Cultural Heritage: Colonial interests and the changing rules of chiefly succession

24 Jul, 2016 - 00:07 0 Views
Cultural Heritage: Colonial interests and the changing rules of chiefly succession

The Sunday News

cultural

Pathisa Nyathi
IN the last instalment we made reference to the flouting of known traditional succession rules as a result of a changed political situation and its dominant interests. Prior to the demise of the Ndebele State in 1893, what had hitherto been known traditional succession rules were being systematically eroded and sometimes completely disregarded.

We saw this with regard to the iSizinda chiefly succession when Chief Maphisa Fuyane dictated that his son by first wife MaMhlophe succeed him against Ngenisa, his more qualified son by a MaKhumalo, daughter of King Mzilikazi Khumalo.

The political authority in the colonial period was not exclusively interested in adhering to the known Ndebele chiefly succession rules. Loyalty had since become an important consideration. They knew that resistance to colonisation had been led by chiefs who stood to benefit from the maintenance of the political status quo. When a non-qualifying son projected himself as a loyalist or his father sided with the whites, he stood a better chance of making it to the seat of chief.

As a result, the change to the political circumstances witnessed unqualified chiefs being installed. The colonial authority knew about some chiefs that had stood up against the colonial project. These were penalised and had their villages (regiments) discontinued. Towards the end of this series we are going to indicate which authentic Ndebele regiments/villages were dissolved/discontinued. In the same vein, there were new chieftainships that emerged in the colonial period and yet had no known existence during the reigns of either King Mzilikazi Khumalo or his successor King Lobengula Khumalo.

The major lesson to emerge here is that political considerations do influence chiefly succession. This was not unique to the colonial period. Chiefs have control over a bigger section of the population. It would not come as a surprise when a political authority influences succession to facilitate the succession of a man who is perceived as pro-establishment.

Ndebele kings did exactly the same with regard to succession among the Shona. In fact, there are known cases where contenders sought the assistance of Ndebele kings to facilitate their own succession. The Ndebele kings were interested in the security of their own state. Inevitably, they threw their weight behind a candidate who would be loyal to them. Such was an important security consideration.

This was particularly the case with regard to the Chivi chieftainship. We also find similar interference within the BaNgwato chieftainship. King Lobengula Khumalo ensured that Macheng became chief of the BaNgwato people for he had lived among the Ndebele and was expected to be pro-Ndebele when he became chief. For a brief period he did become chief but the BaNgwato were not amused with his Ndebele style of running the affairs of the BaNgwato kingdom and was accordingly rejected.

The colonial period had some bearing on Ndebele succession rules in two ways. The first we have already alluded to. Soon after colonisation the prime consideration was political loyalty. Defiant chiefs who stood up against colonisation were demoted. The colonial authority was keen then to entrench itself. That was the beginning of the emergence of chiefs who were very loyal to the white rulers. Sooner than later, the chiefs, being a salaried lot, were no longer perceived as a political threat.

Many of them were firmly aligned to the colonial state.

The situation changed somewhat when there was resurgence in nationalism. The nationalists accused the chiefs, some of them at least, for being political quislings. There were notable exceptions in the persons of Chief Vezi Maduna Mafu of Godlwayo and Chief Sigombe Mathema of iNqama. It is interesting to note that the chiefs of these same two villages fought the whites relentlessly in the Imfazo II of 1896: namely Chief Maduna Mafu and Chief Dliso Mathema, respectively.

Let us now revisit the aMatshetshe chieftainship in the colonial period. We did make reference to Chief Ngundu Masuku marrying one MaKhumalo, a daughter of Prince Mbehane Khumalo, son of King Mzilikazi. As we pointed out in the last instalment, MaKhumalo did not conceive. Chief Ngundu Masuku then married a MaGumede who did conceive. In the meantime, Chief Ngundu Masuku had exclaimed, “muzi muni ongelamntwana?” What sort of home is it without a child? Appropriately, MaGumede’s eldest son was named Mzimuni.

In normal circumstances, what should have happened was that the Khumalos were going to send another of their daughters or some niece of the barren MaKhumalo to raise seed for okaMbehane. The niece or younger sister is called inhlanzi.

Meanwhile, Chief Ngundu Masuku decided to do a very strange thing. He summoned aMatshetshe community to inform them that he had decided to transfer son Mzimuni to MaKhumalo’s house. That arrangement was called ukusonga umthondo.

So effectively Mzimuni Masuku became a cultural son of MaKhumalo, okaMbehane, a move that made him the eldest qualifying son of Chief Ngundu Masuku.

The Khumalos, in line with Ndebele customary practice, married off a daughter of Prince Nyanda Khumalo to Ngundu Masuku. Prince Nyanda Khumalo was King Mzilikazi Khumalo’s youngest son by MaThebe. It was thus proper that Prince Nyanda Khumalo and his relatives send an inhlanzi to raise seed for MaKhumalo, okaMbehane. Remember, princes Mbehane Khumalo and Nyanda Khumalo were brothers, both being sons of King Mzilikazi Khumalo. Indeed MaKhumalo, okaNyanda did conceive and the eldest son was Jacob Masuku who would, without success, try to wrestle the aMashetshe chieftainship from Chief Mzimuni Masuku.

We are told he used to wear a single sock to drive his point home-“ngiyaqhula,” he was saying. That was during the colonial times and known Ndebele customary practices as pertaining to chiefly succession were easy to flout. Remember, there was no king to preside over cultural issues and ensure adherence to known cultural practices.

It should never be imagined that the traditional chiefly succession rules were easy to comprehend especially by people not well versed in Ndebele culture. The native commissioners were not sufficiently culturally equipped to guide communities and ensure succession rules were observed. When nationalist agitation increased, particularly in the 1960s, the district commissioners, the nomenclature had changed from native commissioner in about 1964; their prime motive was to influence succession in such a way as to use compliant chiefs as a bulwark against the rising nationalist tide.

Thus in the colonial period political convenience won the day. It was a period that saw the systematic erosion of known Ndebele succession rules. The trend has continued to this day. Now the situation is aggravated by the absence of a competent body to deal with succession matters and align them to a changing socio-political situation. While the constitution may be dictating in a certain direction, the un-aligned Traditional Leaders Act points in another. Confusion and contestations have become the order of the day.

There were many attributes pertaining to a woman that would determine whether she qualified to be married by a chief, or indeed any Nguni man within Ndebele society. In the next instalment we shall deal with the lot of non-Nguni women if perchance they got married to a chief. We shall pay attention to the issue both in the colonial and post colonial era.

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