by Nancy Farmer
Rokuroya makes people act like witches. This is a particularly bad shave, and people who sleepwalk are suspected of being possessed by Rokuroya. In the bad old days they used to pound wooden pegs into the heads of sleepwalkers and leave them to die in the bush.
Chirungu is my personal favorite. He or she is the spirit of a white person, who makes people dress in pure white clothes, sit in chairs, drink boiling tea, and crave hard-boiled eggs.
NGOZI
An ngozi is an angry spirit who can cause madness, illness, and death. A murder victim, a parent mistreated by his children, or anyone else who has a grievance left over from life may turn into an ngozi. The wrong must be corrected before the spirit will agree to depart.
VARI KUDENGA
The vari kudenga, or people of the sky, live in Mwari’s country and are very powerful. At the same time, not much is known about them. They are said to be the source of newborn souls.
VARI PANYIKA
The vari panyika, or people of Middle Earth, include living humans, visiting ancestral spirits, and animals. The boundary between humans and animals can be weak, and some people have the ability to change from one to the other. Most people don’t want to be overwhelmed by the animal world; it’s considered extremely dangerous. One way to fall into the clutches of an alien form is to eat your own totem. A totem is the symbol of your family or clan.
Certain people have a special ability to contact the spirit world. These mediums are highly respected, unless they devote themselves to evil and become witches. Witchcraft is thought to be hereditary, but it sometimes shows up in a normal family. It is a serious crime to accuse someone of witchcraft in Zimbabwe because accused people may commit suicide. This is partly because of the social isolation that overtakes such individuals.
VARI PASI
The vari pasi are the people who live under the earth. A lot is known about them. The ancestors live with them, and sometimes living people fall into their realm.
Some of the most important inhabitants of the underworld are the njuzu, the water spirits. They protect lakes and rivers. If they are angry, they travel through the air like whirlwinds, bringing drought to the land beneath them. Njuzu take the shape of attractive men or women, but they can metamorphose into snakes, fish, or even crocodiles. They sometimes carry off people in their whirlwinds or pull them into their sacred pools.
Traditional healers, or ngangas, are often kidnapped and trained by njuzu, but they have to be very careful. They must never accept food while they are in the spiritual realm or they will be condemned to live in it forever.
CHRISTIANITY
Catholic missionaries arrived in southern Africa along with the Portuguese. Most of the other Christian groups have established churches in the past hundred years, but there are a few genuinely African sects. One of the most widespread is the Vapostori, or Apostles.
In 1932 Johane Maranke, the grandson of a chief and a member of the Methodist church, fell into a trance and began “speaking in tongues” after experiencing a vision. He and his family believed he had received the inspiration to establish a new church from the Holy Spirit.
The new system spread rapidly. It was against traditional religious practices and considered ancestral spirits to be evil demons. It also had a full set of rules, communicated to Maranke in his visions.
Vapostori may not drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, or eat pork. They may not use medicines, although they are allowed holy water and the laying on of hands at healing ceremonies. The men shave their heads and let their beards grow. On the Sabbath, Saturday, Vapostori meet outdoors for confession and prayer. All wear white, and the men carry shepherd’s crooks.
While they reject the traditional Shona religion, they do believe in witchcraft and have ceremonies to deal with it.
TOTEMS
When a child is born, he or she is given the father’s totem name. This identifies the infant as belonging to a particular clan. This name, or mutupo, refers to an animal or part of an animal that must not be eaten. The child also receives a principal praise name, or chidao. This refers to a much smaller and more closely related group of relatives. A person can marry someone with the same mutupo but not the same chidao.
Examples of names are:
mutupo chidao
Gumbo (leg) Sambiri (The possessor of fame)
Soko (baboon) Murehwa (One who is spoken about)
Soko (baboon) Vhudzijena (White-haired, venerable)
Moyo (heart) Chirandu (Great Beast, probably elephant)
A man with the totem Soko-Murehwa could marry a woman with the totem Soko-Vhudzijena, but not someone in his own chidao group.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Major sources are indicated with an asterisk. Sources of Nhamo’s stories are indicated with a dagger.
Altmann, Jeanne. Baboon Mothers and Infants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1980.
*†Aschwanden, Herbert. Karanga Mythology. Translated by Ursula Cooper. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1989.
*†_____.Symbols of Death. Translated by Ursula Cooper. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1987.
*†_____. Symbols of Life. Translated by Ursula Cooper. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1982.
