MBIRA queen Mbuya Stella Chiweshe was buried in Nekati Village under Chief Masembura in Bindura yesterday.
Mbuya Chiweshe succumbed to a brain tumour in Harare on
Friday last week.
She was 76.
And her wish to be buried according to her traditional
customs was also granted.
Despite Nyaradzo Funeral Parlour providing an expensive
casket, her body was removed from the casket and wrapped in a reed mat
(rukukwe) and cloth before being lowered into the grave.
The family said this was done in accordance with her desire
to easily be connected with her ancestral spirits.
They said they were following her instructions. The media
was barred from the graveside.
And as she had requested in the living years, only
traditional music was played at the funeral wake.
Mbuya Chiweshe was said to have instructed the family not
to play any gospel songs at her funeral.
No gospel song was sung and no Biblical sermon was preached
at her funeral and burial. Everything was done according to African traditional
rites and rituals.
Addressing mourners at the burial, Mbuya Chiweshe’s eldest
daughter, Maidei Charity Mapuranga, described her late mother as a true
fighter.
“I am the first born to the late Mbuya Chiweshe. By the
way, Chiweshe was not her surname, but a totem she adopted as a stage name. She
lost her husband when we least expected it,” Maidei said.
She said Mbuya Chiweshe became popular with her totem
rather than her real surname.
“Chiweshe is not my mother’s surname but her totem. Her
real name on national documents is Stella Nekati.”
Maidei said they tried their best as a family to save Mbuya
Chiweshe.
“We took her to one of the best hospitals in the world, but
the cancer was detected late.
“She was a brave woman who showed no signs of sickness. She
didn’t suffer from memory loss and we are devastated to have lost our mother,”
she said.
A number of mbira artistes performed at Mbuya Chiweshe’s
homestead on Monday night and yesterday.
These comprise Vee Mhofu and Dzivarembira who honoured
Mbuya Chiweshe with song and dance.
Energetic performer, Kessia Magosha, also put up a vintage
performance.
Sasha Amadhuve, Ammi Jamanda, Lioness, Mama Rachie, Wilfred
“Nyamasvisva” MaAfrika and a number of traditional dancers from Mufakose also
performed.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry,
her deputy Tino Machakaire and National Arts Council of Zimbabwe
representatives attended the burial. Herald
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