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The Bible translated into South Africa's indigenous languages has a colonial history. For the Vhavenḓa people, the 1936 and 1998 Bible translations are revered as icons that hold a privileged position. However, this paper argues that these two translations should be seen as colonial language tools that do not serve the culture of the Vhavenḓa people. Instead, they can be viewed as weapons against them. These translations distorted the Tshivenḓa language by imposing distorted and foreign concepts of God, thereby rendering the Vhavenḓa people to have been without knowledge of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While child sexual abuse (CSA) has been declared a public health concern worldwide, the continuous problem is the delayed disclosure that affects child victims in many ways. It poses profound health, psychological and social challenges for child victims. This qualitative study explored and described the challenges that Vhavenḓa child victims of CSA endure as a result of delayed disclosure. Five adult survivors of CSA, seven caregivers of survivors of CSA, four social workers, two educators and two traditional leaders were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and thereafter it was arranged and analysed thematically with the assistance of the NVivo software. Findings reveal that, due to the emotional implications of the abuse, the Vhavenḓa child victims of sexual abuse endure a number of behavioural, social and academic challenges that tremendously affect their well-being, even in their adulthood. It is therefore recommended that vigorous awareness campaigns on CSA within the Vhavenḓa communities be conducted to mitigate the delayed disclosure of sexual abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious health, social and behavioural problem that indiscriminately affects child victims psychologically and socially worldwide. Different countries, including South Africa, have recognised the need to embark on an endeavour to protect children legally from any form of abuse, including CSA. In addition to the legal determinations, understanding how culture and indigenous practices protect children from sexual abuse remains imperative because CSA occurs in different social and cultural contexts. Thus, this article aimed to explore and describe indigenous systems that help mitigate CSA amongst Vhavenḓa. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed to pursue the aim of the article. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were used to collect data from five adult survivors of CSA, seven caregivers of adult survivors of CSA, two traditional leaders, four social workers and two educators in the Vhembe District Municipality of the Limpopo Province who were purposively selected to participate in the study. Thematic content analysis with the assistance of the NVivo software was used to manage and organise data into meaningful themes. The findings of this article reveal that khoro, mahunḓwane, ngoma dza sialala and munna ndi nnyi men's forum are systems that help mitigate CSA amongst Vhavenḓa. In the face of these indigenous systems helping mitigate CSA in the context of Vhavenḓa, they must receive support to remain instrumental and relevant in the current era. The researchers recommend that culture should be used to fight, preserve and protect the human rights of children at all costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accepting the ancestral calling to healing and undergoing the training to become a traditional healer in southern Africa is seen as a process of identity formation which is constructed by the knowledge acquired throughout the process. The researcher embarked on a journey with traditional health practitioners to understand their lived experiences and explored the psychological meanings of Vhavenḓa ancestral calling with a view to identifying and documenting the psychological meanings embedded in this culturally entrenched practice. A qualitative research method located within the interpretative paradigm was used. A descriptive phenomenological research design was adopted to explore the lived experiences of traditional health practitioners who have gone through the process of ancestral calling. Both snowball and purposive sampling methods were used to recruit 17 participants until saturation was researched in the findings. The findings of the study revealed that there are several symptoms that are indicative that one has an ancestral calling. These symptoms are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed when interpreted from the Western and Eurocentric perspectives. However, accepting the ancestral calling and going through training is linked with identity formation. The findings also revealed that ancestral calling is a life-transforming and therapeutic experience and a journey of self-realisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accepting the ancestral calling to healing and undergoing the training to become a traditional healer in southern Africa is seen as a process of identity formation which is constructed by the knowledge acquired throughout the process. The researcher embarked on a journey with traditional health practitioners to understand their lived experiences and explored the psychological meanings of Vhavenḓa ancestral calling with a view to identifying and documenting the psychological meanings embedded in this culturally entrenched practice. A qualitative research method located within the interpretative paradigm was used. A descriptive phenomenological research design was adopted to explore the lived experiences of traditional health practitioners who have gone through the process of ancestral calling. Both snowball and purposive sampling methods were used to recruit 17 participants until saturation was researched in the findings. The findings of the study revealed that there are several symptoms that are indicative that one has an ancestral calling. These symptoms are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed when interpreted from the Western and Eurocentric perspectives. However, accepting the ancestral calling and going through training is linked with identity formation. The findings also revealed that ancestral calling is a life-transforming and therapeutic experience and a journey of self-realisation.

