The discussion in this conventional paper is based on two assumptions. The first presumption states that, the Shona people like any other population group of Bantu Nguni origin, share a common social idea of existence called Hunhu in Shona and ubuntu in Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa and Swati (Ramose, 99; Mapara, 2012). Secondly, the Shona people like any other human society, had its own focused wide system of teaching its small members, well before the inception of colonialism (Agbemabiese, 2010).
Therefore , this kind of writer opines that the education of the Shona people, just like any other sphere of their life(politics, law, religion, medicine) was targeted due to the fact that it absolutely was guided by their philosophy of Hunhuism/Ubuntuism.
The objective of this daily news, therefore , is to sustain the argument by using illustrating how the pre-colonial education of the Shona people flowed naturally off their philosophy of hunhuism This writer observes that hunhu/ubuntu as a great indigenous African philosophy generally and specifically from the Shona perspective can be well articulated in the works of many thinkers.
The beliefs is very well covered specially in Samkange and Samkange (1980), Pearce (1990), Makuvaza (1996 and 2008) and just lately Mangena (2012) just to refer to, but some prominent ones. The Shona people are referred to by Bourdillon(1991) and Gwavaranda and Masaka(2008) as the biggest ethnic group in Mvuma, zimbabwe, which is consisting of the following dialectical groups; Karanga, Ndau, Manyika, Zezuru, Korekore and Kalanga. An understanding with the concept of hunhu can be accomplished through any kind of analysis of definitions drawn from a number of thinkers and freelance writers.
Broodryk (2002: 56) provides a descriptive definition of ubuntu as an ancient Photography equipment worldview based on the primary beliefs of extreme humanness, nurturing, sharing, admiration, compassion, and associated beliefs, ensuring a happy and qualitative human community life in the spirit of family. Significant points popping out from Broodryk’s definition are the aspects of humanness, collective values and ordinaire personality. Hummaness in simple terms means the quality of becoming human.
Samkange and Samkange (1980) offered in Pearce (1990) increase on the idea of humanness simply by saying munhu according to the Shona people, can be described as person possessing hunhu or in other words that, that person has morality worthy man qualities. The reason above requires that, there are particular qualities/attributes which have been expected by the Shona community of one who also aspires to qualify as a person (munhu). A number of students of the idea of ubuntu use a variety of terms just like virtues, traits, principles, features and characteristics to describe the behaviour commensurate with the hunhu way of life.
In addition to people identified by Broodryk(2002), the qualities of hunhu contain social responsibility, trustworthiness, appreciate, justice, peace, self reliance, hard work, ethics and others (Chingombe, 2013; Nziramasanga, 1999). The virtues, attributes or features highlighted over show the Shona people, like any other African culture, value connectedness a person to different persons and discourage individualism in contradistinction to the , the burkha (Msengana, 2006; ). The essence of hunhu points to collective values. It is the society which confers the position of personhood to a suitable individual (Makuvaza, 1996).
An individual’s hunhu rewards both the community and the person. Without the community one will not become a person or munhu. This explanation is best captured in the Xhosa proverb, umntu ngumntu ngabantu which means “I am since we are as we are i really am. This kind of in other words means one is a person through other people (Mbigi, 72 cited in Msengana, 06\: 98; Mbiti, 1969 reported in Mangova and Chingombe, 2013). The spirit of togetherness for that reason becomes the hallmark in the binding viewpoint of the Shona people.
It includes already been pointed out in this newspaper that the philosophy of hunhu among the Shona permeates every factor of their existence (Ramose, 1999). What is at this point important to do is to examine how the philosophy of hunhu defined, educated and molded the traditional education of the Shona. Basing on the philosophy of hunhu because summarized over, this article writer therefore states that the aim of traditional education was to assist young members of contemporary society to attain personhood or to acquire hunhu. Education became the means by which in turn children would be expected to get personhood determined by the Shona society.
It is necessary to note that according to most African ethnicities, the concept of “person is a thing that is obtained through a method that starts in conception through birth up to fruitful matrimony (Mbiti, 69; Ramose 1999). Simply put it implies that one can be not born human, but instead as a great organism or perhaps an imperfect human individual. For this affected person (child) to turn into a whole person as described above, the had “to go through different community prescribed stages and also to fully be involved in certain events and rituals (Ramose 1999: 81).
The prescribed different stages, etiqueta and rituals therefore became the various “units of the Shona traditional subjects aimed at producing a whole person at a marked level. Pearce (1990) who especially studied the Shona persons argues that personhood or perhaps true humanness per se, is not expected of small children, who are certainly not yet adults. In this impression, it means it could be unfair to expect a newly born kid who has certainly not gone through the holistic program to be a munhu (truly and fully man moral person). So relating to Pearce’s study a young child is supposed to show tsika (decorum) when developing until puberty.
