10 AFRICAN MUSIC SOCIETY JO URNAL

POSSESSION MUSIC
OF THE SHANGANA-TSONGA
by

THOMAS F. JOHNSTON

Exorcism (mancomane) is one of the more important musical practices among the
Tsonga of Mozambique and the northern Transvaal, 1 involving possession dancing,
playing of the special nco!Jiane tambourine, from which the rite obtains its name, and the
singing of spirit-specific songs. It is organised by a specialist diviner or exorcist known
as the dz11'avi, who is 'licensed' by the chief in return for payment, rather than appointed.
Fees known as the !Jibufaxijuva are collected from patients; this term means 'medicine-
pouch loosener', and the fee may be paid in beer, fowl or cash. Successful and well-
attended exorcism rites thus tend to be a source of revenue for Tsonga chiefs (through
diviners), and the participants and audiences which are attracted into the area provide
part of the broad pyramid base necessary to maintain chiefly power and prestige.
The insignia of office of a specialist diviner are his skin hat, wooden 'stage-prop'
hatchet, kilt of tails, ceremonial skin-mat and four nco!Jiane tambourines, usually played
by his wives (public exhibition of the latter constituting a conspicuous display of
personal wealth and serving to affirm previous successful practice).
The patients are adults who have become possessed by an undesirable spirit, always
Zulu or Ndau in origin. 2 To expel a Zulu spirit, pentatonic songs utilizing the four-
square !Jiandhfozi rhythm are necessary, and many Zulu words and the names of Zulu
chiefs must be dropped in. The term is Tsonga for 'undesirable Zulu spirit', and the
appropriate music is named after it. Mandhfozi rhythm is not of one unvarying pattern,
but consists of different combinations of quavers and semiquavers over a crochet base.
It is distinct not only metrically but tonally, from the fact that four shallow, single-
membraned tambourines are beaten in concert with sticks. To expel an Ndau spirit,
heptatonic songs utilizing the drumming-triplet xidzi!Jiba rhythm are necessary, and
many Ndau, Shona and Rotse words are dropped in. Junod was the first to note part
of the distinctions which in 1969 and 1970 I learned to make during actual rites:
The Ndau possessions appear to be worse than the Zulu. BuNdau llj>a korata - 'The Ndau posses-
sion is painful'. If the incantations used are in Zulu for Zulu possessions, they are in the Ndau
language when such are caused by Ndau spirits, and those who suffer from this affliction are
known by the large white beads which they wear in their hair. 3
Historical contact between the Zulu, Ndau and Tsonga
The destruction of the Ndwandwe kingdom by the Zulu king Shaka in 1819 had
extensive repercussions . Many surrounding chiefs who had either opposed or broken
away from Shaka were caught in centrifugal forces. Umzilikazi fled into the Transvaal
whence, after defeat by the Voortrekkers at Vechtkop in 1836, he fled with his con-
siderable following into Rhodesia, founding the Matabele kingdom. Soshangane, a
cousin of Shaka's opponent in 1819, ranged eastward among the Chopi, Tsonga and
Ndau in southern Mozambique. There he forced Tsonga males into his army, where
they learned the Zulu language and many Zulu customs. Tsonga women were carried
off and became part of the Zulu kraals, but remained culturally Tsonga and did not
learn Zulu. Those who could fled westward across the Lebombo Hills into the north-
1
Sec the map o n p. 59 o f the pre vio us issue o f this jo urnal.
1
Jo hnston, Thomas: Shang~m:a-Tso~~a drum and bow rhythms, Afriton Musit, V , 1, 1971, p. 64.
3
Junod, 1-lenri: Tbt lift of a So11th Ajritan lribe. London, Macmillan, 2 vols, 1927.
 POSSE SS ION MUS1C OF THE SHANGANA-TSONGA 11

