Family disintegration and migration in selected Shona musical voices in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Musicians generally react to the issues that affect people in the communities where their music emerges. This is evident in some songs that are sung by Zimbabwean musicians following high rate of migration in the country. This movement has caused disintegration of various families, hence musicians find it worthy voicing out the implications of these economic hardships on the social cohesion of family. In that sense, music becomes a powerful repository of popular sentiments about all aspects of the society, from its norms and values to its economy and politics. It is against this backdrop that the paper seeks to examine the songs sung by Zimbabwean Shona musicians about the effects of migration on the family. Using content analysis of the selected songs, the researcher uses four songs, namely, Batai mazwi, Yerent and Muhope ndinewe and Dzika ngirozi. Guided by the Africana womanist perspective, the research established that family relations of people in Zimbabwe have been negatively affected by migration due to economic challenges bedeviling the country. It can be concluded that musicians play a significant role in articulating issues that affect people in their different situations in society. In other words, they act as a voice of the voiceless majority.