www.success-and-culture.net The purpose of this site is to try and get the world to start dealing with the interaction between culture and success in a mature and intelligent manner. Poll: Do you believe culture influences success? Yes 68.36% No 19.8% Uncertain 11.7% - Newest Articles - Per Capita Income Around the World Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world. Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work. Civilization and Success The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization. - Categories - Civilization and Success Culture is to the group what personality is to the individual. Civilization is to the group what enlightenment is to the individual. By the Numbers A careful examination of the numbers is necessary to understand the relationship between success and culture. Third World and the Underclass The Third World is where the relationship between success and culture is revealed in the most brutal manner. Politics and Success The central political issue of our time is whether or not culture influences success. - All Articles - Per Capita Income Around the World Per capita income figures for the countries and regions of the world. Hind Swaraj, by M.K. Gandhi While rarely read this is Gandhi's most important written work. Civilization and Success The traditional explanation for the noticeable differences in income across cultures was to say that they differed in their level of civilization. Fundamentals of Prosperity This 1920 work by Roger Babson is a classic with in its genre. It promotes the traditional, pre-1960s explanation for the connection between success and culture. Zimbabwe: the World's Largest Test Tube Current events in Zimbabwe are giving us an unprecedented opportunity to measure and judge the effect of white settlement and colonization in Africa. US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion Average US Incomes by Race, Ethnicity and Religion. Are Calvinists Predestined to Succeed? Max Weber's claim that Protestantism is more conducive to success than Catholicism and that Calvinism is in particular more successful is widely repeated and rarely examined. Wealth and the Recogniton of Culture We need to recognize that culture is the personality of a group or race and we must see culture and having seen it, make it a work of art. The Recipient Class The moral justification for welfare is supposed to be that we are temporarily helping out our fellow man through a rough stretch of road or helping the disabled permanently. If it is to become a system for continually transferring wealth from one group to another the people behind this change owe us an explanation. Culturalism The great taboo of our age is not speaking about race, but speaking about culture. Bourgeois Bourgeoisie is more than just a term of abuse used by the Left, it refers to a real people who led real lives. Selections from the Federal Outlook Selections from a 1960's Rhodesian newspaper. How Africa Underdeveloped Africa Africa is the poorest place in the world. Why? Will Famine Come to Zimbabwe? The end of commercial farming in Zimbabwe could plunge the country into famine. The Tragedy of the Zimbabwe Commons Communally owned property always has and always will suffer from the 'tragedy of the commons' problem. Band Aid Africa recieves $15 billion a year in aid. Is it helping?

The Progress of Shona and Ndebele Literature

by W. Krog

Creative writing of any significance in the two vernaculars of Rhodesia dates from the establishment of the Southern Rhodesia African Literature Bureau as part of the Native Affairs Department in 1954.* The primary aim in its establishment as a bookproducing agency was prompted by the almost total lack of vernacular books. An ever increasing number of African children were being taught to read, mainly in their own languages, but they found no material with which to practise their newly won skill. The problem, common to many other developing countries, has been defined as "Literacy without literature" and UNESCO statistics show that large numbers of people revert to illiteracy as a result.

It was not until 1957 that the Bureau's first sponsored book was published, an event that was later to have minor political repercussions. This pioneer novel of Shona literature entitled "Feso", was written by Solomon Mutsvairo. It was approved as a set reader in schools for two years and went to three printings. African Nationalist politicians claimed that the book was a brilliant allegory and that between the lines could be read a slashing attack upon the "oppressive" whitedominated Government. It was maintained that the Bureau officials responsible for the selection of manuscripts for publication had been cleverly hoodwinked into sponsoring propaganda against their own Government. In a published interview, in Canada, however, Mutsvairo admitted that he had no such intention when he wrote the story, which he copied from a Zulu book while studying at Adams College, Natal. The main theme, the oppression of one African tribe by another conquering tribe was taken to be a reference to conditions In Rhodesia by those whose political ends were thus served. When the book went out of print there were allegations that it had been banned, but it was the publishers, Oxford University Press, who decided not to reprint for a fourth printing, basing their decision on purely publishing economics.

Shona literature, therefore, had a somewhat controversial start, and the Bureau made it known that its particular publishing taboos were, broadly speaking, politics and religion. There has been some criticism of this policy but it is the function of the Bureau to promote popular reading material, not to propagate political or religious views. Some misinformed critics have gone so far as to maintain that African writers are compelled to send their work to the Bureau, which they claim, exercises a form of censorship. This allegation is patently absurd as any writer can obviously send his work to any publisher he chooses. The Bureau acts as sponsor, promoter and agent. It offers an extension service which the writer is free to make use of, or not.