However , Mbiti (1969) disputes puberty as being the graduation level into personhood, rather this individual postpones the graduation to the position when a single bears the first child after relationship. However , a young child who was prone to become an excellent person (with humanness) was supposed to have the knowledge of custom made (tsika) where hunhu will be realized later on at an ideal stage. To this effect Mhaka-Mutepfa and Seabi (2011) notice that the traditional Shona society cultivates good persona (tsika) because the foundation.
This kind of writer as a result observes that, it was the philosophy of hunhu which laid the building blocks upon which the Shona classic education relaxed on. The philosophy of hunhu played out an a key component role in guiding the behaviour of the people who were in the process of becoming folks. As a result hunhu became the benchmark where the graduands of the healthy traditional education were evaluated against (Makuvaza 1996; Nziramasanga, 1999). Classic education for that reason played a task of being the means by that the desirable end of hunhu was gained.
Pearce (1990: 3) appropriately observes that, “Hunhu requires that ¦one¦has learned tsika¦and can echo upon, and take responsibility for one’s patterns. This element of critical self-reflection in terms of patterns has been found to be short of the tertiary education graduands in post-colonial Zimbabwe. As a result Makuvaza (1996 and 2008); Chigwedere (1999) and Nziramasanga (1999) among others bemoan the moral decadence (lack of hunhu) that may be running through all the strata of the Zimbabwean society in particular. Traditional education among the Shona is in this kind of last portion going to end up being analysed inside the context of 5 foundations or principles.
These principles because observed by Ocitti (1971) cited in Adeyemi and Adeyinka (2002) are communalism, preparationism, functionalism, perennialism and holisticism. However , after a close study, this writer observes that all the five guidelines are interwoven and not contradictory. This copy writer suggests that the other several principles (holisticism, preparationism, functionalism and perennialism) stem in the principle of communalism (the hallmark of hunhu). Because said before, the group success was of more importance than mere specific success.
Consequently , the implication is that, traditional Shona education was community orientated or was intended for fostering a feeling of communal identity (Msengana, 2006). It is important to notice that, even though in the traditional Shona world, children were under strict control of all their parents that they belonged to the full community. Which means to say every single member of the community (who got successfully bought personhood/ane hunhu) had a duty to play in the upbringing or education in the child. Indeed it took the complete village to boost a child (Adeyemi and Adeyinka, 2003).
The strength of the basic principle of communalism derives through the fact that there have been less, if perhaps any loopholes that would let a child to misbehave, without being noticed. Since it was the community which defined a person as a person, it means every adult eye were for the growing child. If virtually any well which means adult, observes a child acting up he had the mandate to not only to accurate the child, but for discipline him/her accordingly. In such a case, the community alone provided a rigorous process of examination which was not removed from the learners’ experiences.
Msengana (2006) observes that the capturing group solidarity that prevailed in the pre-colonial Shona contemporary society enabled a reliable situation in which the cherished beliefs of that world thrived the natural way. In contradistinction to the traditional society, it could be observed which the binding group solidarity with the traditional Shona society has ceased to be the case in the modern societies. Because of this, pupils in the modern Shona society, because they go to various schools, are supposed to be “book-taught the ideals of their neighborhoods which they usually do not live.
Therefore, the production of “educated but is not educated professionals¦devoid of hunhu/ubuntu (Makuvaza, 1996: 259). Yet , it is important to note that communalism did not negate individuality. Person skills and talents had been recognized. For example , Oruka (1990) cited in Broodryk (2002) identifies arsenic intoxication sages (wise people) in traditional communities who were respected by their societies as being one of a kind individuals. Nevertheless , their perception was not used for selfish factors but for the betterment with their communities. About the same note
Mandova and Chingombe (2013) argue that communalism; also in the olden days identified that each specific had her or his private your life that was supposed to be led alongside the city life. The implication is the fact, the individual was supposed to strike a balance between being an individual in his or her own respect and as being a member of a united group. The controlling of these two roles for the properly well-informed person in line with the philosophy of hunhu was not a challenge at all. The second rule of holisticism is derived from wholeness as the mark from the African idea of a person (munhu).
An entire person can be one who is usually well round (complete) and for that reason respectable in his/her community (Broodryk, 2002). Such a person is functionally sufficient in his or her community. Therefore , consequently the traditional Shona education was centred on producing this kind of a person who was complete in each and every respect. It focused on producing the “physical, cognitive, cultural, emotional, mental, moral, psychic and ability potentials and capacities in the individual’s Shona cultural circumstance (Mhaka-Mutepfa and Seabi, 2011: 259). It is also important to recognize that the traditional Shona curriculum was rich and effective although not clumsy.