eastern Transvaal, where they now constitute the 500,000 Tsonga resident within the
borders of the Republic of South Africa. 4
Decades of intermarriage and of eastern residence Tsonga-ised these Soshangane-s,
or Shangaans, as they were and still are called, and impingement upon Ndau-land
produced a group along the coast near the Sabi River known as the Shangana-Ndau.
According to Hugh Tracey acculturation produced a form of musical 'pollution':
In the case of the Ndau, who are much intermarried with the Shangaan raiders, the hexatonic
tunings of individual mbiras are so dissimilar as to offer no apparent foundation. Here the
admixture of foreign blood (Shangaan) seems to have completely upset local musical standards. 5
To relate these various historical aspects to our discussion of possession music, it is
noteworthy that acculturation gave the Chopi of southern Mozambique the Tsonga
term for spirit, xikwembu, and that the Chopi recognise undesirable baN guni spirits in
their own possession dances. Nguni is the generic term designating the Zulu, Swazi
and Xhosa peoples, all click-language users. The Chopi, unlike the Tsonga and Ndau,
were never actually defeated in battle. In fact, an extant Chopi song goes thus: "See
Nghunghunyane flees!" 6 Nghunghunyane, son of Muzila, son of Soshangane, was
the last of the Shangaan war lords. He acceded to the chiefdom of Gaza in 1890, estab-
lished a despotic reign over the Tsonga from his capital at Mandlakazi and was defeated
by the Portuguese at Magul in 1895.
It should now be clear how the Tsonga came to recognise mandhlozi (Zulu) spirits.
With reference to the xidzimba spirits, this is the name of a Shona dance performed
across the nothern border in the southern part of Rhodesia. Use of the term reflects a
general tendency for possession cults to flow southward from the area of the ancient
Monomotapa empire which at one point in history- several centuries ago - considerably
influenced all of the cultures of the southeast.
Historical contact is thus seen to have produced a southward-moving diffusion of
possession cult phenomena into present-day Tsongaland, and a northward-moving
diffusion of linguistic phenomena (Zulu). Subsequent to the Tsonga eastward migra-
tion, they commenced exporting their own particular brand of exorcism, in the form of
specialist diviners together with the unique (in southern Africa) tambourine:
The Swazi have copied this method of exorcizing evil spirits from the Tsonga ... and I have
even obtained a specimen of an actual mancomane made and played by a pure Swazi ... Many
Tsonga doctors have a great reputation outside their own country, and it is not surprising to
find the mancomane used by one of their number who has settled among people of another race. 7
Huskisson mentions its use by the Pedi to the south in sets of three, 8 and Krige
mentions its use by the Lovedu. 9

The exorcism procedure

The exorcism procedure, which has been described by Junod, 1 0 does not seem to
have changed much in the last half-century. The patient is covered with a large calico
cloth, and a clay pot containing smouldering embers is inserted under the cloth. Into
the clay pot are introduced various medicinal pellets, made from animal fat and other
substances supposedly related to the diagnosed provenance of the undesirable spirit.
The exorcist and his assistants (often his wives) then close in on the patient with their
drums and commence fast, hard playing of the appropriate exorcism rhythm. The

• For a breakdown into districts sec Johnsto n, Tho mas: X iu mbi frictio n-bow mu sic of the Shangana-Tsonga, Ajriran Mmir, IV, 4,
1970.
1 Tracey, Hugh: Cbopi Mwitiam, tbtir !Nsuir, pottry anti inslnmttnls. Oxfo rd , 1948.
• T raccy, J-lug h: op . ril. p. 7 5.
1
Kirby, Perc iva l: The IIUIJit"a/ instruments of lhe naliiJt raru of South Afrira . Jo hannesburg, \X/itwatcrsntnd Ln ivc rsity Pre ss, 1934 .
8 Hu sk isso n, Yvonne: The social and ceremo nial mu sic of the Pcd i. Jo hannesburg, unpubl. Ph . D. the sis, 1958.

• Quo ted in Huskisson, Yvo nnc: op . ril. p. 16.

1 o Junod , Hcn ri: op . ril . 1927, vol. 2, p. 484.
12 AFRI C AN MUSIC SOC IETY JO U RNA L

