Zimbabwe Culture - An anatomy

Covering Zimbabwe religion

Zimbabwe culture is deeply engraved in many of Zimbabwe people even for those who live in the different cities of Zimbabwe.

One of the key aspects of culture in Zimbabwe is respect for elders. Young people are taught at a tender age to respect elders and entertain strangers. This is the kind of Zimbabwe culture practiced and cherished by a significant population of Zimbabwe. It is also cultural for a young man who is marrying to pay lobola (bride price) to the father and family of his bride-to-be. Most marriages in Zimbabwe are customary marriages which are also recognized by law.

It is in Zimbabwe culture to treat visitors well by preparing a special meal especially including Zimbabwe food such as rice and stewed chicken. However in recent years the failing Zimbabwe economy played havoc with this age old custom.

A father under Shona culture in Zimbabwe is the head of the house and directs the affairs of a household. Even though fading due to massive campaigns against HIV AIDS in Zimbabwe some men have two or three wives. Polygamy is common in some rural areas but rare amongst urbanites and the younger generation. The new distasteful version of polygamy amongst a huge percentage of Zimbabwean men is unofficial polygamy known as small house. This is unknown to the "first" wife and can run for years. It's is thought to be the major cause of rapid spread of HIV amongst Zimbabweans.

When a father dies in Zimbabwe culture, his sons have the right to inherit his estate ahead of a female sibling. This is because it is dearly held that sons are the only ones that perpetuate the name of the family. Daughters take on another name (husbands name) after getting married. However, changes are occurring. In the last 15 years this practice was successfully challenged in a test case at the high court in Zimbabwe and a female sibling managed to inherit her fathers estate.

A significant number of Zimbabweans hold traditional medicine and sangomas in high regard. In fact traditional religion is equally popular in Zimbabwe just as much as Christianity. It is true that most people even business people rely on traditional interventions to help their businesses prosper or to succeed in politics.

It is in Zimbabwe tradition to mourn the dead for a few days by gathering at their place of residence night and day before burying them. Cremation is very rare amongst indigenous Zimbabweans. In fact it's a near taboo. In most cases those who die are buried in rural homesteads. However due to frequency of death and the cost of transportation most people in urban areas are opting to bury the dead in city cemeteries.

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