Becoming The Muse

Madiro aGeorgina

Georgina is an infamous name of colurful exploits in Zimbabwe associated with the phrase “Madiro aGeorgina” which directly translates to “as pleases Georgina” which is used to refer to a decadent behaviour of one doing as they wish, breaking the rules and social decorum.

“… Madiro aGeorgina”

I don’t know if Georgina existed but she must have been one heck of a character, whose moral compass when held up to society’s standard could be regarded as questionable and or loose, whose entanglements with several men had her branded as promiscuous.

Upon reflection at my big age, I suspect Georgina’s crime was being an independent woman in a patriarchal society and for that was shamed in the seemingly innocuous expression…

“… Madiro aGeorgina”

The expression was used as a sort of slur for someone going against the grain in the pursuit of their own interests, doing as they please and damn the rules and consequence.

I wonder what adventures Georgina got upto to inspire being an SI unit for ungovernable behaviour, used as a cautionary tale, a warning and an insult all rolled into one.

“… Madiro aGeorgina”

Nobody knows if Georgina existed but she was provocative…

Legend has it she grew up in Bikita, Masvingo province, she was the sort of person who could wake up at midnight, go into the chicken run, let out the chicken and chase after the biggest one, catch it, cook it and it while everyone else was in bed dreaming.

Its said that when she got married she terrorised the in-laws refusing to do chores and would exclaim that whoever was hungry was the one who would cook. She would laugh as she farted in her father-in-law’s face and talked back with impunity. She would sleep during the time for chores, a woman of leisure…

“… Madiro aGeorgina”

A newspaper article seeking to demystifiy the legend of Georgina highlighted a family who claim that  Georgina Gombera is the one whom the expression was coined after. Georgina Gombera was born in 1936 and died in 2022 and had a married to Chief Mangwende in 1956 which resulted in a colourful divorce.

According to the Gombera family, Georgina broke records by becoming the first woman to get a driver’s licence in Marondera, first black woman housekeeper at Harare’s Monomotapa Hotel and also the first black head matron at Young Men’s Christian Association.

Chief Mangwende’s family says that though they are aware of the expression Madiro aGeorgina they do not have any mention of said Georgina in their history…

Maybe it’s a part of their story that they would rather remain untold or maybe Georgina’s family saw a chance to write themselves into history and told a tall tale about a namesake…

“… Madiro aGeorgina”

An urban legend, figure of expression or creative embellishment based on a real person? We might never know, but Georgina did as she as pleases.