CHAPTER 7 LOCAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE QUEST FOR SURVIVAL AND INCLUSIVITY
7.5 Identity markers, local institutions and survival among the displacees
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PF your life becomes difficult. So even if you do not like ZANU PF you have to pretend).
The tenacity to use the above mentioned local institution for survival was also observed by Nhodo (2013). He observed that many of the respondents in the newly formalised Chimusana market in Masvingo had to be ZANU PF during the day and MDC (the main opposition party) at night. Such a strategy was indispensible for retaining the trading places and wares. Similar findings were observed by Gukurume (2018) in his study of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Harare where allegiance to ZANUPF was turned into social and economic capital for the youths. As we observed in the previous section, donating to the ZANU PF cause was also a viable strategy used to remain in business for small shop owners at Chingwizi. It should be noted that the patron-client relationship between the Chingwizi villagers and ZANU PF is not peculiar to this context. ZANU PF is just using this commercial space to amass or generate the much need political mileage (Gukurume 2018). This has always been part of the party’s culture and mobilization strategy to gain political capital (Kamete 2017). What is new however is the capacity of the displacees to also use ZANU PF to strengthen linking social capital for survival in the alien context.
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villages in the matongo area. Much as this arrangement was a noble idea aimed at uniting the fragmented communities, it nonetheless became a serious source of conflict between the Tokwe Mukosi people, other local institutions and the established leadership of chief Chitanga in Mwenezi. I will focus on these relations in chapter 8 of this thesis.
In the long run, the aforesaid living arrangement helped to strengthen bonding social capital which proved to be the hallmark of survival in the alien territories. Commenting on the indispensability of bonding social capital that was reinforced by the strategic living arrangements in the one hectare plots, a female respondent (39) who identified herself as VaChivi had this to say,
“Kunyari takarwadziwa nezvakaiitika, tinoona magariro edu akanaka. Muno Munyuni vatorwa vashoma, Nekudaro tinobatsirana nezvidiki zvatinazvo apo zvinenge zvakaoma”
(Although the displacements were painful, we are happy with the current living arrangement.
Here in Nyuni there are very few aliens and this puts us in a position to assist each other with the little that we have in times of trouble).
Much as there were a few aliens at Nyuni and Tokwe Mukosi, there was also a deliberate effort to ensure social inclusion by using totemism as a rallying point. This helped to instill a sense of belongingness and solidarity for the hitherto marginalized community. Over and above this, the said living arrangement facilitated the maintenance of the networks and local institutions that were important in the matongo area. Based on social networks reciprocity was cited as the commonly used survival options in the three villages at Chingwizi.
Coincidentally, as I interviewed VaChivi, a middle aged man arrived at her homestead with a small packet of fish. In the middle of the interview the respondent was forced to stop and welcomed the visitor in line with the cultural expectations in this community. In a welcoming voice she said, “Titambirezve Mirambwi yangu, matiunzireiko nhasi. (Welcome Murambwi
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(totem), what did you bring for us today?). The man responded with a smile, “Ndakabva kudhamu nezuro kunoredza saka ndati ndiunzire VaChivi vangu svimuto.”(I came from the dam yesterday for fishing so I thought I should bring VaChivi (totem) some relish). After the expected introductions, the interviewee asked to be excused for a while and they went on to have a private conversation. I waited patiently for about 30 minutes and when they came out of the hut the man said good byes but VaChivi stopped him and said, “Mirai Murambwi ndikubatisei tunzungu utu munopa muroora wangu aite dovi ndoziva munorida. (Wait Murambwi (totem) I have these ground nuts for my in-law to make peanut butter for you, I know you love it). After the man’s departure the interviewee went on to chronicle what had transpired, emphasizing the significance of social exchange and reciprocity in the new territory. This therefore points to the importance of bonding social capital among the displaced Tokwe Mukosi villagers.
Voluntary organisations at Chingwizi were also a manifestation of the centrality of bonding social capital. Of importance are the burial societies in the sampled villages. Although they came in an informal way many respondents highlighted their indispensability in times of bereavement.
These burial societies were anchored on relations of trust as they were composed of members with personal ties and relations. While they are informal their structure resembles formal organisations. To this end they had the chairperson deputy chairperson, secretary and the treasurer. During my stay at Chingwizi, I had the opportunity to attend and participate in a burial of a villager near Bongo business center. Based on class the funeral might fall short of an elaborate funeral but the local burial society was at least able to meet some of the basic requirement of a funeral. Consequently, it was able to provide food, transport and the much cherished coffin for the deceased. The ability of this local institution to provide the requisite services for its members has however been compromised by the dire macro environment in Zimbabwe. The inflationary environment means that most of the savings by such informal organisations are eroded leading to incapacitation. Moreover towards the end of 2018 the prices for most of the basic commodities and services more than doubled, thereby putting such organisations in a dire situation.
