Academic literature on the topic 'The Karanga of Nyajena'

The Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme at Te Papa was established in July 2003. It is mandated by the New Zealand government and supported by iwi (Mäori and Moriori tribal groups) indigenous to New Zealand.

This thesis investigates how Shona, an African language spoken in Zimbabwe deals with potentially onsetless syllables (heterosyllabic VV sequences & initial onsetless syllables) and subminimal words. The thesis focuses on the morphophonemics of Karanga and Zezuru—the two principal dialects of Shona. Karanga and Zezuru morphophonemic processes observed in this thesis have only one primary goal; to achieve the typical or preferred Shona phonological structures—the consonant-vowel (CV) syllable and the disyllabic Prosodic Word. Often, when morphemes are concatenated, the resultant phonological structures do not conform to these typical structures. The study examines the repair strategies that Karanga and Zezuru employ to achieve the CV syllable and the disyllabic Prosodic Word. The overall analysis is couched in Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky (2004 [1993]. Hiatus resolution strategies are conditioned by prosodic domains/boundaries, and a detailed prosodic parsing is required to account for this phenomenon. The Prosodic Stem, Prosodic Word and the Clitic Group are the prosodic domains relevant for this study. Owing to the impossibility of unifying the cliticization and coalescence facts with the other strategies in a single constraint ranking, two strata are posited—the Word (lexical) and the Phrasal (Postlexical) using the Lexical Phonology and Morphology-Optimality Theory (Kiparsky 2000, 2003). At the Word level, Glide formation is the default strategy, and at the Phrasal level, it is coalescence. Employing the Clements and Hume (1995) Unified Feature Geometry model, with the addition of the feature [pharyngeal], all the hiatus-breakers [j w ʔ ɦ] are analyzed as products of spreading. Karanga and Zezuru display greater variation with respect to prosodic minimality and initial onsetless syllables than in hiatus resolution. It is argued that Zezuru enforces WORD MINIMALITY at the expense of ONSET, and Karanga enforces ONSET at the expense of WORD MINIMALITY. Karanga displays internal variation; it allows initial onsetless syllables in function words but not in lexical ones. Based on tone, reduplication, minimality and cliticization, initial onsetless syllables are argued to be morified, syllabified and not extra-prosodic and therefore do not warrant any special representation.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation seeks to develop further the theological interpretation of the books of Samuel, by examining I Samuel I: 1-2:10 in the context of fertility and barrenness as blessing and curse. This reading was related to the Karanga understanding of fertility and barrenness. The contribution shows how the Biblical narrative can become a resource for ethical reflection in African communities such as the Karanga women. The hypotheses that guided this study, were that: a-Fertility and barrenness in the Old Testament should be understood in close conjunction with blessing and cursing as theological concepts in ancient Israel. b-Fertility and barrenness could also be examined in a relevant and contextual manner by relating it to the culture and understanding of the Karanga people. In order to achieve this, two major tasks were attempted. One: An exegesis of I Samuel I: 12: 10 in which Vernon Robbins' method of Socio- Rhetorical criticism was used. The method helped to identify that the text is a narrative, and that the author might have been the Deuteronomistic historian, who wrote in the period of the decline of the Judean monarchy and when the Jews were in exile. The narrative is used to tell about the despair of the Jews, and to inform the Jews that there was hope for restoration if they obeyed God. This ideology is woven in the story of a barren woman Hannah who suffered the despair of barrenness and was later blessed with a child because of her prayer and obedience to God. In the narrative God is described as one who cares for the marginalised, and one who changes the lives of his people, from curse to blessing. The method also helped to realise tbe culture and context of Hannah, and made it possible to relate this culture and context to other cultures that are similar. Secondly an empirical survey was conducted amongst one hundred Karanga women. The findings were that Karanga consider fertility as blessing and barrenness as curse. The curse is experienced in the suffering of the barren women. Barrenness is used to inflict pain, to marginalise