Background: Several human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention strategies have been implemented to counteract the impact of the disease, including the use of condoms, social marketing, testing, voluntary counselling and education programmes. One of the platforms which has not been fully explored is that of traditional initiation schools. Objectives: This study aimed to explore and discuss Vhavenda traditional initiation schools, which can be used as panacea for HIV and AIDS management in the Vhembe district of South Africa. Method: This ethnographic study was conducted in the Vhembe district of South Africa, among nine purposively sampled key informants drawn from a cohort of Vhavenda traditional healers and leaders. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews and analysed using ethnographic content analysis. Results: The results indicate that Vhavenda traditional initiation schools positively affect the management of HIV and AIDS. Initiation schools are centres for cultural education and the formation of a cultural identity. During the initiation process, initiates are taught social norms, customs and values which will serve them well in adulthood. They are also taught matters of sexuality, courtship, marriage and respect for others. Conclusion: The positive attributes of Vhavenda initiation schools should be accommodated and implemented in curricula from the primary school level up to the tertiary level to reduce and curb the spread of HIV infection. Contribution: Improved expertise at the initiation schools will aid the Department of Health and Education and Training to develop and implement suitable cultural contextualised HIV and AIDS prevention strategies.

The 21st century has witnessed an urgent need to digitise, learn, manage, preserve and exchange oral history in South Africa. This forms the background of the demonisation of indigenous knowledge systems that has impacted negatively and eroded the African values, norms, purpose, growth, sustainability and improvement of indigenous communities. In light of this realisation, this article explores the challenges offered by digitisation of VhaVenda oral history. It is well known that the digitisation of oral tradition carries both the good and the bad. Journalists, academics and archivists of oral history cannot become spectators and allow challenges to stop them from collecting, recording and managing valuable heritages. The article is premised upon the Sankofa and critical theory frameworks. An Afrocentric participatory and exploratory qualitative research design was employed to investigate the data. VhaVenda knowledge holders, journalists, academics, and archivists’ views were solicited using semistructured interviews. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. The article’s findings unveiled that the digitisation of VhaVenda oral tradition has been an acute daily agony because of the following thorny issues: language issues, methodological challenges, sponsorship and the politics of preferring. Because the country faces the danger of losing out on gaining the benefits of VhaVenda oral history, the authors encourage and promote a holistic approach embracing multiple stakeholders to overcome the challenges faced in digitising the VhaVenda oral tradition. Contribution: The study advocates for the balancing of ancient traditional forms and relating them to present technology so that oral history trajectories march into the future, grounded in Afrocentric expressions whilst maintaining flexibility to accommodate the versatile nature of culture by embracing technology.

This research article argued that the current conflicts between Vhavenda and Vatsonga, two decades and four years later after the first democratic elections for a new South Africa in 1994, are manifestations of the seeds that were sown by the Voortrekkers since their arrival around the Soutpansberg in the northern parts of South Africa in 1836. Makhado (Louis Trichardt), Vuwani and Malamulele have been embroiled in continuous arguments and counterarguments, advocacies and counter advocacies, including protests, and in some instances, destruction of the essential property. Before then, Vhavenda and Vatsonga used to live alongside each other and even together. In their traditional village settings, there was no discrimination based on language or ethnicity. Through review of early scholarly writings, oral resources garnered from elders and the author’s personal experience, a few episodes were highlighted, and the ramifications thereof were discussed. Contribution: This study also postulated that although the promotion of the tribes’ uniqueness was culturally significant, social cohesion and multiculturalism could have been sustained without institutionalising the segregation laws and demarcations, for these decisions have come back to haunt the present democratic South Africa’s ideals of nation building and social cohesion.

