Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
OUT in the Mpamadzi area of Matobo District in Matabeleland South Province, lies a set of graves near the foot of Maninga Hills.
For almost a century, these graves rested under the shadow of rocky hills in peace, constantly bathed by the seemingly never-ending supply of sunlight enjoyed by the area.
The only disturbance came from the occasional creepy crawlies, including snakes, which are known to patrol the bushes, searching for ideal spots from where they can bask.
In the 1980s, the peace that is enjoyed by these graves was disturbed violently. A mentally challenged man, Dabhayi Sibanda, is said to have laid siege on the graves, desecrating them.
The reason for this apparent attack? Gold or any other shining trinket.
In African culture, or indeed any other culture, graves are sacred. With that being the case, Sibanda undoubtedly violated a rule that transcends tribe or race.
However, when one looks at the identity of who rests at these lonely graves out in this wild southern corner of Zimbabwe, one can perhaps see a glimpse of Sibanda’s twisted logic.
Known as the Montgomery Graves, the place is an important part of local lore in the Mpamadzi area under Chief Malaba.
“In Loving Memory of Margaret (Susanna) Elizabeth Strydom, the Beloved wife of Montgomery, born on August 11, 1864 and died on May 26, 1896,” reads the inscription on the vandalised granite tombstone on one of the graves.
St Joseph’s Mission Parish Priest Father Innocent Makawule Ndlovu shows the grave of Elizabeth Strydom who died and was buried in May 1896 at Montgomery graves in Matobo District. On the left is Headman Mpamadzi (Leornad Ndlovu)
The grave lies only a stone’s throw away from what was known as the Groot Fontein Farmhouse. Groot Fontein, an Afrikaans name that means great fountain, fits well with the section of Semokwe River in the vicinity of Montgomery graves, which until recently was a source of water for the local community.
Why an Afrikaans name? The Montgomery family were from a place called Somerset in South Africa. The Death Certificate of the wife of George Charles Coleman Montgomery supplied by the Pioneer Society Records shows that the wife of Montgomery died while giving birth on May 26,1896.
In Mokomori, a corruption of the word Montgomery, the death of this woman has become the stuff of many myths and counter-myths.
Many believe that Montgomery was killed by a charging lion in an area that, once upon a time, was said to be teeming with the carnivores. Research, however, shows this is not true.
“She died giving birth in 1896,” the parish priest for St Joseph’s, Father Innocent Makawule Ndlovu narrated to Sunday Life last Tuesday.
“What happened was that when they came to this place, to the farmhouse, they were there to get spare parts for their wagons. This used to be a fortified place where people would drop by and get spares for their wagons. So, they brought all the wagons that broke down here. This was when we had the 1896 uprising, which saw a lot of fighting between the Ndebele and the British around this area. It was also a time when the rinderpest disease was wreaking havoc and a lot of cattle pulling these wagons were dying. As a result, this place was fortified and people came from different places to collect spare parts.”
According to Father Ndlovu, who compiled a history of the place, it is reported that one Meintjies Frazer rode at night through the lion-infested area to Matsiloji in Botswana to fetch a doctor and by the time he came back with the doctor, Mrs Montgomery had died but the baby survived and was taken by her father on horseback, pillowed in front of the saddle to Mahalapye, Botswana.
Eventually, the baby girl was taken to her grandmother in Zeerust, South Africa. The child later returned to then Rhodesia and her two sons went to school in Plumtree.
“During the visit of one Charles Coleman Montgomery, his wife went into labour. When Montgomery realised that the wife was about to give birth, he decided to rush to Francistown and get a doctor. Unfortunately, he was too late and although the wife gave birth to a daughter, she died during the process and was buried here,” he said.
The history of the Montgomery Graves does not end with Margaret Strydom. While she might not have been devoured by a lion as local legend suggests, another man, Edward Allen Eaden from Birmingham, UK, is said to have been a victim of the fearsome big cats.
“There is also a man from Birmingham who is believed to have been killed by a lion,” said Father Ndlovu.
A Pioneer Memorial Cross lies on the grave of Eaden, which is meant to mark his final resting place.
Eaden is remembered even more vividly by the local community, whose account of his death is at odds with the Old Edwardians Gazette, which maintained that he died from unspecified ailments as a result of the country’s first Chimurenga/Umvukela.
“We regret to have to announce the death of an Old Boy—Edward Allen Eaden, in Africa,” read an edition of the gazette published on October 1, 1896.
“We are obliged to one of his most intimate friends for the following note: In August last year, Eaden sailed for South Africa, in the hope that a few months’ residence there would rid him of the ill effects of an attack of pleurisy contracted several years ago. The climate of the Cape was doing its work well and at the outbreak of the Matabele war in March, this year, he was a strong and healthy man. The privations endured during the siege of Bulawayo were, however, too severe for him and were the cause of his untimely end.”
Historic graves in the area do not start and end with people who were part of the pioneer column. Nearby, there are graves of leaders who took charge when the war to unseat the new white overlords gathered momentum.
Of note is the grave of Mdumuli Sekelela Makawule Ndlovu who died in 1923 and was the heir to Chief Kutshe who assumed chieftainship during the Anglo-Ndebele War of 1893-1894 up to 1896 during the First Chimurenga/ Umvukela and the subsequent hunger that ensued.
Side by side, both proponents of that war rest, subject to great legend and myth.
For the people in the area, the history of graves, known popularly as Makomori due to people’s failure to pronounce Montgomery, fact and myth have become intermingled over time.
For some, Montgomery’s wife is the one that was devoured by lions and despite that some have endeavoured to correct this, it is a myth that they still hold on to. For leaders in the area, the story of the Montgomery graves or the late black leaders of the first war of liberation should not be easily forgotten. Instead, they would like to see the tourists that used to flock to the area flocking back to cherish once again its heritage.
“This used to be a tourist centre and so it is our dream as a community to preserve these historical monuments and invite people to come and visit it as they used to,” said Father Ndlovu.
“There are a lot of hills and mountains here and I believe that a mini snake park could be developed so that schoolchildren can visit and see animals. We have snakes, baboons and monkeys and these can be used to help generate income for the community. We will have a guest house where people can have refreshments as they wait.”
It is a view echoed by village head, Mpamadzi Makawule.
