Even though there is nothing wrong with being African, one may not be wrong to vehemently submit that we, Africans, often feel inferior when we relate with other races.
Some argue that there are certain African ideologies that are probably wrong and must be done away with because they keep Africa stagnant, yes that’s true. However, one wonders why some Africans would like to think that everything African is backward and inferior?
Why do we choose to throw away the baby together with bath water?
Reader, if you Google the late King Leopold of Belgium’s letter to the missionaries in the Congo, during the colonial epoch, you will fully comprehend that our colonizers understood that if you want to stagnate any people, you have to brainwash them so that they lose confidence in themselves and their cognitive abilities. They begin to abhor, loathe and detest the very same things that are supposed to give them pride.
Honestly, what is wrong with our vernacular languages? What is wrong with our skin? What is wrong with our hair? What is wrong with our traditional foods? Of course, every person has freedom of choice but isn’t it wise to look at the cost of our choices?
Africa is the poorest continent on earth, why? Some countries like China, Singapore, etc, that used to be poorer than us are now first world countries, why?
There is definitely something wrong with our mindset. Leaders and citizens of Africa have a lot of introspection to do, every one of us. Now is the time to put on our thinking caps. We have to grab this bull by its horns and confront this fierce urgency of now!
To discuss this interesting story of African identity, language, natural hair, natural skin, African traditional foods, original African values and norms, dancing and sexual issues I sat down with the highly esteemed and renowned Zimbabwean eye specialist Dr Solomon Guramatunhu, at his residence in Borrowdale, Harare to discuss this rich topic.
This stimulating interview, reader, you cannot afford to miss any part of it. If you miss any part of it, you risk missing something that is very helpful to you and your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, children, relatives, friends, workmates, churchmates and acquaintances.
For the benefit of some who might not know Dr Guramatunhu, I will begin by answering the following questions: Who is Dr Solomon Guramatunhu and what does he do? Why is he worth giving an ear to, in as far as this issue is concerned?
Dr Solomon Guramatunhu’s life is a testament to the power of education, resilience and a deep-seated commitment to uplifting others, a journey that began in the rural heartland of Zimbabwe.
Born in 1954 in Nyazura, a small town between Rusape and Mutare, he is the second of seven siblings in a family that valued integrity and learning.
His mother instilled in him a love for education, while his father’s loyalty while working for a Jewish family created a transformative opportunity when that family helped secure the young Guramatunhu a scholarship at a prestigious private school.
This chance propelled him to Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa in Swaziland (now eSwatini), a formative environment where he was immersed in a multi-racial setting alongside students from across the continent, including late former South African president Nelson Mandela’s daughters. It was there he developed the lifelong principle of giving back to society, a philosophy that would define his career.
Following this, he returned home to study medicine at the then University of Rhodesia(now University Of Zimbabwe), where he was one of only a handful of black students in his class, before travelling to Scotland to specialize in ophthalmology, earning postgraduate qualifications from the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Upon returning to Zimbabwe in the early 1990s, Dr Guramatunhu embarked on a pioneering medical career that focused on eradicating preventable blindness. He took on the formidable challenge of heading the Sekuru Kaguvi Eye Hospital, a facility that he found in a primitive state.
Through determined leadership and cultivation of international partnerships, he transformed it into a modern tertiary and referral training centre, introducing advanced procedures such as cataract surgery with lens implants, corneal transplants and the country’s first medical laser for diabetic patients.
His vision extended far beyond the walls of a single institution, he founded the Opthamological Society of Zimbabwe to foster professional development and co-founded Eyes for Africa, a program dedicated to providing free cataract surgery to impoverished people in rural areas, ultimately helping an estimated 50 000 patients regain their sight.
Recognizing that sustainable change required education, he established a training program that produced dozens of new eye specialists, not only for Zimbabwe but for other African nations as well.
Alongside his public service, he built Greenwood Park Eye Centre, a successful private practice that stands as a testament to his entrepreneurial spirit. He is also the owner of OPTINOVA, a leading provider of eye care services and eyewear.
In addition, Dr Guramatunhu was once chairperson of Bindura University of Science Education for ten years where one of his main achievements was overseeing the construction of the main library.
Beyond his medical achievements, Dr Guramatunhu has distinguished himself as a passionate philanthropist, arts patron and outspoken advocate of African identity. His commitment to education is evident in his role as a patron of the Zimbabwe Rural Schools Library Trust, through which he built a library and ICT centre at his old primary school and in the scholarships he provides through the Guramatunhu Family Trust.
A lifelong collector of Zimbabwean sculpture, he served for a decade as chairman of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, earning a national merit award for his service to the arts.
He is also known for his public advocacy, most notably for his campaign encouraging women to embrace their natural hair, which he argues is a matter of cultural pride. He is not only dedicated to treating physical eyes but also the eyes of our minds as Africans.
Now 72 years of age, Dr Guramatunhu remains active as a public speaker and mentor to young entrepreneurs. I know he always argues that talking about his networth is not necessary because that doesn’t help anyone but let me mention that he is a multi-millionaire who also invests in real estate and cryptocurrency.
Reader, Dr Guramatunhu is a larger than life personality, who leads an enviable life, pursuing diverse hobbies such as Latino dancing, scuba diving and yoga. He is also a well-travelled man who has been to many countries and places.
His legacy is that of a hard-driving achiever who combines professional experience with a profound sense of duty, driven by the belief that one person can indeed make a lasting and meaningful difference in the world. He is a thought leader.
Clayton Gonese: Thank you very much for your time, Dr Guramatunhu. So, the first question, Dr Guramatunhu is, at what point in your life did you realize that Africans must consciously embrace their Africanness?
Dr Guramatunhu : Well, Clayton, I go to India every year and I also go to Brazil, I go to South Korea, I go to China, Taiwan and many other places in the world. It was when I discovered that some of the hair that we black people buy, is actually from dead people in India, I was shaken. Because, as you might know, Hindus perform open cremation. They place the body of the deceased on a pile of firewood. Then they light a fire. Afterwards, the ashes are collected and thrown in the river, Ganges.
So, someone said, “You know, there are people who want to buy this hair. You’re really burning money here.” So, what they do now, someone dies, they shave off the hair from that dead body. That’s what we call the 100% human hair, which can be very expensive to thousands of US dollars. Africa spends more than USD 6 Billion every year buying weaves and wigs, enriching people who look down on them.
Some of the 100% human hair is harvested from live people who maybe going through very difficult times in their lives. The ritual of removing hair in the Indian temples is called TONSURE. All sorts of people go through this process, the homeless, the terminally ill, even the mentally ill. They believe they are getting rid of the bad luck by sacrificing their hair to the Gods. Once the hair is gathered, it is sorted out, worms and lice are removed.
I asked myself the question: When we black people shave our hair, we do not keep it in the house, we throw it away or burn it because it is DIRT( Tsvina); how then did it become normal for us to buy the trash of other races? No other race buys our trash.
That touched me a lot.
When I see black women slapping and scratching their scalps, I feel sad.
When I was in Taiwan, I noticed that dead women’s bodies ,were brought into a room, just before burial, where the hair was shaven off. Soon after, the bodies were transported to the cemetery for burial. They showed me a warehouse full of that hair. I said, “Gentlemen, what are you doing with all this hair of dead people?” They answered, “Oh my friend, this is big business. Our biggest market, black people, they love this hair. We are making tons of money, billions of money, selling to black people.” So, when I came back, I said I must share this information with our people, our ladies and the men too.
I wrote an article in the Sunday mail. I didn’t put my name at that time. Women went ballistic. Some said, “This stupid man who has written this, he is short of money to buy a weave or wig for his wife, he is obviously very stingy. He must just shut up.”
