Posted August 2000

Mazoredze is a village located in the district of Chivi, which together with six other districts, make up the province of Masvingo. Geographically, the district lies in the western part of the province. In terms of size, the district is 3 195 square kilometres in size and comprises 5.5% of the total area of the province. The district has an estimated population of 127 800 and a population density 40 persons per square kilometres. Land, over which the bloody and traumatic¹⁵ war of independence was fought, and which is so important for agricultural development, is therefore in short supply, and is an important cause of poverty in the district as in many parts of the country.¹⁶ Arable land is scarce in part because white commercial farmers and the new black elite retain most of it.

Like many in the district, the village has an average annual rainfall of 700 mm. Floods sometimes take place and 1999 saw many crops swept away by rains. The rainy season varies, but usually begins in mid-November and ends at the beginning of April. Droughts are common, and in the past 20 years, there have been 4 severe droughts which left cattle and in some cases people, dead. Temperatures are high and reach 45 degrees Celsius during summer wet season. Winter temperatures are not as severe and average 20 degrees, although nowadays temperatures can fall below 3 Celsius degrees. These extremes have left some people dumb founded and many say they no longer can understand their climate, weather pattern and environment anymore. The district lies between 300-500m above sea level.

In terms of population, the village comprises 160 people organized in 28 households. In Zimbabwe, average household size is 5 persons.¹⁷ As in many parts of rural and resource-stressed Africa¹⁸, there is out-migration from the village: A third of the households in the village have more than 1 member working in town. It is not clear at this stage whether this migration is a function of landlessness (as argued by some scholars for other parts of Zimbabwe¹⁹) or whether it is part of a household survival strategy diversify its livelihood.²⁰

The soils are generally sandy and subject to leaching and villagers have to apply manure or fertilizers to increase soil fertility. But people lack resources to purchase the fertilizers whose price has been deregulated, in line with the economic reform programme.

The village is characterised by mopane and acacia vegetation, though associations of Mnondo/Msasa can be found. The vegetation has no commercial value and is continually under threat from the expanding population.

Even from this cursory analysis, the district's environment is certainly austere, which is why it engenders uncertainty as much as insecurity among the residents. As strategies of survival, villagers save food, cattle and cash. They also diversify their economic activities.

Political organization of the village

As in most parts of Zimbabwe, the village is organized under a male sabuku²¹ or 'book owner'. The title originates from colonial history when all village heads were required to keep a register (or book) with all the names of all adults who were required to pay a 'head' tax.²² People still pay taxes to the government, but it is no longer mandatory for the village to keep a registrar. Still, the village head keeps a register which he regularly updates and shows to the other villages to demonstrate his power over others: as in parts of rural Africa control over people constitutes power.²³ Within the village, the head often carries his book possibly as a symbol of his authority. He needs to do this because his authority is, as we shall see below, always contested by other lineage heads.

The village head's responsibilities are multiple. He solves disputes, particularly concerning witchcraft accusation and lineage violence. He also fines those who are guilty of violating customary law, such as working on Thursday, a holy day, or working during a funeral day. This is one reason why farmers save goats, the medium for paying fines. As elsewhere in Zimbabwe, he converts the fines to his own use and not to the group he represents.²⁴ But the village head is careful not to antagonise many people by his judgements lest he lose social and economic support from them in the future. In the village, people offer their labor to those that show goodwill to them.

In addition to dispute settlement, the village head has responsibility of allocating land to old and new villagers. Theoretically, the village head is supposed to provide land on an equitable basis to all his people. In practice, the allocation of land has been limited to powerful and wealthy members of the village. The village head does this possibly to court the political and economic support of the wealthy household: in the village, it is mandatory to reciprocate gifts.

While on this topic of traditional leadership, we must deal with a issue of land in Zimbabwe. People say that in the past the village head allocated land for free, even to immigrants. Now they say the village head demands a small fee. It is these ancillary benefits which makes the office of the village head attractive and the focus of much contest. Presently there are two lineages which are claiming their right to the office.

Village heads are not the only authority. There is also a councillor. The councillor is in charge of 5 villages in addition to Mazoredze. His role is to mobilize rural farmers on behalf of the government. When the state wishes to start a development or relief project in the village or extend services, such as credit to rural farmers, it makes use of the of the councillor. But he also is responsible for bringing development needs of the village to Chivi Rural District Council, which is a local level unit of government. In the last 15 years, the councillor, as many in Zimbabwe²⁵, has not succeeded in bringing about any development in the area, and villagers rightly accuse him of furthering the interests of the state rather than theirs.

There is also the Village Development Committee Chairman (VIDCO) or village chairman. The VIDCO is the lowest representative of the state at the village level and for this reason is distrusted by disenchanted peasants. He is the one who collects development needs from the village and passes these to the councillor, a job he does well but to which no development ensues.

