My research on Shona beliefs and myths related to mermaids has indicated interesting facts about the possible origins of mermaids. The Shona refer to mermaids and maermen as njuzu. The details about the Shona beliefs and myths are found in my book entitiled: Mermaids and Mermen-njuzu Beliefs and Myths Among the Shona
Shona
myths indicate that the Shona have their own ideas concerning the origins of
mermaids and mermen. However, it is difficult to tell the exact origin of njuzu from the Shona perspective as the
Shona have different versions about the origin of njuzu. This chapter, therefore, explains the different Shona myths on the origins of mermaids in Zimbabwe.
1.1 Njuzu as God’s creatures.
Some
Shona people maintain that njuzu were
created by God just like any other creature. According to this belief God
created njuzu together with other
aquatic creatures (zvisikwa zvemumvura)
and human beings on earth (vanhu varipanyika)
and those beings below the earth (varipasi).
Aschwanden (1989) records the same concept among the Karanga. The Shona thus regard njuzu creatures as part of the underworld beings, varipasi. Some Shona say njuzu is God’s creature which can work closely with either
ancestral spirits or alien spirits. (Chisikwa
chaMwari chinoshanda nemidzimu nemashavi). It is interesting to note that
most of the mediums of the njuzu
spirits will also play host to different types of spirits such as ancestral
spirits (midzimu) and alien spirits (mashavi). According to Gumbo (1995), one njuzu spirit medium in Gutu district, Lydia Chabata, played host to
three types of spirits: an ancestral spirit, a jukwa spirit called Hlatshwayo and a njuzu spirit named Seri. Thus, according
to one Shona belief, njuzu’s origin
can be said to be the result of God’s creative act.
1.2 Njuzu as of human origin.
The
other view indicates that njuzu has
human origins. According to Sr Mary Acquina there is a Karanga belief that
spirits of babies buried in water and unmarried people turn into njuzu. She wrote:
When
young children and young persons die, the Karanga believe that only their
little shadow survives, but it is not yet evil. The shadow is believed to turn
into a madzimudzangara, a spirit of
the pools, for it is believed that at the bottom of deep pools there is a
spirit-world. The spirit world is a reflection of the world of the living, just
as the water of the pools reflects their surroundings. People believe that at
the bottom of the pool there are villages, people and cows, and that on quiet
days sounds from this spirit world reach the world of the living (Acquina,1973:
52)
The
above quotation, based on Sr Acquina’s observations among the Shona people,
suggests that the Shona believe in spiritual beings of the underworld. This Shona belief in life in the underworld
is based on another belief that spirits of deceased humans undergo some metamorphosis
before they reside in the underworld waters.
Aschwanden recorded a similar myth among the
Karanga of Masvingo province. According to Aschwanden (1989), in the past when
there was a severe and persistent drought, the Karanga would perform a ritual
where a baby in its sling would be left by a pool or a cave with water as a way
of requesting rainfall. If njuzu took
the child, the people would know that their request had been granted. The child
offered was believed to be transformed into a njuzu. This myth confirms the Shona belief that njuzu has human origins.
According
to some Shona informants in the district of Mberengwa, the mbonga or female Mwari
functionaries who die while serving
at Mwari’s shrines, for example those found at the Matopos shrines, are functionaries
and are associated with the Shona God of the Matopo hills. The mbonga are regarded as pure since they
did not engage in sexual intercourse during their life time. Thus some Shona
see the origin of njuzu as linked to
humans who are pure. The Shona of Mberengwa districts therefore associate njuzu with the purity and sacredness of the
mbonga and Mwari or God of the Matopo hills.
The
Shona belief that njuzu originate from
pure humans was also noted by some informants I consulted. The informants said that njuzu originate from people who die
young, before they get married (vanhu vanofa
dzichimhandara kana achimajaya). This belief also links njuzu with sexual purity which is an
important aspect of Shona religious beliefs. Young girls, in particular, are
regarded as pure and therefore play important roles during preparations for
important rituals such as mukwerera (ritual
to petition for rain). The Shona therefore see the origin of njuzu as being
linked to people who are sexually pure.
The
Greeks have a legend that resonates with the Shona myths on the human origin of
mermaids. According to the Greek legend, Alexander the Great’s sister, whose
habitat is the Aegean Sea, is said to have turned into a mermaid after her
death (http://www.seaofserenitycomic.tumblr.com). This myth shows that the
belief of the human origins of mermaids is not perculiar to the Shona.
The
Shona belief that the spirits of deceased humans transform into njuzu seem to find support in another
Shona belief that human spirits can appear in the form of certain wildlife
creatures. In the Shona belief system,
the spirits of deceased human beings can transform into lions, baboons, snakes
or birds. It is therefore possible that some human spirits can choose to become
aquatic creatures such as njuzu. This
Shona belief suggests that human spirits undergo some evolutionary process
whereby some human spirits choose to identify themselves with aquatic creatures
such as njuzu while others identify
themselves with land animals or birds. Thus,
njuzu is believed to be a result of this evolutionary process.
