More than Mere Playing: A Conceptual Reflection on Mahunḓwane in Tshivenḓa Culture

Most children in this modern era witness playing house on television or listening to stories on the radio. Those who are even more fortunate acquire information from storytellers in their homes, which is rare. For this reason, when they grow up, every step into their adult world is new, and they find themselves in a strange, mysterious, and unusual world. This could be one of the reasons why most young adults are unprepared for their adult life and fail to adjust to their parental role. This paper applies a multidisciplinary approach involving the Social Constructionist and Ethnography of Communication Theories to delve into the cultural history and folklore of Vhavenḓa on the importance of mahunḓwane, a game in which children build a miniature village for playing house. The article applies both theories to unpack family and societal kinterms to illustrate how children were taught morals, values, vertical, horizontal and hierarchical relationships within families and communities, and in the process, they made the adult world their world stage, as well as a model which they impersonated.