I have ladies I work with in our various enterprises. I said to them, “Ladies, my travels have opened my eyes and have opened my mind. What we are doing doesn’t make any sense.” So, all the ladies that I work with understood and they went natural. Now, I give lectures at universities, churches, schools, corporates, wherever I’m invited because I tell you, Clayton,that’s how important this is.
You know Clayton, when the disease, AIDS was rife, you could tell somebody had AIDS because of the hair which became very thin, almost like a baby’s hair. What does that tell us? It tells us that the disease in your body is also in your hair. We are buying that. Whether somebody is alive or dead, you don’t know what disease they are carrying.
Secondly, if we walk through a place which is scary, maybe a cemetery at night, our hearts will start beating faster and our hair reacts, vhudzi rinomira zvoreva kuti vhudzi(hair reacts meaning that hair) is part of our nervous system. Isusu tirikutenga nervous system yevamwe vanhu( We are buying other people’s nervous system). I mean, I try to get the sense out of it and I find it difficult and embarassing.
Many people don’t realize this, madzimai echivanhu(black women), trust me, they are the most beautiful women walking on planet earth with their natural attributes, their natural hair and their natural skin. The tragedy is that they don’t know about this. And unfortunately, a lot of black men are equally ignorant.
Let me explain this and this is very important for people to understand. We seem to have this belief as black people kuti aahh kana mukadzi ane vhudzi revarungu(that if a woman has white people’s hair), either weave or wig, kana skin yake yakableacher akatsvuka semurungu ndookunaka(if her skin is bleached and it looks like that of a white person, that’s beauty) and I’m telling you no, no, no. This is not true. People ask me kuti(that), “Iwe(you) Guramatunhu, how do you know?”
Clayton, I have a lot of hobbies. One of my favourite hobbies is dancing. Right here where we are, I dance with ladies from South Korea, from Japan, from China, from India, from Europe, I’ve danced with Russian women here, German women, Greek women, British women. And it’s not a secret that the former British ambassador was my dance partner for three years. And we flew to London to dance at the Ambassadors Ball at the Hyatt, the very day of Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding. We danced Salsa and Bachata. We’ve got the pictures and the videos.
So, I don’t have a complex with these other races. No, not at all. There are some black women and men who criticize me and they mock me. I understand that. It is very possible that these people have not experienced what I have. The fact that I dance with all these different races, ma ladies avo(their ladies), I think it qualifies me kutaura kuti ndambotamba nemadzimai ese aya( to say that I have danced and fraternized with all these women), imimi(you) black women zvamuinazvo(what you have), mafeatures amunawo(the features that you have), no other race has got the same features. These are facts, scientific.
Bvudzi(hair), let’s come back to this, the belief yekuti iro bvudzi revarungu riya riya(that white people’s hair) is more special, is plain incorrect.. Varungu vane vhudzi rakadaro(white people have that type of hair) because that is biological adaptation to their cold climate. KuEurope kunotonhora( Europe is very cold) in winter, zviya zvekutonhora, (too cold,) saka (so) nature yakavapa bvudzi riya riya kuti vadziirwe
muchando(nature gave them that type of hair because it keeps them warm in the cold weather), robva ravhara nzeve, etc, zvakafanana nehwai(it covers the ears and just like European sheep.) The sheep in Europe have lots of wool. That wool is not for beauty. That wool is for survival in a cold climate. If our sheep from here are transported to Europe, they will die of cold because they do not have wool. If the sheep in Europe are brought here in our summertime, it’s so hot, they will die of heat. What black people are doing is to behave like African sheep inoti, aahh inini ndinooda kuitawo(which says it also wants) wool iri kuEurope(wool of European sheep),because it makes me look more beautiful. Manje kunoku kunopisa(yet here it’s hot). This is not for you.
That’s why kana madzimai edu apfeka maweave, mawig,(when our women put on weaves, wigs) vanopiswa vachidikitira votanga kuswinywa musoro vachirova-rova musoro vachikwenya-kwenya(they begin to feel hot, they sweat and their heads become itchy, that’s why they keep on slapping and scratching their heads). I’m trying to explain this. This is why they are doing this. No other race is doing the same thing. Our ladies are doing this because they don’t understand that the European hair is not for them, ndere kuEurope(It’s for Europeans) and you’re putting it on top of your natural hair. Most honest black ladies admit to the fact that weaves and wigs are unbearably hot and uncomfortable. It is almost a form of torture. Some uninformed black women and men think it is a sign of wealth and a status symbol, the longer the weave.
Anyway, hair is on our scalps, armpits and private parts. If we do not bath for two days, the arm pits emit a foul odour. The weaves are sewn or glued onto the scalp, thereby trapping sweat and dandruff for a month or more. The emitted smell is horrific. Those who wear weaves and their spouses know this very well. These are facts.
So, I try to explain it like this; last year, Miss South Africa was BALD, completely bald and she was the most beautiful woman in South Africa.
Once a year, I go to Milan, I go to Paris. You know these fashion shows in Europe, the top black models in Europe are these girls from South Sudan, who are dark, very dark, completely bald, big earrings and they’re on the catwalk. And I say to black ladies, “You know, no other race, no other lady of another race can pull it off like a black woman. Because murungu akaita zuda mukadzi(if a white woman has a bald head), people will say maybe ane(she has) cancer, maybe ari pa(she is on) chemotherapy. Mukadzi wechi India zuda haribude(It doesn’t look nice when an Indian woman has a bald head), mukadzi wechiChina haribude(on a Chinese woman it’s the same), mukadzi wechi Japanese haribude(on a Japanese woman too) but mudzimai wechivanhu( on a black woman) she looks like a GODDESS. That’s number one.
Number two, Clayton, just check out any black woman ane(with) short hair, she looks cute, she looks clean, she looks younger. Our women don’t realize that ma weave(these weaves), mawig(these wigs) always make them look older. This is a fact.
Number three, if a black woman has an Afro, it’s like she’s got a crown on her head. She looks majestic like a Queen. No other race on earth can sport an Afro except the black woman. Ndivo chete vane vhudzi rakatarisa kudenga kuna Mwari(Only the black woman has hair that points towards the heaven), all the other races rakatarisa pasi(it points down). The black lady is the only lady whose hair defies gravity. This is how special she is. Somebody will have to tell them, whether they believe me or not, but I’m telling you facts.
Number four, if a black lady straightens her hair, she can just look like the Caucasians or the Asians with her own natural hair. The black lady can therefore choose to look like the other races but the other races can never look like her.
Number five, black ladies vanogona kurukwa musoro ( black ladies can plait their hair) whether ma corn rows or “mabuns”, they can do a thousand different styles. No other race on earth can do that but a black woman.
Number six, malocks(the locks), whether it’s Sisterlocks or Dreadlocks, the black ladies look very sexy. No other race can have malocks(locks) like a black lady.
So, I say to black women, listen, look at the options that God or Nature gave you.
From bald, short hair, Afro, straight hair, plaited hair, Locks, about six options! You are the only one with six options. Imimi munoziva tataura kuti tikagerwa vhudzi tinorasa itsvina(Like I said, you know that after shaving off our hair, we dispose it because it’s dirt), you abandon those six options, kutenga tsvina yemamwe marudzi, tinonyarirepi?(in order to buy other races’s dirt, isn’t it shameful?) I am telling you, tinonyarirapai(isn’t it shameful)? It is embarrassing.
Gonese: Dr. Guramatunhu, you are very passionate about encouraging African women to love and appreciate their natural hair, natural skin, natural nails, and overall natural appearance. I think you have largely answered this question but you can give an emphatic voice.
