Romantic Narratives: The role of Ndebele trickster tales in premarital romance counselling

Abstract This paper examines the role of Ndebele trickster tales in premarital romance counselling. Premarital romance counselling is a form of counselling or guidance and support that helps courting couples prepare for marriage, focusing mainly on their courtship or romantic relationship. The study argues that premarital romance counselling is critical in the promotion of stability and success of a marriage. It demonstrates how the traditional Ndebele people of Zimbabwe deployed genres of oral literature such as trickster tales as vehicles of romance premarital counselling. The study however points out that Ndebele people have neglected the use of oral literature for this purpose due to Westernisation and cultural imperialism. As a result, young people lack adequate premarital counselling required at courtship, a situation that is detrimental to the stability of marriages. Statistics on increasing cases of divorce in Zimbabwe call for a reflection on the role of premarital counselling to marital stability and success. The study argues that there is a need for creativity and innovation in contemporary oral art literature. It should equip young people with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the contours of courtship. The trickster tales analysed in this paper were derived from selected Ndebele folktale anthologies. Textual analysis, focus group discussion and interviews were employed in the collection of data. The paper adopts the Narrative theory which emphasizes the importance of storytelling in shaping human experience and understanding.