The final authority in the area is the chief. While his official responsibility is to ensure and oversee that customary law is adhered to, the chief, as many others in Zimbabwe, has never stopped mobilizing people against unacceptable development projects and practices. But the role of the chief has to do with the fertility of the area. Together with the spirit mediums (the spokes persons of the original founders of the land), the chief is responsible for bringing rain through his role in organizing fertility rituals. People share the view that territorial spirits cause drought, floods and famine as punishment of social misdeeds. It is for this reason that the chief severely punishes, sometimes through a fine of a cow, those whose behaviour is deemed to attract the displeasure of the ancestral and territorial spirits. One reason why people keep cattle is to cope with drought as well as to use these in the event of running into problems with the chief.

Social organization: lineages

At the local level, people are organized into lineages. The lineages are very shallow and consist of people claiming descent to an immediate ancestor. Each lineage is made up of brothers with their wives, and children and grand children. Divorced sisters and their children are considered members of the lineage by adoption rather than by descent. Where sisters bring their children these are required to change their surnames to those of the group to which they are now staying.

A senior older member is always the head of the lineage and has important ritual, political and social responsibilities. Ritually, the head (or elder mukururu) is the link between the lineage group and the ancestors. He coordinates the ceremonies to appease or commemorate the ancestors and makes sure that group members cooperate with each other. Politically, he solves the disputes between members and ensures that they continue to be cooperate with each other economically. Finally he presides over lineage marriage functions, except where his own daughters and children are concerned. Under his authority, lineage members agree on the bride price (usually cattle) for their daughters and mobilize marriage payments from the group.

Lineage members are supposed to cooperate. They must share resources, which include food, money, land, equipment and time. Members who refuse to share their resources with others are described as witches. However, there is always a gap between what people want and what actually happens in practice. In the sphere of consumption, some lineage members hide and concentrate their wealth from other group members whom they hope to dominate in the process. In the sphere of production, members sometimes seek the support of people from other lineage groups since the latter's claim on lineage group member resources are limited.

Although they fight among each other, lineage members sometimes cooperate with each other, particularly where they fear domination by other lineages. Thus they may choose to start saving groups whose general objective it is to improve the standards of the lineage grouping. Conversely, lineages deny support to those which seek to dominate them.

Village economy

Villagers are essentially agriculturalists. On the one hand, farmers grow traditional crops which include mhunga, rukweza and mapfunde - all small grains. There seems to be four related reasons why farmers grow these crops. The first and obvious reason is that these crops are drought resident and suitable to the semi arid weather conditions. Secondly the crops have a long storage span and can be saved for future use. Thirdly, the crops form part of the staple diet of the people. Fourthly, the crops can be used for rituals which are aimed at combating or controlling conditions such as droughts, famine and floods. The spirits allegedly can be appeased by beer made from traditional grain. But the most important reason is that these crops require little no inputs and can easily be grown from farmers' savings.

But farmers also grow modern cash crops, in particular cotton, maize and sunflower. Unlike traditional crops, cash crops require heavy inputs such fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. And they also have to be marketed outside the village and this requires money. The heavy requirements exerted by these crops compel many farmers to resort to borrowing from friends. Others have to seek credit from government as well as non governmental organizations operating in the area. But reactions to credit are varied, while some say that they benefit much from it, others claim that it is expensive, and inconveniencing and should not be extended to farmers anymore.

In addition to crop cultivation, farmers keep livestock, in particular cattle. As we shall see, in the Mazoredze area cattle mean political power for those who own them. Until recently, farmers kept traditional cattle breeds, but these were wiped away by the 1992 and 1966 droughts.

Today farmers keep mixed breeds, although one comes across pure brahman and hereford breeds. People keep cattle for variety of reasons. Cattle are useful for draught power, milk, meat, payment of lobola (bridewealth), accommodating territorial and ancestral lineage spirits, particularly those which look after whole clans or tribes. Because cattle play an important role, farmers convert their other forms of wealth (cash) into cattle which they diligently and carefully save. Sparing their cattle from slaughter, transferring them to places with pastures and hiding excess cattle in places where potential competitors (especially kinsmen) can not reach them, are some of the strategies which locals adopt to conserve and preserve their cattle.

People also keep goats which also play a role in ceremonies, particularly marriage. It is wealthy women who mostly keep goats. Sometimes these women put the goats in the custody of their friends to prevent husbands (and their brothers) from using them.

Farmers also make use of remittances. Nearly a third of the households has a son or two who work in town. These sons, who work in order to build their own savings, especially cattle, sometimes repatriate cash to the village. Sometimes they send goods, which include food, agricultural inputs and clothes. Since the inception of the economic reform programme, there has been a decrease in the volume goods from urban areas.