*Bourdillon, M. F. C. The Shona Peoples. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1982.
Bozongwana, Reverend W. Ndebele Religion and Customs. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1983.
Broadley, D. G., and E. V. Cook. Snakes of Zimbabwe. Harare, Zimbabwe: Longman Zimbabwe, 1993.
Chigwedere, A. S. The Forgotten Heroes of Chimurenga. Harare, Zimbabwe: Mercury Press, 1991.
Corfield, Timothy. The Wilderness Guardian. Nairobi, Kenya: The David Sheldrick Wildlife Appeal, 1984.
Dale, D. Shona Mini-Companion. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1981.
*Daneel, M. L. The God of the Matopos Hills. The Hague and Paris: Mouton & Co., 1970.
*Drummond, R. B., and Coates Palgrave. Common Trees of the Highveld. Salisbury, Rhodesia: Longman Rhodesia, 1973.
*Ellert, H. The Material Culture of Zimbabwe. Harare, Zimbabwe: Longman Zimbabwe, 1984.
*Estes, Richard Despard. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1992.
*Fortune, George. Elements of Shona. Salisbury, Rhodesia: Longman Rhodesia, 1957.
Gelfand, Michael. An African’s Religion. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta & Company Ltd., 1966.
*_____. Diet and Tradition in an African Culture. Edinburgh and London: E & S Livingstone, 1971.
*_____. The Genuine Shona. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1973.
*†_____. Growing Up in Shona Society. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1979.
*_____. The Spiritual Beliefs of the Shona. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1977.
*_____. Witch Doctor. New York and Washington, D. C.: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964.
*Gelfand, Michael, S. Mavi, R. B. Drummond, and B. Ndemera. The Traditional Medical Practitioner in Zimbabwe. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1985.
*Ginn, Peter. Birds of the Highveld. Harare, Zimbabwe: Longman Zimbabwe, 1972.
*Grainger, Colonel D. H. Don’t Die in the Bundu. Cape Town, South Africa: Howard Timmins, 1967.
Guy, Graham, Alan MacIsaac, P. Papadopoulo, and Dr. D. G. Broadley. The Bundu Book of Mammals, Reptiles and Bees. Harare, Zimbabwe: Longman Zimbabwe, 1972.
Hannon, M. Standard Shona Dictionary. Harare, Zimbabwe: College Press, 1987.
*†Hodza, A. C., comp. Shona Folk Tales. Translated by O. C. Chiromo. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1987.
*†_____. Shona Praise Poetry. Edited by George Fortune. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1979.
Hove, Masotsha M. Confessions of a Wizard. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1985.
Jenkins, David, R. B. Drummond, S. Mavi, J. F. Ngoni, and R. Williams. The Bundu Book of Trees, Flowers and Grasses. Harare, Zimbabwe: Longman Zimbabwe, 1972.
*Jules-Rosette, Benetta. African Apostles. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1975.
*Kenmuir, Dale, and
Russell Williams. Wild Mammals. Harare, Zimbabwe: Longman Zimbabwe, 1985.
*Kileff, Cliff, and Peggy Kileff, eds. Shona Customs: Essays by African Writers. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1992.
Lightfoot, Christopher. Common Veld Grasses of Rhodesia. Salisbury, Rhodesia: Government Printer, 1975.
Minshull, Jacqueline, and Janet Duff. Arachnids: A Classification. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: The Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, 1993.
Munjanja, Amos M. Everyday Shona and English. Harare, Zimbabwe: Write and Read Publications, Literature Bureau, 1994.
Nelson, Harold D., ed. Mozambique: A Country Study. United States government publication, Department of the Army, 1985.
_____, ed. South Africa: A Country Study. United States government publication, Department of the Army, 1981.
_____, ed. Zimbabwe: A Country Study. United States government publication, Department of the Army, 1983.
*Plowes, D. C. H., and R. B. Drummond. Wild Flowers of Rhodesia. Salisbury, Rhodesia: Longman Rhodesia, 1976.
*Reid-Daly, Ron. Staying Alive. Cape Town, South Africa: Ashanti Publishing Ltd., 1990.
Skaife, S. H. African Insect Life. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publishers Ltd., 1994.
Smuts, Barbara B. Sex and Friendship in Baboons. New York: Aldine Publishing Company, 1985.
Stein, David Martin. The Sociobiology of Infant and Adult Male Baboons. Norwood, N. J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1984.
