Abstract:
Inwi nwana, ni tou vha khundavhalai! (you child, you defeated your guide!). When a
child behaved disrespectful to society, and is ill mannered, in Tshivenda, he/she would
be referred to as Khundavhalai. Khundavhalai is made out of two Tshivenda words
(Khunda + Vhalai which could be equalled to defeating + guides), meaning the one
who defeated those who should guide him/her. The system and process of guiding
could be equaled to u laya. Nwana is a child. The purpose of this study was to reflect
on the Afro-centric practices of u laya nwana- guiding a child with particular reference
to the Vhavenḓa culture. The decision to conduct this study was influenced by
concerning incidences of behavior that could be associated with khundavhalai. The
question was how did vhalai convey ndayo (The content and processes of u laya)?
Bearing in mind a lack of documentation on these practices, I envisaged that the
reflections would provide insights about how Vhavenda people guided children, with
the hope that what was good could be blended with contemporary practices. The study
employed a qualitative reflective paradigm. In-depth interviews were conducted with
six elderly people who were key informants, to establish how u laya ṅwana was
practised in the olden days. Olden days referred to a period before the 1980s. Key
informants were asked to reflect on the processes and content of u laya ṅwana, and
to identify positive practices that could be applied in the revival process of u laya
vhana. Findings showed that u laya nwana was done throughout a child’s
development, using different forms, such as songs, folklore, games, proverbs within a
family context and communally through initiation schools(ngoma). There was a strong
collaborative system between the families, traditional leadership, and key community
figures who had the trust of the families and the royal household to run initiation
schools. Participants were concerned that these practices have since vanished. A few
that still exist are not without challenges. I got an opportunity to visit and observe at
least two of those schools. The programme to revive ndayo was suggested, which
encourages adaptive processes and collaborative effort between traditional initiation
schools, families, communities, schools, churches, and relevant government
departments.
