MSUIR Collection:
https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/107
2024-03-29T01:43:21ZReflecting on death through song among the Shona people of Zimbabwe
https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5994
Title: Reflecting on death through song among the Shona people of Zimbabwe
Authors: Richard Muranda
Abstract: Singing is undertaken by individuals and the community in dealing with real life experiences including death. Death is a reality which humans and animals are not immune to. It defines the end of life and brings pain to humanity. However, humans have mechanisms to deal with pain caused by death, and singing is one of them. The article examines how song is used to tackle the inevitable incidence of death. In this study, traditional and contemporary popular songs were purposively sampled to analyse and reflect on the nature of music used to cope with death. The study engaged 20 people, among them musicians and the elderly. Basing on Kubler-Ross’ (1969) five stage DABDA model of dealing with grief, the paper contends that Shona people celebrate life and death through song. Through singing, the Shona expressways of dealing with death. Some Shona beliefs in life after death inform the paper with ways of dealing with pain and how subsequently the Shona people come to accept the reality of death. The bereaved also exhibit some spirited embodiment, and reverence of the departed regardless of their earthly conduct. The study concludes that through song, the Shona people draw solace, hope, and peace of mind with regard to life after death. The frame of mind that accepts the imminence of death is embraced by many as they prepare for death through preparatory moves in taking funeral and general insurance policies. The engagement into singing tends to weaken the sting of death2021-02-15T00:00:00ZRichard MurandaPortrayal of Zimbabwe's Socio-Economic Struggles through Winky D's Zimdancehall Soundscape
https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5927
Title: Portrayal of Zimbabwe's Socio-Economic Struggles through Winky D's Zimdancehall Soundscape
Authors: Wonder Maguraushe; Richard Muranda; Weston Chimbudzi
Abstract: The paper exposes tinges of protest, dissent and impatience that have characterised the growth of Zimdancehall music into a Zimbabwean popular music genre. We purposively sampled 6 songs by Winky D and did a textual analysis to show how they are laced with implicit political protest words voicing the concerns of the subaltern. The analysis reveals nuances of dissent and political imagery embedded in the musician’s lyrics. The paper shows that Zimdancehall music is largely popular in urban and rural centres amongst jobless ghetto youths. In Zimbabwe’s fledgling economy these frustrated youths find themselves idle on the street corners and identify with the protest and rebelliousness embedded in the Zimdancehall music genre. The relationship between Zimdancehall musicians and their youthful audiences has proven to be strong. Youths make up 67% of the total population in Zimbabwe, which is a significant number to influence the popularity of this music genre. From a postcolonial perspective, we argue that to some extent music can measure Zimbabwe’s per capita anxiety and gross domestic happiness. The socio- economic challenges bedevilling the marginalised section of society that are expressed through Winky D’s Zimdancehall music in a country that is politically polarised and economically unstable are just one example.2022-11-01T00:00:00ZWonder MagurausheRichard MurandaWeston ChimbudziAcceptance of contemporary songs in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe liturgy: Ruwa section, Goromonzi
https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5924
Title: Acceptance of contemporary songs in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe liturgy: Ruwa section, Goromonzi
Authors: Richard Muranda; Egnes Banda
Abstract: The study examined the use of songs from outside the worship liturgy of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (MCZ) in the Ruwa Section, Goromonzi Circuit. The circuit had six congregations with mixed views on the above-referred songs. A debate on the choice of worship songs was identified as a problem that needed research. The researchers looked at the spirituality of songs and their bearing on the MCZ music tradition. The researchers adopted a qualitative research paradigm. Data was collected through interviews, focus group discussions, a self-administered questionnaire and participant observation over four months. A sample of 120 informants was drawn from the youth, choristers, the elderly, and church leaders using stratified random and simple random sampling techniques. Findings show that not all songs drew congregants into spirituality. Regardless of spirituality in Christian contemporary worship songs, some MCZ members did not embrace the songs as they were from outside their canon. The research observed that some youths and middle aged MCZ members embraced worship songs that reflected their cultural musical styles. However, some of the songs regardless of the Christian text, lacked spirituality. The researchers recommend that the MCZ consider canonising some of the contemporary worship songs based on spirituality.2023-07-06T00:00:00ZRichard MurandaEgnes BandaPortrayal of Identity and Otherness in Tocky Vibes’ Song ‘Binga’
https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5919
Title: Portrayal of Identity and Otherness in Tocky Vibes’ Song ‘Binga’
Authors: Richard Muranda
Abstract: The study focuses on the song and video Binga by Tocky Vibes (Obey Makamure). It engages textual analysis of the Shona lyrics in the portrayal of the identity of others. The researcher interrogates the expression of beauty in women in relation to dress and nakedness. The researcher critiques the mention of nakedness of women in the song. Tocky recklessly offers the example of Binga, a rural district in Zimbabwe, where according to him the people are naked. However, his real message is that he treasures beauty more than clothing. He also regards his spouse as an African queen whose beauty transcends fashionable clothes. However, the context and setting of the music video for the song does not portray naked women in Binga. The women in the video clothed in modern fashionable apparel are not typical Binga women, vanenge vakashama, naked. The theme of African beauty in the song conflicts with the video. The video suggests that clothing has a bearing on women’s beauty, but the women in short dresses with bare bellies and thighs misrepresent the women in Binga. Tocky’s sense of nakedness has been viewed as obscene and socially unacceptable by the Zimbabwean censors who banned it from the airwaves. The song ‘Binga’ will never die but lives forever in spite of the ban on radio and television broadcasting.2023-09-01T00:00:00ZRichard Muranda