women, and has become a major cause of divorce and death through the spread of HIV and Aids. A reading of the story of Hannah helped the Karanga women to identify their barren problems with Hannah, and to find a new way of understanding their own problem in terms of hope. This study was able to prove its hypothesis both through the exegesis and the discussions of the research findings. It was found that the narrative form of the text appealed effectively to the understanding of Karanga women. This was possible because narrative is one of the methods of communication that is used effectively by the Karanga in their language. Through using Hannah as a paradigm of curse and blessing in relation to barrenness and fertility, Karanga women were challenged to view their barren situations in a different way that is open to accept change from curse to blessing. The study has also contributed to see how an old text of the time of Hannah could in the present day contextually influence Karanga women's barren experiences through holding the same culture and also by having similar experiences barren of women.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie dissertasie poog om die teologiese interpretasie van die boeke van Samuel verder te ontwikkel by wyse van 'n ondersoek van I Samuel 1:1-2:10 in die konteks van vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid as 'n seën en as 'n vervloeking. Hierdie ondersoek verwys na die Karangabevolking se begrip van vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid. Die bydrae toon aan hoe die Bybelse verhaal 'n bron vir etiese nadenke onder Afrika-gemeenskappe, soos die Karangavroue, kan word. Die hipoteses wat hierdie studie gerig het, was dat: a-Vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid in die Ou Testament behoort begryp te word in 'n noue verbintenis met seën en vervloeking as teologiese begrippe in antieke Israel. b-Vrugbaarheid en onvrugbaarheid kan ook ondersoek word in 'n relevante en kontekstuele wyse deur dit te verbind met die kultuur en begrip van die Karanga-mense. Om dit te vermag, is twee hooftake onderneem. Die eerste was 'n eksegese van I Samuel 1: 12: 10 waarin Vernon Robbins se metode van sosioretoriese kritiek aangewend is. Hierdie metode het gehelp om die teks as 'n narratief te identifiseer en dat die skrywer die Deuteronomiese historikus kon gewees het, wat in die periode van die monargie van Juda geskryf het en ook tydens die Jode se ballingskap. Die narratief word gebruik om aan te toon hoe wanhopig die Jode was en om hulle in te lig dat daar hoop op hul herstel was indien hulle God gehoorsaam. Hierdie ideologie is verweef in die verhaal van die onvrugbare vrou, Hanna, wat aan die wanhoop van onvrugbaarheid gely het en later met 'n kind geseën is op grond van haar gebede en gehoorsaamheid aan God. In die narratief word God as die een beskryf wat na die gemarginaliseerdes omsien en wat die lewens van sy mense vanaf vervloeking tot seën omvorm. Die metode het ook meegehelp om die kultuur en konteks van Hanna te begryp en dit moontlik gemaak om hierdie kultuur en konteks te verklaar ingevolge die van ander soortgelyke kulture. Tweedens is 'n empiriese studie onder 'n honderd Karanga-vroue onderneem. Die bevindinge was dat Karanga-vroue vrugbaarheid as 'n seën en onvrugbaarheid as 'n vervloeking beskou. Die vervloeking word in die lyding van die onvrugbare vroue ervaar. Onvrugbaarheid word aangewend om pyn en lyding te veroorsaak, om vroue te marginaliseer en het 'n belangrike bron van egskeiding en dood deur die verspreiding van HIV en Vigs geword. Deur die verhaal van Hanna te lees, het die Karanga-vroue gehelp om hul eie onvrugbaarheidsprobleme met die van Hanna te identifiseer en om nuwe wyses te vind om hul eie probleme te verstaan in terme van hoop. Hierdie studie was in staat om sy hipoteses te bewys sowel by wyse van die eksegese en ook deur die bespreking van die navorsingsbevindings. Dit is bevind dat die narratiewe vorm van die teks duidelik tot die begrip van die Karanga-vroue gespreek het. Dit was moontlik aangesien 'n verhalende trant een van die kommunikasiewyses is wat doeltreffend deur Karanga-vroue aangewend word in hul taal. Deur Hanna as 'n paradigma van vervloeking en as seën te gebruik met verwysing tot onvrugbaarheid en vrugbaarheid, is Karanga-vroue uitgedaag om hul beskouing van hul onvrugbare toestand op verskillende wyses te betrag wat oop is om 'n verandering te aanvaar vanaf vervloeking tot seën. Die studie het ook daartoe bygedra om te sien hoe 'n ou teks uit die tyd van Hanna tans kontekstueel die Karanga-vroue se onvrugbaarheidservarings kan beinvloed waar hulle uit 'n soortgelyke kultuur kom en ook soortgelyke ervarings as Hanna het as onvrugbare vroue.

