I am Kanukai Chigamba muera mbizi, manjenjenje. I was born & raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. I moved to the Bay Area in 2010.
When I started this project in 2021, I had reservations about being in creative spaces that will push me to dig deep within myself and have conversations about death and grief. It’s so crazy to me how we experience death and grief every day, but it is almost taboo to talk about it with each other in our cultures.
My recent trip to Zimbabwe this past August was a testament to how this project has shown me the importance of learning and reconnecting with our traditional practices. For the first time in my life, I asked my family questions about our family which led me to learn about and visit my maternal grandparents at their grave sites in Guruve, Zimbabwe. I will never forget the feeling of relief and wholeness I had when Sekuru Nyamanza (my grandfather’s brother) told my mom and cousins about the history of our family in our village with excitement and open arms. I was also able to take the initiative to make sure I visit my grandmother, aunt, and uncles resting places in Zim before coming back here.
Coming from a cultural-bearing family, and dancing my whole life, I thought I knew it all but now I know there's still a lot to discover. I also know that sometimes it will take me learning about other traditions for me to be able to reconnect with my own. I am grateful to have been in such a safe space to explore, [re]learn & [re]connect with my culture through the lens of the Igbo people.
So now I know that I need to continue this work, I have the responsibility to pass on the legacy through both understanding my own, and learning about Igbo traditions.
[Photo Below] Guruve, Zimbabwe | August 31, 2022
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8 months ago