Mutemo: The Law of Mbira

The law of mbira used to be very demanding. It was an instrument that was played only inside the house; it was not an instrument that was taken outside. It was played inside the house of the great spirit mediums, the banya. You were not permitted to take either the mbira or mateze resonators back to your home. Once you had finished playing, you would leave them there, right inside the banya. You would leave them there, and exit empty-handed.

The law of mbira says neither the soundboard nor the deze resonator should be touched by a person who has recently given birth. When a woman gives birth, she must wait for three months before touching her mbira. In the third month, that is when she may start to play mbira. During her time of the month, a person should wait a week before touching the mbira. Then, there is the case of what happens if you physically injure someone. If his blood has spilled upon you, you are marked by blood when you take leave of him. It is akin to killing someone. You must not touch the mbira, because mbira do not favor bad things. They require only good things. They demand people who are pure. That is why they stayed in the banya, without being taken outside.

Another reason we were prohibited from keeping mbira with us at home is that perhaps someone might come by – let’s say my friend stops by after being with girls. Or he has slept with his girlfriend, and he comes and touches my mbira. If he picks up my mbira and plays it, it will break. When I come back, the first thing I do is to pick up my mbira – “Who has broken my mbira?”

I won’t know how it happened. I’m simply returning from wherever I was. Maybe I am coming from work. There I come. I get home, and as soon as I enter the house, I go to pick up my mbira. Then I try to play – “Who broke my mbira?” They tell me, “So-and-so came and played, and then he just left it there. We didn’t realize what he had done, he simply put it down after playing it, and then he left it, going on his way.” We didn’t allow just anyone to touch the mbira because we wouldn’t know where that person was coming from. So, that type of thing can harm the mbira.

But now the mbira is moving outside the banya, because the great ones have told us, “Journey with them in hand, that you might see what enables you to survive.”

It used to be that when I arrived at the banya I would request my mbira, saying, “I would like my mbira, for I want to go to a bira ceremony.” After I played at the bira, I would return. And upon arriving, I would leave my mbira there again. Then it also happens that someone might come who wishes to learn. Just like you – you’ve come from far away, and you want to learn. And I take my mbira from there, and return with it. I may even go so far as taking a bus to my rural home to go take my mbira. I come and teach you, and then I take it back once again. So, they said, “No. Now, we are releasing you. You may keep them with you. When you keep them with you, you must keep those laws. As long as you keep the laws, you will stay with them.”

So there are many people about whom we now say, “He used to play mbira.” They no longer play mbira, and that is the very reason. Because they have taken your mbira, and kept it with them, but they aren’t able to keep those laws. If you fail to keep the laws, then it is over. You’ll end up saying, “Oh, I used to play mbira.” You’ll play, but what you play isn’t intelligible to people, it doesn’t enter into their hearts. You’re simply playing, saying, “I used to play mbira.” You won’t play for a long time, because you’ve failed to keep the law, and everything falls apart. So, then it’s all over.