The role of women in the death rites of passage within the Zezuru culture of Zimbabwe : a pastoral approach

Abstract

The study explores the dynamics of the role of women in the Zezuru death rites of passage. Data was gathered by means of a qualitative phenomenological research design. Narrative interviews were done with six participants and two focus groups were employed at a widow’s retreat and a pastors’ workshop. The main objective of the study was to examine the role of women in the Zezuru death rites of passage and the extent to which the church can contextualize and utilize those rites of passage to provide effective pastoral care to the bereaved Zezuru widows as they go through their prolonged grief process. The study found that the role of Zezuru women is indispensable in the performance of post-death rituals. They are active at every stage of the death rites of passage. On the other hand, the women, such as the bereaved widows who are closest to the deceased and whose lives are most affected by the death, are marginalized in many respects. While actively performing culturally prescribed roles they nevertheless have little to no decision-making authority in post-death rituals involving their loved ones. The study then explored Christian functional substitutes for some of the cultural practices that could be implemented by the church in its fulfilment of its pastoral role. These functional substitutes would then serve to achieve a better gender balance in post-death rituals while honouring the Zezuru culture and accommodating the sensibilities of Zezuru Christians. The study concludes with an exploration of how, from a pastoral care and counselling perspective, the faith community can facilitate healing, guiding, sustaining, nurturing, liberating and empowering with Zezuru widows. It recommends that functional substitutes over and above the Nyaradzo (Comforting service) and kuvhura dombo (tombstone unveiling) should be explored in future studies