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While no one general myth was found to compare with the migrants’ narratives, the story line of hero myth – including the aspects of journey, fighting ‘monsters’ or meeting with danger, the hero’s behaviour and attitude, were comparable to the life of the migrant. These findings supported the statement by Okpewho (1983: 159) that

“Individual heroes do not exist in Africa since these societies are quite collective, making the society larger than the individual”. Heroes are instead “those who are victims to forces which are connected to the nature of heroism who are heroic, rather than a social situation” (Okpewho, 1983: 159).

The hero myth itself encapsulates values, culture, implicitly suggests the importance of memory or remembering/ immortalising the hero through telling his story. The character of a hero also is implicitly or explicitly emphasised in the migrants’ narratives – bravery, dignity, skill, endurance, strategy and wit, the courage to sacrifice in the pursuit of reward and his task: ultimately to benefit others as well as himself.

The migrants ‘shape’ their narratives of their own lives according to themes found in myth – themes such as the values surrounding community, harmony, acceptance of others. Also, like the hero, they must overcome barriers and problems – they are seeking to reach a goal – that of survival for themselves and their family. Generally, participants state that coming to South Africa was driven by financial constraints and the impossibility of finding employment in Zimbabwe. Thus, their journeys are journeys of necessity – but the journey of discovery or ‘quest’ common to myth is implicit in their description of their difficulties and their strategising to overcome barriers to the fulfilment of their goals. The migrants do not generally see themselves as heroes, however, because heroes in their definition need to achieve and succeed. They are all in limbo (relating to that aspect of liminality or transience which is a feature of the migrant life – discussed elsewhere) – waiting to succeed and go home to attain the status of hero in the eyes of their families and communities.

The migrants exhibit the themes in hero myths in their journeys, in their adherence to cultural values to assist them in their journey – remembering wisdom from elders in stories or myths they were told. These myths help the migrant to adapt to being a migrant by acting as a purveyor of values and rooting them in their culture – needed to counteract the experiences of liminality they go through. They compare their values to what they see around them and strengthen themselves by remembering their families. Remembering is important – it ties them to home (through nostalgic reminiscence) and this helps them both remember their responsibilities and welds

them firmly in a cultural identity. According to McAllister (1980 in McAllister, 1990: 5), ceremonies and collective discussions acted to reinforce cultural identity and responsibility to the collective. The ‘world out there’ was contrasted unfavourably with the community, ensuring the migrant’s loyalty. Migrants were advised to stay away from foreign women. Reminiscence also provides a sense of identity amongst the Zimbabwe migrants – acting to achieve social solidarity and cohesion amongst them. They swop stories in which values are embedded.

Myths explain or give order to the migrant’s lives since the myths are vehicles of values, conveyors of culture and provide strategies to help people ‘battle’ the ‘monsters’ they meet on the journey of life. The value systems drawn in myth and in the attitudes and behaviours of the hero illustrate for the migrant the importance of, for example, communication, harmony and balance. Also, the existence of a ‘monster’ or two on the hero’s journey is expected. The telling of myths and stories have taught the migrant to expect dangers or challenges because the hero faces them. The migrant has had to accept challenges and difficulty and suffering in the circumstances he/she faces. Myths shared with listeners teach them to identify with the hero who accepts that there are problems and dangers in his path – through this identification with the hero; listeners also accept that sometimes, they too will face difficulties. In addition, the ways of dealing with the ‘monster’ or difficulties, include the use of external help in the form of friends/ helpers which may involve advice as well as physical assistance.

Myths also actually differentiate the migrant – the values embedded in myth cause him to uphold his culture, remember the community and keep himself away from strange influences. The values in myth also are in conflict with his environment. Values which, according to Endurance, support “respect” towards others despite their appearance are contradicted by their need to differentiate themselves to survive. Values do help them to adapt – by keeping their distance from others because by taking their culture with them, not forgetting their history, they also engage in comparison between themselves and South Africans. This results in in-group versus out-group affiliations. Yet affiliation is guided by expediency and the need to survive so that migrants are faced by conflict between values and their contexts.