Set within New Zealand, and against a colonial backdrop that has shaped New Zealand's social fabric, this thesis explores the complex and contradictory relationship between a group of indigenous students and a mainstream institution of higher learning. Presented as 'stories within stories' it tells the stories of eleven Maori students' experiences at the University of Canterbury between 1996 and 1998. In doing so it tells of the struggles they faced and the strategies they employed to realise their dreams in an institution that did not reflect who they were. This thesis then, despite the diverse ways in which they grew up Maori, is a victory narrative of the students' struggles to maintain their own sense of being Maori in a mono-cultural institution. The topic arose out of my own experience of being a Maori student in a mainstream university and my endeavors to make sense of our institutional invisibility on campus and the silencing of our voices. Indeed, the questions that I was left asking spurred me on to become a research student. Therefore, this thesis is as much about my journey to becoming a kaupapa Maori researcher as it is about the journeys of the students into and within the University of Canterbury. Positioned outside of the prevailing scientific traditions, the kaupapa Maori phenomenological based study I conducted took for granted Maori cultural practices, values and aspirations. I drew on traditional ways of knowing and being, as well as contemporary narratives to understand the lived realities of the students. When I began to write my thesis it became clear that an orthodox account of Maori students' experiences was inconsistent with the way I had conducted the research, and the values and practices that underpinned it. I began to rewrite my thesis, and in the process wrote back to the academy in a way that better reflected not only who I am but also the Maori community within which the research was conducted. The stories speak for themselves.

This thesis is an investigation of the significance of Mhande song-dance in two performance contexts: the Mutoro ritual of the Karanga and the Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competition. In addition, I undertake comparative analysis of the structure of Mhande music in relation to the structure of selected genres of Shona indigenous music. The position of Mhande in the larger context of Shona music is determined through analysis of transcriptions of the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic elements of chizambi mouth bow, karimba mbira, ngororombe panpipes, ngano story songs, game, hunting, war, and love songs. Mhande is an indigenous song-dance performed for the mutoro ceremony, the annual rain ritual of the Karanga. The Mhande repertoire consists of distinctive songs and rhythms used for communicating with the majukwa rain spirits. The rain spirits in turn communicate with God (Mwari) the provider of rain, on behalf of the Karanga. Mhande song-dance is performed exactly the same way in the annual Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance Competitions as in the ritual context of the mutoro ceremony. However, in the context of the Competition, it is used for the expression of joy and as a form of cultural identity. The Competition is a forum in which Karanga songdance traditions such as Mhande, compete with other Shona song-dance traditions such as mbakumba, shangara and chinyambera. I contextualize and analyse Mhande song-dance by using the ‘Matonjeni Model’, which in terms of Karanga epistemology, is culture specific. This Model is grounded in description, interpretation and analysis; the primary methods in my research process.