Dr Guramatunhu: So, you see Clayton, like I mentioned to you, the black woman has six options, maybe even more with her hair. No other race has the same options. So, we ask ourselves, how come of all the ladies in the world, of all the races, it’s only the black woman who has six options with her hair? The answer lies in science. There’s a gene, it’s in the mitochondrial DNA known as the Eve gene, named after Adam’s Eve. The Eve gene is the only gene capable of producing all the races in the world. And there’s only one creature on earth with the Eve gene, it is the black woman.
They should know this. The black woman is the Mother of all the races. She is the Mother of mankind. That’s why she has all these options which no other race has. But nekusaziva manje(because of ignorance), the OG, the mother, the ORIGINALl is trying to copy the copy. That’s how sad it is.
Now, you asked me about the skin. Black people,black women should know that they have got one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind, the pigment, MELANIN, inotisvibisa iyi(which makes our skin dark). Because of melanin, black women, they do not wrinkle easily. Vanosvika(They reach) 50, 60, 70, 80s years of age without much wrinkling of the skin
I had a patient ari(who is) is 90 years old. I did eye surgery on her 30 years ago. She looks so beautiful, with amazingly flawless skin and thick natural hair.
Varungu vakasvika pa 40(when white people reach 40 years of age), they start to wrinkle because they do not have melanin. Secondly, varungu wakada kufanana nemasope(white people are similar to people who live with albinism), hawana (they do not have)melanin. As a result, vakarohwa nezuva redu iri(if they are exposed to our tropical sun), they develop skin cancers. Generally, most black people do not develop skin cancers because melanin protects them.
Now, I’m going to do an exercise.
I tell women, “Imagine your whole skin was gold, your whole body was covered by gold, you’d have a very, very expensive body. But your body is covered by melanin.” Now, if we Google, and I’m going to do it now now as I speak to you. Let’s Google the price of gold per gram.
Gonese: It’s approximately 144 to 145 USD per gram.
Dr Guramatunhu : Thank you. Now, I’m going to change. I’m gonna remove pakanzi(where it’s written) gold then ndoisa(I put) melanin. Because a lot of ladies don’t know this, you see?Melanin, there we are.See for yourself, Clayton.How much?
Gonese: 2024 price of melanin is $US750 per gram.
Dr Guramatunhu :What does that tell us? It tells us that melanin is more expensive, almost five times more than gold. Now maakubleacher kubvisa(you are bleaching to remove) melanin.Can you believe this? I mean, it’s crazy, our ignorance as black people, you know, inotyisa(it’s scary).How do you bleach? Just because urikuda kuita semurungu, wobvisa melanin inoita((you want to look like a white person, then you remove melanin yet it) makes sure kuti hawuunyane(that you won’t wrinkle easily)? Two, hauite(you don’t easily get) skin cancers and it’s five times more expensive than gold. And you bleach that stuff?
Gonese: Out of interest, Dr Guramatunhu, who will be buying that melanin?
Dr Guramatunhu : Well, you know melanin is so powerful, they are trying to make it even muma(in) labs, it’s also a semi-conductor. Yeah, there are 135 genes attached to melanin. This is powerful stuff. And I didn’t know until recently, that with music, melanin you know inoreactor(it reacts) to music.It communicates ne(with)music. And I think that’s why black people we have rhythm from birth. t. And also melanin, not only is it in skin, it’s in the hair that’s why it’s black, in the eye, our iris and in the brain. Melanin is in a part of the brain called Substantia Nigra which releases Dopamine, a hormone which makes us feel happy. That is why, of all the races in the world nobody expresses joy and happiness more than black people. In the centre of the brain is the Pineal gland, which also has melanin. It is the centre of dreams, creativity and spirituality. Overall, black people are more creative and spiritual than any other race. Think of the music; spirituals, blues, jazz, funk, soul, Hip-Hop , reggae etc dances; jerusarema, muchongoyo, kizomba, tango,salsa,bachata, rumba, Chachacha, Meringue, etc
As a result of melanin, black babies develop much faster than other races. They crawl, stand, walk faster. Most people don’t know this. This is powerful stuff. So, I’m trying to tell ladies, please don’t bleach.
Science tells us that there are different numbers of strands or segments of DNA in the different species and races. The more strands/segments of DNA a species or race has, the more intellectually and spiritually developed it is. The Orangetan has 3, Apes have 4, Chimpanzee has 5, other human races have 6. The Black race has 9! When there is a level playing field, the 9 strands of DNA always excel. That explains black dominance at the Olympics, boxing, basket ball, tennis etc. Once blacks get exposure they dominate the different fields including science, business and the arts.
Weaves,wigs and the bleaching of skin are only a symptom of a deeply embedded inferiority complex, a direct result of slavery and colonization.
There are many black women and men who point out to me that whatever they do with their hair is none of my business, it is their choice. After all that is what their husbands like. I should stay in my lane. I should shut up. All this is true. I do not have any desire, power or authority to tell people what to do with their hair and skin. I have some information, some knowledge which I would like to share with others. They say one should die empty because we do not carry the knowledge, information or material possessions to the next world. Some might benefit from it, hence the sharing. When I was growing up, some black ladies used a skin lightening cream called AMBI. Their faces became light but the rest of the body remained black. Most of these ladies, if not all, damaged their skin permanently with very dark patches over the cheek bones. The skin damage cannot be repaired. But, it was THEIR CHOICE, it was THEIR RIGHT. Just like today, some choices are born of ignorance.
At my age, I can say, we’re cruising towards the sunset, okay? I want to die empty. In other words, whatever I have in my head, let me share with you young guys. That’s what I’m doing. I’m just sharing what I know. Whether you agree with me or not, that’s your business. But I’m just sharing with you because I’ve been to some places where you haven’t been yet.
Now, the other thing is the lips. The black woman has got the most beautiful lips. They’re thick, they’re full, they’re luscious, they’re sexy. I always tell them that every hot-blooded man wants to kiss your lips. With other races, some inject Botox into their lips to gain volume. Some have even had surgery to make them bigger. The black woman has got them naturally.
I go to Brazil a lot and now I’m seeing zvaakuitwa munomu(it’s also being done here), you know these so called BBL, Brazilian Butt Lift to make the the bums bigger. I’m telling these ladies, that no other lady has bigger bums like the black woman. The black woman has got the biggest, the most beautiful, the most erotic. People are paying a fortune to have what these women have naturally.
So, what’s my story, Clayton? I’m telling the black woman, “You know what? I’ve been places. I’ve danced with different races. I can tell you with confidence, you were given the best features by God, by Nature. You don’t need to buy anybody’s hair. You don’t need to bleach your skin. You don’t need to do anything.”
Some people are having these BBLs because other races are doing it. The other races are doing it because they don’t have them, imi munawo kudhara mahombe(you have big buttocks already). And you know, what’s also painful is the other races,ma(the)Asians, they discovered kuti(that), their own hair, they throw it away, itsvina( it’s dirt). Yet black women are prepared to buy the dirt of other the races, vobvisa(they pay) $200, $400, $600, even $1,000 to buy long hair. And the other Asian races say to themselves,”We’ve missed out on this bonanza from these black people, okay?”
Those varikubvisa mazimari aya ndivo vatinenge tichiti mbinga hanzi tine mari(those who pay these hefty amounts of money are the ones we call rich people here, they say they have got so much money).But the poor ones, the poor Africans, they also want that hair. But they can’t afford. So, they figured out that it’s not that black people want 100% human hair necessarily. No, it’s the look they want, kungoita semurungu(to look like a white person), bvudzi rinenge remurungu(to have hair that looks like that of a white person), skin inenge yemurungu(to have skin that looks like that of a white person). Let’s make some fibers. Silly, cheap, stupid fibers,these people will buy. Fibre yobva yagadzirwa(Fibre hair is then made).Let’s make it so cheap kuti sisi varikutsvaira havo pachivanze so vangochiisawo mumusoro chiweave , chiwig vototi ndatonaka ndaita semurungu(so that a maid who sweeps her boss’s yard will afford it, then put on a weave, a wig and she convinces herself that she now looks beautiful like a white woman). You see what I’m saying, mai varikutengesa matomato pamusika vachipiswa sei vachidikitira(a female vendor selling tomatoes on a hot day), vachirova rova musoro vakachipfeka pamusoro apa kuti vanzi vakaita semurungu(will be slapping her head only because she wants to look like a white woman).
