Ludodoni - AT LUDODO Ludodo is a rite which takes place by day shortly after the beginning of tshikanda. What van Warmelo (1932:55 and 57) describes as ludodo was called muvhudziso (the interrogation) by my informants, and I recorded it on a number of occasions. It was done towards the end of domba, and so I include it later in this paper. What Stayt (1931:113) describes as ludodo I also saw, but this was described simply as part of the instruction of domba. The milayo of ludodo explain the mime that is enacted, and hence take on a rather different form. Ri ya ludodoni: ludodo lwa nndodomisa (we go to ludodo: ludodo has made me run quickly, in short bursts with frequent halts [i.e. like a hunter]). 128 Vha dzia vhura vha vhea they take a bow and they put it down: A woman who challenges a man to love may say "a ni na vhura" (you are sexually useless; lit you have no bow). Luvhabvu lwa muthu a person's rib. 129 Lutsinga lwa vhura the bowstring: Muhanu wa muthu a person's Achilles tendon. 130 Fhasi ha vhura the bottom of the bow: Khombwane a name. 131 ha vhura the top of the bow: a name. Sometimes the 'answers' given are respectively and Musina (i.e. Messina, where the Venda used to mine copper). 132 Vha dzhia musevhe vha vhea they take an arrow-head and they fix it [on the shaft]: Munna a konaho a potent man. 133 he vha pombwa hone there where it is bound to the shaft: Mihanu wa vhathu people's Achilles tendons. 134 Musevhe wa ngovhe a barbed arrowhead, [which will not come out]: a)Vhasidzana vho kwevhaho girls who have lengthened their labia minora nicely. b) zwo nembelelaho kha nnyo dza vhasidzana: milevhe : arali u songo nembeledza, vha a u sea those things which hang down on girls' private parts: your labia minora: if you don't make them hang nicely, people will laugh at you. This mulayo confirms the Venda argument that women lengthen their labia minora in order to enhance the pleasure of intercourse. The significance of the barbed arrow-head is that it refers to the practice of literally tying the labia round the male organ. 135 Madungo a the nodes of the river-reed: Maremu (marinini) a : a sa athu u naka mulomoni the gums of a child: whose mouth is not yet beautiful [with teeth].  136 Namusisha mudzimba u ya bva: u yo zwima: a doba vhura hawe: u ya tuwa naho: a wana vhafumakadzi vha bondeloni. Now the hunter goes: he goes to hunt: he picks up his bow: he goes off with it: he discovers married women at the place where "marula: fruit are being prepared for beer.  137 A tshi vhona vhafumakadzi vha : u a dzula fhasi. Vha ri, "Munna o swika, ri mu fha mukumbi-?" When he sees the married women preparing 'marula' beer: he comes and sits down. They say, "A man has come; what kind of 'marula' beer (mukumbi) are we going to give him?". 138 "Na ri mu fha mukumbi (wa) tuvhu?" "Hai! Tuvhu nwiwa nga vhasadzi." "Na ri mu fha mukumbi wa luphogo?" "Hai! Luphogo lu nwiwa nga vhasadzi." "Ri mu fha mukumbi wa lutanda: wa vhanna: wa -manena: wo vhilaho nga : uri u ise lutanda ". "Shall we give him 'marula' beer that is only one day old, before it has fermented?" "No! Tuvhu (as it is called) is drunk only by women." "Shall we give him luphogo?" " No! Luphogo is drunk only by women." "We'll give him strong, well fermented lutanda: the man's beer: that rots the guts: that is as well fermented as possible: so that he may send one lutanda to another." This is both a comparison of the strength of the beer and of men, and a play on the double meaning of lutanda. To "send one lutanda to another' means 'to send the lutanda beer down to one's stomach and out through the lutanda [lit. long rod]', which is a euphemism for the penis. 139 A tshi nwa a ri, "Kha vha ." Vhe ri, "Evho! ri nwa washu wa tuvhu: wa - wa vhasadzi: wa lutanda ndi wa vhanna." A a tshi kokota na tshininga. He drank and said, "Help me drink it." They replied, "Oh no! We drink our tuvhu beer: it's the women's very sweet thing: lutanda is the men's." [The comparison with sexual functions is deliberate.] He drank it down to the very last drop. 140 O no fhedza u doba vhura hawe: u khou tshimbila: u yo -zwimela: u wana ntsa i a ima: a i pfula nga musevhe: a tshi via mufumakadzi a swika: a vho bva mukumbini: a tshi khou pala muroho. When he had finished there, he picks up his bow: he walks along: he goes to hunt for himself: he finds a small antelope (duiker) standing: he shoots it with an arrow: as he skins it, a woman comes up: she has come from where they were drinking 'marula' beer: and she is picking wild vegatables. 141 A tshi swika u wana a tshi khou via phukka: a ri, "Na ri mu fha ? A ri mu fhe kuvhabvu?" A ri, "Ni a zwifha." "Mu fheni kudofha." A kudofha : a a tshi kapulela malofha fhedzi. She arrives there and discovers the man skinning that beast: he says, "What portion shall I give her? Shall I not give her a little rib?" She says, "You are bluffing." "Then let's give her a little drop of blood." So he brings one drop of blood to another: and she finished up all the blood. This is almost exactly the same as section 138, except that the man is offering his food to a woman, instead of women to a man. Note particularly the parallel phrases: uri u ise lutanda (so that he may send one lutanda to another), referring to the male principle; and a kudofha (so he brings one drop of blood to another), referring to the female principle.  To return, click 'Back' in the browser. Next