Spirit-Medium of Nehanda
Shona · mortal · c. 1840 – 27 April 1898 · Recorded classification
Classed as mortal: the historical human medium of the Nehanda spirit, distinct from the spirit itself (shona_nehanda). Included because Shona tradition deliberately distinguishes the immortal mhondoro from its mortal vessel.
Domains
- spirit mediumship
Powers
- is entered by and gives voice to the Nehanda mhondoro
Relations
- companion: Female Lion Royal Ancestor-SpiritHistorical svikiro (medium) possessed by the Nehanda mhondoro; led the 1896-7 Chimurenga in Mazoe and was hanged in 1898.T. O. Ranger, Revolt in Southern Rhodesia 1896-97 (1967) (secondary)
Sources
- Charwe Nyakasikana (c.1840–1898) was a Zezuru Shona woman who served as the svikiro (medium) of the Nehanda mhondoro and was executed by hanging by the British South Africa Company for her role in the 1896–97 Rising.: Beach, D.N., 'An Innocent Woman, Unjustly Accused? Charwe, Medium of the Nehanda Mhondoro Spirit, and the 1896–97 Central Shona Rising in Zimbabwe', History in Africa 25 (1998) (secondary); BlackPast.org, 'Mbuya Nehanda (c. 1840-1898)' (secondary)