African traditions, customs and believes
Shona Taboos
DO NOT eat kidneys; This might cause the death of your father or mother.
DO NOT eat the flesh or eggs of a nightjar; you might become habitually sleepy during the day.
DO NOT eat the flesh of a kingfisher; you might have bad luck.
DO NOT eat the flesh of an owl; it consorts with a witch and you may invoke the wrath of the witch.
A WOMAN must not eat the flesh of an animal's breast.
A HERD boy should not drink milk directly from the vessel in which it is left to settle; he may be drenched
with rain whilst herding.
YOUNG PEOPLE should not eat the crop of a fowl; they may become forgetful.
DO NOT eat the flesh of a swallow as it does not eat grain.
YOUNG PEOPLE should not eat a fat mouse; they may lose their ability to procreate.
DO NOT eat the flesh of doves; you may develop epilepsy.
A PREGNANT woman should not eat the flesh of a grysbuck; her child may become constipated.
DO NOT eat birds' eggs; you may have fits of giddiness.
DO NOT eat small-winged flying termites; you may become death.
DO NOT eat a bambara nut that has been used in the game of spinning nuts; you may be attacked
by dizziness.
DO NOT eat groundnuts dug up by a crow and buried again; you may become absentminded.
DO NOT eat maize grains that grow on the tassle; you may get boils or skin eruptions that prevent childbearing.
A MAN must not look into a stewpot;his eye may become sunken and his face take on the shape
of a baboon's.
DO NOT let one hand touch the ground while you are eating; you may one day suffer from starvation.
DO NOT lie down while you are eating; you may develop a stitch, pneumonia or a second navel.
A CHILD should not use a knife to put food in its mouth; its gums may shrived.
DO NOT lie prone to drink from a well; you may catch an illness.
A SINGLE girl should never accept food from an unmarried man; there may be a love potion in it.
More about the Shona
The Shona tribe is Zimbabwe's largest and oldest indigenous tribe and it's five principal clans are the Zezuru, Manyika, Karanga, Korekore and the Ndau. Robert Mugabe is a Zezuru.
