Gone are the good old days when young boys assiduously respected their elders. You see, when we were young we grew up under strict supervision while being taught how to behave, kuva netsika, kuva nehunhu. Young boys were not allowed to put hands in their pockets in the presence of elders. Talking to elders they had to take off their hats or any headgear. Greeting elders they had to do it sitting on the ground while clapping their hands. Pakubvunza mufaro each one had to do it addressing all the elders present individually. There were not many chairs then and the few that were there were reserved for elders even if there were other objects used for sitting like stones and logs.

If at all a boy was sitting on a chair and an elder comes, he had to quickly get off the chair and give it to the elder and stand some distance away so that they may not see nhongonya dzavakuru (that top part of the skull where the fontanelle was). The same happened in a bus where young persons were supposed to surrender their seats to elders as a sign of respect. Yes, even while walking on a narrow path, young people had to step aside and give way to elders. There were not many roads then. As a boy you had to know your place and stay there while respecting your elders as much as possible.

Then you became mwana ane tsika anoremekedza vakuru, a young person with good manners who respects elders. This was extended even to eating. These days each person eats from his or her own plate. Back then people would sit in a circle to eat from two plates, a large one for sadza and a smaller one (ndirwana) for usavi or relish. The oldest person would be the first one to eat going down according to age and it was the same when it came to picking meat pieces from the ndirwana. This was a bit unfair sometimes as elders tended to pick the biggest piece of meat leaving the youngest to pick the smallest. Now we have enough plates to go around of co urse.

It is most unfortunate that these days young Chibhoraniland boys are losing their respect for elders. In the bus young boys sit while elders are standing. Greeting elders, if done at all, is a casual exercise where the elder is called Mudhara. Not that he may not be one, but the title is given with lack of respect. Boys are talking to elders with hands in their pockets and hats on their heads in a way that is not respectful. We are losing our traditional culture. We need to see parents, traditional leaders, teachers and religious leaders showing our young boys the way to behave so that they can in turn teach their own sons when they grow up to be elders. This way all Chibhorani people can all be called vanhu vane hunhu. Kutaura kwaSekuru Taurai.https://masvingomirror.com