The package of hunhu was delivered to the learners through oral narratives, which and a lot more included folk traditions, riddles, stories, dramas, misconceptions, music and proverbs. Msengana (2006) observes storytelling of fables was your first level of character building and was normally entrusted to grandmothers. The prominent position of storytelling, among other things, was of growing tsika upon which hunhu could later develop (Pearce, 1990). According to the Shona people, the idea of a rounded person (munhu chaiye akazara), was as well observed in a person’s ability to preserve his or her chastity.
Nukunya (1969) cited in Agbemabiese (2010) asserts that the ability, constituted one of the most major criterion that is certainly representative of hunhu (personhood). Because of this, appropriate seniors persons inside the Shona extended family educated their youth adults sex education through amongst other ways, strict taboos. Such taboos were meant to; prevent the youth adults in indulging in sexual actions at an improper age, master physiology of sexual associations and other guidelines of carry out in wedded life (Sifuna, 08; Agbemabiese, 2010).
A person, for example , who was promiscuous, was considered to be the most wanting in as far as hunhu was concerned (Agbemabiese, 2010). It is frustrating to note that, some experts, such as instructors who are ideally the rightful people to teach sex education in modern day colleges are also doing promiscuity (Makuvaza, 1996). The implication therefore , is that these kinds of teachers received an unfinished education which was rooted on the philosophy of hunhu. The aspect of holisticism gives credit to the classic Shona education over the current education which seems to be inundated but clear.
This is and so because it is not really premised for the philosophy of hunhu. On the contrary, Mhaka-Mutepfa and Seabi (2011) agree with Agbemabiese (2010) that moral uprightness, a highly charged component of hunhu was the central aim of traditional Shona education. However , the current day father and mother also lament character decadence which has become rife between modern day school children. They also desired their children being, “upright, genuine, sociable, courageous, humble, considerate, persevering, genuine and well-behaved at all the times (Nziramasanga, 1999).
Sifuna (2008) also discovered the ideology of preparationism in the holistic traditional education in which children were willing to become beneficial members with the household or community. These kinds of type of education was male or female based with boys and girls getting the kind of education that enabled them to match respective predicted roles in accordance with the idea of hunhu. Hence, ladies were socialized to learn mainly the functions of motherhood, whilst alternatively boys were socialized to become hunters, herders, blacksmiths etc.
However , on this note classic Shona education has been criticized of being gender stereotyped. But , this feature of being male or female specific then was in series with the viewpoint of hunhu, since it had not been expected to find a real guy (ane hunhu) to spend the whole day loitering in the kitchen, hence the name chinzvengamutsvairo. The term was given to a man who also spends the majority of his amount of time in the Shona main shelter mainly because of greed and laziness thereby shunning “manly duties that have been normally done outside the homestead.
According to the classic Shona contemporary society, an ideal person was person who was able to play a noteworthy part in the or her community. As a result traditional education was a participatory kind in which the learner was productive as he or the girl learned (Adeyemi and Adeyinka, 2003). This method enabled smooth integration with the becoming person into the community. This basic principle of functionalism enabled the system to identify those who were lazy earlier, in a way that they were presented well timed appropriate treatment. This principle therefore , intended to produce a person who had the hunhu features of industrious and personal reliance (Nziramasanga, 1999).
The fifth and last basic principle of traditional education was perennialism. In the traditional Shona society education was used as a method of conserving and preserving its cultural heritage such as philosophy of hunhu (Adeyime and Adeyinka, 2003). To the effect, classic teachers disappointed those were to become individuals from tinkering with the unidentified. Every part of the community at one level was likely to go through selected initiation rites as to make sure one would not skip significant aspects of the curriculum which in turn would make him or her culturally inadequate.
Initiation rituals were for that reason compulsory to everyone (Agbemabiese, 2010). This kind of principle features however , recently been criticized intended for working against curriculum revival. But the same, this article writer feels program renewal should really be a method with checks and balances, if it is to benefit all those whom it really is meant for otherwise it may function against its goal. For instance , the creation of colonialism ended in the desertion of a few traditional teaching methods and content that have been effective inculcating good ethical behavior inside the youths.
Consequently , as a result, the merchandise of the modern-day western program is a shameful professional that lacks hunhu as they received a great inadequate broadly uprooted education during his adolescence (Chigwedere, 1999; Makuvaza, 2008). This paper provides analyzed the philosophy of hunhu as articulated by Shona people of Zimbabwe. The writer further illustrated how the fundamental tenets or characteristics of the philosophy of hunhu such as communalism, holisticism and functionalism formed the inspiration upon which the rich Shona traditional education was moored on.
It also emerged that the modern day education in Zimbabwe is weak because there seems to be no appear homegrown beliefs upon which it is rested upon. Therefore , this kind of writer proves that, it truly is even feasible today to revisit common traditions to dig intended for the philosophy of hunhu and try out it in the modern education system in Mvuma, zimbabwe, because for virtually any education system to be relevant it needs the correct philosophy to steer it.
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