You know, Clayton, if you understand this, then you feel the pain. Now, ndine vamwe vandinoita maiguru(I have someone I refer to as sister in law), so vakauya kusurgery kwangu vachiti ndauya kuzokuonai bamunini ndikatovati maita zvakanaka(one day she came to my surgery saying that she had come to see me). I then asked them kuti ko ,”chii chamakaisa mumusoro(that what is this on top of your hair?)” So she goes on, “Aaahhh hamuzive fashion iriko mazuvano, maweave”(oohh you don’t know what is fashionable these days!). She went on, I was just listening to her. Then when she stopped, I explained to her everything about this issue, what I’ve just explained to you. And she agreed with me kuti hongu zvinopisa(She confirmed that this artificial hair makes her head feel hot). She said ndanga ndisingazive hangu(she admitted that she was ignorant), and she promised she was going to change. So, she went home and and came the next day with plaited hair (vakarukwa mabhanzi). . So she said to me, “Bamudiki ndarara zvakanaka, kana kutomboswinywa kana, kana kupiswa kana, haa makaita basa”(Brother in law, I slept very well, I didn’t feel itchy or hot, thank you). So, she said pavanoenda kumusha, vamwevanhu vekumusha vanoti kana mapedza neweave yenyu mozotipawo(Whenever she went to her rural home, those who live there would ask that when she no longer needed her artificial hair, they wanted it). Ndikati(I said), “Listen to what you are saying because vanhu vekumusha(those rural folks), they look up to you vachiti ndimi muri sophisticated(thinking you are the sophisticated ones), masvika kumusha kuya kuya imi munoziva kuti kumusha kunopisa, kumusha kune guruva, kumusha kune chiutsi ende vanodikitira vanhu ava(you know it’s very hot in most of our rural areas, there is a lot of dust and smoke, and these people sweat profusely). Movapa izvozvi izvi kuti vaise mumusoro vachienda kumuchato vakapfeka(and you give them this nonsense to put on their heads so that they put on when they go to weddings),this is so sad.” Now, what people don’t realize about this conversation is, it’s not about hair. It’s not about skin. It’s deeper than hair. It’s deeper than skin. It’s about mindset. That’s what I’m talking about.
GONESE: Dr Guramatunhu, another question which I think which I think you have also answered but needs further explanation is that some people argue that not all braids on the market are made from human hair.As many are manufactured from synthetic fibers, as you have alluded to.What is your response to this argument?
Dr Guramatunhu: Clayton, the question of braids is very important. It’s just come out now. It’s big news all over, especially in the States, but all over the world now. Braids have got these synthetic materials which are now known to cause breast cancer and uterine cancers in black women. It’s a big thing right now. So, and you know it’s predominantly black women who use braids and now they are the ones who are developing cancers. We don’t need that. I’ve just told you, the black woman received more than six options with their hair from God and from nature. There’s no need for all these things. Now, it’s important that we, in other words, you and I, the black men, should understand this. It is our responsibility to reassure the black woman that, “You know, sweetheart, you are beautiful just the way you are, with your natural hair, with your natural skin.Everything about you is beautiful.”
I was invited by mamwe madzimai ku(some women in) Greendale and they said, “Guramatunhu huya utaure nyaya yako”(Guramatunhu,come and tell us your story). Ndasvika paya-paya(I arrived there) and I talked about hair. I talked about skin. The moment I finished, they all had their hands up. They said, “Doctor, we are not the problem. The problem is you, the black men, ndimi munotiprefer tiine mabvudzi marefu, ndimi munototitengera maweave acho, nemawig acho futi”(you prefer us with braids, you buy these weaves, wigs, etc, for us). “Isusu(We), when we go natural, the next thing you guys, you have a girlfriend anopfeka chiweave,chiwig(who puts on weaves, wigs).” And they said, “manje since zvirizvo zvavanoda varume, rega titongopfeka(since men like that, we continue to put on them)”. Zvikanzi, “nyaya yeskin yamataura iyi(on the issue of skin, they said), if there’s five of us, one is light in complexion, four are dark in complexion, the majority of black men are going to approach the light skinned one first.” “So, doctor, next time, with all due respect, before you come to us, talk to your brothers.” So, what we are discussing now is actually, primarily meant for black men.
Now, here’s what I do and I’m encouraging all of you, especially you young guys. When I meet a black woman, anywhere in the world, maybe in Italy, on the plane or here in Harare, maybe in Dubai, maybe in Tokyo, maybe in New York or maybe in Jamaica, if I have an opportunity, I’ll say to her, “Excuse me, lady, I hope you don’t mind, but I have to compliment you because of your natural hair, I’m a naturalist. When you have natural hair, it means you’ve got confidence within yourself, who you are, and what you are. You have inner beauty and outer beauty. You see, lady, natural hair is elegant. It is classy. It’s a true sign of real sophistication. You see, I absolutely adore, I respect, and I truly, truly appreciate natural hair. You see, there’s no sophistication in buying what other races would throw in the dustbin. . There’s no sophistication, Clayton, mukutenga vhudzi(in buying hair) of dead Indian women, mofamba muchiti takachena(then you go around saying you look nice).There’s no sophistication mukuonekwa(in being seen) funny nema(by the) Chinese nema(by the)Koreans, vanoti munoda kuita sevarungu but hamuna mari saka tokutengeserai macheap fibres (they laugh at you saying you want to look like white people but you don’t have money, so we manufacture fibres for you) .And now we know these fibers are also causing cancer in black women. This is a very sad story.
Gonese: You mean the chemicals that are used in those fibers?
Dr Guramatunhu: Yeah, even maweave nemawig( even in weaves and wigs). I’ll show you the text. I’ve got real information from scientific research. They have found at least 50 chemicals used in the preparation of wigs.weaves and braids to be carcinogenic ie cause cancers like breast, uterine and ovarian.
Now, I remember vividly, I was flying from Dubai to Washington DC on Ethiopian Airlines.So, this lady is sitting next to me and she has beautiful short hair and I gave her my usual compliment, “Excuse me lady,” so I complimented her like I just told you.Then she says to me, “Wow, you are the first black man to ever compliment me on my natural hair.I come from West Africa, from Burkina Faso.I’m working in Addis Ababa. I’m working for the AU. In West Africa, in some places, if a lady does not have a weave or a wig, if she hasn’t bleached her skin, she’s a nobody. She might have problems getting a job or or even getting a partner.”
So, now your ladies, imi ana Clayton(You the young ones), are taking injections and tablets so that they kill the melanocytes which produce melanin so that vanobva vaita mayellow bone(they become very light-skinned the whole body). So, she says to me, “In some parts of West Africa, some ladies who are pregnant take these tablets and injections because they want to give birth to a white baby. Everyone wants to pass around a white baby.” I’m telling you, she told me that. Kana mwana uya aakukura manje akutanga kusviba (As the child grows up and starts to darken ) they start applying the skin lightening creams.
This is why I’m saying, Clayton, people who don’t understand this deep stuff vanongoti Guramatunhu arikutaura zvisina basa(they just think Guramatunhu is uttering nonsense).We’re talking about a mindset which is still very colonized, very enslaved. How do you do that? How does a man uchifamba(walking) so wakapfeka(wearing a) suit une mukadzi akapfeka izvozvo izvo(yet with a woman with that nonsense), what the hell are you doing? I’m serious. I mean, I just don’t understand it.
