LEMBA/SENA CULTURE

Names &Totems
The Maremba/Sena had many totems that included Shawa, Nzou, Nari, Mara, Humba, Mbewa, Honde and Monde etc. Many of these totems they copied from neighbouring tribes. However there were some totems in some areas that were more peculiar to them. Most of these totems were non kosher animals. One of the common Sena totems was the elephant. The elephant totem among the Sena is common in parts of South Africa and Zimbabwe. The mouse Sena totem is found in parts of Eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique and was found at Sofala among the Ngundane people who were most likely Waremba/Sena. In some cases it appears that the Sena had no totems and this supports the view that they may have picked up the custom from the Bantu. With totems you don’t normally eat your totem, so this may be the reason why so many Sena totems became kosher totems. Some of the greetings the Lemba men received from their women were; Vamwenye (foreigner, guest, or people of the light), Vhalungu (Europeans, non Negroes or strangers), Mushavi (traders) Balepa and Mapalakata. The Lemba were a nation of metal workers and traders. They were scattered in small villages amongst various Bantu tribes and lived in clans, and these clans (much like other Jews) had special skills. The tribes had Arabic names, such as Hasani, Hamisi, Sayyidi, and Sherifi. There were at least 18 lineages and maybe more. Some of these were Tova, Serimani, Hassani, Hamissi, Sayidi, Sherif, Mthovu or Mtovu those of lead, Mukalaka Sadiki - the right man, Manhadji - the leaders, Rapakali - those in the middle, Shilima or Malima the farmers, Shiroba those of the liver, Munhepi - those of tin, Mutakara - the happy ones, Mulukwana - the rope makers, Thobakali - lead saucepan, Ramadi - of the water, Sadiki - the just one of Mposi, and Ratshilangane - those of uprighteousness. The most important appear to be Ngavi-Zungunde, Hadzi (Haji), Sadiki, Sarifu (Sarefu), Musoni, Buba, Hamis, Bakari, Seremane, Tovakare, Duma, Mhani and Manga. (67) (177) (273) (354) (401) (465)

Sabbath & Blood
A Jewish characteristic is the 7th day Sabbath and among the Sena the number 7 was sacred just like for other Jews. One informant stated that his Mwenye/Sena church forbade them to work on Saturdays. It was also reported that, “it is said that our forefathers observed this day as a holy one.” Before the Europeans the Sena would rest on the 7th day and in Eastern Mashonaland where the Sena influence is found, there was in some places a report of a 7th day being used called the Luselo, which was the 7th day after the beginning of the month of digging. In Mangwende’s country in Mashonaland Bent found the people during the ploughing season would not work on the 6th day. It was called mualis day and fits in well with the Muslim 6th day of Friday. They would rest in their huts and drink beer. This region was frequented by Sena and Arabs. In Eastern Mashonaland the day of rest called chisi or a Sabbath was chosen using the moon cycle. A possible Semitic influence was also noted at Mangwendis and at Mtokos where worshippers were sprinkled with blood and sacrifices took place about February every year. Before a new kraal was occupied, the Lemba priest would sacrifice a sheep, the blood of which he sprinkled on one of the upright posts and on one of the rafters of each hut. The remaining blood he sprinkled on the ground of the kraal, after which a feast was made when the carcase of the animal was consumed by the members of the kraal. A new granary, before use, had to be consecrated by a priest, who sacrificed a white fowl, the blood of which he sprinkled on the floor and inside walls. Blood sacrifices of a similar nature were done by the ancient Israelites. (139) (177) (237) (298) (337) (338) (463)