Ndebele books also made their appearance in 1957, the first being "Umthwakazi" by P. S. Mahlangu (now Provincial Education Officer, Matabeleland North), an historical account of Mzliikazi and the founding of the AmaNdebele ration. This was closely followed by "AmaNdebele KaMzilikazi" by Ndabaningi Sithole, also an historical narrative. Early Shona novels were "Nzvengamutsvairo" by Bernard Chidzero (a brilliant scholar and a PhD), "Murambiwa Goredema", Solomon Mutsvairo's second novel, and "Kumazivandadzoka" by John Marangwanda (schoolmaster, now personnel manager). Most of these early writers were university graduates for whom the establishment of the Bureau provided a welcome outlet for their creative works. As an additional stimulus the Bureau organised its first literacy competition in 1956. Annual competitions have provided the main incentive for writers to the present day.

The winner of the Shona section of this competition was Patrick Chakaipa (now Archbishop) with his adventure story "Karikoga Gumiremiseve". The book was first published in 1958 and this year has gone to its ninth printing, thus celebrating its twentieth anniversary in print. It is a story that will never die and it is read with as much enjoyment by schoolchildren today as when it first came out. Chakaipa has been justly called "The father of Shona literature" as it was he who showed how the language could best be used in literary form, thus revealing the immense depths of Shona with its wealth of idioms, ideophones, proverbs, and range of expression. He went on to win other competitions and four more of his novels were sponsored by the Bureau, some dealing with the olden days of tribal history, others taking presentday social problems as their theme. The winner of the second prize in the Shona section was Paul Chidyausiku whose "Nhoroondo Dzokuwanana" is set against a background of Shoria marriage customs. Chidyausiku was an agricultural instructor and, later, editor of a mission newspaper. He is currently on the editorial staff of the Bureau. His literary output is considerable, and a book has been written about him and his work ("The Imaginative Writnigs of Paul Chidyausiku" by George Kahari). This also applies to Patrick Chakaipa ("The Novels of Patrick Chakaipa" by George Kahari). The first prizewinning novel in Ndebele was "Akusoka Lingenasici" by Isaac Mpofu (now an Education Officer). It has recently been reprinted after having been out of print for many years.

This early written vernacular literature revealed the distinct influence of its oral predecessors. The Ngano folk tales related by the storytelling Sarungano were the most significant forms of the age old oral literature of the Shona. The Ndebele equivalent to the Ngano are the lnganekwane. The narrator, in person, was an important part of the stories and he often repeated himself to achieve an effect, or reminded his audience of what he had previously said. He also explained any points that might not be easily comprehended. Practically all the stories had a moral and the names of the characters revealed what their actions and role in the stories were likely to be. Much of this technique was carried forward into the early written form of vernacular literature. In "Karikoga Gumiremiseve" Chakaipa frequently participates in the story by writing, "You remember what happened in the last chapter", or, "As I have already related". Mutsvairo in "Faso" frequently finds It necessary to go into explanations of the actions or customs of his characters which to Shona readers would be foreign, as the story was basically a Zulu traditional one. Mutsvairo breaks his narrative with lyrics and praise songs which have no direct reference to his story. In "Nzvengamutsvairo" Chidzero invites the reader, who in earlier days would have been the audience, to participate by saying, "Just listen to this" or, "Look at this".

Vernacular literature provides an interesting field for research for sociologists and historians. Most of the works contain details of many Shona and Ndebele customs. The historical stories are usually based on those that have been handed down orally, and many others deal with the social conditions and problems of the era in which they were written. "Nzvengamutsvairo" accurately depicts life as it was in the 1950's for the Africans of Southern Rhodesia. The sometimes devastating effect of the western way of life upon the unsophisticated man from the Reserve is a common theme of the early works. The traditional way of life was crumbling. Education was revolutionising ideas and values. But while in the process of losing the benefits of the old ways it was found that the benefits of the new were unattainable. These early books make the modern reader appreciate the great advances made by our African society since the books first appeared. They are a valuable record of an important transitional period in the history of Rhodesia. But it is an almost amusing experience for the Bureau editor who reads the page proofs of a reprint of these pioneer books today for he is attuned to the more sophisticated way of writing of modern vernacular writers.

