Modernity, Money, and Power: Chieftaincy Succession Contestations in Vhavenḓa Culture as Portrayed in Selected Tshivenḓa Texts

Abstract

This article critically examines how modern socio-economic ambitions and lifestyle expectations intensify succession battles in Vhavenḓa chieftaincy, as portrayed in selected Tshivenḓa literary texts. Drawing on postcolonial theory and cultural studies, the study explores how colonial legacies, democratic legal frameworks, and shifting cultural values reshape the normative criteria for identifying successors in contemporary Vhavenḓa society. A qualitative research approach, employing a case study design, is adopted. Textual analysis of Maumela’s novel Vhuhosi vhu tou bebelwa and Mathivha’s drama Mabalanganye constitutes the primary method of data generation and interpretation. The findings reveal that chieftaincy is increasingly constructed as a pathway to wealth, salaried status, social prestige, and control over communal resources, which in turn fuels manipulation, corruption, intra-family conflict, and even lethal violence. The texts further dramatise the tension between customary succession laws and modern constitutional and religious norms, exposing how different actors strategically mobilise these competing frameworks to legitimise their claims to the throne. The article argues that modernity does not simply erode Vhavenḓa chieftaincy but transforms it into a contested site where cultural authority, economic power, and legal recognition intersect. It concludes by recommending clearer documentation and consistent enforcement of customary succession procedures, strengthened oversight by traditional and statutory bodies, and ongoing educational initiatives within royal families to reduce succession-related disputes.