The traditional healing practices of the Vhavenda people include one very important
component, the malombo ritual healing practice.
This healing practice has been conducted for centuries. It involves the use of music
(including singing and the use of drums and shakers for rhythm), dance and elements
of theatre performed by the person to be healed, the healer, invited malombe
(community members who have been through the same ritual), as well as family
members and supporters.
The importance of this ritual as a healing process has long been acknowledged. Of
interest in this study, however, is the role-played by the music itself in facilitating the
healing process. The ritual cannot take place without the music; neither is the music
used outside this specific ritual.
Seven representative malombo songs have been partially notated by John Blacking
and N. J. van Warmelo also as recorded texts. However, since this ritual is closed and
seldom open to strangers, their research was, of necessity, limited. Through long-term
fieldwork, and from an insider perspective, this thesis is based on participation in
more than fifteen malombo rituals during the field research period (2005-2014).
Songs and performances were recorded as possible and some are included on the
accompanying CD. In addition, transcription was utilized as a tool to demonstrate the
core melody of selected songs, with the acknowledgement that transcription in
Western notation limits the demonstration of the creative mato1 process that is
fundamental to the malombo ritual.
This thesis argues that that music plays a vital role in this healing ceremony, and it is
through the mato process that the ancestors are called to heal. The texts of the songs at
times include words of the Tshikalanga language that is spoken by the Vhakalanga of
Zimbabwe. Most significantly, music is seen as the bridge between the ancestral
spirits and the patient and participants in the ceremony, thus underscoring its
fundamental importance in Vhavenda culture. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / SAMRO / Music / DMus / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/64353 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Davhula, Mudzunga Junniah |
| Contributors | Nzewi, Meki, davhula.junniah@gmail.com |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | © 2018 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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