I think until and unless tasvika(we reach a) point yekuti(that) we realize what we do is shameful, it is going to be difficult for us to make real progress..That’s why I like to talk to young people because I believe that kids, black kids vari kumaECD chaiko(those in early childhood development), before they go to school, they must be told, “Sweetie,there’s nothing wrong with your hair. There’s nothing wrong with your skin. God or nature did not make a mistake on you. In fact, do you know you have the best hair? You’ve got six options. No other race has got six options.” Young kids must know, “You have got the best skin. You have melanin. Because of melanin, you won’t wrinkle. Because of melanin, you won’t have skin cancer. Do you know that your skin is four, five times more expensive than gold?” They don’t know this. Nobody’s talking about this.
So, some people say to me, “Haa iwe Guramatunhu uri doctor wemaziso(you Guramatunhu, you are an eye doctor), so stay in your lane.” And I say to them, “Listen, yes, I’m an eye specialist. And because of this, I had the opportunity to start training of eye specialists in this country at the University of Zimbabwe. Because I am an eye specialist, when I was Chairman of Bindura University of Science Education for 10 years, I had the opportunity of getting our company Optinova Eyecare Company to go into a private= public partnership to start the first School of Optometry , zvemagirazi izvi(that specializes in glasses and eye care), in this country. That’s my contribution.” Of course, we had Eyes for Africa and we went around tichioperator(operating people’s eyes).That’s my contribution. With eyes, it’s physical. vaoperator(You operate) the cataract and somebody can see, right? That’s physical. You can train other people to do that. What we are discussing, Clayton, right now, this is intellectual vision. And, I dare say it’s spiritual vision. You know, bvudzi(hair) is spiritual, Samson and Delilah, Samson’s power rake ranga ririmubvudzi(the biblical Samson’s power was in his hair). People are taking this as a light thing.
Gonese: So you’re opening the eyes of the mind?
Dr Guramatunhu : Thank you. Thank you very much. I think you’re summing it up. And for me it’s like a mission because what I’m saying, you know, I am going beyond physical. It’s intellectual and spiritual. So, people must understand this, zvinonyadzisa(it’s shameful to buy all that stuff). You know that Africa spends more than six billion every year kutenga izvo zviya kuisa mumusoro(towards buying such hair)? Muchipiswa, muchirova-rova musoro(Hair that causes you to feel hot, to slap your heads).This is crazy, man. But I’m pleased because now a lot of people, ladies are coming to me and they say, “Doctor, thank you so much for opening our eyes. Now taakuziva manje, taimbofunga kuti(now we know, we used to think that) if you don’t have a weave, it means you are poor. Now we know kuti(that), we are sophisticated the way we are. And I say, thank you very much, you’ve made my day.
Gonese: Don’t you think that the first people who need to be educated on this issue are African men?Many men openly prefer women with braids or bleached light skin. In fact, many women who bleach their skin say they do so because men prefer light-skinned women to dark-skinned ones. And like you alluded to, I can also confess that if there are two ladies there, I will notice the light-skinned one first
Dr Guramatunhu : Thank you for owning up. Now Clayton. l know we are laughing, but this is a very serious issue. You know, as I told you, women say it’s the black men who prefer this. So, yes, we have to educate ourselves as black men kuti(that) no, no, no, no, there’s nothing wrong with melanin. And you get corporate people, CEOs, who think that mukadzi wechivanhu kana aine vhudzi rake(when a black woman has her natural hair), she’s not professional.But kana ane weave ne wig, ari(but when she has weave, wig, she is) professional. How absurd is that? No, I’m serious, this is crazy. I’ve got 42 ladies I work with. All of them are natural now. Not that I force them, but I got to enlighten them. And, they’re beautiful. So, we need to educate these CEOs, these corporate people kuti, no, no, no, mudzimai wechivanhu chero akasakama vhudzi, akarisiya rakati nyangarara kudaro(even if a black doesn’t comb her hair) ,we call that a powerful, iconic fashion statement, which only a black woman can make. We should be proud of it. And we should encourage black women to do that. No other race can do that. Ndivo chete vane vhudzi rakatarisa kudenga kuna Mwari(Only black women have hair that points towards heaven). They are the only ones whose hair defies gravity .Let them be. Kwete kuvhara vhudzi rakanaka netsvina yevamwe vanhu nema fibre, nevhudzi revamwe vanhu vakafa( Not to cover that hair with dirt from dead people and fibres from other races).No, no, no, we can’t do that.
Now, I’m going to tell you a very provocative statement. Now, I know some people get defensive, you know, when I give my lectures to young people, I say, “If you meet a black man, it doesn’t matter how powerful he is. It doesn’t matter how wealthy he is, a multi-millionaire or multi-billionaire. It doesn’t matter how well educated, ane ma PhD mangani( he has several PhDs). If this black man, his wife, his girlfriend, his mistress, akapfeka(puts on a) wig or weave, there are two things you should never give this man, your trust and your respect, he doesn’t deserve them.” That’s my final statement.
Gonese: But whilst you’re still on that, Dr Guramatunhu.Maybe some people who are going to read this interview are going to say, ‘But Dr Guramatunhu is an old man now .He’s in his 70s.So, maybe we don’t need to listen to him that much.”
Dr Guramatunhu: Clayton, listen to me carefully. A man has three ages.
The first age is chronological. What’s on his birth certificate, what’s known by his mother and father. That’s the first one.
Second one, is physiological, known by his wife, his girlfriend, or his mistress.
The third age is psychological. You can meet a 40-year-old guy who says, “You know what?I became a millionaire at 18 and I’ve done this, , I’ve done that.” He talks about what he’s achieved, right? Then you can meet a 70-year-old who talks about now and the future. The psychological age of this 40-year-old who talks just about the past, not the future, his psychological age is 70. The 70-year-old who talks about now and the future, the psychological age is 40. Now, I can tell you, Clayton, when I consider my physiological and my psychological age,(laughs) I’m still very young.
So, you should be grateful that you have some old guy who is sharing this information with you. And, I’m into lots of stuff, investments, you know, cryptocurrencies, real estate, artificial intelligence and so on. So, the fact that my chronological age is there, it doesn’t matter. My mind is still very sharp and still very young and I keep fit. As you can see here, I exercise every morning and I practice yoga and I swim every morning without fail. I dance every week with different ladies(all with natural hair and skin, of course). I still scuba dive all over the world. I have just started my training in Sky diving in Dubai. And, you met that lady, she does massage stuff on me every Saturday. So, it’s a question of how you keep yourself as well.
So, vanhu vanongoti age chete(some people just think of chronological age) yet there are some 35 year, 40 year olds who are old. The mind is old. You see? When I have parties here, people walk from my gate to my house. And most of them, when they reach here, they would be panting, they can hardly breathe, they can hardly walk. I walk with 2kg ankle weights, on each leg and 4 kg weights on each uplifted arm 10 times. So, your question falls away.
Gonese: Dr Guramatunhu, I’m sure you would agree with me that this is not an easy conversation. It faces strong resistance, especially from some women. Some even say, “Guramatunhu must shut up and mind his own business.” l’m sure you have addressed this before, but if you want to give an emphatic voice, you can.
Dr Guramatunhu : That’s true, Clayton. I said, some say, “He’s an eye doctor, he must stay in his lane and and I’ve read some of them and they are really nasty on social media and so on.
I would like to think that those who criticize me do not really understand why I hold these views. They cannot even understand that it is not normal for one race to buy what another
Some black women dont know that I am one of the few black men who proudly and publicly proclaim and truly appreciate their amazing, inimitable, God given natural beauty.
