Vhavenda People

Where It's At
Limpopo is home to the Vhavenda people, an indigenous tribe who are considered to be the finest artists in South Africa. They are famous for their house painting, noisy singing, and tribal dancing. They inhabit the region of Limpopo that borders Zimbabwe, where the Shashe and Vhembe rivers meet to the north and west of Makhado.


Roots
Under the apartheid system their lands were designated a homeland so they were fairly unaffected by the political and social changes that had such a massive affect on the rest of the country. The one million strong Vhavenda population were left alone to live the way they had for hundreds of years in this lush, mountainous and remote region, which is why their culture, language, arts and crafts have survived so strongly. The Vhavenda people living here choose to live traditionally; theirs is not an ecotourism 'set up'. They remain one of the last African tribes to be un-encroached by white settlers. They don't get many visitors but they are friendly people, if secretive.
The Vhavenda are historically thought to have been descended from Great Zimbabwe, an ancient city with a mysterious white race who moved south from the Great Lakes of Central Africa. They built great stone walls; while not as grand as those found in Zimbabwe there are many similarities. There are a number of ruins throughout the region; the best example is at Dzata in the Nzhelele Valley.


Culture and Beliefs
The Vhavenda culture is built on a vibrant mythical belief system, which is reflected in their artistic style. Water is an important theme to the Vhavenda and there are many sacred sites within their region where the Vhavenda conjure up their ancestral spirits. They believe zwidutwane, water spirits, live at the bottom of waterfalls. These beings are only half visible with one eye, one leg, and one arm. One half can be seen in this world and the other half in the spirit world. The Vhavenda take offerings of food to them because they can not grow things underwater.
Various rituals are particular to the Vhavenda and certain aspects are kept secret and not discussed with westerners, however, it is known that the python dance, conducted at the female coming of age ceremony (iconic to the Limpopo region) is usually where the chief chooses a wife. Girls and boys dance fluidly, like a snake, to the beat of a drum, while forming a chain by holding the forearm of the person in-front. Once a wife has been chosen a set of courtship and grooming rituals take place over a number of days.
One of the Venda's most sacred sites is Lake Fundudzi. If you want to try the trek into the mountains to get there you must first ask permission from the chief. Suspicion surrounds the lake, which is fed by the Mutale River yet does not appear to have an outlet. It is also said that you can sometimes hear the Tshikona song although no one appears to be there. Crocodiles in the rivers and lakes are feared. As it is thought the brain of the crocodile is very poisonous they are given a wide birth by the Vhavenda who do not even hunt them for food.

The Makhado Arts and Culture Festival, held in early December, showcases the Vhavenda culture. It is managed by the Tinkawu Theatre Laboratory and run by the Pfanani Community Trust. It showcases traditional and contemporary dance, live music, sculptures, artists, theatre, film, and literature.

If you're in Limpopo for the festival or at any other time of year and would like to experience the culture of the Vhavenda people and their artwork first hand, stay at Vevisa Lodge in Thohoyandou where you can try traditional foods such as Mopani worms and you'll be entertained through traditional storytelling, music, and dance.

MORE INFORMATIONVevisa LodgeVevisa Lodge room rates and pictures.Cultural Adventure in a Land of Myths and LegendsA description of the Vhavenda land and customs.
The Soutpansberg Cultural Route A more in depth look at the Vhavenda and the Limpopo region.

RELATED PAGES ON PILOT GUIDES Culture Home Page - Amazing tribes, arts, and unique cultures of the worldMopani worms from Zimbabwe, delicious with peanut butter or tomato relish

sources
Faye Welborn
Vevisa lodge
photos from vevisa lodge website


Get entertained By Vhavenda Movies

There are many venda movies amoung them, is "Tshovhilingana". Tshovhilingana is a Venda commedy.

Chiefs Proven To be The Cup Specialist

What a battle! What drama as Kaizer Chiefs managed to win the inaugural MTN 8 cup final beating Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3 on penalties in a nail biting 0-0 draw after extra time in a pulsating final played at the Absa Stadium on Tuesday night.
Downs who created far more chances have only themselves to blame and should have wrapped up this match in 90 minutes. But they failed where it mattered most – in front of goal. Downs coach Trott Moloto took a gamble by selecting former Amakhosi ace Collins Mbesuma in place of injured Sibusiso Zuma. Although the Zambian star showed he will be an asset in the months to come he was far from the form that made him the lethal striker that netted 35 goals in helping Chiefs win the PSL championship in 2005.

Sundowns had the better of an entertaining first half in which they had the Chiefs defence in a lot of trouble but failed to capatalise on the chances they created. Amakhosi lacking the depth of Downs also created chances but they wasted too many passes in the final third. The Amakhosi midfield failed to link up with their strikers Jose Torrealba and Gert Schalkwyk.
The Brazilians most glaring miss in the opening half came in the 24nd minute when Josta Dladla wasted a sitter and showed his lack of confidence in front of goal by opting to pass when he was in a good position to shoot and try and break the deadlock. Dladla latched on to a killer ball from Lerato Chabangu on the right wing, cut inside but instead of trying to beat the advancing Itumeleng Khune in Chiefs goal he opted to pass to Mbesuma but the pass was a poor one and the Zambian international failed to get a touch and the ball rolled over the goalline to safety. (From chiefs website)

It was clear that South Africa National squad does not have strikers, many clear cut oppotunities were missed during Sundowns and Chiefs game. It remains a challenge to the Bafana Bafana couch, Santana still have a long way to in a short period of time. If players like suprise Moriri, who are the most trusted in Bafana Bafana are still missing chances like that, then i see no success in the world cup. south African players still need to be tought, the basics of the foot ball. Just imagene A professional player, especially a National one who is still can not simply put the ball at the back of the net. The truth is South African strikers miss a lot of chances, in 14 shoots a striker can score one goal, thats what I realised. How are we going to compete with the side like portugal when we still cant compete in our southern region, not even to mention the central Africa.

I was impressed on how how the Kaizer Chiefs defence closed "the dead man" Mbesuma. I dont know what went wrong with this player because He was on top of his games when he left to overseas. beside of being out of form, he should have shown that, he was the one who has broken the Kaizer Chiefs asssistant chouch Fani Madida record of 35 goals. Mostepe must have been disapointed with Mbesuma I'm sure.

South African has been trying to uproot talents from young stars, by making a coca cola Stars competition. but I'm not satisfied by the way the development programmes are run. I have seen many young stars from competions like those (Coca Cola), who have the pontatial. Yet suprissingly, i have never seen any of them playing at the first team of any of the PSL teams, neither on the development side of South African squad. This is the right time to search for young stars and use them. We can not relie on a one striker Bennie Macathy, we do not know what will happen in 2010, what if he gets injured?, so we need more Bennie Macathy in our squad than Lerato Chabangus. If we are failing to Develop, i suggest we should have a training, like a school where by our strikers would be trained. The thing is, our strikers can position themselves perfectly but fail to convert, so we should remove this culture of missing chances by sort of training.

sources

www.kaizerchiefs.com

Photos from Chiefs website