African Moral Philosophy and the Perils of Silence: Paternal Secrecy in Malungana’s “Nandzu i wa mani?”

Abstract

Despite the importance of African moral philosophy in understanding communal responsibility and ethical conduct, paternal secrecy remains underexamined in Xitsonga literary scholarship. This article addresses this gap by examining paternal secrecy as a moral and communal crisis in Malungana’s (2008) poem “Nandzu i wa mani?” (Whose fault is it?), through African moral philosophy and ethical literary criticism as its theoretical framework. Grounded in Xitsonga notions of kinship and communal ethics, the study argues that silence surrounding hidden paternity constitutes an ethical violation with devastating consequences. Through a qualitative textual analysis, the article demonstrates how the poet portrays paternal concealment as the root cause of incestuous transgression, shame, and moral collapse within the family. The father’s failure to disclose his lineage disrupts African systems of relational identity, where personhood and morality are collectively defined. The poem’s use of imagery, proverbial wisdom, and rhetorical questions exposes silence not as neutrality, but as active moral negligence. This study positions the poem as an ethical warning that underscores the centrality of truth, accountability, and transparency in sustaining African moral order and protecting kinship integrity in Xitsonga society.