Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris are gregarious birds, often occurring in large and noisy flocks that feed on a variety of plant matter as well as invertebrates. Being a relatively common and widespread game bird, this species is well known to most people in Zimbabwe and often trapped or hunted for food.

During interviews, I came across the Ndebele and Nambya belief that if one is killed for the pot, it must be plucked before returning home. While the feathers must be buried far away from habitation, it is important that they are not burned. If this rule is not followed, it is said that bad luck will be brought into the village and quarrels and disagreements will result.

Guineafowl have also been depicted in San rock-art, although only at a few sites.

Local names for the Helmeted Guineafowl in Zimbabwe:

Hanga – Shona (all dialects)
inThendele – Ndebele
inKanga – Nambya
Haka – Sotho
Kanga – Venda
Mangela – Shangaan

Information for this section was obtained from contributors as well as the following reference.

Reference:

Cooke, CJ. (1964). Animals in Southern Rhodesian rock art. Arnoldia 13: 1-29.

The following additional information was retrieved from other sources.

Due to their rounded body shape and relatively large clutch size, Guineafowl are widely associated with fertility and thus eggs are often used in annual purification rituals to bless both crops and state in Ghana.

This belief extends to matters of both human fertility and marital fidelity. For this reason, the Hausa of West Africa smash Guineafowl eggs against the front door of newlyweds to ensure marital bliss, however a wife may be forced to place an egg on the roof of the house to encourage the return of a wayward husband should this eventuate. An additional Zimbabwean folktale (that I personally did not encounter) tells of a downtrodden, childless wife that adopts a Guineafowl as her child and eventually seeks revenge on her neglectful husband through the bird.

Additional Reference:

Cocker, M & Tipling, D. (2013). Birds and People, Jonathan Cape, London, England.

For more information on this species visit:

https://ebird.org/species/helgui?siteLanguage=en_AU

http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/helmeted-guineafowl-numida-meleagris