The Sunday News
Cultural Heritage, Phathisa Nyathi
IT was critically important for a successful army unit to be united and properly co-ordinated. These were not attributes that came automatically or effortlessly. Rather, measures at different levels were taken to mould members of the unit into a well-oiled unit with a formidable striking force and a common purpose. All efforts sought to achieve success by accomplishing the unit’s mission.
Men constituting a military unit were, by and large, drawn from the same regiment and lived in the same village under the direction of the same military commander. Usually, men underwent military training, ugalo lwesizwe, at the same time. That provided common ground for the cultivation, nurturing and sustenance of some esprit de corps. The members of the unit shared a common sense of belonging (amalalandawonye, amafelandawonye).
The one regiment that embraced this idea of togetherness was UGodlwayo located just east of Bulawayo, where now there is Godlwayo Farm. The present location of UGodlwayo is as a result of land alienation and the concomitant relocations and resettlement in the colonial period. The evictions took place at the time when Maduna Mafu and son Jim were the chiefs of the village. Maduna Mafu had succeeded his father Mthikana kaDambisamahubo.
In Godlwayo’s regimental praises the idea of amalalandawonye in incorporated and has survived to this day. In an article some years ago we did attempt explaining why UGodlwayo has succeeded in retaining her historical identity and pride. The unbroken line of Mafu chiefs is one of the reasons. The evicted people from pre-colonial locations went on to occupy more or less the same geographical area. When vicious evictions took place in 1952/53 there was spirited resistance by Godlwayo people. This was the time when they were being driven out to Lupane and Nkayi districts where they were referred to as imikutulwa (dropped out of Lorries) or amandingandawo (seekers of settlement areas) or amadeluka.
Some Godlwayo men, including teachers, got involved in the resistance campaigns. The local branch of teachers association was one of several associations opposed to evictions and subsequent resettlement in tsetse fly ridden places. Some were affiliated to the British African National Voice Association led by Benjamin Burombo. Further, the area came under the same Christian denomination, the Brethren in Christ Church (BICC) which operated boarding schools such as Matopo, Mtshabezi and Wanezi missions.
Historical unity among the people was taken into modern times through both educational and health offerings which complemented religious teaching. During the days of nationalist agitation Chief Vezi Maduna stood by his people and was incarcerated in several Rhodesian prisons such as Whawha and Gwanda. Efforts to have him removed were resisted by his subjects.
An army unit shared a common vision and a common mission. They desired success as that brought them the much needed booty in the form of cattle and human captives, (abantwana besihlangu). Individual achievement was recognised and rewarded. When a raiding party returned from a military campaign it called at the capital town where a roll call of those who excelled was publicly pronounced.
Such men of distinction were asked to get inside the Royal Enclosure where fat oxen, amadabulambiza were slaughtered for their feasting. The tips of the horns of these beasts were worn around the necks of these distinguished fighters. Some of the captives that they brought were shared among the king, queens, chiefs, princes and princesses. Cattle too were distributed among royalty.
What was mentioned above were measures that helped weld together a solid team or unit of fighters. However, these were not the only measures that were resorted to. Before going out on a raid a unit and its commanders reported at the royal residence.
This was a way of demonstrating the idea of a single locale or source of power. Besides that, there were certain things or rituals that were performed. For the soldiers that were going to travel long distances, it was important that they got rid of inyongo (the yellowish green bile) and the slimy material (udenda). That was done through induced ukuphalaza before ingesting food early in the morning.
The important thing was that the flowing slimy material from individual men flowed into one place, some space in the ground. That, so it was believed, brought the spirits and hearts of the men together. The united or combined udenda was symbolic of the unity of the men who contributed their individual udenda to the welded or combined mass. This was yet another way of fostering the much desired esprit de corps among the fighters. Smoke from burning medicines was inhaled and that was what induced coughing and the ejection of udenda.
This was not all. The same plants, especially intelezi which assisted the men to evade danger were used. There was no competition among the men. This would have been the case if different traditional doctors had been individually engaged. The war doctors were a special class of traditional doctors and attended to military units at the royal town.
However, since we are focusing the spotlight on food as a cultural expression, we have to identify the same concept, but expressed through food. At the royal town the massed soldiers were subjected to food which was used to cultivate some sense of esprit de corps among them. This was achieved through the use of umbengo. A black beast, preferably a virile bull, was hastily slaughtered so as to extract from it some meat imbued with life and virility. The piece was obtained before the animal hit the ground. The big chunk of steak was then cut, (ukubenga), into a very long unbroken strip, (umbengo). The targeted symbolism resided in the fact that the piece was a single continuous piece that was uncut. That symbolised unity, or the absence of discord and disunity. One is synonymous with unity. There was thus one piece of meat strip. What was then left was to transfer the unity or esprit de corps found in meat to the soldiers.
That was done after throwing the under done umbengo, a way of retaining its potency, into the air above the soldiers. Each soldier was to get hold of the piece and take a bite which he ingested. The same procedure was repeated till all the soldiers had had a bite which they swallowed. What, in effect the soldiers were ingesting symbolically, was the unity or esprit de corps resident in umbengo.
That done and the soldiers welded into a well-oiled unit, or oneness, they were ready to march on a raid. It was expected that such men rallied to each other’s assistance. When one man became vulnerable, his colleagues were expected to cover him and neutralise the dangerous situation. Even when a colleague had been injured, (inkubela), a soldier was expected to render assistance.
The same applied when a soldier was fatally wounded. A surviving soldier was obliged to finish off a friend in terrible agony and dispose of the corpse in an ant bear hole, (umlindi wesambane). The weapons were however, recovered. The spirit of one who died violently, such as during the war, was not brought home, (ukubuyiswa), as pointed out in an earlier article.