New Moon
In 1609 the Portuguese recorded that inland from the Mozambique coast the Moors that were scattered in the interior had a feast at the full moon just like the Jews. The Monomatapa kingdom was influenced by Sena and also had ceremonies at the time of the full moon, especially in May. The Sena were to observe the new moon as an important day and in old times the men would shave their heads. On the new moon there was fasting and no work the next day showing a link to old Jewish customs. On the new moon the chief and others would blow horns. They held the first day of the new moon sacred, shaving their heads to commemorate it, while the Bantu didn’t. The New Year began when the new moon is first seen at the end of the month of November. Only the old men in the kraal were allowed to look at the new moon of their New Year. The other members of the kraal had to first see the reflection of the new moon in bowls of water which were placed on the ground by the old men. Moon traditions of the Lemba were also found among the Basuto, especially among the Basia (Vhasia) who had beautiful girls and who had a watered down new moon observance. In Yemen the people of the wadi Sena near the old city of Sena have had similar moon celebrations to this day. Others who regarded the moon with importance were the Hottentots who had moon worship as an organized cult. They adored the moon, gave her divine honours and had their dances in honour of the moon. The Bushmen were also recorded as worshipping the moon. (17) (136) (140) (145) (166) (177) (224) (273) (386)

Marriage
Basically the Sena practiced endogamy by marrying within the tribe, with polygamy and they had a patriarchal family structure. The husband’s father paid lobola or a dowry to the girl’s father. Though non-Lemba women were allowed to marry into the tribe, Lemba/Sena men faced expulsion in some cases if they married Senzi/gentiles. The Lemba men did not allow the Lemba women to participate in religious rites, as by tradition they were regarded as outsiders because many women had been obtained from other tribes. The original Lemba/Sena had been white and were referred to as mulungu or white coloured. Men were allowed to take wives from other tribes, in which case the bride elect has to undergo a course of purification by the priest. The process of purification was as follows. The hairs of the head and private parts were shaved and the girl lay on the bank of a river and was covered by a priest with dry sticks. It was the duty of the girl to collect the wood for the fire which he set alight. When she felt the heat of the fire, she jumped into the river. After purification she was admitted to membership of the tribe. She was not allowed to take any of her belongings to her new home. A man could take as many wives as he could afford to pay for. The Lemba were very particular with regard to their women. No woman was allowed to marry a man of another tribe. Should a Lemba woman elope with a man from another tribe (a very rare occurrence), she was brought back to her home and purified. Should childbirth result from the elopement, the baby was killed. On the rare occasion when a foreigner Senzi (non Sena) man wished to marry a Lemba/Sena woman he had to be purified by being wrapped in dry thatching grass which was set alight. He was expected to extricate himself by rolling in a nearby pool. (139) (140) (166) (177) (232) (273)

Death
Prior to the European influence the Lemba were said to be the only people who buried their dead in an extended position. The exception would be when they were buried by another tribe. The Lemba buried their dead just like the ancient stone building Zimbabweans, in contrast to the ‘crouched’ posture adopted by other peoples. The early European pioneers dug up at least 40 skeletal remains in the Zimbabwe type ruins. Many of these burials were under the original floors of the huts in the ruins. The people most associated with the ruins were buried full length and always on the right or left sides. When a Lemba/Sena man died, an incision was made in the jugular vein. The body was wrapped in an ox skin, with the lower limbs and the left arm extended, the right forearm flexed, the face resting on the palm of the right hand. The body was laid in the grave on its right side, often facing north. Normally only the hoes of the deceased were placed in the grave, but this would have varied regionally. His assegais and his axe were left in the hut for the eldest son of the principal wife, who was sole heir to all his late father's belongings. The hut was not deserted and after being purified by the priest it was reoccupied. When a woman died, the corpse was wrapped in a blanket. Half her beads were distributed among her relations and the other half were put in a small bowl which was placed in the grave above the head. All the pots of the deceased were placed on the grave. The relatives of the deceased shaved their heads and mourned for seven days, during which period they were not allowed to perform work of any description. In the case of the death of a man, a feast was held on the seventh day, when it was believed that the spirit that had departed at death would return to the body. The grave was to be no deeper than the armpits of the gravediggers. When the grave was dug, a recess was excavated in the side of the grave. In this recess the body was placed, doubtless to prevent pressure on the body. Like the Jews they would be unclean if they touched a dead person, bones or a grave. These burial traditions may have varied a little between different Sena groups. (175) (177) (232) (273) (337)