drumming may be kept up for several hours, sometimes all night, while additional
embers and pellets are introduced under the white sheet.
In various songs the exorcist and his assistants implore the spirit to identify itself by
name, and the common practice is for the concealed and half-smothered patient to
eventually respond with the name of one Zulu chief or another, often the already
mentioned Nghunghunyane (see o ur musical examples). Other questions will be shouted
loudly at the patient under the sheet, and the beating drums moved closer to his ears.
Sooner or later the patient leaps up and begins dancing wildly, often stepping into the
smouldering embers but remaining oblivious to the pain.
The drummers stand back and allow the dancer free reign; they cease singing, for it
is now that the patient must compose his own song (some of the time under the sheet
may have been used for this purpose, but the possibility of extempore inspiration
should not be overlooked). Ideally, Zulu words should be introduced into the song,
reflecting the presence of an undesirable 'foreign' spirit, and, in the song text, the spirit
should endeavour to bargain with the exorcist, i.e. it will promise to go away if offered
some minor form of compensation in the form of beer, food, item of clothing, etc. A
relative of the patient fetches the desired article, which is then laid within the circle but
later claimed by the exorcist.
In some cases of possession, the patient wears a crown of woven roots and twigs
which, from time to time, the exorcist snatches from his head and sniffs vigorously in
order to "smell out" the spirit. In other cases, a fowl or goat is brought forward and
cut so as to bleed profusely, whereupo n the patient seizes the animal and sucks at the
wound. He is then forcibly separated from the animal and, given an emetic, commences
severe vomiting. He is next smeared with red ochre and proceeds to be "dressed" in
the feathers or skin of the sacrificed animal, ·which has now died or been killed, and
wears in his hair the bladder, which has been extracted by the exorcist. After propitia-
tion of the spirits, by thro wing pieces of cooked meat in certain directions, the assembl y
sits down to feast and celebrate the successful exorcism. Convalescence is considered to
take "from one garden-planting to another", i.e. a full year, and the patient often goes
on to train as a skilled exorcist. His yea r is filled with protective rites, which occur
particularly at every new moon, and upon successful completion of them the patient
is considered to have been "born again".

Mandhlozi songs of the mancomane rite

So me songs for use when exorcizing mandhlozi spirits will be found on page 14. Note
the use of Zulu terms (dzelela instead of holovela, to scold; mbuzi instead of mbuti, goat)
and the mention of Zulu ·warri ors or Zulu-descended warlords.
Note in No. 6 use of the Tsonga fruitshell leg-rattles known as marhongc. They co me
in pairs, are thought of as reposito ries of Tsonga ancesto r-spirits , and are usually very
old and highly valued . 1 I
The rattles undergo harsh treatment during some of the dances, and one song heard
refers to the spirits as 'destroyers of the marhonge'. Their characteristic sound is thought
of as being 'the voice of the spirits'; the existence of this belief is confirmed by the text
of the following song, collected by Junod:
We dance the Rhonge dance
The echo comes back to us from the gods 12
Some exorcists g uide the dance steps of their entranced or hypnotized patients by
the sound of leg-rattles , a procedure which resembles that found in Rotse dancing:
" Real Sipelu fans usually wear calf rattles to g uide their partners into steps" 1 3 ; using
11
Johnsto n, Thomas: The music of the Shangana-Tsonga. Johanncshu rg , unpuhl. Ph . D. the sis, p. 19.
1
t Junod, llenri: op. rit., 1927, vol. 2, p. 206.
u Njungu, Ag rippa: Music of my people. Ajrifa, Af111if, 11 , 4, 1964.
 POSSESSION MUS I C OF THE SHANGANA-TSONGA 13

leg-rattles in this way is called kokoco-kokoco , or kotla-kotla . Further empathy between

exorcizer and exorcized is established by the wearing of cult uniforms made from white
calico, called rigidawa or xibayane, with the addition of xiluva headwear (from xiluva,
blossom).
Note in Nos. 8 and 9 mention of Chief Nhunghunyane. Possessed patients sing not
only of Nghunghunyane but also of his son Thuli-lamahashe, who fled into the Trans-
vaal. He has been called Thulamahasi but this appellation misses the meaning of his
name- 'dust-of-horses'.
Note in No. 12 the use of hand-clapping along with the trance-inducing drumming.
Unison hand-clapping is deemed particularly appropriate during the stages of exorcism
known as k/1 rhendzeleka (to spin around) and k/1 pakamisa mandla (to wave a hyena-tail
whisk known as xipunga). This song uses an interesting formal structure, thus: Call-
6 crotchets, response - 3 crotchets, call - 6 crotchets, response - 9 crotchets . .. a total
metrical length of 24 crotchets.