And as I say, right now, my big thing is blockchain technology. I’m into Bitcoin.And that’s where the world is going I give lectures on blockchain technology.. So they can criticize me. I just feel sorry for them actually, when they criticize me because they don’t understand me, they don’t even know what I’m talking about. If they knew where I’m coming from, they would realize that I’m not talking about their hair or their skin. I am talking about something deeper than their hair, deeper than their skin. It’s MINDSET. I feel they are thinking and discussing at a very superficial level.. We want to bleach our skin and remove our melanin? We want to walk around with bvudzi revanhu vakafa or zvima fibre(hair of a dead person or fibres). We prance around the world with other races hair and depigmented skin for the whole world to see and laugh at us all the way to the bank. Should we be surprised that despite our vast and diverse natural resources, we remain the poorest?
Gonese: Maybe, as a suggestion Dr Guramatunhu, don’t you also think you must have, probably a salon which specializes in natural hair at discounted prices, probably so that many of these women can come?
Dr Guramatunhu :We have got one in Newlands. But you know, Clayton, I won’t pretend that I can solve all these problems now. You know we have other issues, but I can tell you that all the problems that we have, they come from our mindset. That’s what we need to change.
Gonese : Dr Guramatunhu,what do you think is the best way to deliver this controversial message in a manner that minimizes resistance rather than provoking it?
Dr Guramatunhu :Clayton, maybe I provoke, right? But it’s good to start discussing it. It’s interesting that some people have never thought about this. So, when they are confronted and this is what I have realized, when you bring this topic, people get defensive, hostile and offensive. I fully understand that reaction.
I will tell you a good story. You know this gentleman very well, he is a big businessman, he used to own a bank before and he’s well respected in the corporate sector. And I think the first time my name came up with this topic, there was so much hostility and and really nasty stuff from social media. And there was one lawyer, who is a politician, who came out strong against me and everybody cheered them on and said, “Yeah, yeah, now the doctor has got it from a Cambridge-educated lawye.” They went on like this. I didn’t bother to reply.
So, this ex-banker is related to this lawyer. So, he asked me what the issue was. So I explained to him and he understood. Then he told me he went home to his wife and his daughter who was in New York, she was visiting. So he brought up the topic that, “Ladies, you don’t have to buy other people’s stuff, you know, you should just embrace your own hair.” And he said to me that there was strong resistance.They said, “No, no, no, you’re crossing the line.Our choices about our hair is our business. You have got nothing to do with it.” So he backed off.
So, I think about a year later, I was hosting an investment banker from London who is now into art, big time. She’s a very sophisticated, very elegant intellectually, culturally and physically. So I invited people from my WhatsApp group to come to my house for this cocktail party, to listen to this investor who’s now into art. So, everyone who comes here knows, if you’re going to bring your wife or your girlfriend here, they must be in their God given natural hair. And I’ll tell you, Clayton, because imagine you come here, she sits on my sofa with, maybe hair of a dead Indian woman, pieces of the hair fall onto my sofas, right? Somebody who died in India? The hair now is on my sofas in my house. I said, no, no, no.My house is not a mortuary. You guys, if you’re happy with it and you have your wife with these wigs and weaves of dead people, you don’t even know where it comes from. You’re happy with it, good for you. But I’m not having it.
So, this ex banker phoned me saying, “Can I bring my wife?” I said, ‘But I think the last time you told me she she resisted, she didn’t want to embrace natural hair.” So he said no, no, no, she’s since changed. So, they came together and we sat here in this bar. And, she had short hair, beautiful. And we started talking. She said after initially resisting, she thought about it on her own and said, it makes sense. So, she went natural. And, this weekend I saw her, the two of them came. And I call her “my friend for life” since she went natural. So, some people take some time to digest this.
Now, better way to deliver the message, I’ve just provoked the discussion. Now it’s up to guys like you, people in the media. This is common sense. You can’t spend 6 billion buying other people’s trash. And because we don’t know that our women have got the most beautiful hair, the most versatile hair. Then some even say to me, “But it’s difficult to maintain.” What nonsense is that? Difficult to maintain if you’re bald, if you have got short hair or you can even not care, don’t comb it, leave it or you plait it. What’s so difficult about maintaining plaited hair? You know, they look for any excuse, flimsy excusse to to justify this. And I must make it clear, Clayton. I’ve come to a point in my life, because of my age and everything else, I don’t really care what about the nasty stuff that people say about me? It’s because they don’t know who I am and they haven’t been where I’ve been. They don’t know the exposure that I have. And I’m just trying to share that exposure with them. Then, they call me names. I mean, they are spending money enriching people who look down on them. What nonsense is that?
Gonese: Dr Guramatunhu, often, people who promote ideas that are not easily accepted by society tend to focus on the youth because older generations have deeply entrenched habits and old habits die hard. What strategies are you using to nurture a generation of young Africans who are proud of their hair, skin and identity?
Dr Guramatunhu : Thanks Clayton. I spend most of my time with young people, for that reason. First of all, they also energize me, they rejuvenate me. And because of their interest in blockchain technology, this is the thing now. So, young people understand this more than older people. As I told you, we need now to concentrate on ECD. So, I get invited by teachers, by churches, I speak to mothers, so their kids are taught this now.
And when I see a black lady with a weave or wig, I am thinking she is the role model for the child. So, what is she promoting? So, I talk to the kids themselves , I talk to young people, I talk to the mothers. But now we to talk to the fathers too, who also have daughters.
Gonese: Recently, the Domnican Convent School adminstration declared a natural hair policy at the school. What’s your take on that, Dr Guramatunhu?
Dr Guramatunhu: Clayton, I had students from Convent School as patients and these were young ladies wearing braids and I had just seen articles that say that materials used to prepare these wigs, weaves and braids contain 50 substances that can cause cancer. I was alarmed.
So, I got in touch with Sister Kudzai who is the headmistress of the school. I sent her a few articles and she then responded that the school would formulate a natural hair policy, which they did. And I am so delighted that Sister Kudzai and her school are the first in Zimbabwe to have a natural hair policy. What we hope is that this will spread to all the schools in Zimbabwe, in SADC and the whole continent and all over the world.Black girls must embrace their natural hair. They should never have this belief that when they look like other races, that they have to buy what other races would throw into the dustbin, that they should buy synthetic fibres to look more beautiful. That is so wrong. So I am delighted.
Gonese: In one of your interviews prior to this one, I think you talked about a school. Can you tell us more about that?
Dr Guramatunhu : Yes yes, Clayton, we are starting a school. It’s an academy. At this academy, we want to expose these kids to this important knowledge right from the beginning, even at ECD level. We want those kids to be computer literate before they go to school.
They should be financially literate. Kids must know that buying an expensive car is not an investment. They should know what needs to be invested in. Whether it’s real estate or whatever, not to flaunt around wealth and all this. They must know that at an early age.
Kids should learn about Blockchain technology. They should immerse themselves in AI( Artificial Intelligence)
They must also know about art because we have powerful art in this country and on the continent and as black people.
They must know about themselves. Who they are, their culture, their history because there is so much misinformation today.
People don’t know that the GPS, for instance, was invented by a black lady. When you talk about the light bulb, Thomas Eddison. In fact, the filament was Latimer, a black guy. There are so many inventions by black people but people don’t know this. So, these kids must grow up with confidence.
They need to know that we have got the best genes, we have got the best hair, the best skin, everything. And that’s why the Olympics, you know, it’s not a coincidence.
It’s not just physical, it’s also intellectual and spiritual. So, this is my dream and we have got the land where we are building now. I just want to give whatever I can give, I want to die empty. Future generations will benefit, that’s my thinking.
