Base de cotización por contingencias profesionales y conceptos de recaudación conjunta

The custom of kupindira shows the power of the (extended) family over the individual to induce conformity to social norms, particularly heterosexual norms. The custom of kupindira or kusika rudzi (raising seed on behalf of another) allowed an impotent husband to make an arrangement with a trusted relation to impregnate his wife for him. Thus a homosexual man could lead a culturally appropriate life with a wife and children.

The custom of legitimately kidnapping girls for marriage, “musengabere”, is a case in point. Recalcitrant girls could be subjected to forced and violent sexual intercourse, which was condoned by the family and community.161 It was the responsibility of the family to watch young men and women closely, and if they suspected anomalies in conforming to the heterosexual norm, measures such as kupindira or musengabere were taken. The fact that society had in place such marriage arrangements suggests that there were individuals who

were not disposed to heterosexual relationships, therefore, a homosexual relationship could have been an alternative for them, but society suppressed, and never allowed this to happen.

3.2.5 Language

The problem of discussing homosexuality is compounded by the word homosexuality itself. Many Shona people deny the phenomenon of homosexuality to be indigenous on the basis that the word currently used to denote homosexuality in Shona (ngochani) seems to have a foreign origin. According to Marc Epprecht, documentary evidence for this word can be established as early as 1907.162 Epprecht also cites a connection to the Taberer Report of 1907 in South Africa, which posits that the word izinkotshane came from Shangaan. He argues that if the word ngochani derives from Ndebele or Ndau, then it could date back to the 1840s, when these languages were introduced into what is now Zimbabwe.163 It is because of this word‟s foreign identity that many Shona reject the phenomenon as indigenous. However it can also be argued that in such a context where the culture tries by all means to conceal whatever they consider as against their cultural practice, other words could have been used which have no direct or obvious implications.

Thus, Epprecht argues that it is a possibility that of same-sex sexual attraction was covered up by using socially respectable words such as sahwira (an intimate friend), tsvimborume or tsikombi to refer to unmarried men and women respectively. Such words have been co-opted by the gay and lesbian community in Zimbabwe today. Given the taboos placed on sexuality by traditional religion and culture, the above information shows that it is inevitable that homosexuality became hidden behind respectable language.

162 _{M. Epprecht, „Good God Almighty, What is this!: Homosexual Crime in Early Colonial Zimbabwe‟, in S.O.}

Murray and W. Roscoe, Boys Wives and Female Husbands: Studies In African Homosexualities (New York: Palgrave, 1998), 201.

However, Chigweshe also notes that a Shona religious perspective identified men who would not marry as zvitsinha, which means, people with bad luck caused by alien spirits. Chigweshe further notes that such a spirit could be exorcised through the intermediary role of a traditional healer. The fact here is that the society had people who would rather not be married, the society explained it in the only terms that were available to them, but the explanations do not rule out the fact that that which the society could not explain could have been homosexuality. People had no knowledge of homosexual orientation as it is known today, especially in the West, where the awareness seems to be readily available.

3.2.6 Patriarchy

A prominent feature in traditional Shona culture was the distinguished role that men played in society. They were the leaders and decision-makers whilst women and children were viewed as minors. Thus the Shona can be argued to be a very patriarchal society where women are perpetual legal minors always subject to the guardianship of their husbands, fathers, uncles or brothers.

Notably, women and children‟s issues were not immediately recognised and articulated in society. As a result, occurrences such as same sex relations among women could go without being noticed by the males. Women‟s same sex relationships were inconspicuous to men because the former were considered to be sexually inferior. Their sexuality was a matter of relative insignificance to men, since their main role was to produce children and their need for sexual pleasure and gratification was evidently neglected in a state of polygamy. Apparently the men were at an advantage owing to the large number of offspring that

necessarily supported the family‟s needs in the subsistence economy. Also, the sexual appetite was taken care of through the cooperative work of his various wives.

However, the consequence of polygamy upon the sexuality of the groups of wives could be very bad. The women would undergo stress owing to unfulfilled sexual needs because the husband has to effect the roll call to each of his wives. Thus a situation can be conceived when out of sexual frustration the wives could turn to one another as they sought to support one another emotionally as well as physically. The emotional aspect of the relationship means that even within a heterosexual marriage union, a woman could still have affection from someone of the same sex. However because of the patriarchal system, men would not have paid attention. As a result, one can argue that the society propagated and nurtured homosexual relationships.

It can also be argued that among males at their padare, it seems the occurrence of homosexual practice seemed to have been recognised. The padare was a men‟s meeting point where issues were discussed, and whatever the deliberations of padare they were never to be discussed elsewhere; they were kept as a secret. Homosexual relationships between men however, were viewed with a stigma because it challenged the ideology of male supremacy within the patriarchal setting. What seems to be the assumption from an African perspective here is that in a gay relationship it is assumed that that at some point a male partner takes upon himself the role of a female, thereby undermining the superiority of men in a traditional setting. It was humiliating for a man to be seen to assume the position of a woman because of women‟s inferior position in society.

In retrospect, it can be asserted that homosexuality existed among the Shona. An examination of the facts has shown that sex taboos, marriage, language and patriarchy camouflaged phenomenal homosexual practices both directly as well as indirectly. The question that one might want to ask at this point is: How did the Shona almost successfully manage to keep the practice of homosexuality swept under the carpet for so long? The secret seems to lie in the fundamental nature of their traditional families as will be explored in detail in the next section of this chapter.

3.3 ESSENCE OF SHONA TRADITIONAL FAMILY: A PRELIMINARY GLIMPSE