Abstract:
The article is based on a research that investigated, from an applied ethnomusicological
dimension, the manner in which Shangwe indigenes in Gokwe North and South districts of
Zimbabwe violated the indigenous model of selecting and installing chiefs. The scramble
and fighting for positions of leadership remains an unresolved challenge in this political
world. There are well documented sociological studies about fighting for positions of
power and possible solutions being proffered to attempt and reduce the social quandary.
The ethnographic paradigm was utilised to collect qualitative data through unwritten
interviews that were meant to obtain information about causes for fighting for chieftainship.
Findings were as follows: There were undocumented succession plans of passing chieftainship
from one household to another; fighting for chieftainship could continue even after
the incumbency was endorsed by the State; and fighting for chieftaincy is a way of trying
to restore the cultural legacy bestowed to households that do not belong to the genealogy
of chiefs.