Xidzimba songs of the mancomane rite

Some mancomane songs for use when exorcizing Ndau spirits will be found on page
17.
As already noted, cases of Ndau possession are generally worse than the Zulu; we
now come to two songs (see page 19) which are employed in exorcizing unusually
troublesome Ndau spirits, for which xidzimba songs are deemed ineffective. They are
known as tinsimu ta xiNdau, songs in the xiNdau rhythm and style. There are thus
three distinct musical styles within mancomane exorcism music:
(i) Mandhfozi, pentatonic songs in foursquare drum-rhythm, for exorcizing Zulu
spirits;
(ii) Xidzimba, heptatonic songs in triplet drum-rhythm, for exorcizing Ndau spirits;
(iii) XiNdau, heptatonic songs in foursquare rhythm, for particularly stubborn cases
of Ndau possession.

Brief musical analysis

A musical analysis of the tape-recorded performances of 75 exorcism songs of all
styles revealed the following. Mandhfozi songs use pentatonic melodic patterns and are
generally devoid of minor 2nds; this appears to correlate with what is known of some
forms of Zulu songs to the south. 14 Xidzimba and xiNdau songs use heptatonic melodic
patterns which include minor 2nds; this appears to correlate with what is known of
some forms of Ndau and Shona songs to the north. 1 6
All observe an overall pathogenic (expiratory causation 16) descent from an initial
peak to a cadential nadir, the amount of the overall descent being as follows:
Overall descent % of exorcism music
5th 24
8ve 20
4th 13
Unison 8
Other 35
Half of the songs employ a basic metrical cycle of 16 units, and almost all of the
songs use call-and-response structure (the exceptions are spontaneous items, sung solo).
1• Rycroft, David: Zulu and Xhosa pra isc·poctry and song . Afril'an Afluir, Ill, 1, 1962.
• • lllacking, John: 1971.
1• Sachs, Cun: TIH wtllsprings ofmutir. The Hag ue, Nijhoff, 1962.
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Tran s. mi 3rd down.

Jl\idzimba son g No . 10. \ ''Nanana va dlele " (mother is k illed) ~iNdau s ong No. 2. "Mukaai wa kanya we nyambo " mean
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20 AFRICAN MUSIC SOCIETY JOURNAL

Conclusion
This study points to Tsonga attitudes concerning their musical needs within exorcism
rites: the fact that undesirable spirits are always deemed to be of foreign provenance
engenders the use of foreign words and special musical recipes or prescriptions. 1 7 The
geographical and cultural origin of the spirit is carefully diagnosed in order to deter-
mine which of two or three bodies of music must be used, each of the latter being
relatively homogeneous in scalar and rhythmic style, and spirit-specific. There is a
significant parallel between the scalar/ rhythmic style selected and the musical charac-
teristics of the southern Mrican people to whom the possessing spirit is attributed, be
they northerners (Ndau) or southerners (Zulu).
The use of a shallow, circular tambourine to produce the appropriate exorcism
rhythm is interesting in the light of the known distribution of this type of drum - it
occurs as far afield as Siberia and Mesoamerica, usually with a medicinal use. Sachs, for
instance, noted the follo wing: "In many civilisations ... the shaman dances with clatter-
ing anklets, shakes the seed-filled, rattling gourd, strikes his shallow, circular drum,
and sings or bawls his incantations for hours". 1 B
The use, in many cultures, of drumming to produce trance has been commented
upon by Neher, who notes that drumming stimulates a larger brain area than do single-
frequency sounds, and that the ear's low-frequency receptors are more damage-resistant,
and thus more energy-absorbent. 19 Waiter and Waiter's description of 'the behavioral
effects of auditory driving includes: "Visual sensations with characters not present in
the stimulus, that is color, pattern, movement ... organized hallucinations". 20 These
writers and others suggest that rhythmic drumming affects the central nervous system;
if this is true, then culture-specific trance behaviour during drumming may be but a
local variant of a universal human response, taking particular shape to accord with the
cultural prescription.
Tsonga exorcism music not only fulfils a medicinal function, the study of which
may prove useful in the study of mental health in our own society, but it provides for
the predominantly female audiences an expressive, recreational outlet which can be
seen as balancing and compensating for the subordinate role of women in this patrilineal
society, where women's horticultural activities lend life a monotonous quality.

