Liberty Dube
Entertainment Correspondent
IT started as a normal entertainment day at Rozvi Bottle Store, fondly known as Creche Yemadhara in Dangamvura.
Local deejays Candyman and Governor were taking turns to entertain revellers who were trickling in for the main show.
As the music played on, imbibers were enjoying their booze, while grilled meat lovers were busy on the braai stands.
Soccer lovers were watching their favourite English Premier League teams playing, while pool players were also on a showdown.
New look local dance ensemble, Ntswai Ntswai, which is led by Lino Piloto, jumped on the stage mid-afternoon and put up a scintillating performance.
Their choreography was top drawer and so was their instrument arrangement.
Upon finishing their performance, the resident deejays took over for a while as the main act – Mbira dzeNharira – were gearing up for ‘work’.
It was now around 7pm.
Suddenly, the atmosphere got tense.
Mbira dzeNharira’s sound check was just different. Everything suddenly turned spiritual.
The booming sound of their thumb piano (mbira) and the sound of the rattles (hosho) made the night unforgettable.
The two instruments are key in events such as biras, traditional and rain making ceremonies.
Now during this night in question, dreadlocked people dominated the Mbira dzeNharira show.
As the show progressed, some revellers fell into trances.
Some went haywire, even removing their clothes, shouting and running around the packed venue.
Some were visibly emotional as they attempted to jump onto the stage, while others slithered like snakes.
Snuff (bute) was the order of the day as people would inhale it before a thunderous sneeze came out.
As the atmosphere got more uptight around 9pm, the band started conducting some ‘rituals’ on stage, including sniffing bute and throwing some of it into the air.
They seemingly went into trances before going back to strum their mbiras while seated on the stage.
They went for close to 20 minutes without singing, while the mbira sound engulfed the venue and the drama in the crowd unfolded.
Post Entertainment realised that one would only calm down after snuff was rubbed onto their chest and head.
One would also be forced to drink some water or be sprinkled some for them to recover.
In an interview, one of the revellers who was accompanied by her spouse who was clearly shocked said she is possessed by a marine spirit (manjuzu).
“I get possessed when such music is played. I had initially refused to get out of the car because I knew this would happen, but I have no regrets. Their music was too powerful, especially the mbira. The only thing I remember is when they covered me with a cloth,” she said.
Organiser of the show, Eddie Gopo said: “We always strive to bring our patrons’ favourite artistes and we are glad that Mbira DzeNharira gave a good account of themselves.
“Although a lot of extraordinary things happened, we are glad that the gig ended without any skirmishes. Our patrons enjoyed the show peacefully.”