*Steyn, Peter. Wankie Birds. Salisbury, Rhodesia: Longman Rhodesia, 1974.
†Stockil, C., and M. Dalton. Shangani Folk Tales. Volumes I and II. Harare, Zimbabwe: The Literature Bureau, 1987.
*Stuart, Chris, and Tilde Stuart. A Field Guide to the Tracks and Signs of Southern and East African Wildlife. Harare, Zimbabwe: Tutorial Press, 1994.
Swaney, Deanna, and Myra Shackley. Zimbabwe, Botswana & Namibia. Hawthorn, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 1992.
*Tredgold, Margaret H., in collaboration with H. M. Biegel, S. Mavi, and Dr. Hugh Ashton. Food Plants of Zimbabwe. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press, 1986.
Viewing, Dr. K. A., J. W. Sweeney, and P. S. Garlake. The Bundu Book of Geology, Gemology and Archaeology. Salisbury, Rhodesia: Longman Rhodesia, 1968.
LITERATURE CIRCLE QUESTIONS
Use these questions and activities that follow to get more out of the experience of reading A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer.
Why is Nhamo particularly afraid of leopards?
What happens in Nhamo’s village that causes them to visit the muvuki?
What circumstances lead to Nhamo fleeing to Zimbabwe? What does she expect to find there?
The muvuki knows everything about Nhamo’s village, which makes his magic seem very powerful. How else could he have learned the history and names of the people in the village?
Why might Aunt Chipo want Nhamo to be sent away? What evidence can you find that she dislikes Nhamo? Do you think Aunt Chipo was really possessed?
Choose one of the stories that Nhamo tells and explain how it relates to the situation that Nhamo is in at the time and how it demonstrates or affects Nhamo’s feelings about the situation.
Through most of her journey, Nhamo talks to spirits such as Crocodile Guts. How do the spirits help her? Discuss how they help her survive, both directly and indirectly.
How does being on her own affect Nhamo’s behavior? Choose three things that she does that she wouldn’t have done if she had stayed in the village. Would she have done them if she had a human companion?
Compare how Nhamo feels about the njuzu when she first encounters them and then at the end of her journey. Has her opinion changed? Find evidence to support your answer.
Why does Nhamo spend so long on the second island? Do you think she would have left earlier or later if the baboons hadn’t been there? What if Rumpy hadn’t been part of the troop?
Why are the people Nhamo first encounters after she reaches land suspicious of her? Imagine you encountered a person who looked and acted like Nhamo did today. Would you trust that person?
Do you think Long Teats possessed Nhamo? What evidence can you find to support or refute Nhamo’s conviction that she was possessed? What circumstances brought about Long Teats’s possessing Nhamo?
What about Dr. Masuku makes Nhamo call her “Mother”? Do you think that Nhamo really believes Dr. Masuku is her mother? Explain why. Is there a connection between what Nhamo calls Dr. Masuku and how much Nhamo believes that she is her mother?
Why does Nhamo choose to tell some people about her interactions with the spirits and not others? Select one negative and positive thing that happens as a result of her talking about the spirits. Discuss how you think it affected Nhamo’s behavior in the book and if you think it will continue to guide her in the future.
Note: The literature circle questions are keyed to Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge: 1-3; Comprehension: 4-5; Application: 6-7; Analysis: 8-9; Synthesis: 10-11; Evaluation: 12-14.
Activities
Create a timeline of major events in Nhamo’s life, including events that happened before the book began and where she was at the time. Project the timeline into Nhamo’s future. With your class, discuss with your ideas about Nhamo’s future.
Illustrate one of the many colorful places that Nhamo saw or visited on her travels, including its inhabitants.
Make up a folktale or story—like Nhamo did throughout the novel—to explain some aspect of your own daily life, your local culture, or human relationships.
OTHER ORCHARD CLASSICS
Nothing But the Truth
BY AVI
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
BY AVI
ALSO BY NANCY FARMER
Do You Know Me
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm
The Warm Place
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 by Nancy Farmer
Preface copyright © 2003 by Nancy Farmer
Cover illustrations copyright © 2003 by Bryan Collier
All rights reserved. Published by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. ORCHARD BOOKS and design are registered trademarks of Watts Publishing Group, Ltd., used under license. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 0-531-09539-8 (Hardcover);
0-439-47144-3 (Orchard Classics, Paper Over Board)
First Orchard Classics edition, April 2003
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E-ISBN: 978-0-545-22978-4