In as much as the burial societies were popular institutions one cannot gloss over the class
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differences. These class differences had a bearing on the membership and non-membership to these local institutions. As a result of this I observed a complicated class matrix characterized by three distinct classes. The first is comprised of the extremely marginalized residents who cannot afford the subscriptions necessary for membership. Often these residents are enmeshed in the waithood mode highlighted in the preceding sections. The second class is relatively better off and they are managing the required subscriptions to become full members of these burial societies. Lastly there is a category that is considered to be above the other two classes. This class based on the ability to mobilize various forms of capital for survival is also able to mobilize and outsource linking social capital in the form of funeral service providers. I observed that such residents rely mostly on the Nyaradzo funeral service which is popularly known as Sahwira Mukuru (Reliable friend) in Zimbabwe.
As I interacted with the respondents during the aforesaid funeral, I observed that this event reinvigorates a sense of community and social identity among the villages identified in this study. Villagers from the other village thronged the Bongo area to pay condolences to the bereaved family. This gesture and cultural practice is known as kubata maoko at Chingwizi. This way they were able to provide moral support to the members of their community in the time of need. They were also able to provide material support to the bereaved families popularly known as chema. What is apparent is that these processes capacitated the displaced persons to mobilize bridging social capital from the other villages.
Of note is the fact that linking social capital was also important considering that relatives from the Matongo also attend such events, at the same time providing the same support that the locals provided. It was also indicated that in a reciprocal way the Villagers from these villages visit the Matongo during such occasions to provide the same support. Although such events are unfortunate they indirectly help to maintain kinship ties and identity with relatives in the Matongo area for many of the Tokwe Mukosi residents.
The unity and solidarity for the Tokwe Mukosi residents in times of adversities were captured by
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the family representative who gave the closing remarks and thanked people who had contributed towards the success of the burial at the said funeral. He said,
“Chekutanga ndinoda kutenda hama dzedu dzebheria society dzatinadzo nezvadzatiitira pano.
Chechipiri ndodakutenda vakarabwa, vanakomana nevanasikana vedu pane zvavakaita kubvira pakurwara nepakuvigwa kwaamai. Chechitatu ndoda kutendazve vavakidzani vedu nerudo rwavo, kunyanya Mai Rhozi, regai nditi simukai muonekwe navanhu. Ngatimbovaomberera maoko. Regai ndipedzisire nekutenda hama neshamwari vatabata navo vabva kumatongo, Mukosi, Masngula nekuNyuni, rudo rwavonerutsigiro rwavo rurambe rwakadero.
Ngativaomberere maoko zvekare. Ndinokutendai mese zvakare.”
(Firstly, I would like to thank members from the burial society here present for their role.
Secondly, I wish to thank our in-laws, sons and daughters for the work done from illness up until we buried our mother. I also want to thank our neighbors for their love, particularly Amai Rhozi, may you please standup so that they can see you. Let’s clap hands for her. Let me finish by thanking our friends and relatives from Matongo, surrounding villages and Mufula and Masangula. Your love and support should be maintained, let’s also clap hands for them. Once more, I thank you all).
Solidarity and collectivism is the linchpin of the local culture both at Chingwizi and the Matongo area. These very important attributes of African culture were also maintained through the humwe or nhimbe concept among the displaced persons. While the ultimate objective was to instill a sense of solidarity, this element had a bifurcated objective in that it also helped to provide the much needed labour for some members who did not have adequate labour. This then made it a survival strategy in the final analysis. Humwe is a social arrangement where an individual invites close relatives and friends to provide labour as a team to complete a specific task. In a reciprocal way, the hosts brew beer and provide food, all to be consumed in a celebratory way after completing the task at hand. This idea, some of the social institutions discussed above was inherited from the traditional Chivi area.
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The utility of humwe as a survival strategy is however compromised by the politics of space for agricultural purposes. It is therefore mostly utilized by resourceful residents like Mai Lucy who managed to acquire additional space for agriculture. It is also used for the construction of pool and dagga huts and toilets in most of the villages sampled for this study. What is clear is that this local institution is very successful based on the mobilization of bonding social capital. In a dialectical manner, I also observed that it helps to further reinforce the same bonding social capital as it is utilized by people with the same level relationship. Thus unlike linking social capital it comes in a horizontal form.
In this chapter and the preceding chapter, I focused on the intricate relationship between agency, social capital, social networks and local institutions in the desire to survive marginalization for the displacees. With an exception of Samanyanga, VaMajoni, families which managed to get additional space for farming and the small tuck-shop owners, most of the survival strategies are nevertheless survivalist in nature. They were just palliative measures meant to at least meet the life’s basics in the interim. I wish to revisit and problematize the overreliance on agency in the context of Machiavellian states in Africa. Thus, in the following chapter, I will direct the reader towards a rethinking of agency in the context of the Tokwe Mukosi people.
7.6 Displacement and marginalization: A case for the renaissance of the Zunde