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Although bizarre, the use of the munyai and the chasing and beating of the messenger, is simply a part of the Shona custom.
There is cultural prohibitions on marrying someone with the same "totem," or clan name, as oneself. the young men were
often required to find "foreign women" as brides. The earliest mehod to find a foreign bride was to abduct her.
This caused tribal feuds and a lot of bloodshed. Instead of forcible abduction, the man took her to a hut where an old
woman lived and left her in peace, so that he could return her to her people unhurt. When he took her back he shouted,
"Matsvakirai kuno" and then ran for his life. If the messenger was caught hewas either beaten unconscience or even killed.
In an attempt of doing this it showed that they were looking for a peaceful solution. The braave messenger would try
to negotiate to avoid a feud and risk his life in doing so. If they did negotiate, the offending tribe had to pay a
fine called pwanya zhowa, meaning the breaching of the kraal fence.
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