Paying homage to ancestors

I have received a number of enquiries about how “kusumira midzimu” is done. Kusumira the method the living  use to communicate  with the ancestors when informing them about something important or requesting their assistance. Kusuma is very important in the Shona society. If you buy your parents some groceries and leave them on the kitchen table, they do not consider the items theirs until you tell them (suma)  that you have bought them the groceries.

Kusumira takes many forms.  “Kuridza mhere”  where upon the death of a married man or woman, an envoy is sent to formally inform the woman/wife’s family. It does not matter that the person died in the presence of the wife’s relatives, kuridza mhere has to be done. Another form of kusumira is “kurova guva” when the living formally hand over the spirit of the deceased to the ancestors.

In ordinary day to day life, there will be circumstances where one needs kusumira. There are different ways of kusumira depending on the clan or place. The method I will give in this article, is for demonstration only but it can be followed as a good start for someone who has no prior experience.  You need some snuff or bute rematare and before sunrise or after sunset you kneel down in your room while facing the east.

Take the first pinch of snuff and put it on the ground and dedicate it to your paternal grandfather (or great grandfather if the grandfather is alive) and the rest of the paternal ancestors while clapping your hands and addressing them by their totem. Take the second pinch of snuff and dedicate it to all the grandmothers. The grandmothers are many and have different totems therefore you do not mention any totem here.

The last pinch you dedicate it to the maternal ancestors and mention their name and totem. At this point you have three pinches of snuff in front of you. You then start by telling your ancestors your name, your father’s name, your grandfather’s name, your great-grandfather’s name up to the name that you know. Now you are ready to say what you want to say. When you have finished kusumira, you leave the snuff there over night and then sweep it off.

If the circumstances are such that you cannot follow the above procedures, and have kusumira in a hurry, you can quickly put your snuff on the ground and call upon your paternal grandfather (or great-grandfather) because, in the spiritual world, he is the one responsible for you. Other people use mealie meal or even coins in kusumira. Others do not put the snuff on the ground but in a wooden plate. Find out the procedures used by your people.

Mbuya VaChinjanja Muroro is a Development Practitioner with a passion for Cultural Heritage and can be reached at mbuyavachinjanjamuroro@gmail.com