Gonese: Language is also a crucial part of identity. Out of my seven A’s at O level, I’m sorry that I’m now blowing my own trumpet , two of them were in English and Shona but it has never crossed my mind to think highly of myself because I can write or speak good English. However, I have encountered African people who boast that their children speak English only and cannot speak an African language, particularly children from group A schools or in the diaspora. Some African parents even communicate with their children exclusively in English whilst at home, believing it to be a measure of intelligence or superiority. What are your views on this? And do you think Africa should one day adopt a single common language?
Dr Guramatunhu :Very good question, Clayton. I was very privileged, I went to a private school for A levels in Swaziland. And we had all sorts of races, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Chinese, Koreans, all sorts of people. And I’ll never forget, one guy asked me, “What’s your ethnic origin?” And I said, “I’m Shona.” He said to me, “What’s your Shona name?” I don’t have one. And that’s the devastating thing. This is insane. I’m a Shona person and I don’t have a Shona name! I never thought about that. But then, I guess my parents didn’t know better. But of course now, our children now have Shona names.
Now, you bring in the issue of language. Clayton, if you are in the States, you can meet an Italian child and they speak English, American English. But they still speak Italian. Greek child, same thing, they speak Greek, but they also speak English. Now, kids can learn many languages. And in fact, it’s good for their brain, we now know. If I had any power in this country, I would insist that all Zimbabwean children speak Ndebele, Shona, English and and maybe another language like Portuguese, you know, because of Mozambique. Kids can cope with that. For a Shona child or Ndebele child not to speak their mother language, to me, is shameful. And those parents should be ashamed of themselves. What are they trying to achieve? Because kids can learn to speak perfect English and perfect Shona. What’s wrong with that? But you say, “Oh my kids cannot speak Shona?” I mean, it’s insane. But it’s part of what we’re talking about.
We think other people are better than us. We think their language is better or our language is inferior. Now, we even think their hair is better than ours, we even think their skin is better than ours. We have to stop somewhere and start interrogating ourselves. Maybe I’m just provoking this topic. But I mean, I’m not the first one, some people think about this.
It comes to even food. Someone once told me, you know, there’s an increase in cancer now all over the world. Someone told me that when you are presented with food, ask yourself one question, “Ana mbuya vedu vaidya here zvinhu izvi”(would our fore-fathers eat this type of food)?And if you say no, don’t touch it. The healthy food is Sadza rezviyo(rapoko thick porridge), derere(okra), nyevhe(African Spider plant) and stuff. If we do that, we will survive. Otherwise, we’re going to perish nemacancer ariko mazuvano aya(due to cancers that have become rampant) because tiri kujamba jamba kungodya zvinhu zvatisingazive(because we rush to eat foods that we don’t know), because we think that other people, their language, their hair, their skin and their food is better than ours. So, we need real education. That’s what we need.
Gonese: I think still on that aspect of food, Dr Guramatunhu, because I didn’t come here for you to talk about hair only. It’s about African stuff. I have got a bit of a rural background, so I can tolerate eating sadza rezviyo, sadza remhunga, remapfunde.But I have got friends who grew up here in Harare from birth until now.They think sadza rezviyo doesn’t taste good and it’s backward. I remember at one point, Dr Guramatunhu, I went to our rural home with some of my cousins. So, we went to visit our neighbor there. And, we were given sadza rezviyo, .So they were saying, this sadza looks dirty.
Dr Guramatunhu : People don’t realize that maize is not indigenous to Africa. It was brought in. I think it came from Mexico, as stockfeed. And iyezvinozvi maGMO(now due to these GMOs) ,they are getting into maize. But kuma(in) small grains hakuna(there is no) GMO. We always survived on small grains. Zviyo(rapoko), mhunga(millet), mapfunde(sorghum).
Vanhu vekare vaitoziva kuti munhu akarwara anogadzirirwa bota rezviyo(Our fore-fathers knew that if a person got sick, they would make rapoko thick porridge for them) .They knew how healthy it was and how easy it was to digest. I think I can afford white maize here, but you never see white maize in my house, never, ever. When I’m eating sadza, ndinodya sadza rezviyo(I eat rapoko sadza).That’s what I do.
So, again, it’s education. I didn’t know this before, but as I grew up and became more educated, more enlightened, I said, no, no, no, health chaiyo chaiyo iri kuma indigenous foods(true healthy comes from indigenous foods).Food yedu isusu vanhu vatema kwete kujambira jambira mafoods kuti tinzi tinodya zvevarungu(Our very own traditional, not this habit of always wanting foods that are associated with other races).Some of these fast foods outlets, they use cooking oil repeatedly until it’s carcinogenic. That’s why there’s a rise of cancer. But we need to emphasize homegrown food so that we eat what we grow. And tichitoziva kuti taisa manyowa emombe or ehuku(knowing that we put cow or chicken manure), whatever, instead of all these chemicals.
We need to take care of ourselves, organic, organic, organic. You know when I travel overseas, my friends who are professionals, who are well educated, they eat organic food, but it’s very expensive. Most folks eat a lot of fast foods. Now we have an increase in diabetes, blood pressure, heart attacks, cancer and all sorts of things. So, we need just to appreciate our indigenous foods. They are healthier.
Gonese: Still on that, Doc, maybe some would argue that since some people have realized that this food is healthy and stuff, this traditional food, it’s now being sold at an exorbitant price. If you look at zviyo, mhunga, sorghum, and some of this traditional stuff, they’re sold at very hefty prices. And some would say, we want to eat this food, but we cannot afford because it is now being overpriced. What would you say about in regard to that?
Dr Guramatunhu : Yeah, sure the prices are quite steep at the moment. But, you know, most of us, tine kumusha(we have rural homes). And previously, everyone was gravitating to town and looking up to these town people. But if you notice, there’s now a tendency, even among people are in the diaspora, and my own family have done that. People are building a home kumusha(in my rural village). And kumusha(in your rural village), you make it comfortable, you have bedrooms ari(with) ensuite or whatever, ne(with)DSTV and you have a study. And you also have boreholes.And you grow your food.And ukaenda kwana Mutoko uko(if you go to Mutoko), all over the country actually, people are building beautiful homes kuma ruzevha chaiko(in their rural villages). So, kana tichidaro kumaruzevha(when we do that), then we grow our own food ikoko manje(there). Mhunga yacho(millet), then you’re not buying food, grow your own food. You see we are so lucky, we’ve got a country ine(with) beautiful soils, we can grow anything. So let’s grow our own food. We don’t need to be buying food from anyone. We don’t even need to import food. Munomu tinofanira kutoexporter isusu(We must export food to other countries). So, that’s what we should do. Let’s encourage ourselves to grow. Even mutwumagarden twedu utwu mavegetables ako woisa monyowa zvakanaka-naka(have your small garden, put vegetables and put your manure), you know. Even carbohydrates now, you know, doctors discourage too much intake of carbohydrates nekuda kwenyaya dzehealth(due to health problems associated with them). So, tinogona kungodya ma vegetables everyday nekanyama(So we need to eat more vegetables everyday and very little meat). And, now there’s this intermittent fasting where you only have one meal a day. We mainly need plant based diet. And you remain healthier, you remain fit. You see? So that’s what keeps us going very nicely. So, we should be encouraged to grow our own food in order to avoid these high prices. Because once tese, munhu wese aakungogrower zviyo(everyone starts growing traditional food), prices will come down. Because we won’t need to buy tinenge tiinazvo zvedu zviyo,mhunga nemapfunde(since we would have our own rapoko, millet, and sorghum). We should go for that.
Gonese: I think we’ll come back to this question of health and wellness as part of our conclusion so that you can explain further on this because I think it’s very important. At one point, Dr. Guramatunhu, a former minister once suggested that subjects like mathematics, which many learners find difficult, should be taught and examined in vernacular languages to improve understanding and results. What is your opinion on this suggestion?
