Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article interrogates ritual child homicide in Zimbabwean societies and communities as captured through the prism of literary novels. The conveniently sampled primary sources utilised in this study are Matsikiti’s Akadzipwa Neganda Remhuru (He, the expert, was choked by the skin of a calf), Lwanda’s Zvichakuwanawo (Crime will catch up with you) and Hwendaenda’s Chiedzo (Temptation) due to the extent with which they address this thematic concern. The article questions whether the writers’ perspectives on situations where adults demonstrate harmful behaviour on children’s lives are novel. Couched in the framework of literary criticism, the article argues that in as much as the selected narratives do manage to portray the recklessness and negligence of the adult members towards the welfare and protection of children, there are socio-economic negatives that impinge on humanity’s moral codes and modes. It further argues that Shona society values and cherishes children, therefore any child neglect and endangerment that subsequently ensues must be construed in the broader macro-economic context since it impacts the human moral fibre. The critical appreciation is guided and informed by analytic Afrocentricity as a theory of literary criticism since the thrust of the article is on African writers’ viewpoints on the topical issue of ritual child homicide.
Authors: Allan Tapiwa Maganga, Charles Tembo
Institution: University of South Africa
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7140201564