Tute Wincil Chigamba was born into a family of musicians, spirit mediums, and healers on 3 January 1939, in the rural area of Guruve, Zimbabwe.
His totem is Soko Wafawanaka.
Chigamba’s father, a skilled drummer, played at weekly spirit possession events in the village of Kamuchanyu, where he served as an interpreter for one of the founding ancestors of the Nhova clan.
Marking the start of a rich musical life, Tute Chigamba (Wafawanaka) first learned to play a six-key Zambian karimba with a small gourd resonator, while living on the commercial farm where his father worked in the early 1940s.
His teacher was Kachonda, a Zambian farm worker.
At the age of 7, Wafawanaka moved to his grandmother’s village, separating him from his karimba teacher and the single instrument they had shared.
Now Chigamba learned to play the chipendani mouth bow, taught by his grandmother.
While herding cattle, he played a mukubhe (reed aerophone) that he made, and the pennywhistle.
Chigamba also surreptitiously borrowed an acoustic guitar owned by one of his uncles, and taught himself to play.
In the 1950s, Wafawanaka sang in the choir at St.
Nicholas School.
Nicholas, he continued to play guitar, sneaking out into the trees during the lunch break with a friend whose father had bought him an instrument.
Wafawanaka was only able to attend school through 5th grade, due to the African majority’s lack of access to education during Zimbabwe’s colonial period.
After marrying in the late 1950s, Chigamba worked on tobacco farms, including clearing land, and acquired extensive knowledge about trees during this period.
In 1962, Chigamba moved to Highfield township of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, then known as Salisbury.
His original plan had been to cross the Zambezi River and travel through Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) into the Congo, where he hoped to learn the rhumba-influenced guitar music that was sweeping Southern Africa in the early 1960s.
To prevent his departure, however, a cousin in Highfield quickly found him a job at a wholesale shop owned by a Greek immigrant, where Wafawanaka would continue to work until the late 1970’s.
While Chigamba heard mbira music performed in ceremonies during his childhood, it was not until 1965, while attending a bira ceremony in Highfield, that he became especially impassioned by mbira music.
Soon, he began traveling to the Chihota rural area every weekend in order to attend ceremonies and listen to mbira music.
He was first inspired to try playing the instrument himself when he saw a young boy performing in Chihota.
However, his initial attempts to learn were unsuccessful.
Finally, Wafawanaka purchased an instrument for himself in 1968.
Mhembere, who sold him the mbira, wanted to teach Chigamba for 25 cents a song, but this was declined as too expensive.
Chigamba began teaching himself to play by ear, starting with Chipindura, followed by Nhema musasa and Kuzanga.
By the end of the first week, he was playing 5 songs. “It was relatively easy for me, as the music was loud in my mind and it was only a matter of listening, and looking for the keys on my mbira. ”
Other musicians were both surprised and envious of Chigamba’s quick learning, and steady playing.
Wafawanaka says that, in his family history, only one ancestor played mbira, but now he has revived mbira in the family.
He has taught his brothers to play, and his children and grandchildren.
Chigamba was quickly very accomplished on the mbira, even playing solo in ceremonies with his wife adding hosho and vocals, or playing mbira together with his wife.
He attributes his early style to the influence of Mubaiwa Bandambira’s 45 rpm vinyl records, and a close friendship with Bandambira’s brother-in-law Mukwani who played in Bandambira’s style. 🔗 Read Full Article
All Zim News is a central hub for all things Zimbabwean, curating news from across the country so no story is missed.
Alongside aggregation, our team of nationwide reporters provides real-time, on-the-ground coverage.
Stay informed and connected — reach us at admin@allzimnews. com.
