Chigamba is my father’s first name. Tavasika is my father’s surname; that was his grandfather. But my grandfather was Charama, and my surname should be Charama. Now, in town, they don’t take those surnames. In the city council, they take your father’s name and your name; that’s what they put in the files. So, I’m using my father’s name now. That’s why I’m called Chigamba. But all of my brothers are using Charama as their surname.
And there is a big story that happened to Charama and his two brothers. I think it was in the 1890s, maybe around 1895. When the white people came, Charama and his brothers Sasa and Chipungu were staying in the bush. Because his elder brother, Sasa, was the medium of a mhondoro spirit. The mhondoro spirit was Svembere, one of our ancestors. So, they were staying in the bush.
And when the British came, people in the area reported to the British, “Those three people that stay in the bush, they are killing animals.” And yet they were not killing animals. They were staying there for the purposes of the mhondoro spirit. Because people used to go there to ask for rains; to ask for whatever they wanted. You know, some people they are jealous. They didn’t want them to stay there.
So Charama and his brothers were taken by the police to Chinhoyi, where the British had a small camp. They were African police, working for the British. And my grandfather and his brothers, they were forced to pull out their beards, and they were given them to eat by the police – “Eat your beard!” So, they ate their beards.
So, they stayed there, and the British said, “If you stay here, what we want is the rain, because our flowers are drying up. So you said you stay in the bush because of the spirit. The spirit is the rainmaker. So we want the rain. Within an hour. And we want the rain for three days.” And the British said, “Tell your brother to bring us the rain for three days.”
And Charama said, “No, our brother doesn’t know anything. So we have to ask the spirit first. And if the spirit agrees, then the rain will come.” So the British said, “OK, do so. Failing which, we will kill you.” And, Charama and his brothers did so. There were no clouds. And they asked the spirit, “Are we going to die because of you? You are the reason we are staying with in the bush. So today is our last day. If you fail to bring the rain, then we will all be killed.”
So after they said so, they went outside, just on the open, where the sun was. They stayed in the sun. Then they started singing:
Kakore Little Cloud
Tenderera Circle around
Kemvura Of rain
Tenderera Circle around
And a little cloud appeared, and the rain started. And it didn’t even last three days, as the British had asked. It lasted only one and a half days. The rain started pouring, and the sun set. The rain was still on. The whole night, the rain was still on. The next day, in the middle of the day, the British came, and they said, “No, your rain is enough. Our flowers have now survived. You are the only spirit we know in Zimbabwe that can make rain.”
And Charama and his brothers were asked to stay near Chinhoyi. There is a small stream called Muzare, where they were told to stay. Because the British said to Sasa, “Whenever we need rain, we will come to you. You are the only rainmaker in Rhodesia.” And all three of them were staying there, and they took their families to come and stay with them. And people were coming to them to ask for rain. And then from that stream, Muzare, they moved to Chirorodziva, which is the Chinhoyi caves.
