Kuripa Ngozi as a conflict resolution model in Shona communities of Zimbabwe: a conceptual analysis

Abstract

People’s attitudes and behaviours are influenced by tradition, religion or modernity. The practice of kuripa ngozi (the customary practice of compensatory payment in inter-family disputes as well as in the appeasement of avenging deceased spirits) is a classic example of the influence of tradition at the family level in contemporary Shona communities in Zimbabwe. Using the concept analysis methodology, this article investigated whether and under what conditions a practice that seems to rely on fear contributes to conflict resolution? The analysis showed that although kuripa ngozi influences behaviour, which may yield a morally virtuous community; it has its own downsides. One of the major blind spots is that it presumes vengeance as a cultural right among the Shona people; another, which is more heinous, is that it renders girls and women a socially deprived group through the practice of forced marriages to appease the wronged spirit. Although giving up of a virgin girl for purposes of kuripa ngozi is a criminal offence in Zimbabwe, it appears many girls and women continue to suffer in silence because the practice is administered at the family level. In spite of these grey areas, this practice has proved valuable in terms of its capacity to resolve conflict, re-create social relationships that have been distressed by violent conflict at the family level. Noteworthy is its propensity to promote inclusivity of both men and women and constructive engagement in resolving inter-family murder-related conflict. Its capacity to deliver accountability and payment of reparations as conditions for reconciliation gives it a role in indigenous peace-building. This article concludes that kuripa ngozi is a type of a community-based peace intervention that assists a family that has experienced the loss of a murdered family member to gradually move from the stage of being stuck in grief to working through their loss.