This study was about death rituals among the Karanga of Nyajena, Masvingo, Zimbabwe, who are a sub-group of the Shona people. This inquiry’s primary purpose was tripartite in outlook. First, it described the Karanga causes of sickness and death, and Karanga death rituals. Second, it explored the significance of these rituals to the Karanga people. Third, the study traced and identified the changes in the practice and significance of some of the rituals. The overall goal of this inquiry was to compose a brief manual for the performance of some of the Karanga death rituals. The inquiry divided the Karanga death rituals into three major categories, namely, pre-burial rituals, burial rituals, and post-burial rituals. The investigation employed qualitative research traditions, particularly ethnography, in the collection and interpretation of the relevant research data, in pursuit of the goals mentioned above. Postcolonial theory was used to give a theoretical framework to this study. This study was necessitated by the need of a written manual on the performance of Karanga death rituals. The study compiled the participants’ narratives concerning the praxis, meaning, and changes in the Karanga death rituals in an attempt to analyze and write them down for posterity. The inquiry found out that although the praxis of the rituals was still rememberd by many Karanga people, some of them were no longer performed, and their significance had been lost. Although the study acknowledged the inevitable dynamism of culture, it held that every ethnicity should have some cultural or religious constants so that its identity is not lost. Hence, the Karanga of Nyajena should retrace their footsteps back to their death rituals in order to rediscover and reaffirm their battered cultural identity and integrity.
Religious Studies and Arabic
D. Phil. (Religious Studies)

This thesis is an ethnography of mhande dance as a dynamic phenomenon that enunciates Karanga belief and normative values that are enacted through performance of mhande dance in its chief indigenous contexts: the kurova guva (settling the spirit of the dead) and the mutoro (rain making) rituals. Approached from an emic perspective, the study draws data from field research conducted between 2008 and 2010 among the rural Karanga of Shurugwi District in Zimbabwe. This study is an explication of mhande dance which provides the reader with cognitive understanding of the indigenous spiritual dance that embraces music, dance and gestures. The dance features both symbolize and spiritualize Karanga culture. Karanga scheme of reality (chivanhu) embodies two worlds: the natural and the supernatural in which the natural is explained by the supernatural. The supernatural is the world of the spirits with God (Mwari) being the Supreme Spirit. According to the Karanga, the deceased become spirit beings that maintain the quality of life of their human nature. Thus the Karanga spiritual world is populated with good and bad spirits where the good are referred to as ancestors (vadzimu) and the bad are identified differently; for example, sorcerers (varoyi) , alien (mashavi) and avenging spirits (ngozi). The Karanga believe in God who they venerate through their ancestors. Ancestors are empowered to overcome bad spirits and hence their siblings appease them in order that the spirits assist the humans to deal with challenges of life for which the natural world provides no solution. Karanga reality of the existence of spiritual beings is made to be a part of everyday life through the conduct of spiritual ritual ceremonies: kurova guva and mutoro wherein the performance of mhande dance occasions spirit possession. Thus, through its efficacious and symbolic features, mhande dance is experienced reality of Karanga epistemology (chikaranga).
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-131)
This study investigates the place of the Shona-Karanga women as reflected in Shona proverbs concerning women. Reviewed literature covers the world, African and Zimbabwean perspectives on women. It discusses and examines changes in the role and status of Shona –Karanga women in the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. The study examines men’s attitude towards women, women’s attitude towards themselves and women’s responsibilities in Shona-Karanga communities in relation to Shona proverbs. Proverbial statements discussed were from participants and other sources. Government’s effort in improving the women’s status was examined. The study uses mixed research methods of data generation and presentation. Research findings show that women lost their glory during the colonial period but the blame is levelled against Karanga culture which actually holds women with high esteem. The study established that most participants were ignorant of proverbs concerning women. The research was an eye opener to women about the tremendous potential they have
African Languages
M.A. (African languages)