The
belief that some human beings were transformed into njuzu finds support in Shona legends. The Shona of Honde valleys in
Manicaland believe that a njuzu inhabiting the famous Chirikuutsi
pools is of human origin (Chinodakufa, 1996). According to this Shona legend, a
traditional healer called Chirikuutsi disappeared into the pools with his
family and possessions a long time ago. According to those who stay close to the pools,
there is evidence that there is life in the pool, a life which closely
resembles the life of human beings living on earth. It is said that sounds of
people talking, singing and laughing as well as sounds of livestock such as
sheep, goats and also dogs are heard each year just before the start of the
rainy season.
The
story of Chirikuutsi is similar to other Shona stories about people believed to
have disappeared into pools (Edwards, 1928). A woman called Nyamhita together
with a baby and a female slave is believed to have disappeared into a pool
which became sacred and came to be called Nyamhita’s pool. This is also said to
have happened in another story in which Nemarongwe and his people, with their
flocks and herds vanished into a pool which they made their home. The pool came
to be called the Nemarongwe pool. Again,
it is said that sounds such as the beating of drums, the crowing of cocks and
the bleating of goats is heard on a quiet day.
In yet another legend recorded by Bourdillon (1978),
the renowned sociologist, a man called Karuva took his wives, children and
livestock and descended into a pool close to his home.The pool is regarded by
the Shona as sacred and is said never to run dry even in times of severe
droughts. This confirms that the Shona
beliefs in njuzu are widespread.
The
Shona people are not the only ethnic group who boast of myths about people who
made their home within the spaces below a water body. The Lamba of the Zambian
Copperbelt have such a myth. Siegel (2000: 8) wrote:
Some
of the awe attached to Lake Kashiba is revealed in its full name: either
Kashiba ka Bena Mbushi (Lake of the Goat clan) or kashiba ka Bena Mofya (Lake
of the Entangled Ones). Both of these refer to the Lamba myth of Chief
Chipimpi, and how his Goat Clan became so upset with their first chief’s murder
and the loss of their chiefship that they went off to Lake Kashiba, tied
themselves together with bark rope, and plunged into the lake. The floating
mats, baskets, and pots are often taken as evidence that the Goat Clan now
occupies a village at the bottom of the lake. Thus a Lamba( and Seventh Day
Adventist elder) informant told me how Europeans with a diving suit once came
to sound Lake Kashiba, that they found the lower waters very warm, and that
they heard voices coming from the light and warmth down below.
The
above myth shows that the Lamba believe that there are people who stay under
water bodies. Thus the Lamba of Zambia like the Shona, believe some humans
opted to live in the underworld. It can be inferred from these myths that
mermaids could be of human origin.
According
to some Shona informants, people who are captured by njuzu are transformed into fish. The informants explained that the
captured person acquires the characteristics of fish such as eating mud and
jumping out of water like a fish. This
belief suggests that the captured person is transformed into an aquatic
creature.
Some
myths have traced the origin of man to water.
One Shona creation myth suggests that the origin of humankind’s ancestor
was in the pool. Frobenius cited in Bucher (1980: 72) recorded the following
Shona creation myth:
Mwari
made Mwedzi (Moon) at the bottom of a pool (dziva)
and gave him a medicine-horn(ngona).In
spite of Mwari’s warning that he would be sorry for it,Mwedzi wanted to go on
to the dry land which was barren and lifeless. Upon Mwedzi’s bitter complaints,
Mwari gave him a girl, Massassi (Morning Star), who was to be his wife for two
years.The girl was given fire-making tools. The two spent anight in a cave,
where they kindled a fire and lay down on either side of it. Mwedzi dipped his
finger into the medicine-horn and touched Massassi’s body with its contents. As
a result, Massassi gave birth to grass, bushes and trees. The trees grew until
they reached the sky, whereupon it started to rain. Mwedzi and Massassi now
lived in plenty, but after the stipulated time was over, Massassi had to return
to the pool. Mwari however, gave Morongo (Evening Star) to Mwedzi, who again
was to be his wife for two years. Each night the two anointed themselves with
the contents of Mwedzi’s medicine-horn and in the morning Morongo gave birth to
all kinds of animals. Eventually she bore also boys and girls. These had grown
up when evening came. When Mwedzi wanted to continue to sleep with Morongo she
said to him: “Look, your daughters are grown up. Sleep with them.” He did as
she had told him and he became king (Mambo) of a great people.