The Vhambedzi clan is one of the earlier Vhavenda sibs that settled south of the Limpopo (Vhembe) River before the arrival of the Masingo group that later conquered and subjugated them. The Masingo is the ruling elite of Venda. The Vhambedzi claim authorship and occupation of various Zimbabwe-type stone-walled sites (which the Masingo also occupied) in the eastern Soutpansberg area of South Africa. The Vhambedzi represents a segment of the earlier Vhavenda groups that predominantly settled south of the Vhembe River in an area known as Vhambedzi, extending to Tshituzi, Malungudzi (Marungudzi), and Hamatibi in southern Zimbabwe. The dominant legend states that Vhambedzi originated in Malungudzi. Conflicting justifications exist regarding this concern. Other counter-traditions associate them with other known earlier Vhavenda groups, the Vhangona. These earlier groups are autochthonous. The research for this article focused on unfamiliar Zimbabwe-type sites and oral legends clarifying the status of these sites concerning the known Vendaungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, Thulamela, Makahane, and Khami stone building traditions. The cultural continuity transcending the geographical divide, which the Vhambedzi represent, is of great significance.

The Vhambedzi clan is one of the earlier Vhavenda sibs that settled south of the Limpopo (Vhembe) River before the arrival of the Masingo group that later conquered and subjugated them. The Masingo is the ruling elite of Venda. The Vhambedzi claim authorship and occupation of various Zimbabwe-type stone-walled sites (which the Masingo also occupied) in the eastern Soutpansberg area of South Africa. The Vhambedzi represents a segment of the earlier Vhavenda groups that predominantly settled south of the Vhembe River in an area known as Vhambedzi, extending to Tshituzi, Malungudzi (Marungudzi), and Hamatibi in southern Zimbabwe. The dominant legend states that Vhambedzi originated in Malungudzi. Conflicting justifications exist regarding this concern. Other counter-traditions associate them with other known earlier Vhavenda groups, the Vhangona. These earlier groups are autochthonous. The research for this article focused on unfamiliar Zimbabwe-type sites and oral legends clarifying the status of these sites concerning the known Vendaungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, Thulamela, Makahane, and Khami stone building traditions. The cultural continuity transcending the geographical divide, which the Vhambedzi represent, is of great significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Indigenous and local knowledge systems are characterised by a ‘knowledge-practice-belief’ complex that plays a critical role for biodiversity management and conservation on indigenous lands. However, few studies take into consideration the interconnected relationship between the social processes underpinning knowledge accumulation, generation and transmission. The study draws on ethnobotanical research to explore plant uses, practices and belief systems developed among the indigenous Vhavenda in South Africa for sustaining indigenous plant resources and highlights some of the forces of change influencing the acquisition and transmission of knowledge. Methods Data was collected from September–November 2016 from 31 individuals by means of semi-structured interviews; walks in home gardens, cultivated fields, montane forests and deciduous woodlands; and vouchering of plant species in six villages (Duthuni, Tshidzivhe, Vuvha, Lwamondo, Mashau and Tshiendeulu) in the Vhembe District of South Africa. The Use Value Index (UVI) was used to measure the number of different uses of each species and the Relative Frequency Index (RFI) to measure the local importance of each species. Semi-structured interviews and comparisons with published works also explored cultural practices and belief systems associated with plants, modes and barriers of knowledge transmission. Results Eighty-four plant species were reported within 44 families, with Fabaceae representing the highest diversity of plant species. We identified six species not previously documented in the Vhavenda ethnobotanical literature, 68 novel uses of plants and another 14 variations of known uses. Vhavenda plants were predominantly used for food (36.0%) and medicine (26.1%) and consisted mainly of native (73.8%) compared to non-native species (26.2%). The Vhavenda possess a range of practices for managing plant resources that can be attributed to taboos preventing the use of selected species, promotion of sustainable harvesting practices and the propagation of plant species for ecological restoration. Plant knowledge and management practices were transmitted from relatives (48.4%), self-taught through time spent planting and harvesting plants on the land (19.4%), through apprenticeships with traditional healers (16.1%), initiation schools (9.7%) and clan gatherings (6.4%). Changes in traditional learning platforms for knowledge exchange, erosion of cultural institutions and shifting value systems serve as barriers for knowledge transmission among the Vhavenda. Conclusion The study points to a need for new partnerships to be forged between conservationists, government actors and local and indigenous knowledge holders to foster hybrid knowledge coproduction for developing strategies to enhance the productivity and biodiversity of indigenous lands.

