Recognition of guardians-in-law

Mombe ye chiredzwa/isondlo is a cow that is paid to a person who has looked after someone else’s child, from birth or from the time they are so young that they need care. Payment of chiredzwa/isondlo is one of those rituals that are often ignored despite the consequences.

If it remains unpaid, the affected child can encounter problems in life related to poverty,  marriage, employment, health or general  bad luck. Chiredzwa/isondlo is neither “a token of appreciation” nor “compensation” for child custody and rearing. A token of appreciation would not be defined and restricted. Compensation, on the other hand does not make economic sense because a cow would cost US$400 at today’s prices which would not be enough to compensate child maintenance costs.

Chiredzwa/isondlo is an offering to the ancestors of the person who took care of the child. A girl-child has a better chance of having chiredzwa/isondlo paid for them because when she gets married, chiredzwa/isondlo becomes due. There is  a misconception that the new son-in-law is responsible for paying chiredzwa/isondlo as part of bride price.

Chiredzwa/isondlo has nothing to do with marriage. Her father or paternal relatives are not permitted to enjoy receiving bride-price when they did not do their duty. At this point they can now afford to pay the cow from the son-in-law’s cattle.

Boy children are not as fortunate and should pay chiredzwa when they start earning a living. There is a lot of confusion about the circumstances when chiredzwa/isondlo must be paid. The following are the circumstances under which the cow is paid.

Child born in wedlock
It is common practice that one of the children is looked after by the maternal grandmother for no special reason other than “kuno chengeta mombe dzababa vake” (looking after the cattle that were paid by his father). It also happens when the mother falls pregnant while breastfeeding, kuyamwira.

Child born out of wedlock
It does not matter if there was a Court order for maintenance of the child, as long as child was looked after by his/her mother or grandmother without the father, chiredzwa becomes due.

Child brought up by a stepmother or stepfather or Child brought up by a stranger
Grandmothers have a habit of refusing to receive chiredzwa/isondlo. They will say they do not want to be paid because they love their grandchild and it was the least they could do and so on. They can also suggest the payment be made in cash — ‘So that I can enjoy it before I die’. My advice is that you should ignore them and go ahead and give them their chiredzwa/isondlo.

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