To date, the Bureau has been responsible for the publication of some 90 pieces of creative writing in Shona and for 50 in Ndebele. These are mainly novels, novelettes and plays, and do not include several volumes of poetry, proverbs, riddles and other cultural material. The total number of Bureau publications stands at 280. These include homecraft, language studies, instructional, folklore comics and some instructional material in Engilsh. On average, 20 new titles are being produced each year. Early attempts to market the books met with the question, "Will these books teach me something so that I may pass an examination and qualify for a better job?" and the story books found their only market as supplementary readers in schools. However, the Bureau's activity in preaching "The Reading Habit", in taking books to the people by mobile book vans, and in broadcasting, have been highly effective. The demand for vernacular books from both schools and the public grows every year. On average, the annual sales of books over the last three years stands at 120 000 copies. This figure would be greatly increased if conditions were more favourable to the marketing of books in rural reas, the present situation being an obvious obstacle.

One of the significant aspects of the progress of Shona literature, in particular, has been the success of the Government appointed Shona Language Committee in evolving a form of spelling, orthography and word division which has become known as Standard Shona. This has made possible the publication of books in a form of Shona which is both universal and readily understood by readers from the diverse dialect groups of Manyika, Zezuru, Karanga, Ndau and Korekore. The late Father M. Hannan,

who was Chairman of the Committee for many years, compiled the "Standard Shona Dictionary" which was first published In 1959, and with his team of dialectal experts, produced a fully revised edition in 1974. This I 000 page publication is of entirely Rhodesian origin and has been hailed as one of the best examples of a dictionary of any African language. The literature has helped to build up the dictionary and the dictionary in turn has contributed to the literature. As yet, Ndebele has not been so fortunate in this regard, although the existence of its literature, and the appearance of Pelling's "Ndebele Dictionary" provided essential evidence for the Ministry of Education in its successful application to the overseas examination authorities to admit Ndebele as an examinable language. The existence of the two vernacular literatures is of inestimable value in the educational field, for the study of a language involves the study of its literature. The wealth of new books appearing annually is making such studies more rewarding. Both Shona and Ndebele are now available to students up to University degree level.

What of progress in the quality of material now submitted and published, and the calibre of the new authors? A look at one of the leading African writers in Rhodesia today will give us an idea. Charles Mungoshi won the 1968 Literary Competition in Shona with his now popular novel "Makunun'unu Maodzamoyo". He followed this up with "Ndiko Kupindana Kwamazuva" which some say is one of the best novels in Shona. The judges of the 1976 PEN/Book Centre Literary Award also thought so, and awarded him a prize of $300 for the best work in Shona for that year. The author had also been writing in English and his first book in that language was published by O.U.P. East Africa. Called "The Coming of the Dry Season" the work was unfortunately banned in Rhodesia, but it would seem that the politically inspired back cover blurb compiled by the publishers had as much to do with this as anything. His second novel in English, "Waiting for the Rain", was published by Heinemann and entered for the English writing section of the 1976 Award. It was among scenes of unprecedented acclaim that the author was announced the first African winner of the English section as well as winner of the vernacular section, on the same night. It is claimed that his work in English is certainly equal in quality to that produced by some of the wellestablished West African writers. In 1977 the vernacular award was won by Ndabazinhle Sigogo, the best known and most prolific novelist, poet and playwright in Ndebele. In 1978 Kingstons took over the award and increased the scope and the prizes to $500 for each of the three sections, English, Shona and Ndebele. The Shona section was won by a promising new writer, Aaron Moyo, and the Ndebele section by the most successful African woman writer in Rhodesia, Barbara Makhalisa, Ndebele novelist and playwright. All the awards mentioned, with the exception of the English section award in 1976, were on the strength of material which had been sponsored for publication by the Literature Bureau.

It is interesting to note that vernacular writing has long ceased to be the preserve of the graduate or highly educated man or woman. N. S. Sigogo wrote most of his poetry and his first novel while he was a District Commissioner's messenger. By selfeducation he has risen to be an editor in the Matabeleland branch of the Literature Bureau. Aaron Moyo could not write his own name until after he first went to school at the age of fifteen. He is now an unemployed welder who makes a living by selling wood carvings. Charles Mungoshi was an unemployed exforestry worker when he had his first literary success. The winner of the second prize in the 1966 Shona Literary Competition was David Chiguvare, an eighteen year old "teaboy" in a Salisbury factory. Many of the writers are, however, school teachers, as is Barbara Makhalisa, and there are some from journalism and other professions.