Child sexual abuse is a worldwide health and social problem that exists across different cultures. It happens to children of all demographics. It is difficult for disclosure of child sexual abuse to happen since it often takes place in private spaces. There have not been ample studies amongst Vhavenda tribe which focused intensively on contemporary factors influencing non-disclosure of child sexual abuse. Therefore, the article is based on a study that aimed to investigate the influence of familial factors towards disclosure of child sexual abuse within the context of Vhavenda tribe. In order to attain its aim, the study used the qualitative approach with ethnographic exploratory design. Fifteen (15) Vhavenda caregivers of children were purposively selected, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews which were guided by an interview schedule with open-ended questions. Data was analysed thematically with the assistance of the Nvivo software. The study was guided by both the ecological and socio-cultural theories. It was found that patriarchal practices, the taboo around sexual abuse, the value of family relationships, the role of the perpetrator within the family, family status and secrecy have a big influence in the nondisclosure of child sexual abuse amongst Vhavenda. Therefore, it is recommended that Vhavenda families should be capacitated about the implications of African values on the disclosure of child sexual abuse and the impact it has on the child victim. These families should also be empowered with skills to necessitate the disclosure of child sexual abuse thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africans maintain close connections with their traditions and places of origin. They express those connections in many ways, including through naming practices. Among the Vhavenḓa of South Africa, personal names go beyond identity construction as they communicate beliefs, historical antecedents, values, intentions, experiences and other cultural practices. The purpose of this article is to explore how the naming system is used as a communicative tool that mirrors a wide range of human experiences within the Vhavenḓa socio-cultural context. A sampled population of twenty-five Vhavenḓa participants, including name-givers and bearers, were interviewed to elicit information about the meaning of their names. The data were collected over a period of five months. The names were analysed according to their semantic and pragmatic content. The findings reveal various derivational categories of Vhavenḓa personal names, such as death, social conditions, illness and reincarnation, acquired names, Christian beliefs and thanksgiving personal names. It is also clear that the study of the Vhavenḓa naming practice is equally the study of their social and historical phenomena, since their naming custom is so intertwined with their cultural and historical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild edible plants have been utilized by indigenous communities since time immemorial. Vhavenda situated in the Vhembe District Municipality of South Africa are no exception to the utilization of wild edible plants. This study reports on traditional preparation and preservation methods of selected wild edible vegetables. A total of 160 respondents of different ages were consulted and interviewed through semi-structured interviews. Forty-six wild edible vegetables were listed during the current survey and ten most cited vegetables were considered for the purpose of this report. Results on the preparation methods revealed that locals prefer dishes of combined vegetables (e.g. Cloeme gynandra and Amaranthus dubius). Leaves were the most used part as compared to other plant parts. In some preparation methods, all edible parts can be mixed together to make a delicious relish to accomplished maize-based diets of the respondents. An example of the Vhavenda cuisine is "bovhola" which is prepared from leaves, flowers, fruits of Curcubita pepo and leaves of Momordica foetida or Momordica charantia. Further study to determine the nutritional values of the prepared Venda cuisines is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates teknonymy and multi-nominality as multiple identity markers for Vhavenḓa from an autochthonic view. Employing an ethnographic research design, and locating its argument within a six-pronged theoretical framework, the paper gleaned its data from two sources − interviews and document reviews. Its participants comprised 100 respondents. From this standpoint, the paper has mounted a discussion of the Vhavenḓa teknonymy. With reference to the latter, it has given pride of place to both teknonymy and multi-nominality, arguing that the two help engender multiple references, multiple addresses, and multiple identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnoveterinary medicine is a rich source of traditional knowledge that could hold alternative and sustainable solutions to livestock healthcare in impoverished rural communities, as in the case of the Vhaveḓn a, South Africa. Phytomedicine is widely