Abstract-This research sought to look into the form and content of children's poetry and games in Shona. It was premised on the view that these aspects are part and parcel of the rich African heritage of orature and are an important component of Shona indigenous knowledge systems, hence these cannot be simply ignored more so when it comes to the process of socialization. The objective was to analyze critically these so-called play poems and games in terms of their form and content and see what is embedded in them. Data was gathered through observation as children went about their business of play. The research concluded that these poems and games cannot be simply treated as child's play as their content is 'loaded'. They are actually a silent but powerful vehicle for the inculcation of certain values and attitudes that influence the children's own lives later whether positively or negatively, at home or away from their comfort zones in the global village. As part of the African Indigenous Knowledge System, which has sustained us for centuries such intangible heritage should not be let to just spill from our cultural hands. The various forms they take also allow children to simulate real life situations and learn adult roles vicariously and thus prepare them for the challenges life proffers not as shadows of other people but as proud beings who can cast their own shadows on the kaleidoscopic cultural terrain.

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This paper examines Shakespeare's handling of the issue of race in The Merchant of Venice and Othello. Race and ethnicity have been at the epicentre of many conflicts throughout history and are still a headache even in 21 st century societies that boast of unprecedented technological advancement and sophisticated lifestyles. Shakespeare has been used as a touchstone in many literary communities-playwrights and poets have been measured against his writings and the academic diets of pupils and students alike in many countries have always included a dish from the 'Chief Chef', Shakespeare. There is no doubt that his works entertained as well as educated many, his contemporaries as well as later generations across cultures but did the curriculum content of his education always inculcate virtue? Wasn't the entertainment at the expense of certain individuals because of their background? Through close reference to the plays The Merchant of Venice and Othello, this paper argues that the revered artist was racially intolerant and his writings may have influenced or helped to perpetuate racism and religious bigotry which was evident in The Slave Trade, Colonialism and the persecution of Jews in Germany. Some of his works therefore not only entertain(ed) and instruct(ed) but also misentertain(ed) and misinstruct(ed).

This paper looks at the image of the mother as depicted in selected messages sent on the occasion of Mother's Day of 2020 via WhatsApp which is the most widely used social medium platform in Zimbabwe. The study is confined to a few selected pictorial messages circulated on this special day which was however celebrated under lockdown in most countries of the world due to the Covid 19 pandemic.The restrictions imposed by the pandemic may also have contributed to the avalanche of messages as movement was restricted and many could only express their feelings to their mothers virtually. The researcher belongs to a variety of WhatsApp groups that provide a rich vein of the said raw materials. It should be noted that the aforementioned groups rarely solely stick to the core-business of their original formation as their membership 'strays' outside to smuggle messages outside their 'mandates'.This is understandable since group members assume a multiplicity of roles in real life necessitating multiple group affiliations making 'message importation' inevitable. The result is a mega-net and wide currency of 'trendy' messages. The study adopts an Africana Womanist approach to the analysis of the selected postings since the concoctions of signs sent were on or targeted at the African mother from her African chidren at home or abroad therefore read and understood in an African setting. The study notes that the pictures seem to celebrate mothers as architects of the infrastructure of a child's character and springboard of his/her eventual achievements.She is depicted as an important cog of the family machinery that is often unacknowledged.