Mujuru was born into the Shona people, a group of tribes that collectively form the vast majority of the population of modern Zimbabwe. Considered to be a part of the Bantu language group, for centuries the Shona and their ancestors have lived and died on the land of southeastern Africa.

Mujuru was born into a very deep tradition, which had been developed for over a thousand years by certain tribes of the Shona people. In previous centuries, court musicians played mbira for Shona kings and their spirit diviners. Despite these aristocratic origins, mbira and its ceremonies became a part of the Shona people's daily life, pervading all aspects of Shona culture, both sacred and secular.

The functions of mbira and the ceremonies were many, but its most profound is in the matter of death ceremonies. A mbira is played for a week following the death of a chief before the community is informed of his passing. Approximately one year after a person's physical death another ceremony is performed and the individual's spirit is welcomed back into the community to take its place amongst the ancestors.