|
The following biography of Manyame Linos Wengara is taken from our new course book for Mbira teaching....
I was born in Mhondoro, Kadoma in 1975.
 I grew up between the countryside in Mhondoro and the ghetto in Kadoma. I went for school in Kadoma, but learned culture in Mhondoro. My family was already playing Mbira from before I was born, so I learned mostly from them.
I learnt Mbira in Mhondoro from my countryside family, amongst my uncles and friends, especially my late uncle, Daveson Wellington Magunje from the Mhizha yekwaNegombwe tribe, who died in 1994. Daveson was a great spiritual healer in the way of Yah (Yahweh); there would be queues of people waiting to be healed by him. He used to conduct a lot of ceremonies where he would have groups of Mbira players and drummers. Even mbira players from other families would come to join Daveson and would learn so much from him, Mbira, singing, drumming, dancing, praying and the manners of Shona culture; he was special in all things. From little kids to adults everyone would want to learn from him. I learned Mbira and vocals from Daveson, and also from his sons. The good thing about learning all these things from Daveson was that in everything he taught he always advised us to move with Yah (Yahweh) and good spirits.
When I would return for school holidays Shadreck Magunje, Daveson’s son who lives in Kadoma now, where I grew up, would teach me my first course songs; I also learnt some of my vocals from Cephas Magunje, Daveson’s oldest son who is a healer in Mhondoro now. Cephas is a brave healer since he was brought up in the family of Daveson, and he helps many people. Most people from Mhondoro and other parts of Zimbabwe go to visit Cephas if they need healing. Before he discovered his healing life Cephas was already playing very deep Mbira as he also learnt from his father Daveson.
I also learned from Mbira players in Kadoma, in the ghetto, from neighbors and the ceremonies happening there. My late Uncle Crispen Masiki (Mhizha yekwaMhofu), who lived in Kadoma where I grew up, made the best quality of Mbira compared to most Mbiras in Zimbabwe. Crispen wasn’t a healer but was a very spiritual man; he used to do ceremonies and prayed to his ancestors. He taught me a few songs and gave me some Mbiras and other spiritual things such as walking sticks, snuff containers and traditional bracelets, which I still use today. Sadly he died during the time I have been in England. His Mbiras are very strong; the keys are very strong and smooth, he used very hard wood, the bridge would always be very strong and the way he tightened the keys down too; you can play them hard with the power of the spirit without them losing tuning or even breaking keys.
I also met many Mbira players in Kadoma including the David Whitehead Mbira group, led by VaMariga (Mhofu, Museyamwa tribe), who I played and danced with. There were fourteen members in the group, who were all much older; they were all parents and I was the only young man there. The members of the group were all spiritual people. At school I joined traditional dance groups and learnt from them also. After finishing school I started my first Mbira band, Nhasi Tafara, which included Mbira players and Rasta people who would bring their reggae chants, so I was mixing traditional culture with the Rasta spirit; this is when I started my dreadlocks. I have my respect for reggae but internally I am a traditional Zimbabwean healer.
That’s how I became an Mbira player.
Daveson Magunje is the man who really influenced me. He was from the Negombwe tribe (the Mhizha people). Negombwe was the ancestor who discovered the Mbira Dzavadzimu (the type of Mbira we are learning here). Daveson was my mother’s step brother. My mother’s, Evangelista Mutiti (Magunje), totem is Mofu vaChihera vekwaMuseyamwa. My tribe is named after my father, Lancelot Nguri Shambamuto; my tribe is Ngara Zimuto Nungu Gwai. My spiritual name, given to me before birth, is Manyame.
 I take Mbira to the heart of its spirit through prayers which I was taught by my uncle Daveson Magunje; Daveson is the footpath to all my prayers, and I learned most things about my tribe through my father, Lancelot Nguri Shambamuto, and his reborn spirit Chidyamadoti. I have also met so many healers who discovered ancestral spirits on me. These healers were Daveson Wellington Magunje, reborn to Mhondoro VaRutunga Pasi na Zarezare (Mhizha yekwaNegombwe tribe from Mhondoro Zimhindo); my father Lancelot Nguri Magaya Shambamuto, who was reborn to Tateguru VaChidyamadoti na Tekenende (Nungu Zimuto tribe from Mhondoro Bumbe); Sphelani Mudarikwa who is a woman reborn to the male spirit VaPfumo Jena na mbuya Shumba (Soko tribe from Harare); Gift Chatambudza, reborn to VaMandizadza (Mhofu Museyamwa tribe from Mhondoro Zimindo); Chidenyama (Piri Soko tribe from Harare), Mhondoro VaTsenge (Mukanya Soko wafawanaka tribe from Guruve), Mhondoro Dziva Guru (Chimbikiza (Mukanya Soko tribe from Chiweshe)). These I call my Rabbis, my teachers, and all my spiritual problems were taken to these healers. My father Lancelot and my uncle Daveson have passed away now, but the other healers are still healing in Zimbabwe.
Spiritually I was brought up by VaRutunga Pasi na Zarezare (Daveson Magunje), so from this experience I was able to select the appropriate healers to help me in my spiritual life after my uncle Daveson Magunje had passed away. The assistance from these six healers plus the information given to me by my father Lancelot Shambamuto and through my own ancestral spirits, opened the way for me to be a healer and know my spirits.
I have done quite a lot of healing for Zimbabwean people who are here in the UK, and I always advise people to keep praying to good spirits and play their Mbira under the guidance of Yah (Yahweh). I even pray for people in the name of Yahshua (Jesus Christ) the son of Yah. I always keep my Mbira under the guidance of VaRubwe, my ancestor who was an Nyunganyunga player; Nyunganyunga is the earlier form of Mbira, before Mbira Dzavadzimu; it is smaller with fewer keys. VaRubwe was from Masvingo and this is where the Nyunganyunga comes from. I also keep my Mbira under the guidance of Yahshua, son of Yah. I pray to my ancestors through Manyame, my reborn spirit. My most important connection to Mbira is through prayer and I have been praying since I was twelve. It was really unfortunate that Daveson died as I was only finishing my school, but I would have wanted to spend a lot of my time around him, learning much deeper.
To you I say, ‘I wish you all the best with Mbira and the lessons you are beginning. If you approach Mbira spiritually, Zimbaremabwe shall always remain spiritual to you. You are free to learn from Mbira the things you like to learn. The book is intended to be open to all, including my people from Zimbabwe; this can be another way of keeping culture alive from one generation to another. Because of modern life, Zimbabwean traditions are losing value, mostly for families living in towns, or who move abroad, but we want to encourage them to live with their culture as well as this modern life, and to teach their kids who shall be the prophets of tomorrow.
|
