vemhaswa,
Vana meso ari patiku, Vanyokahaisvosvi, Ukaisvosva yakuruma,
Vorupazho rutetetete Rukobvu runoparura nguo, Maita mwana waGumboremvura,
Mambo usitandavare, Kutandavara kunova nomubvumbi. Maita Shai, maita Chirandu.
Tatenda muGomo wangu yuyu, Aiwa zvaonekwa Moyo, Nematombo.
Your mutupo and its detembo as an image for WhatsApp, your status or a post, carrying the Kwaunobva mark.
The Nematombo detembo calls the clan the child of Mugumu and the child of Gumboremvura, greets it as Dzimbabwe, and names it VaMarumbidza, those who praised families, their own and others'. It calls the clan Bvumavaranda, whose women come of their own accord, and greets it at Nhandare and Njaira.
It shares some of its images with other Moyo poems: the tree that comes into leaf in the dry season; the snake that is not to be provoked, since if you provoke it, it bites (vanyoka haisvosvi, ukaisvosva yakuruma); and the king who must not stretch out, since his stretching out brings a long, heavy rain (mambo usitandavare, kutandavara kunova nomubvumbi). It closes on Shai and Chirandu before its own name.
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 Nematombo mutupo weMoyo. Varume vanokudzwa seNematombo naDhewa, vakadzi seMaMoyo naVapamoyo. Detembo ravo rinovati vana vaMugumu naGumboremvura, richivadaidza kuti VaMarumbidza naBvumavaranda. Rinoyambira kuti nyoka haisvosvwi, ukaisvosva inoruma. Rinotiwo mambo haatandavari, nokuti kutandavara kwake kunouya nomubvumbi.
Men are greeted as Nematombo and Dhewa, and the detembo also calls the clan Bvumavaranda, VaMarumbidza, Maseka, Shai and Chirandu. Women are greeted as MaMoyo or Vapamoyo.
No. Matombo are stones; bones are mapfupa. The detembo itself does not explain the name.
The Nematombo detembo names the clan the child of Mugumu and the child of Gumboremvura. The poem gives only their names, and no source here tells more of them.
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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