The depiction of vhuthu African philosophy in selected TshiVenda novels

Abstract

This research study investigated the Vhuthu African philosophy in four selected Tshivenḓa novels, namely; A si Ene (Madima, 1954), Bulayo ḽo Ṱalifhaho (Magau, 1980), Thonga i Pfi Ndo Vhaḓa (Demana, 2015) and Ḽi a Kovhela (Mugwena, 2014) respectively. The Vhuthu philosophical principles formed the main part of the literature review in this study, which afforded the researcher the opportunity to read through, gain an understanding and develop a detailed analysis of the concept of Vhuthu as depicted in the aforementioned novels. Undergirded by the Afrocentricity Theory, this study foregrounds the depiction of African Vhuthu philosophy in the mentioned Tshivenḓa novels. The Afrocentric theoretical perspective centralises the agency of Africans and is geared towards drawing Africans from the margins to the centre in various spheres of society. This study illustrates how Vhuthu, as an essential tenet of African life and philosophy, is embraced by the Vhavenḓa. The study employed the qualitative approach, and used Textual Analysis in the analysis of data obtained from the four selected Tshivenḓa novels. In its investigation of the depiction of Vhuthu in the four selected Tshivenḓa novels, this study was framed within four main objectives of the study, namely: (i) to identify aspects that depict Vhuthu from the selected Tshivenḓa novels, (ii) to investigate the benefits of Vhuthu from the selected novels, (ii) to investigate the shortcomings of Vhuthu from the selected novels and, (iii) to establish the relevance of Vhuthu in present-day society. In the analysis of the selected novels, it was found that there were instances where the characters acted in accordance to the Vhuthu philosophical principles while in other instances, the characters somewhat contravened the Vhuthu philosophy. Overall, the study suggests that the Vhuthu philosophy must be included in the school curricula because, as the study argues, most people who act against the philosophy’s principles are largely the youth.