The words and translations of some of the songs in this article

(a stroke indicates that the response is repeated; C = call, R = response)

Mandlhozi songs
2. "Mbuzi, vayi tfye mahala" "The goat, they ate it without payment"
C: Mbuziya me-e-el Vayi tfye mahala The goat! They ate it without payment
R: V a yi tfye mahala They ate it without payment
C: A Timememe mbuzi ya me-e-e I/ At Timememe (= goat-bleat) they ate it
without payment
A leyi ni nga yi tlhava I The one which I slew

3. " Yingweya mavala" "The leopard has spots"

C: Yingwe, ziya hol Leopard!
R: Yingwe ya mavala The leopard has spots
C: Yingwe wa blase/a nkosi I The leopard invades
Yingwe yi die muntu baba I The leopard has killed a person's father
Yingwe ya jabula I The leopard has it good

1' Terms used by Goodenough, Ward: CNIIurt, LanlJ'•B' aNI SD<i<ly, Reading, Addisoo-Wcalcy, 1971.
" Op. <it., p. 81.
11
Ncber, Andrew: A physiological explanation of unusual behaviour in ceremonies involving drums. HIIHiflll Bitllcv , IV, 1962.
10 Waiter, V. J., and Waiter, W. G.: The central effects of rhythmic sensory stimulation. ElulrOIMtp#. Cli~. NtiiTO/Jhpi<ll., 1, 1949, p. 63.
 POSSESSION MUSIC OF THE SHANGANA-TSONGA 21

5. "Mi ya va rh1111pt/a" "Go well and greet them"

C: Salanini, 1alaniniI Goodbye, goodbye!
R: Ho miya va rh1111gu/a Go well and greet them
C: Kot1111a ndziya homba/ Be content
Ho favulani famba / Go, Javulani
Va ka mi/ People of my sister's
7. "Hayi '!JOM hyo vimbha mlomo" "The snake which blocks the mouth"
C: Hayi f!JOM hyo llimbha m/omo 0 the snake which blocks the mouth
Hayi f!JOka 0 the snake
R: Ngiyayi 1abaa I fear it

Tsonga ancestor-spirits are frequently thought to take the form of small green snakes. but in this
instance the reference is to abhorrence of cunnilingus.
9. "Ngh1111gh"'!]aM"
C: Ngh1111gh"'!]am mih/ovo ya vanfu
R: Sa mbava1a mih/0110 ya vanfu
C: Ndziya mu landzelafA wa ngi &iya nghe
n'wana lehe /A ba wi tJOni /
11. "Va fa 1ala van'wi ri/a"
Solo: V a fa 1ala va n'wi rila NghJPavava
Xiklxwa xa la kaya
D/ayani xiklxwa xa mina
13. "M'!}iiJatJO, 11 /andze ma11Kha"
C: M'!}iiJatJO, 11 /anJze malo>ha n111a wena
Ayi h/omil
R: Nyimpi, ka h/omi bal
C: Sengikle 11 /andze ma11Kha n111a wenaf
He mama vajala-ala/Mina ndzi lhJPaza eka
Mdlhamini/
"Nghunghunyane"
Chief Nghunghunyane, personification of
our people
We name him, the ideal one
We are his followers/his son neglected
us/we never catch sight of him.
"They will remain mourning"
They will remain mourning for Miss
Adulteress
An owl hoots there
Kill my owl
"Father, we have come for soldiers"
Father, we have come for soldiers
To arms!
Warriors, to arms!
Now I am asleep we have come for soldiers/
I heard the news mother /They see me
Mdlhamini

Xidzimba songs
1. "Vayi tJOna nanga" "See the flute"
C: Vayi vona nanga See the flute
R: Nanga wa vaxavili Flute of the vendors
C: Ayi mfyeli nanga/Ndzi halatik mina/ The flute that never ceases/! have poured
Ndzi n'wa Pele mina out/I am the daughter of Pete
Song 2 is best explained by quoting and amplifying the following Tsonga proverb, offered by one of
the singers:
Ti1ol:oti i murhi wa /omu ndzeni Ants are a medicine for internal use
This proverb refers to a Tsonga exorcism cure wherein the exorcist supposedly transfers the misfortune
to ants, whose nest is thereafter feared and avoided:
He will put the shell into the hole without looking back toward it.
The ants will take all the limbhorola (medicine) down into their nest,
and so the misfortune will remain with them.u
3. "N'wana a va /ombi" "A child is never lent out"
C: Mi hi n'wana a va lombi You say a child is never lent out
N'wana a va Iambi A child is never lent out
R: A va lombi, a va lombi Is never lent out, is never lent out
C: V a /omba nt1111ani / They lend out a winnowing basket

