The African Religious Landscape : an examination of Shona traditional beliefs and practices in light of HIV and AIDS, and its ramifications for mitigation and care

Abstract

This study examined traditional Shona beliefs and practices in light of HIV/AIDS in the rural communities of the Chipinge District in Zimbabwe. The focus of the study was to examine selected Shona traditional beliefs and practices, and evaluate how they respond to the HIV/AIDS threat. The study aimed to examine the traditional beliefs and practices that people in Chipinge rural communities still practise, have stopped practising, or have modified due to the encroachment of HIV/AIDS into the communities’ socio-moral space. It also aims to discuss the traditional beliefs and practices that are safe and those that expose people to HIV infection, in addition to the communities’ knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Grounded in the traditional Shona religious landscape, and from a phenomenological perspective, the study utilised a qualitative survey research design. Using purposive and snowball sampling procedures, 72 study participants, knowledgeable in the Shona people’s traditional beliefs and practices, were selected. The study used non-scheduled structured interviews and a questionnaire, with both closed and open-ended questions, to gather data from the participants. Most participants defined HIV/AIDS as a blend of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that take time to treat. They believed that AIDS results from ‘pollution’ caused by sexual intercourse with ‘unclean’ women, while a few attributed it to having unprotected sex with an infected partner. Results show that kuputsa (pledged or child marriage), barika (polygamy), and kugara nhaka (wife inheritance) are harmful marriage practices that expose people to HIV infection. As old habits die hard, the study suggests modifications to such marriage practices, where people willing to be involved should take an HIV antibody test. Given that information about HIV/AIDS is communicated through posters and pamphlets written in English, it would benefit the community, if the Ministry of Health and Child Care could provide information in the Ndau language.