The intention of this thesis is to examine the possibility of seeing mythology and ritual as sources for understanding spiritual, symbolic and spatial structures in architecture. Mythology and ritual are used as sources of creativity for examining a culture's architecture and as a way to understand the creative and cultural processes informing an architectural record. Central Great Zimbabwe is used as a case study for examining this. Karanga ethnography has not previously been considered as a source for interpreting Great Zimbabwe. However, historical evidence documented in this thesis shows that the Karanga were the creators and occupiers of Great Zimbabwe. The study pursues the need expressed by P. 1. Sinclair to consider the mythology of the region as an informative tool to understanding the symbolic values inherent in the landscape of settlement dynamics and symbolic structures; ...one might expect such aspects of material culture as architectural style and settlement layout, organisation and decorative motifs as well as a choice of subsistence needs to be strongly influenced larger scale expressions ofsymbolic values... exist in the expressions of kingship and power Further illustrations might include the associations of the granite mountains found throughout the plateau margins with the widespread distributions ofstone buildings. The mythology of the region has been little considered from this point ofview (Sinclair, P. 1987: 159). The study sets out to test Sinclair's observation by examining whether the Karanga symbolic values sourced from the mythology and ritual practices of the region may be reflected in the settlement dynamics and spatio-symbolic expression of Central Great Zimbabwe. Parts of the study examine Thomas Huffman's fieldwork, documentation and methodology. As the most prolific documenter on Great Zimbabwe, with the most recent interpretations, Huffman's findings are rec.orded and discussed in detail and his hypothesis for domba (initiation centre) function for the Great Enclosure is tested against the information evident in Karanga mythology and ritual. Since his hypothesis is widely criticised by his colleagues, this criticism is also included in this study as an informative tool to contextualise this field of research and outline the current ethno-archaeologica1 debate concerning the function of the Great Enclosure. This dissertation takes a different approach to that of Huffman and therefore the outcome of this study deviates from that of Huffman's. lIDs study adopts a synchronic approach to history while HufIman's methodology is a structuralist one and takes a more diachronic approach. Since both approaches are necessary in this field of study, the synchronic approach here is seen as a way of contributing new information and interpretation to the field. The intention of the thesis is not to suggest an 'answer' to the 'mystery' of Great Zimbabwe, but to offer possibilities and to recognise that this is merely one approach in a very complex, interactive and dynamic research field. In any qualitative study area, research should lead to still further research and should not be considered to be leading to the 'answer' to a 'problem'. Therefore, this study explores a wide range of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, religion, history and archaeology in order to broaden and deepen the study. Architecture is neither a science nor an art but sits comfortably between the two domains. It is therefore an interactive discipline and is marked by a divergent flow of creativity. Rather than taking a convergent approach, which is marked by a structuralist need to solve problems, this study approaches research in a divergent way, where the grappling with the 'problem' itself is seen as a process leading to discovery and possibility rather than to an 'answer'. The study therefore does not examine Karanga mythology as a way to answer the 'mystery' of the stone ruins, nor to provide proof or evidence for an archaeological hypothesis. It is rather a study towards examining ways in which mythology and ritual can be used to broaden and deepen an understanding of symbolism and meaning in architecture. A method of inquiry which validates the diversity of views and documentation in this field of study is validated by this dissertation and is seen as a valuable way of approaching the history of architecture in Southern Africa at this particular time, where African society is itself undergoing transformation as it reinterprets its past in a 'de-eolonised' African context. For that reason, interpreting Great Zimbabwe based on local ethnography is seen as a valuable way offurther validating African creativity and local origin. We can no longer afford to view history one-dimensionally. We need to learn to accept different grounds and more than one belief system. Examining Karanga mythology and ritual is considered in this study as a new way of seeing and interpreting historical artifact in order to expose the creative domain of discovery. This approach is relevant to the paradigmatic shifts being made in Southern Africa and globally, where society is discovering new ways of seeing itself and concentrating more on its processes than on its products. Society is becoming more tolerant of other perspectives and we need to consider how we can learn more about our society both past and present within the context of so many changing paradigms. The results of the proposed investigations for this study as outlined above are documented summatively in Part 5, Chapter 9 and generally in the Conclusion at the end of the study.
Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

No fim de março de 1556, partiram de Lisboa um grupo de 14 jesuítas, enviados para as missões do Oriente, entre os quais também se destacava o Padre Gonçalo da Silveira, com as funções de Provincial da India. Em setembro de 1556, chegaram a Goa, o centro político e administrativo do Estado da Índia. Alguns destes jesuítas iam com a missão específica de intervenção apostólica junto do Preste João. Os demais eram enviados para outras missões na India, mas todas essas missões eram concebidas como um empreendimento global, facilitado no quadro do Padroado Português. Foi também a partir de Goa que foram impulsionadas as primeiras missões na África Oriental, facilitadas pela rede de contactos estabelecida por comerciantes portugueses, que conheciam as rotas entre a costa e o seu interior. As primeiras missões junto do Reino de Tongue decorreram entre 1560 e 1562, ficaram à responsabilidade de Silveira e mais dois companheiros, o Padre André Fernandes e o irmão André Costa. Em setembro de 1560 o Padre Gonçalo da Silveira partiu para o centro do Império Karanga, uma vez que pretendia uma rápida conversão ao cristianismo do imperador Monomotapa, o qual tinha uma influência dominante relativamente aos reinos vizinhos, numa aposta na eficácia de uma “cristianização descendente”. Pretende-se compreender as estratégias de evangelização, abordar os objectivos traçados para as primeiras missões jesuítas realizadas no interior de África no período indicado, relevando a experiência anterior de Silveira na Índia, e a sua visão, e dos seus companheiros quanto a essas missões, num quadro de uma primeira globalização e de uma nova diáspora missionária, avaliando os resultados dessas missões, as quais suscitaram um forte impacto político na Coroa portuguesa.
At the end of march 1556 a group of 14 Jesuits departed from Lisbon, sent to the missions of the East. Amongst them was Father Gonçalo da Silveira, as Provincial of India. They arrived in Goa in September 1556, political and administrative center of the State of India. Some of these Jesuits had the specific mission of apostolic intervention to Preste João. The others had missions in India. All these missions were conceived as a global enterprise, facilitated within the framework of the Portuguese Patronage. It was also from Goa that the first missions in East Africa have departed, supported by the network of contacts established by the Portuguese merchants, who knew the routes between the coast and the inland. The first missions to the Kingdom of Tongue took place between 1560 and 1562, and were under the responsibility of Silveira and two other companions, Father André Fernandes and Brother André Costa. In September 1560 Father Gonçalo da Silveira left for the center of the Karanga Empire, looking for a rapid conversion to christianity of Emperor Monomotapa, who had a dominant influence over the neighbouring kingdoms, with the aim of an effective "top-down christianization". This work aims to present the strategies of evangelization, addressing the objectives set for the first Jesuit missions undertaken in the interior of Africa. In particular, it exposesSilveira's previous experience in India and his vision regarding these missions, as well as his companions’ vision, in a context of a first globalization and a new missionary diaspora. It also assesses the results of these missions, which had a strong political impact on the Portuguese Crown.

The Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Aotearoa/New Zealand brought various Māori and Pākehā (settler-descended) groups together in dialogue, debate, and eventually into renewed treaty partnership. Like the ceremonial karanga call that initiates dialogue between groups at the start of a pōwhiri, the call of place illustrates how the political relationship between peoples, hosts and guests, comes through place.

The central focus of this chapter is to discuss the way sub-dynasties create new identities and culture quite different from their original-root-dynasties. The study case is related to the Nerumedzo people who have proven to be a sub-dynasty of the Karanga Duma of Bikita district. The literature highlights that the Nerumedzo people originated from a branch of the Duma Confederacy and have created through time their own new identity, which is based on their culture in a bid to fight for their existence in the Duma community and their alignment with the landscape (which includes their physical geography and insects and the use of identity markers like naming and totems). Their tradition was marked by the birth of Nemeso (who was born double-faced and, for this reason, rejected by his father Pfupajena), the Nerumedzo progenitor. The rejection of the mysterious Nemeso meant a death threat. Therefore, his mother fled with him to her own people with whom he grew up. From a foreign country, he returned to his father who gave him land in the Duma confines of Bikita, where it became the base of his identity.