Morongo
now slept with the snake that had its lair under her bed and she no longer bore
children. One day Mwedzi came to sleep with Morongo against her will and was
bitten by the snake. He fell ill and the next day it did not rain.A terrible
drought ensued and Mwedzi’s children consulted their divining bones in order to
find out what they should do. They were told to send the ailing king with
Morongo. They chose another man to be their king.
Similar
myths which link the orgin of humankind with water or marshes are found in
other Bantu ethnic groups of southern Africa (Mbiti, 1975). Anaximander, A
Greek philosopher, was of the view that the origin of humankind could be traced
to fishlike aquatic beings (http://www.brittanica.com). Could the idea of
mermaids be an indicator that man originated from water and that njuzu are therefore aquatic humanoids
with the same origins as man?
It
should be clear now that according to the Shona, humans who have been captured
by njuzu can be transformed into njuzu. This transformation normally
happens to those who have stayed with a njuzu
for a long period. These Shona beliefs are revealed in a recent story reported
in the Kwayedza newspaper of 13 June 2014, a newspaper renowned for its efforts
to maintain Zimbabwean and African culture. According to the newspaper report,
Tateguru Artwell Nyachowe, a spirit medium who was leading during the ritual to
secure the release of a njuzu captive
called Takesure Nyamande informed the ritual participants that Takesure was
uwilling to come back. The medium indicated that Takesure was now a njuzu and could therefore not come back
from njuzuland. Takesure, an employee
of the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, is said to have been captured
by njuzu in the
Zambezi River in 2007 while on duty. Another Shona traditional healer explained
that those who are captured and have been in the custody of njuzu are transformed physically and psychologically. The physical
change will be in the aspect of complexion where somebody becomes light-skinned.
The Shona say that the development of a light skin is a result of the coolness
of njuzu’s habitat. Another
noticeable change is of a physical feature like a reed (shanga) that grows on the body of the new njuzu. According to another informant, the njuzu captive who has stayed with njuzu for a long time grows long hair which reaches his or her
angles (Bvudzi rake rinoreba kusvika
mumabvi). This transformation of a njuzu
captive seems to suggest that the underworld of njuzu creatures is a place of mysterious and rapid evolution. It is
also probable that njuzu creatures
know how to manipulate the law of evolution.
The
idea that certain beings are transformed into mermaids is also found in myths
of other cultural groups.
The Syrian moon-goddess, Atargatis, is reported to have changed
into a mermaid while she was in a lake (http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/mermaid-mythology.
html). This suggests that spirit beings are believed to be capable of assuming
the mermaid image.
The
Shona recognise a close link between njuzu
and ancestral spirits. Some say njuzu
are ancestral spirits which dwell in water habitats of a particular
geographical area (mweya yamadzinza inogara
panzvimbo). According to this view, njuzu’s
origins are linked to certain totemic groups and clans. The Shona say
people of a given totemic group know what to do when njuzu related to their totem has been offended. It can be inferred
from the above Shona belief that spirits of particular clans evolve into njuzu.
Aschwanden
( 1989) also recorded that some Karanga believe that spirits of the dead might
take abode in water until the ritual to bring back the spirit of the deceased (kurova guva) is held.Such spirits become
close allies of njuzu which might
continue to work with njuzu after the
kurova guva ritual. Thus, the Shona
see a close link between njuzu and
ancestral spirits.
Some
Shona say njuzu is a creature which
is used by ancestors because of its superior knowledge and strength. Spirit
mediums of njuzu spirits are normally
mediums of ancestral spirits. According to one informant, the family ancestor
might at times deem it necessary to seek the support of the njuzu in order to fight against powerful
evil forces threatening the family. It is said by the Shona that no alien spirit
can possess an individual without the consent of the individual’s ancestors. Njuzu, the Shona say, only captures or possesses
individuals after being granted permission by that individual’s ancestral
spirits. Njuzu spirit mediums such as
Lydia Chabata and Salani were also mediums of ancestral spirits (Aschwanden,
1989). According to some Shona informants,
njuzu captures people from particular families and it therefore looks for a
medium in every successive generation of that family. It becomes a generational
alien spirit (shavi re njuzu nderedzinza).
According to the Shona therefore, there is a close link between njuzu and the ancestors.
Other
Shona believe that njuzu can originate
from people who drown in pools or rivers.These are people who either drown
accidentally or those who are deliberately drowned by their enemies. Such
people‘s spirits become water spirits which are associated with certain pools
or rivers. According to this view, spirits of those who drown become attached
to rivers or pools and cause mysterious incidents.
The Shona also believe that the flooding of graves
by the waters of newly constructed dams such as Siya, Manjirenji and Mutirikwi
dams in Masvingo province, dams which were built to supply water to the lowveld
sugarcane fields resulted in the spirits of the deceased buried in those graves
appearing in the form of njuzu.