Dr Guramatunhu :It makes a lot of sense. Clayton, we were colonized so badly to an extent that our mindset or our mentality inofunga kuti(we think that) the language of the colonizers is the best. Because look at the Japanese, their thinking, their curriculum, their teaching is in Japanese. Look at the Germans, it’s in German, their mother language and they make progress. So, I don’t see why we can’t do the same.
Gonese : Maybe one would argue that those countries that you are mentioning were once colonizers, they are part of the colonizers. They are part of these imperialist countries, so maybe it’s difficult for us to compete with them, maybe if we stick to our own languages, we might not be able to be competitive on the international market.
Dr Guramatunhu : No, no, no, innovation and progress do not depend on the language you speak. It’s the thinking. It’s actually very unfortunate that we are of that mindset where we think that to speak English, that’s progress. Of course, you can speak English, you can speak French, you can speak other foreign languages, no problem with that, but you can also speak Ndebele and Zulu. And you can speak Swahili. And you can think in Swahili or think in Ndebele and still innovate something. So, it’s just really changing the way we think. But, development has nothing to do with language.
Gonese: Dr Guramatunhu, l enjoy a song titled Tsika Dzedu by the late Dr. Oliver Mtukudzi in which he urges Africans to love their identity, values, languages, and food. Previously, you have alluded to African traditional foods such as mutsine(black jack),munyemba(cowpeas plant leaves), mufushwa(dried green leaf vegetables), sadza remapfunde, rezviyo, and mabumbe(pounded, roasted and cooked pumpkin seeds) .Many Zimbabweans look down upon these foods, like we alluded to earlier, claiming they taste unpleasant, yet our forefathers who lived longer thrived on them. Even in the bedroom, I hear that they performed very well, better than the generation of today. Because right now if you go on social media, many women are complaining that their husbands are not satisfying them. So, I know you’re an eye specialist, but before that you are a medical doctor. So, from a doctor’s perspective, we need to hear your comment on that.
Dr Guramatunhu: As I mentioned to you, Clayton, isusu(we), our problem is that we had our confidence almost destroyed. What I know now, we are the most powerful race on earth. We have powerful genes, powerful culture, powerful religion, powerful history. But our problem is lack of confidence. That’s what we need to restore. What we need is to restore self-worth, self-confidence, self-respect, and self-love. That’s what we need. Then we’ll be okay.
Gonese: On that same aspect of health, what would be your advice to an African young man or African young woman, 24 years of my age right now who wants to live a healthy life. What would be your advice to them? What steps should they take in order to live a healthy lifestyle?
Dr Guramatunhu: In terms of food, go indigenous. Don’t even hesitate. And take care of yourself. You should have enough sleep, enough exercise.
Gonese :Dr Guramatunhu, I was saying most women, these days are complaining online, that their men are not satisfying them in bed. Maybe it’s because of these foods that they’re taking. What is your advice to them? Because you have seen a lot where you are right now. And as a doctor, what would your advice be to young men right now? Because marriages are crumbling because of that issue, lack of satisfaction in bed.
Dr Guramatunhu : Clayton, you see, health is extremely important. Because if you are not healthy, you cannot perform. So, food is extremely important and that’s why it’s important to have these indigenous foods because most of these fast foods are carcinogenic, they’re causing cancer. They are causing blood pressure, diabetes and erectile dysfunction, which is a big problem today.
Young people must protect their health.They must be fit. So, you young guys, must exercise. This business of drinking, smoking, eating the unhealthy foods, is not good. Therefore, women have every reason to complain, seriously. I am a Latino dance instructor. I teach many young ladies, some in their thirties. They assume that I am in my fifties because dancing keeps you fit. Dancing makes every woman feel like a lady. Dancing is part of romance, part of foreplay, I highly recommend it. Every lady, like in real life, wants a man who can lead confidently and then she follows. And that’s what dancing does. So, you guys, your whole lifestyle, from the diet, the exercise, the mindset, it’s all wrong. You have to change that. So, people like you in the media have got a responsibility, huge responsibility.
Gonese : In one of your interviews, you said dancing has some African origin. If you want people to embrace it, maybe you can explain further, so that they can fully comprehend it.
Dr Guramatunhu: Well, I’m into Latino dancing, which is Salsa, Bachata, Meringue, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba and so on. All these dances have their origin in Africa.
I first got really interested in dancing when I went to visit Cuba. I was on holiday. They took me to a club and that’s when I saw Cubans dance Salsa. And you know, they dance from the heart. They have got that ”joie de vivre”, that joy of life, when they dance. And I said to myself, “Solomon, you have to acquire these skills by hook or crook.”
So, I came back here, I looked for a dance instructor and I got a white guy, Gavin Coupe, he teaches at St George’s. He taught me the basics of dancing. The more I learned about dancing, the more I loved it.
Later. I found myself in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, learning about Tango. Now, this is something that most people don’t know. They think Tango is from white Argentinians, maybe from Spain or Italy. The truth is Tango music and dance were created by Afro-Argentinians. In the last but one century, the population of Argentina was 30% black. Today it is less than 1%. What happened to the black population of Argentina is tragic. Wherever black people are, there is creativity. Buenos Aires is a huge port. So a llot the ships coming from all over the world come into Buenos Aires. The sailors who had been on the sea for a long would head straight for the brothels. The owners of the brothels went to the inner city to get black men to entertain the sailors while they waited for their turn in the brothels, Eventually black ladies joined them. They started singing to these sailors. And eventually they devised a movement, a dance. The lady would have a red stiletto shoe. She’d run the shoe up the man’s leg and get between his legs and kick the balls in order to tantalize him. And that’s how Tango started .And a lot of people don’t know this. So, Tango was invented by Afro-Argentinians.
Then, I go to Brazil where I learnt Samba. Samba was developed by black people. I attended the carnival in Salvador de Bahia which is very African. All that is African. So, most of Latin America, all the dances, whether it’s Salsa, Rumba, Bachata,Meringue, they’ve got African roots. That’s what you must understand. And Clayton, all dances are sexual. Tarisa vanhu vanotamba Jerusalem(Look at Jerusalem dancers), it’s all sexual.
So you’re talking about these young boys who are not satisfying their women. They need to understand that dancing is part of foreplay. They don’t know that. All women of different races love to dance with a confident man who can lead competently. The key thing is you must keep your legs strong as you get older. You see you’re still young you’re okay but as you get older, the legs will start going. So, walking is very important. They say you must walk at least 5km, better still 10km every day. But dancing is even better. When you’re a dancer, your legs are going to be strong. And it has also been found that dancing helps with senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. That’s why in old people’s homes in Europe and other places, they keep dancing. It helps the brain. So dancing has a lot of benefits. And as I said, these ladies love it. Yeah, if you dance with your girlfriend, she’ll love you forever.
Gonese: On the subject of marriage, Dr Guramatunhu, some African parents insist that their daughters cannot be officially released into marriage even after bride price has been paid until a white wedding takes place. Why do you think traditional African marriage ceremonies are often looked down upon? Additionally, what is your view on practices such as men kneeling to propose marriage to a girl, a custom that is largely copied from Western world, particularly Hollywood culture.
Dr Guramatunhu : Clayton, I am not an expert on everything but all I know is there is nothing wrong nechivanhu chedu (with our culture). Let’s keep chivanhu chedu(our culture), kuroorana(traditional marriages), kugadzira hukama(creating lifelong relationships). I just think there’s nothing wrong with our culture. Zvekukopa vamwe vanhu(Trying to copy other races),there’s no need for that. I just told you these African women are the most beautiful in the world. And food yedu, indigenous food, we stay healthy. You know, so let’s just be ourselves. We have the best genes. That’s all I say.
About The Interviewer
Clayton Gonese is a 24 year old young man who practices part-time journalism, among other pursuits. He can be contacted on +263788159037 or email at [email protected]
