Book Review : Tsumo - Shumo Shona Proverbial Lore and Wisdom

Tsumo is a book written, translated and explained by the great Mordechai Hamutyinei and Albert Plangger. Hamutyinei was a giant in Shona literature. He wrote timeless classics such as Maidei and China manenji hachifambisi and the great poem Kana wamutanga musikana. In a sane world there would be statues of Hamutyinei all over Zimbabwe and schools and streets named after him. The Mount Rushmore of Zimbabwean writers in my opinion would have Mordechai Hamutyinei, Aaron Chiunduramoyo, Tsitsi Dangarembga and the late Dambudzo Marechera. I cannot believe that Hamutyinei does not have a Wikipedia page.

Anyway back to the book Tsumo. This book is sensational. It is 484 pages long and contains 1900 Shona proverbs divided thematically into eleven chapters. It should be in the home of every Shona person and its contents should be memorised and recited like Muslims do to the Koran and Jews to the Torah. It should be as sacred as the Holy Bible to the Shona nation. And why? Because it contains the ancient wisdom of the Shona people. Tsumo is the Shona word for proverb. And thusly, it is a book that has the largest collection of Shona proverbs. It contains the wisdom passed down from generation to generation. It rivals the biblical book of Proverbs in my opinion. In fact, it rivals the entire Bible. And if Shonas had any pride in their history and culture they would replace their Bible with this book. It covers all facets of life from human nature, relationships, domestic advice and general affairs. The book speaks to Shona people the way no other book could. It is part of our DNA.

The book has a very interesting introduction that explains the origin of Shona proverbs. It says that the tsumos are the words of the elders used in customary law during trials and the settling of disputes by chiefs. Besides being laws tsumos were also used as educational tools from parents to children. Moreover they were composed as entertainment amongst friends and a way of speaking. Shonas have a rhythm and a manner of speaking. They use parallelism and similes. And since Shonas were a hunter-gatherer, pastoral and agricultural people, tsumos are often related to farming and animals, both wild and domestic. It is almost miraculous how all over Zimbabwe different clans from the Zezuru, Manyika and Karanga have similar proverbs as if they came from a common source but more of that later.

What makes the book Tsumo so great is that it provides Shona proverbs in the native tongue as well as English. And then it provides the explanation of the proverb and its application in life. The book shows the reader which region the tsumo originated from, whether it is a Karanga, Manyika or Zezuru proverb. Furthermore, tsumos are divided by chapters depending on the topic. One chapter might have proverbs pertaining to honesty and dishonesty whilst another chapter deals with domestic affairs. The back of the book has all the proverbs listed in alphabetical order as well as a topical index that helps the reader navigate the book. It really is like the bible for Shonas.

If I had the money I would like to produce an audiobook of the book Tsumos perhaps with a mbira, hosho and ngoma instruments playing in the background.

It is really sad how Shonas are viewed internationally. We are the laughing stock of the world due the economic collapse of our country Zimbabwe. We are called international orphans with smelly armpits. Our Ndebele compatriots mock us and say we have no history and culture. We are ridiculed for giving our children silly English names. And people make memes like this deriding us.

Today we have parasitic pastors like Makandiwa, Passion Java, Uebert Angel and Magaya who profit from people's gullibility and desperation. These so called prophets fill their pockets by promising miracles and selling dreams whilst delivering nothing but false hope. They are not prophets but profiteers who use religion to enrich themselves. These self proclaimed men of God are nothing more than charlatans, snake oil salesmen and wolves in sheep's clothing. When the church is in trouble they ask for money. When the people are in trouble they ask you to pray. Let us not forget that the colonialists came with a Bible in one hand and a gun in another.

The Roman Seneca the Younger once said that religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false and by rulers as useful. I would like to add to that statement is that religion is regarded as a business by scoundrels, opportunists and con artists.

Perhaps the reason why everything is wrong in Zimbabwe is because we have neglected our customs and heritage. We are identify more with Christianity and political parties than with our ancestors and our history. Calling on Jesus and the God of Israel has not helped Zimbabwe one bit. Maybe if we practice our ancient traditions things in our country will improve. It is time for a Shona cultural renaissance. This might sound drastic but the capital of Zimbabwe should be in Masvingo near Great Zimbabwe which is our spiritual capital. Harare has no geographical, historical or spiritual significance. We should remember and embrace our precolonial past. Movies and plays should be performed about Changamire Dombo, Chaminuka, and Nehanda. Schools and streets should be named after our great Mutapa kings. Why do we as Africans claim colonialism was evil and yet still embrace Christianity that was brought by colonialists? Why do we claim we gained liberation and yet give our children European names?

If I was Dictator I would make it illegal to give children English names. I would decree that every child should be given an African name. Furthermore, I would make Shona totems the surnames. The surnames that Shonas use today are by products of colonialism. Historically our totems were our surnames that connected us to our forefathers and let us know which clan we belonged to. We should have a Heritage day like South Africa where all tribes and races celebrate their culture. Shonas do have culture. We have ngano folk tales, mbira music, nhetembo poems, madimikira idioms, nyaudzosingwi ideophones, tsumo proverbs, mutupo totems, Great Zimbabwe architecture, Munhumutapa history and kings. Our history is full of prophets, spirit mediums and sacred places. It is time to take pride in who we are. In fact the term Shona is a very recent name given to us by Rhodesian colonialists like Professor Doke in 1923. In reality we should be known as the Tovera people or Tovera nation after our great ancestor Tovera.

Back to the tsumos. It is my belief that Shona proverbs came from our ancestor Tovera. My grandfather told me the story of Tovera who is the great ancestor of all Shona people. According to my grandfather Tover was the builder of the Great Zimbabwe monument and he was the one who taught the people the Shona proverbs. So I decided to do my part in enriching Shona culture and wrote down a book about the Shona people contained in a series called the Shona Chronicles. If you interested in Shona culture and supporting my work and you can purchase my books on Amazon. Links below.

The Shona Chronicles is a series about the Shona people, an African people located in Southern Africa between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. It takes a look at Shona culture, poetry, songs, myths and beliefs. The Shona Chronicles is a volume that is comprised of four books. The first book is about Tovera the ancestor of the Shona people. The second book is about the customs and beliefs of the Shonas told through poetry. The third book is about the praise songs of each Shona clan. The final book in the series is about the prophet Chaminuka who predicts the end of the precolonial age and prepares the Shona nation for the new colonial era.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLKVWY4T?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi