Hukama PaChiShona Chart: Visual Guide to 14 Shona Family Titles

Today, we discuss the creation of the chart designed to visually represent ChiShona family relationships.

Many Shona people have experienced getting confused following through all the family connections while a parent or well-meaning aunt explains why someone is, in fact, their ‘mainini’ and not a cousin. Understanding ChiShona family relationships and titles can be challenging - especially for younger generations growing up outside Zimbabwe. t NhakaBox we asked ourselves: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞? 

We researched Shona culture and learned that ChiShona family titles are primarily determined by gender and parent-child relationships. Through interviews with different generations of Shona people, we identified 22 unique ChiShona family titles and used concept mapping to visualize the relationships and how frequently they occur. One of the key insights from this research was the power of visualization in clarifying these complex connections. Our goal was to visualize ChiShona family relationships in an authentic but understandable way, particularly for younger people. We iterated and tested different visualizations before deciding on the current version of the chart: it recognizes gender as one of the primary defining factors of family titles while evoking the proximity of the ‘extended family’ that is not captured by the common family tree designs which are informed by other cultures. 

𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐱 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬. Early testers provided invaluable insights that helped us make a more accessible chart - such as including a bilingual key and printing on durable paper to support frequent use. This feedback informed the creation of the other components of the Hukama PaChiShona Box: flashcards with detailed information on family relationships and Hama Hama! The Original Shona Card Game for Family & Friends. We will share more about these with you over the coming weeks. 

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰! 

Order your own Hukama PaChiShona Box today and let’s unlock the treasures of ChiShona culture together!