One of the few remaining Vhalemba elders in the Khubvi area, Mukegulu Vho-Tshavhungwe Muthivhi Musandiwa Nyakavhi, was laid to rest at Khubvi village outside Thohoyandou on Saturday (27^th). Vho-Tshavhungwe passed away at the age of 90 on 22 August this year after a long battle with her health. 

While the locals usually sing biblical hymns when they send off their deceased loved ones, Hogo (initiation-school songs) and traditional poetry became the order of the day instead while Vho-Tshavhungwe’s casket was placed in her tomb.

Khubvi village’s traditional leader, Vhamusanda Vho-Mmbangiseni Thinawanga Randima, addressed the huge crowd of mourners and described Vho-Tshavhungwe’s passing as a great loss to the local community. He said that, as a respected elder, villagers had depended on her for advice and the transmission of traditional and cultural practices. “Even I, as a traditional leader, used to consult her on various aspects of our tradition and culture. This is a wakeup call that we must start documenting our oral history, so that it can be preserved for our future generations,” he said.

Vho-Tshavhungwe’s son, Humbulani Omo Musandiwa, the principal at Tshiseluselu Primary School, said his mother had been his role model in life, doing all that she could for her children to become independent. “She was a hard worker. She brewed traditional beer to pay for our school fees and made and sold mud bricks. She planted all kinds of crops and decorated people’s homes with cow dung to make ends meet. She had fulfilled everything that she had to in life as we are all grown up now and able to work for ourselves. We will miss her cleanliness, love and smile, but her contributions to our lives will never be forgotten,” he said.

Born at Makonde Tshituni village in 1932, Vho-Tshavhungwe moved to Tshigwene village with her family, where she spent many years before settling at Khubvi. She only went to school from Sub B (now Grade 2) because, in those years, it was believed that education would make one mentally unstable.

Vho-Tshavhungwe is survived by her four children, Tshisamphiri, Humbulani, Ndivhaleni and Azwihangwisi, and grandchildren.