used by Vhaveḓn a farmers to treat redwater (bovine babesiosis) in cattle. Redwater is a tick-borne disease known as mali or malofha in Tshiveḓn a. Data on the causes, symptoms and treatment of redwater were obtained mainly through interviews carried out with randomly selected cattle farmers, supplemented by field surveys to collect and identify plant material. During the survey, 20 medicinal plant species belonging to ten families were recorded and identified as being used for the treatment of redwater. These plants may be used individually or in combination with one another. Fabaceae, with eight species, was the best represented family. The highest consensus among participants was recorded for Jatropha latifolia (tshipfure), Pterocarpus angolensis (mutondo), Schotia brachypetala (mulubi), Tabernaemontana elegans (muhḓa u) and Senna italica subsp. arachoides (tshi ḓuwa-ḓuwana). Root and bark are the most commonly sought plant parts in remedy preparations. Most of the remedies are prepared from freshly collected plant material, and infusions/ decoctions are administered orally. Because of rather similar clinical symptoms, wet gallsickness (bovine anaplasmosis) and dry gallsickness (impaction of the omasum) are often confused with redwater. However, in such misdiagnosed cases treatment with the recorded plant medicines is often not effective, particularly in the case of dry gallsickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of children’s “voices” is a construct used to frame the lack of power and agency that young people yield in their lives. However, representing children as “voiceless” overlooks how they employ tools, such as music, to voice their agency in dynamic, articulate, and meaningful ways. This collaborative article examines how children and young people in Vhavenda communities in South Africa utilize music to straddle their realities between tradition and change. Through this exploration, we will demonstrate how children and young people shape, embody, and challenge the lived and contemporary notions of what it means to be Vhavenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been notable growth in the production of indigenous South African choral music repertoire. However, little effort has been made in the collection, documentation, preservation and promotion of the repertoire of Venda choral music. This article traces the foundations and historical development of choral music as an art form among Vhavenda. It seeks to identify and describe the factors that shaped Venda choral music by providing a description of the socio-political circumstances that shaped the music, and traces and places the existing Venda choral tradition within the context of Venda history, culture, tradition and language. The article aims to explore the place and significance of Venda choral music within South Africa, and to determine whether Venda composers such as Stephen Maimela Dzivhani, Derrick Nephawe, Khorommbi Joseph Nonge, Thinawanga Israel Ramabannda and Fhatuwani Hamilton Sumbana succeeded in gaining recognition within the indigenous South African choral fraternity. In essence, the article accounts for the slow growth of repertoire and respect for Venda choral music, and the possible reasons for the misperceptions and marginalisation of the music in national competitions. Finally, the article advocates the promotion of Venda choral music in order to motivate and encourage present and future composers of the language group, Vhavenda. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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In this article we take up Dorothy Hodgson's appeal for a stronger gender analysis of the process of missionisation by revisiting Adrian Hastings's 1993 essay in which he argued that 'again and again in a mission history ... the early significant baptisms were mostly of women'. A close reading of the reportage of the Lutheran missionaries of the Berlin Mission Society is undertaken to establish whether or not this trend is also applicable to the Bahananwa and the Vhavenda of the Soutpansberg region, former Transvaal, South Africa, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. According to our findings, Bahananwa and Vhavenda women were not, as has been concluded by Hastings with reference to many other African case studies, more eager to convert than men, and certainly not representative of the 'early significant baptisms' in these respective communities. Unlike Hodgson's claim for so many other societies in the early stages of the missionary encounter, women were also not predominant in the early Bahananwa or Vhavenda Christian congregations. While Hastings does make provision in his model for exceptional cases, our evidence for the Bahananwa and the Vhavenda contests his assumptions that women's resistance to conversion should be explained in terms of female religiosity and conservatism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored the experiences of five rural VhaVenda women involved in polygamous marriages aged between twenty seven and sixty four years. The five