Diet
Like the Jews their dietary laws were distinct and different from those of the heathen. They were not supposed to mix with heathens because the heathens ate dead meat. They regarded themselves as chosen people and ate differently. Cleanliness was important, like washing before working with food. They didn’t mix meat and milk and had a Levitical way of eating. The members of the tribe were not allowed to eat the flesh of biblically unclean animals such as hippo, elephant, rabbit, carrion, scaleless fish, cats, dogs, zebra and non cloven hoofed animals. Using Jewish laws they were also not allowed to eat something that had died on its own or eat something that had been strangled. Whenever they killed any animal for meat, they had to use a knife to kill it and bled the blood out. If something was killed by any person not of the tribe and not circumcised, they were not allowed to eat it. All animals to be eaten had to have their throats cut in a Semitic fashion. If a priest lived in a kraal, he did the slaughtering, otherwise a man was appointed for this duty. They would not eat with members of another tribe, nor would they use a pot belonging to a member of another tribe for cooking purposes. Alcohol was consumed in the form of traditional beer. In older days the Lemba ate mostly rice and fish and in later years attempts to grow rice continued in Zimbabwe, including at Mberengwa. By about 1600 it was reported that around Sofala the inhabitants grew rice which occupied them for most of the year. In the Zambezi delta there were also Moors that carried out most of the cultivation and commerce taking to Sena town provisions, coconuts, and vinegar and coconut fibre and these may have been Sena peoples. In old times in the Barwe, which was a strong Sena area of Mozambique, people did not eat pork or unscaled fish. (145) (175) (177) (273) (298) (354) (417) (463)

Magic
The Sena/Lemba were well known for their healing and warfare magic and were often attached to important tribes. The Sadiki clan in particular were masters of war magic and livestock diseases, while the Hadzhi family were familiar with medicines and magic. The composition of the 18th and 19th centuries Monomatapa court, shows that there was a Sena element in it. This is shown by the Sena presence of the Nhewa Simboti people and Simboti was a priest. The Netambe and Mangwende names may also have been Sena or Tonga in origin. The later Venda Singo were a Monomatapa/Rozwi offshoot and the Sena/Lemba were an extension of the of the Royal Venda court. Historically, the Lemba were medicine men and musicians, iron workers and artisans, the intelligentiasia and priestly caste among the Venda. The Venda respected and feared the Lemba because they were thought to be sorcerers who could change form at will to masquerade as leopards or to disappear into the wind. The Lemba had a lighter skin than the Venda, so the Venda often called them valungu, which means ‘white men,’ ‘spirits of the dead,’ even ‘gods.’ For a long time they kept their metal work secrets from the other peoples. Metal working was mixed up with magic, with the Lemba smiths mixing with the metal to make hoes strong, human flesh from people already dead or who were killed. They were particularly effective in their war magic and this was shown with their Ngoma Lungundu war drums. Lembas were military advisors to the Venda and they led the Venda into battle and when some Lembas was killed the Venda had to retreat. The divining hakata bones used by the peoples in Zimbabwe and the northern Transvaal appear to have been derived from the Great Zimbabwe culture. These divining bones are also associated with the Lemba/Sena. There are four bones which have Semitic names and at least one has the name of a Sena clan, Thwalima. Most of the designs have sexual or phallic symbols. Hwami was one of the divining bones and it links to Hwami, the son of Cirume or Tshilume, who was one of the great chiefs of the Lemba/Venda tradition of the Ngoma Lungundu tradition. The Lemba were the main witchdoctors in this geographical area and would have been the main spreaders of these divining bones. The divining bowls in Vendaland are very similar to a wooden one found 10 miles from Great Zimbabwe. The Venda adapted these bowls for their own use, but were unaware of all the symbols on them, as they were probably used mainly by the Lemba. (46) (136) (140) (166) (273) (312) (445) (465) mature bridal wear for older women over 40/50

Among the Matabele
The Lemba were once powerful and referred to as the gods who wear clothes. In the 1850’s Moffat the missionary recorded a Lemba witchdoctor at Mzilikazis who with the others accompanying him, wore ‘a good deal of blue check and printed linen.’ Missionaries recorded in Vendaland that the Lemba had once worn white robes. The use of blue was a favourite colour in their clothing. Later with European influence the Lemba began to dress like other tribes. In the praise name of Malaba who was the witchdoctor of Lobengula, we have Thobela, which is a Lemba name. Moffat stated that some of their customs were peculiar and not like “any tribe of which I have knowledge.” An example was the refusal of the doctor to eat the Matabele’s meat, because it was not slaughtered by their own hands. And when Mzilikazi gave the doctor a goat “he instantly ran a spear into it behind the shoulder and immediately cut the throat, and at the same time laying the windpipe lengthwise.” This is nothing more than a Lemba ritual killing. I met a descendant of one Lobengula’s (Mzilikazi’s son) witchdoctors in Bulawayo and he had Semitic features. (298) (456)