Farmers now report receiving less than $500 a year from employed children as remittances. If the figure is true, it reflects the harsh economic environment because in ordinary circumstances, children are supposed to look after their own.

Villagers are also involved in small income generating projects. These projects include, pigs, rabbit and chicken production.

Chickens, whether traditional or exotic breeds, are important not just for the meat and cash they yield. They are also saved for use during special occasions, particularly in welcoming respectable guests.

Voluntary associations in the village

As in parts of Africa^{26, there are a number of associations in the village which people join with the purpose of improving their welfare as well as coping with hardships.}

There are 4 church organizations, the Roman Catholic, the Dutch Reformed, the Seventh Day Adventist, and Zion. Members of these churches meet once a week to worship. A very common thing is for members of churches to help one another in agriculture.

There is one burial society formed to assist members in funerals 'panhamo' as well as provide them with economic support to members. Presently members of the society are drawn from the same lineage.

There are also zvikandekande, which are informal saving groups. Usually loosely organized, saving groups draw members from the same neighborhood, village or church. As in other areas²⁷, these saving associations arise to solve immediate financial needs and disintegrate as soon as the objective has been met. Most members of the groups are women.

Physical infrastructure

There is also a secondary school located in the village. However its more than 400 students come from neighboring areas as well. The school offers technical courses like agriculture and home economics in addition to the usual academic subjects. The school is well-staffed, with all 22 teachers having undergone professional training. There is no primary school in the village and the nearest one, Muvhundusi is 3 km away. Both the primary and secondary school are poorly equipped and some buildings are collapsing as is clear from the picture below.

It is common for 4 students to share one text book. This, however does not deter parents who continue to send their children to school which they regard an investment.

There is one small kindergarten (or pre-school as it is called) which is more like a feeding point where toddlers converge for supplement feeding. The food is normally provided by government but of late non-governmental organizations have been the major provider. Even though they send their children to feed at the kindergarten, few households want to depend on the outsiders for food, and this is the reason why they save their own food.

Water

The water situation is critical in the village. There are 4 boreholes. Of these, only one is now working. One yields salty water and the others do not work at all.

There are also 6 wells in the village. All of these wells are located on somebody else's stand or property; however, the wells remain public property, even though the landowners sometimes want to individualize them. The wells are not protected and the water, although tasty, is not safe to drink.

Each village household would prefer to have their own well so that they could have an independent source of water. Some are already saving for their own wells.

Roads and transport

There are two roads that link the village with outside settlements. The first links the village with Chivi, the growth point. The second links the village with the main road to Masvingo. There are no reliable buses plying these roads. In the dry season when the road is partly usable, there is a small unreliable minibus or lorry that belongs to the local member of parliament. Because the operator charges a high fee and because people are generally to poor to afford the fare, the bus is not that useful.

Health infrastructure

There is no clinic in the village, and the nearest one is located at Chivi, some 7 km away. However within the village, there is one village health worker whose function it is to encourage good public health and hygiene as well as attend to common diseases like malaria, influenza and stomach infection. The health worker used to receive a good supply of drugs and equipment, in the early years of independence. Nowadays there is very little medicine and many people have to rely on herbs, especially from aloes and on magic water from prophets. These treatments are not adequate to cope with deaths and illness caused by various diseases, including AIDS. Because the health system fails them, many are setting aside their money and wealth for use during funerals.

Research methods

As pointed earlier, the research focuses on Mazoredze, a village which the researcher together with Principal researcher, had previously visited and had some background knowledge. Originally the objective was to have two or more villages for comparative purposes. But as the research proceeded and the time frame of 5 months seemed unrealistic, the researcher settled for one village, Mazoredze, whose study he could manage.

In terms of research instruments, the research made use of a questionnaire survey which presumed to be capable of generating quick data in a relatively short time. The survey instrument, in addition to collecting baseline data, was used to determine whether people saved and the conditions giving rise to saving.

The researcher also made use of focused interviews with selected key informants. These interviews generated in-depth data on why people save, and to some extent, how they saved. The latter method was chosen because it could deal with sensitive topics that could not be captured by a questionnaire.

The researcher also made use of participant observation, attending meetings as well as attending situations where saving was clearly at play. These situations included work parties as well as death ceremonies for which many in the village saved. Participant observation was favored because the researcher already had ties and contacts in the village to be studied. However, he soon realized that past contacts were not always useful in investigating the complex and sensitive areas of saving.

Finally, because of time and financial constraints, the researcher made use of published documents, particularly on formal credit. These documents readily yielded additional data on villagers and their use of credit. All secondary data were cross-checked and tested against others gathered through different research techniques.

Saving to death: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Bibliography