participants were selected through snowball sampling method from four villages in Vhembe District (Limpopo Province). Data were analysed qualitatively using Mostyn's (1985) four phases of content analysis. Participants considered polygamous marriage among the vhaVenda to be a cultural phenomenon that has both positive and negative effects. On the positive side, the participants found polygamy to provide social support and to minimise divorce and promiscuity. On the negative side, polygamy was found to lower the quality of life for women involved in such a marriage arrangement. Other negative consequences associated with polygamy included feelings of distress and entrapment, the lack of control that these women have over their sexuality, the humiliation that they experience due to constant conflicts with co-wives, favouritism and neglect by husbands, and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS because of the multiple relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Grounded Theory study has been used, based on its Theory of Symbolic Interactionism, to explore indigenous healers' beliefs and practices concerning sexually transmitted diseases amongst the Vhavenda. Initial data collection has been done, using purposive sampling and when categories started emerging, theoretical sampling was then used. Data were analysed by using three basic types of coding namely, open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The findings of the study revealed a variety of terms used to identify STDs. It then also became evident that there are similarities between gonorrhoea, syphilis and condylomata as shown in the orthodox Sexually transmitted diseases posters used in orthodox medicine with some of the STDs that the indigenous healers are familiar with. In accordance with the Grounded Theory, the description of types of diseases, disease patterns as well as signs and symptoms culminated in the emergence of the Dirt Theory. Based on the above findings, it was recommended that guidelines for designing a module for teaching health professionals be formulated to assist nurses in understanding the beliefs and practices of the people they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indigenous and local knowledge systems are characterised by a ‘knowledge-practice-belief’ complex that plays a critical role for biodiversity management and conservation on indigenous lands. However, few studies take into consideration the interconnected relationship between the social processes underpinning knowledge accumulation, generation and transmission. The study draws on ethnobotanical research to explore plant uses, practices and belief systems developed among the indigenous Vhavenda in South Africa for sustaining indigenous plant resources and highlights some of the forces of change influencing the acquisition and transmission of knowledge. Methods: Data was collected from September–November 2016 from 31 individuals by means of semi-structured interviews; walks in home gardens, cultivated fields, montane forests and deciduous woodlands; and vouchering of plant species in six villages (Duthuni, Tshidzivhe, Vuvha, Lwamondo, Mashau and Tshiendeulu) in the Vhembe District of South Africa. The Use Value Index (UVI) was used to measure the number of different uses of each species and the Relative Frequency Index (RFI) to measure the local importance of each species. Semi-structured interviews and comparisons with published works also explored cultural practices and belief systems associated with plants, modes and barriers of knowledge transmission. Results: Eighty-four plant species were reported within 44 families, with Fabaceae representing the highest diversity of plant species. We identified six species not previously documented in the Vhavenda ethnobotanical literature, 68 novel uses of plants and another 14 variations of known uses. Vhavenda plants were predominantly used for food (36.0%) and medicine (26.1%) and consisted mainly of native (73.8%) compared to non-native species (26.2%). The Vhavenda possess a range of practices for managing plant resources that can be attributed to taboos preventing the use of selected species, promotion of sustainable harvesting practices and the propagation of plant species for ecological restoration. Plant knowledge and management practices were transmitted from relatives (48.4%), self-taught through time spent planting and harvesting plants on the land (19.4%), through apprenticeships with traditional healers (16.1%), initiation schools (9.7%) and clan gatherings (6.4%). Changes in traditional learning platforms for knowledge exchange, erosion of cultural institutions and shifting value systems serve as barriers for knowledge transmission among the Vhavenda. Conclusion: The study points to a need for new partnerships to be forged between conservationists, government actors and local and indigenous knowledge holders to foster hybrid knowledge coproduction for developing strategies to enhance the productivity and biodiversity of indigenous lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]