The hero is also assisted by memories of past advice or stories which were told him/her by relatives/ mentors; myth holds memories within it - myths or stories contain valuable advice given to the hero and the way in which the stories/ myths are communicated will contain the ‘spirit’ of the speaker. Therefore, myths hold memories of the speaker/ interpreter as well as memories of the actual hero and those who advise him and the values he lives out. The hero has also been given gifts or ‘charms’ to take on the journey – given by family members or spiritual benefactors. These gifts may contain magical characteristics. Thus, myths function in several ways, reminding the migrant of his/her culture – the values and the ways in which his/her community interact, the practices, the kinds of troubles faced by people back home. The myth can also act as a metaphor in the migrants’ life, for example, gifts or charms in the myth (Tutuola, 1952: 27) may take the actual form of tangible or intangible tokens of appreciation from others which will strengthen the migrant’s ability to adapt and form order in his life as a migrant. The tokens may include valuable advice, memories of community and stories shared by community members, physical objects – photographs of family members which help Friend when he is lonely.

Although participants do mention that their return is hailed by the family as an opportunity to gather and in this way reinforce ties, circumstances are changing this practice. Migrants are returning less wealthy than expected, unable to comply with expectations by engaging in reciprocal giving. Their circumstances provide a rupture in the values promoted in myths. In this sense, they experience a conflict between the values inherent in household honour which encourages reciprocity and collective relationships as a means of establishing the dignity and interdependence of a community. In the face of the Zimbabwean economic, social and political crisis, however, survival gains the upper hand and migrants have to sacrifice community over family. They have to save money for the complex planning processes that migrants engage in – in their multiple existences. Thus like Praise, they may even “hide” from relatives to avoid shame related to their inability to give.

The relationships between migrants also emphasise values inherent in myth – the adherence to a collective culture, - yet, here too, circumstances conflict with values. Migrants are ‘brothers’ and yet also rivals/ competitors. They adhere to in-group/ out-

group ‘rules’ of the beach front management – those who are informal must go and trade elsewhere. Thus, circumstances act upon their ‘traditional’ values. They manage this conflict in different ways, one of which being that they try not to sell the same stock. The migrants are representatives of their culture, their community and their family, various collective identities expressing the concept of household honour (Ilife, 2005: 144 and see Chapter 3 and p 72). The findings indicate that expediency mediates upon culture and identity and this is indicative of their need and will to survive.

Household honour also extends to their view of themselves as achievers as migrants. Their comments illustrate the pressure on the migrants to “stand up as … m(e)n”. This involves protecting the livelihood of the family by continuing to provide for its needs. This responsibility is that of the custodian and manager of the home - traditionally the province of men in the maintenance of household honour according to Ilife (2005: 144 and see Chapter 3 and p 72). Honour defined by Stewart (1994 in Ilife, 2005: 4) is “a right to respect” and is shared collectively, permeating relationships between collectives as families and as communities.

5.12 Conclusion

The notions of ‘boundary’ have undergone modifications in keeping with the rapid increases in migrations and social change which have constructed and defined our post-modernist world. Identities are no longer ‘imaginary geographies’ (Said, 1995 in Masade, 2007: 95) situated within “specific times and places”. Migrants must “juggle(…) … identities” “sens(ing) the temperature and adapt(ing) to it and mov(ing) on with (their) li(ves)” (Interviewee; Kolade in Masade, 2007: 93). The participants in this study experience the transition of the hero on a journey, leaving behind kin, land and ‘place’ and must forge a path without these vital rights. This journey is a sacrifice of survival and of loss. They maintain their identity, in the face of a degree of liminality - through remembering their culture, myths, and values. Myths are the repositories of culture and values - thus adaptive and functional in the migrant context. Because myth is remembered and preserved in the mind of the migrant and shared between migrants and others, the migrant can retain a semblance of un-liminality within the generally liminal context. Thus, myth acts adaptively -

bringing order into their lives as they hold on to their culture and their values. Adaptive strategies include the use of networking amongst migrants, the maintenance of family ties by engaging in circular migration and the significance of memory as the ‘receptacle’ of culture which both differentiates the migrants and sustains them in their multiple existence. Their resilience and the importance of memory and identity continue to be explored in the next chapter as the significance of the hero as a Zimbabwean national symbol and its relationship to participants’ stories is reflected upon.