Zambezi Valley Circumcision
One of the cultural features of the Sena and the Arabs was circumcision (all being children of Abraham). One of the differences in this practice of the two groups was that Muslims tended to do it about the age of 12-14, while the Jews did it soon after birth. In some areas like the Zambezi valley the Sena lost this cultural trait as they became swamped by newcomers. In more recent times among the Sena and Nyungwe on the Zambezi it was not recorded as often, while the Chuabo of Quelimane and the Mahindo of the Zambezi delta performed it. The two latter tribes did ceremonies for the young people of both sexes, not unlike those practised among the Yaos and other Muslim races, showing a Muslim influence. In Sena areas among the Barwe group there was circumcision and they also did female circumcision. The Manica in Eastern Zimbabwe had many practicing circumcision, this also being a Sena area. The mix of Jewish and Muslim circumcision customs is shown in Malawi where the rite was performed at an early age, five or six, perhaps, but more generally, shortly after the age of puberty, namely fourteen or thereabouts. A number of youths would assemble in a grass house, some distance from the nearest village, which was called a Muali. Here they remained several weeks in charge of a native doctor and one or two elderly men, receiving instruction in manliness, as well as considerable information relative to their duties as husbands. The place was about thirty yards long, but only about a quarter of that length was walled on both sides. A small hut close by was provided for the use of the doctor and his assistant, whilst goats and chickens were kept in pens for the use of the boys. By the 1970’s many Sena/Lemba had been influenced by Muslims who came from Malawi to Zimbabwe/Rhodesia. This influenced the Sena circumcision rites. These foreigners may have been Chewa, so giving the story of them being related. In Zambia Arabs appear to have introduced circumcision to tribes of the copper belt. (124) (139) (461) (483)

Circumcision Priests
The Lemba/Sena brought circumcision to some Southern African Bantu and often administered as witchdoctors and circumcisers with these tribes. The Sena/Lemba changed the traditional Jewish 8th day to the 8th year and then to the whenever there was enough boys to do the ceremony. Their circumcision influence was found among the Venda, Pfumbi, Waniya and some Bahlengwe. The Singo Venda did not do circumcision, but started in more recent times in order to attract smaller tribes to their ethnic group. They adopted it from the Lemba. The priests who did the actual circumcision in Vendaland were normally Lemba. The Sena/Lemba had a class of hereditary high priests and many tribes had Lemba priests attached to chiefs due to their intelligence. These acted as advisors and witchdoctors and supervised circumcision lodges as a president of the circumcision lodge of the tribe. They were very important persons, whose kraal would be next to that of the chief, to whom he was adviser, doctor, priest, rainmaker and diviner. The BaLemba priests were responsible for the introduction of the rite of circumcision and other Semitic rites into the ritual of the tribe with whom they lived. They were called the masters of the ngoma (circumcision rite). Some people associate the phalli at Great Zimbabwe with circumcision, supporting the tradition that people practicing circumcision were present at the ruins (most likely Sena). When a child was born, the father was not permitted to see it until the umbilical cord was separated. Three days after the separation of the cord, the head of the baby was shaved, and small incisions made on the scalp and face, into which medicine was rubbed. The mother underwent a course of purification by the priest. The boys later attended the circumcision lodge, and in some areas this was at the ages of fourteen to sixteen. The Ngavi family were involved in promoting circumcision and they were said to have circumcised at 8 years old, which was closer to the original Jewish tradition. Girls also had an initiation and when a girl reached maturity, a conical object made of wood, covered with red clay, bearing at the apex a tassel of wild cotton dyed red, was borrowed from the chief. For three days she had to sit in a river with this object attached to her girdle at the base of the spine. (113) (177) (232) (273) (298) (312) (465)