Death and the sociocultural dimensions of forced relocations: experiences from the Tugwi-Mukosi displacement in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Abstract
This article is an ethnographic inquiry into the cultural dimensions of forced relocations. It
is based on the experiences of four resident anthropologists on the forced displacements at
Tugwi-Mukosi in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe. Using the concept of death, we question the
idea of belonging and what is regarded as an “honourable” way of exiting this world. These
are interwoven in the cultural fabric of most Zimbabwean communities and any phenomenon
that severs this tie to home is a cause of discomfort and pain amongst local people. Forced
displacements have altered issues of honour associated with death rituals. We use death rituals
as a window to understand the sociocultural effects of displacement. Novel ways of dealing
with death are witnessed as people struggle with lack of a permanent “home.” The sacredness
of cultural dimensions of death has been reconfigured in ways that have left the displaced
struggling to find closure in dealing with the dead. Death rituals give us an opportunity to
understand the multifaceted effects of displacement. Through death we experience the pain of
displacement, understand the chords that bind the displaced communities together and witness
the enduring social bonds that structure life beyond the disruptions of displacement.
Description
Research Articles
Keywords
belonging, death rituals, forced displacements, honour and dishonour, Tugwi-Mukosi Dam