Khoroni - IN THE PUBLIC MEETING-PLACE (COURTYARD): The Entrance     The village of a Venda chief at Thengwe. The houses are occupied by his wives, relatives, and counsellors. The big tree slightly to the left of centre shades the khoro, meeting place of the council and scene of music and dancing.   7 Kha tsha monde (on the left hand): Fumi malembe ten hoes (Na / and five hoe-handles). 8 Kha tsha (on the right): Fumi dza ten elephant tusks. 9 tha up above: tsha tshiruxwe the nest of a hammerhead, Maila-u-sumbwa must-not-be-pointed-at. 10 Fhasi below: Mfudze watsho its droppings.   The ten hoes and elephant tusks refer to the marriage payment of former times, as well as being symbols of the female and male. The hammerhead is associated with medicine and sorcery. He is supposed to have in his nest a snake, who guards it for him, and to hoard beads, pieces of salempore cloth, and other things. Doctors use his droppings for medicine, especially in a mixture which was rubbed on the stick (thamu) that each man took with him on a war-party. Furthermore, if a hammerhead perches on something in front of you, you should turn back. Nos.7-10 seem to to be standard milayo, but others are sometimes given as well, or instead, of them.   7a Kha tsha monde on the left hand: hoho ya the head of a buffalo. 8a Kha tsha on the right: Thonga dza tshugulu knobkerries made of the horn of the white rhinoceros. 9a up above: tsha tshihungu-vhutwa the nest of a pied crow, which comes from the south. 11 Honoho dzula that very place where you are sitting: a) Mutobvu-wa-gandila semen from coitus interruptus. b) Zwihungu-vhukalanga crows from the north. 12 Lukombo boundary (fence): Thende- surrounded of the homestead, Lukanda lwa mabidige the skin of the one who writhes (i.e. the python). 13 Luvhambo lwa the medicated stick across the outside of the entrance: willow tree. 14 Lwa ngomu the stick on the inside: Murenzhe (murevhe) a thorny scrub [?]. 15 Ndi tshi yo dzhena hangei khoroni when I am going to enter there: Ndi tshi ri Ndo na luphala lwa and I say, I encountered an elephant's trunk: Vha amba Khoro yo ita mukwana- they say, that is the path going to the chief's place. 16 Fhasi ha mathanda a khoroni under the poles that are rammed into the ground [by the entrance] of the courtyard: Zwirethe zwa vhathu the heels of people. 16a Fhasi ha mapango o bwelwaho ha-ngeno under the gate-poles that have been dug into the ground there: Zwirethe zwa vhathu the heels of people. 17 songo nzhena the pole that does not go in: Mutuku a sa koni an impotent lad (lit. a lad is not able). 17a Thanda dzo vhewa dzo pfi mbere poles are placed loosely in position: Vhasadzi khole women who are not truly married women. 18 o nzhenaho nga that which has gone in deeply: Mutuka a no kona a lad who is potent. 18a Thanda dzo vehewa dzo nzhala poles are placed firmly in the ground: Vhasadzi : muthu wa thovhela true [good] woman; a pregnant woman. 19 Vhukati hao in the centre of [the gateway]: Magumbi a Vho-Khakhu na Vho-Tshililo old Khakhu and Tshililo, who don't make love any more. 19a Khoro yo piringedzwa when the courtyard is overgrown: Magumbi a Vho-Khakhu na Vho-Tshililo old Khakhu and Tshililo, who don't make love any more. 20 ha mapango the tops of the gatepoles (which stick up and slightly outwards on either side: -godzwa [-gudzwu, -godi] the horns of a white ox. 21 Khoro yo valwa when the courtyard is closed [i.e. the entrance]: Musidzana a songo tshinywa a virgin: Musidzana o -takala a girl who is pleased with herself. 22 Nda luvhala luthihi I pulled out one pole (from the gate, in order to open it: Musidzana o tshinywaho a girl who has been deflowered. 22a Dzo valwa dzo peama if it is not properly closed: Musidzana o tshinywaho a girl who has been deflowered. 23 Khoro yo valwa the courtyard is closed. Musadzi a na thumbu (muthu wa thovhela) a pregnant woman 24 Yo vulwa when it is opened: Muthu (musadzi) o vhofholowa a person [woman] has come untied, i.e. a woman has delivered her baby. 24a Ri tshi vula danda (ri tshi bvisa tswinga nthihi): hezwi tshi ngwe-le-ngwende when we take out a pole [from the gate], and it falls down and creaks: Hu khou lila lutshetshe: ndi musadzi a tshi khou an infant is crying: a woman is coming to pieces, i.e. delivering a child.   At this point, separate sets of milayo may be given for the different head-quarters of the Tavhatsindi and Mbedzi clans. This further supports the theory that domba belonged to these people before Vendaland was conquered by the ancestors of the present ruling clans. For ease of comparison, these milayo will be given in tabular form, while retaining the sequence of numbers. Milayo in No. 27 all refer to aspects of ancestor worship: Lake Fundudzi and the pool Maneledzi are sites for the annual sacrifices of the people of Tshiavha and Mianzwi respectively. They are both part of the River Mutale, which eventually joins the River Luvuvhu and then the Limpopo. Lake Fundudzi arouses interest in particular because it appears to have no outlet, and it is associated with the Tavhatsindi and the headman of Tshiavha (Stayt 1931:3, 10, 237 etc.). Khuzwane is the creator-god of a cult associated with pouring libations on stones, on which he is supposed to have left his footprints in the days when rocks were soft (Stayt 1931:236). The people of Luvhimbi (see the personification in No. 34) are rain-makers of the Mbedzi clan, who are said to have come from Rhodesia [Zimbabwe] and to have the crocodile as their totem (, cf. No. 26) (van Warmelo 1940:106).       Thengwe (Tavhatsindi) Tshiavha (Tavhatsindi) Mianzwi (Mbedzi) and Ha Tshikambe 25 Ndo bva ndi tshi tshimbila nga - I went out and walked along yo tswukaho the red path. Gwala vhaloi the big trail of the sorcerers. ya luxaxaidza a bushy path. 26 Nda nda kanda - And I came and I trod on:   Mutshila wa : Findi a python's tail: and its body. Mutshila wa : yayo a crocodile's tail: and its head. 27 Khoro hune vha tshina hone vhatei - The courtyard where the novices dance Lwala lwa lutombo lwa Khuzwane the large flat rock of Khuzwane. ivha Fundudzi Lake Fundudzi. the pool Maneledzi in River Mutale. 28 Mbilu ya (vhukati ha) khoro- The heart (centre) of the courtyard Gumba phou ostrich egg. Gumba phou ostrich egg. Shamboda- 'wild rhubarb' (which grows beside water [Gunnera perpensa L.]. 29   Tshivhaso - The [domba] fireplace Tshilalo tsha sleeping place of a hare. a) Ndalama ya Venda cowrie shell (large and worn as ornament). b) Shimba ndau the lion's paw. Tshilalo tsha ngululu sleeping place of the klipspringer, a small antelope. 30 ya khoro the path through the courtyard Ludede lwa shango the girdle of the country (Mulambo wa) Mutale River Mutale. Mutale River Mutale    Next  To return, click 'Back' in the browser.