Nhewa · Leopard
Nhewa Simboti is a Shona clan of the Nhewa totem, the leopard, which its detembo calls ingwe ina mavara, the spotted leopard. Its men are greeted as Simboti and Tsoka, and its women as Chirukamachira and Nhewa. Its detembo names the clan the child of Nyamaruodzo, who went into a cave with his dogs.
Mwaita Nhewa, Ingwe ina mavara, Mwazviita Simboti, Chiruka, Nyakuzvibatira, Chikatsa, VaMuteyi, Mwaita wari Kutsoka. Chirukamachira, wari Mhembere.
Mwazviita wari Mundimu, Wanoirima Nhewa, Mhondi inopondera pachena Pasina kana negwenzi. Mwaita wari kuChai, Sanyanga, Buka iwe. Waita mwana waNyamaruodzo, Akapinda mubuwe nembwa dzake, Mwaita henyu wari kuUkuhu, Muchera, Chirebvu.
Mwaita wari Tezi, Mwazviita Nyamuteyi, Tatenda muTawangena, MuSena, Aiwa zvaonekwa Nhewa; Simboti.
Your mutupo and its detembo as an image for WhatsApp, your status or a post, carrying the Kwaunobva mark.
The detembo opens by naming the totem outright: Nhewa is ingwe ina mavara, the leopard with spots. It greets the clan as Simboti, Chiruka, Nyakuzvibatira, Chikatsa and VaMuteyi, and praises the leopard as a killer that strikes in the open with not even a bush for cover (mhondi inopondera pachena pasina kana negwenzi).
It names the clan the child of Nyamaruodzo, who went into the cave with his dogs, and greets its people at Kutsoka, Mhembere, Mundimu, Chai, Ukuhu, Tezi, Tawangena and Sena. Both praise names on the record come from these greetings: Tsoka in 'wari Kutsoka', the one at Tsoka, and Chirukamachira in 'Chirukamachira, wari Mhembere'.
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.
Nhewa Simboti mutupo wenhewa, ingwe. Varume vanokudzwa seSimboti naTsoka, vakadzi seChirukamachira naNhewa. Detembo ravo rinoti Nhewa ingwe ina mavara, mhondi inopondera pachena pasina kana negwenzi. Rinovadaidza kuti vana vaNyamaruodzo, akapinda mubuwe nembwa dzake. Rinovakwazisa vari Kutsoka, Mhembere, Mundimu, Chai, Ukuhu, Tezi, Tawangena neSena.
The leopard. The Simboti detembo calls it ingwe ina mavara, the spotted leopard.
Men are greeted as Simboti and Tsoka, and women as Chirukamachira and Nhewa. The detembo also calls the clan Chiruka, Nyakuzvibatira, Chikatsa, VaMuteyi and Nyamuteyi.
The detembo calls the clan the child of Nyamaruodzo and remembers him as the one who went into a cave with his dogs. It says nothing more about him, and neither do the other sources used here.
In Mutasa, Nyanga and Makoni, 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 Nhewa 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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