The subject of this song is a childless woman's barrenness. Among the Tsonga this condition may be
'caused' by the ancestral spirits of her mother if an insufficient portion of the lobola (bride-price) has
been paid to the maternal uncle. The words reveal that a barren woman seeking to 'borrow' a child

u Juood, Hcnri: op. ril., 1927, ll, p. 471.

22 .AFIUCAN MUSIC SOCIETY JOURNAL

may be offered a basket instead. This symbolic substitution is a recurrent theme within Tsonga folklore,
and the following song was collected among the Ronga prior to 1897:
They won't lend me a baby!
They lend me but a mortar
Were I an eagle
Were I a bird of prey
Quick would I carry it away.u

There is a Ronga folktalc in which the girl asks for a baby but "they gave her a xirondiJ baskct"11 and
this theme may be related to Tsonga use, in former times, of baskets as part of lobola. Lobola, generally
thought of as bride-price, with the Tsonga more closely represents child-price because the lobola is
repayable in the event of bartcnness.
4. "Nye'!Yana tilal" "Bird of heaven!"
C: He '1J~ana tila bayil Bird of heaven!
A langulani lexi /aka nlonga ziya dsmta Sec what comes with the thunderstorm
R: He '!Ye'!Yana Iilo I Bird of heaven!
C: Lo »>Q wana IJQ lehz langulani I Sec, they arc marrying the girl off
Swill »'0'1JIZIIIJ va Gbava I Some, they arc afraid of
Swin'»~0'1Jana va hemba I Some, they tell lies
S win'»'0'1Jana tJa vulatJula I Some, they tell the truth
He '!Ye'!Yana a bi xile1Pemb11,ya hemhllya The bird is a spirit, it tclls lies, sec
hemba, langutani

This song and No. 5 refer to the 'bird of heaven'. Among some of the southern African Bantu-speaking
peoples, 'bird of heaven' or 'bird of lightning' may refer to several different species, but with the Tsonga
it is the ximb1111gu (batclcur eagle) because its flight follows a zigzag pattern through the sky. A whisdc
made from its leg bone provides protection against lightning, which is much feared. The following
saying is sometimes used to correct Tsonga children:
Loko mi yiva la balehla hi Iilo If you steal you will be struck by heaven
6. "Marttd~~t~llill yi ru/Uie" "Tadpoles, it has gone"
C: M atJm111111i11, nghondzo yi tu!Uu Tadpoles, the hammerkop bird has gone
R: Dlayani martfi!IIIIUIIII Kill the tadpoles!
C: Ndzi la bye/a mani? I To whom shall I tell it?
Ndzi la rh11111a mani?I Whom shall I send?
Ndzi la lsbama hvihi?I Where shall I stay?

This song refers to a bird feared by the Tsonga because of the belief that ancestor spirits, in the form
of snakes, arc found within its nest. Of this bird Kirby states that Pcdi doctors utilize "portions of the
bird called the hammerkop, Scopus umbrctta"":
9. "Xi minla n/sengani mangatlwa" "The kite from whom we tear out the
feathers"
C: Xi minla n/sengani mangallwa The kite from whom we tear out the
feathers
R: A mangbondz»>ani yo/ By the litde hammcrkop bird!
C: Xi 11111/a minisenge, a hi nga poniI Tear out feathers, we are not safe
K11 hle/Uwa ko /ani a hi nga ponil Being laughed at in this way we are not safe
Kbale ka manani hillf{!a ka yena I Long ago when my mother came back

11
~od, Hcnri: •P· rit., 1927, IT, p. 284.
11 unod, Hcnri: Ut Cbmllt tl/11 CDIIIII J11 B•·&ttg., Bridd & Oe., Lausanne, 1897, p. 237.
u . by, Percival: 1965, p. 100