Zvakaipei Kutoodza Tsika Dzevamwe/Is It Necessarily Bad To Copy Foreign Customs?

“Kana tsika nemagariro evanhu vakasiyana siyana dzikaunganidzwa panzvimbo imwe chete, mumwe nemumwe anotora tsika nemagariro enyika yake, sezvo vanhu vese vachifunga kuti dzavo tsika dzakanaka kukunda dzevamwe vese” – VaHerodotus, Nhoroondo Dzepasi Chigare.

Uyo mubvunzo wandabvunza pamusoro apo uyo wakauya mupfungwa dzangu mwedzi wapfuura, sezvo ndakwanisa kufunga nezvawo kwemwedzi wese, mhinduro ndave nayo. Vazhinji vanoteedzera zvandinonyora paFacebook pangu vanoziva kuti ndiri pakati pekunyora bhuku rangu pamusoro petsika nemagariro evanhu vemuZimbabwe. Mubhuku iri ndirikuda kunyatsocherechedza kuti ndione kuti tichiri kuchengetedza tsika dzedu here, uye takasiyana papi mumagariro edu nevanhu vedzimwe nyika. Bhuku rangu parinopera, richakwanisa kuudza avo vachateera kumashure kwedu kuti vanhu veZimbabwe vanobvepi, vanoendepi, uyezve ndevapi vanokodzera kunzi vana veZimbabwe. Pamusoro peizvozvi, richadzidzisa vanhu kuti ndedzipi tsika dzakakodzera kuchengetedzwa uye ndedzipi dzakakodzera kuraswa sezvo dzinenge dzisisafambirane nenguva.

Nekuti handisi kuda kurembesa munamato sadza richiripora pano apa, ndichangoti ga ga pakudaira mubvunzo wandabvunza pamusoro apo uyo. Bhuku rangu rinoshoropodza mauyiro akaita vachena munyika yeZimbabwe, asi parinosiyana nevatongi vedzimwe nyika vanoshoropodza kuuya kwevachena zuva nezuva asi ivo vachiteedzera tsika dzevachena, pamwe chete ipapo vachinyara tsika dzedu dzechitema ndepekuti, rinoti; hazvisi zvese zvakaunzwa nevachena zvakashata. Chakashata chete mauyiro avo. Aya haasi mashoko angu aya, mashoko avaCesaire pavainyora Nhoroondo Yavo Yemauyiro eVachena kuAfrica. VaCesaire vanoti ivo vanhu vega vega vanoda kusangana nevamwe kuti vadzidzisane zvinhu zvakasiyana siyana zvinenge zviri zvitsva kwavari. Ivo vachena vacho vakakwanisa kubudirira nekuti vaifamba munyika dziripedyo navo vachiteedzera zvakanaka zvavainge vasina munyika dzavo. Dai vakauya pahushamwari kuAfrica, ropa rakawanda ringadai risina kumbo deuka.

Kuti ndinyatsopindura mubvunzo wangu regai ndikupei mufananidzo uyu: handizive kana makaverenga here bhuku rinonzi Mapatya. Mapatya ibhuku rinoti pasi chigare kwaiti kukazvarwa mapatya, vanhu vaiti zvinoshura munhu kuzvarwa vana vaviri, saka mwana mumwe chete aitourayiwa kosara mumwe chete chete. Regai ndibva ndangokuudzai kuti iyi ingori ngano, hazvireve kuti ndozvaiitika zvechokwadi, asi chidzidzo chatinogona kuwana ipapo chakakosha zvakadaro. Ngatitii vamwe vanhu vedunhu rakavakidzana neredu vobva vangokwanisawo kuziva kuti chii chaicho chinokonzera kuti mapatya azvarwe, vosiya tsika iya yekuuraya mumwe chete wemapatya – poshaya shura rinoitika kwavari - vakatishanyira vakatitsanangurira magariro avavakuita kubva pavakaziva izvi, isu tinogona kuteedzera tsika yavo yavave kuita zvisinga kanganise kana chinhu chimwe chete pamagariro edu. Zvishoma izvozvo zvandataura izvi zvinofanirwa kutiudza kuti hazvina kuipa kuteedzeera tsika nemagariro evamwe akanaka kana pasina zvakaipa zvinobva zvawira vanhu vemunyika medu patinoteedzeera zvekunze izvi. Zvinhu zvatinenge tateedzera kubva kunze zvinofanirwa kuti zvingoitwa kuti zvive zvinoenderana nezvimwe zvakanaka zvinenge zviri mutsika nemagariro edu nekare.

Is It Necessarily Bad To Copy Foreign Customs?

“For if one should propose to all men a choice, bidding them select the best customs from all the customs that there are, each race of men, after examining them all, would select those of his own people; thus all think that their own customs are by far the best”- Herodotus, The Histories.

The above question occurred to me about a month ago, as I have had a full month to think it over, I also now have an answer for that question. As many who have seen my Facebook posts are well aware, I am in the middle of writing my own book. My own book interrogates what it means to be Zimbabwean, interrogates our national identity and how we are distinctly different from people from other countries. On completion, my book will inform posterity on our origins, our future and on who has the right to claim to be Zimbabwean. Moreover, my book will locate Zimbabwe’s place in the international system in such a manner that Zimbabweans will know where exactly to draw their red lines against encroachment by the forces of globalisation (in all spheres).

For brevity’s sake I will just answer the question I asked above without taking the circuitous route. Although, in essence, my book is a nationalist’s playbook, it differs from politicians’ rhetoric in that it is sober in its assessment of the impossibility of maintaining pure identities, customs and cultures. The mixing of cultures was inevitable, what was wrong about it was how the white cultures imposed themselves in Africa. These are not my own words but those of Cesaire when he wrote his A Discourse on Colonialism. In that discourse, Cesaire maintains that contact between civilisations is the oxygen that keeps civilisations alive, he only says that Colonialism was not the best way of making contact. He also points out that Europe's polities developed by learning from others who were in close proximity. The Renaissance and Enlightenment being typical examples. A different kind of contact between Europe and Africa would have spared so much bloodshed.

To answer my above posed question with imagery, let me give you this example; I don’t know if you read the Shona book, Twins. In this book, the birth of twins was thought of a something foreboding doom, and that doom could only be averted if one of the twins was killed soon after birth. I do not need to tell you that Twins is a work of fiction and that this did not necessarily happen in a particular epoch, still an important lesson can be drawn. Suppose a neighbouring people finds out, by trial and error, that no doom will descend on the people because both twins were allowed to live, and suppose these people visit us and tell us this, we can easily adopt their way of doing things without any cost to our polity. This is my whole point, that we can adopt other people’s customs as long as they do not ruin our people. What we will adopt from foreigners will then just be streamlined and adapted to go along with the great customs we already have.

I still have not settled on a book title.