Svikiro is a spirit medium of the

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people ** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today ** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century ** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...

people of

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. A svikiro is an ancestral spirit primarily known to possess a living human and will give advice based on that communication. The word comes from the verb ''kusvika'' meaning "to arrive at or reach a place". It also stems from ''kusvikirwa'' meaning "to arrive upon", as it is believed that the ancestral spirits arrive in the bodies of the mediums. Other types of mediums (svikiro) include mhondoro which are possessed by the ancestor spirits of the same name. ''Mhondoro'' means lion in

. It is believed that mhondoro spirits reside in the bodies of maneless lions until they have a host to possess. Mhondoro spirits are royal ancestral spirits of deceased chiefs and kings or any other royals. They are believed to be concerned with matter of the clan and territories including the nation. Roles of the Svikiro * they are given leading figure in the community and they deal with the welfare of the community at large. * they mediate between the spiritual world and the human world. * they protect the society from disturbing factors.'' they understand some of the life complications and for the society to maintain its equilibrium ...'' * they receive visions and dreams * they make offerings, * they perform healing rituals * and they serve as a messenger

References

External links

Chloe Frommer, "Bodies, Capsules and Fetishes: The Transfer of Control Over Traditional Medicinal Knowledge in Zimbabwe," Discussion Paper No. 97, Centre for Developing-Area Studies (CDAS), McGill University, 2002Diana Aureta, "The Mhondoro spirits of supratribal significance in the culture of the Shona," ''African Studies,'' Vol 41, Issue 2, 1982, pp. 173-187
African shamanism Shona {{shamanism-stub