Opinion / Columnist
Let us restore our identity
04 Jul 2025 at 22:30hrs | Views
Family bondage is crucial to our lives and contributes to the development of a solid and tranquil community. We Africans have abandoned certain customs and behaviours because we don't realise how effective they are at creating solid families.
Allow me to transport you back in time to our family's formative years. We were taught the practice and mentality that everyone should be present when we wanted to eat, and we would share a dish of muriwo and sadza each time. Everyone was allowed to eat the various foods that were prepared.
Our parents or elders wanted us to share a plate for a number of reasons. This strengthened the family's tie and taught us that we are all part of the same family and should support one another through difficult times. It fostered a feeling of love, solidarity, and belonging.
No one was going to get their own plate. No one would keep food for you if you weren't there, and that was your own problem.
In another sense, it taught us to always arrive on time for meals. When food was going to be served, nobody left.
No one would converse while eating. Additionally, no one was permitted to eat while standing; instead, you had to sit down with your legs bent in a bow.
The integrity of table manners was really excellent. Some people felt that sharing a plate was extremely unsanitary, but I think it strengthened the bonds between siblings. Families today are far more fragmented than they were in the past.
The ability of the families to give and share was one of the lessons taught. I also thought it was admirable that a young person would never choose a piece of meat first while we were having, say, pap and beef. It was forbidden. The older individual would begin picking first, and in that sequence. In fact, that strengthened regard for the old.
Every time someone comes to our house, they are welcomed with a cup of water as soon as they sit down. The children were told to play outside the house and were not permitted to be close to any guests.
Tsika Dzedu Dzakaendepi was formerly sung by the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi. In fact, this song teaches us to return to our African heritage and reclaim our identity. Due to our acceptance of the dominance of Western culture over our rich African culture, we have lost a great deal of our identity.
In favour of quick and refined foods like Kentucky and McDonald's, we have even abandoned native meals like munyemba and mufushwa (muboora) pumpkin leaves. Eating wild fruits like matamba, nhunguru, matohwe, mauyu, etc., has also been neglected. As a result, more people are afflicted with illnesses like cancer nowadays.
Email – konileonard606@gmail.com
X - @Leokoni
Allow me to transport you back in time to our family's formative years. We were taught the practice and mentality that everyone should be present when we wanted to eat, and we would share a dish of muriwo and sadza each time. Everyone was allowed to eat the various foods that were prepared.
Our parents or elders wanted us to share a plate for a number of reasons. This strengthened the family's tie and taught us that we are all part of the same family and should support one another through difficult times. It fostered a feeling of love, solidarity, and belonging.
No one was going to get their own plate. No one would keep food for you if you weren't there, and that was your own problem.
In another sense, it taught us to always arrive on time for meals. When food was going to be served, nobody left.
No one would converse while eating. Additionally, no one was permitted to eat while standing; instead, you had to sit down with your legs bent in a bow.
The ability of the families to give and share was one of the lessons taught. I also thought it was admirable that a young person would never choose a piece of meat first while we were having, say, pap and beef. It was forbidden. The older individual would begin picking first, and in that sequence. In fact, that strengthened regard for the old.
Every time someone comes to our house, they are welcomed with a cup of water as soon as they sit down. The children were told to play outside the house and were not permitted to be close to any guests.
Tsika Dzedu Dzakaendepi was formerly sung by the late Dr Oliver Mtukudzi. In fact, this song teaches us to return to our African heritage and reclaim our identity. Due to our acceptance of the dominance of Western culture over our rich African culture, we have lost a great deal of our identity.
In favour of quick and refined foods like Kentucky and McDonald's, we have even abandoned native meals like munyemba and mufushwa (muboora) pumpkin leaves. Eating wild fruits like matamba, nhunguru, matohwe, mauyu, etc., has also been neglected. As a result, more people are afflicted with illnesses like cancer nowadays.
Email – konileonard606@gmail.com
X - @Leokoni
Source - Leonard Koni
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