Dimensions of totemic history and its related accessories among the Gumbo-Madyirapazhe clan of Gutu, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Ties of kinship traced through blood (consanguinity) are of fundamental importance to individuals because they enshrine historical content which cannot be ignored. The social recognition of these linkages through totems provides the individual with a blue print of interaction which forms a vital bas is for cooperation. This article challenges the so-called irrationality of totemism, taking an uncelebrated dimension of how the practice is crucial for tracing the history of a people and the cementing of domestic social relations. The study explores and traces the history behind toponyms with the intention of showing that totems are a rich heritage as a source of history and social registers through which people can identify themselves. The study has been motivated by the Afrocentricity theory which values preservation of oral history as the natural way of storing information and historical realities in many African societies.