The Sunday News
WHEN I was interviewing Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu on Njelele he remarked, after noticing the word wosana was very close to Biblical hosanna that there could be a link between the religions of the BaKalanga and that of the Jews. In both cases the words were associated with a High God or Mwali. In the case of the BaKalanga a hosanna, such as Njenjema Nleya, was a messenger of Mwali at Njelele.
The next observation was that both peoples, the Semitic Jews and the BaKalanga approached their God on a mountain. The Jews were monotheistic, worshipping one High God and at a time when there was a decline in their religion the High God was approached from or associated with high places.
While these were the two observations that Ndlovu noted, there are other rather intriguing similarities that need interrogation. As we do so there is a need for readers to appreciate that we are here referring not just to the BaKalanga found in the Bulilima and Mangwe districts of Zimbabwe and the northern part of the Central District in Botswana.
We are using the term in a generic sense which is all-embracing. The term, as we use it, covers the people who once occupied the area stretching from the East Coast of Mozambique to the eastern frontier of the Kalahari Desert. Included in this broad category are the BaLilima, Nambya, BaWumbe, BaTalawunda, BaLemba, Babirwa, BaNyayi, BaVhenda, BaNyubi, BaHwamamba, BaLembethu, BaTswapong, BaJawunda, BaLobedu, Batabatsindi, BaKaranga, BaKhupeng/BaPedi, BaTlokoa, BaRolong, BaHurutshe and many more.
Some of these people have acculturated into Tswana, Sotho and Nguni societies and may not be easily recognisable as BaKalanga. The working language was Tjikalanga, a language akin to present day Tjikalanga or Chikaranga of Masvingo, Nambya and former TjiLozwi.
Before we deal with the similarities and attempting to explain them we shall look at religion and some of its tendencies and characteristics which might help explain certain observations. Religion is the source of values, ideas about God, the people’s worldview and cosmology.
Religion by and large reflects the people’s understanding of nature and the universe. It will thus inform how people relate to each other as members of a community and to other fellow beings and the environment in its totality.
The one characteristic of religion and its related ideas is that it is conservative; the people hold on to old founding ideas and regard them as sacrosanct. This is different from material culture which changes more rapidly. The intangible aspects of a people’s culture change but slowly. Religion has its carriers, the people who over time come to link the material and profane aspects of culture with the sacred. As a result, the two occur together and the profane is seen as consolidating, legitimating and reinforcing the sacred and giving it both credibility and authenticity.
Let us now unpack this idea of association. The people of a particular religion have a certain language which then becomes the language of worship. In that language there may be elements that are very old and have outlived the contemporary language. Religion and its authenticity are associated with source, with the beginning — the language spoken at the beginning or by the founder(s) of the religion is preferred.
We could cite a few examples. Adherents of Lenganas Lekganyana’s Zion Christian Church (ZCC) prefer to sing their songs in Tswana, the language of the founder. That provides them with the historical link and some seeming legitimation and authenticity. Even the dress tends to be that of Lekganyana’s adherents at the time he initiated the religious movement.
Christianity itself is no exception. When Christianity got to England the working language of the Roman conquerors and purveyors of Christianity was Latin. Catholic mass was said in Latin despite the fact that the worshipers were English. Even when England embarked on colonisation in various parts of the world the language used during mass was Latin, and not English or one of the indigenous languages. It was as if to say God understood only Latin and no other language.
In some religions there is a family that is associated with priestly functions. From time immemorial it is that family that has been in the forefront of leading in spiritual matters while other families provide political leadership. One could say there is division of labour. Continuity thus becomes a noticeable trait in the community’s religion.
Attire is an important aspect to also consider. As is often the case with other aspects of religion, the attire used in the religious realm tends to predate contemporary attire. What that then creates is attire that is associated with religion and more specifically the priestly community. Once again the guiding principle is to attain the link with the source, the beginning.
You only need to look at the flowing robes of Catholic and Anglican clergy to appreciate this point. They, as the priestly community, wear differently from the rest of the community. Their attire, being historical provides a pointer to the origins and developments within a particular religion. Sometimes the special attire is produced in a special way, requiring the development of a certain industry and its associated skills.
A community is characterised by among other things, its architecture. While architecture undergoes change over time, architecture associated with religion changes but slowly. Religious sites thus stand out in relation to contemporary architectural structures. What is being displayed there is the conservative nature of religious ideas and the desire to remain faithful to the beginning, to the source.
Religious practice has its artifacts that the priestly community uses. Once again, these will predate the contemporary artifacts in use. The old lend legitimacy, authenticity and credibility. A close scrutiny of these religious paraphernalia will help in the interpretation of a religion and in the comparative study of two or more related or even diverse religions.
A people have a particular way in which they organise themselves. This is the social organisation of the community or society. Religion or religious ideas will be reflected in the manner in which the community or society is organised. A community is organised in relation to key values and the worldview that the community holds. The political and social structures will relate to religion.
Finally, a people will have a certain technology and economic organisation that provide the context for religious practice. The architecture, religious paraphernalia and gadgets should find expression within the context of technology, existing technical skills, trade with the outside world and societal organisation. Religion has a context outside of itself.
Archaeological, historical and ethnographic studies are important in coming up with the characteristics of a particular religion. Armed with such information one can arrive at the history of a particular religion and the comparative study of two or more such religions.
What we have done here is to provide the instruments of comparison that we are going to use when we look at the religion of the BaKalanga and that of the Jews. We do this with a purpose. Why is there some similarity between Judaic religion and the religion of the BaKalanga? Did the BaKalanga come from the Middle East or within their community there was a group that came from the Middle East and brought with them the apparent religious ideas and practices from that part of the world?
