The Sunday News
Pathisa Nyathi
AFTER a short detour, we are back on the trail of the London Missionary Society (LMS) missionaries. Our intention is to follow their footprints till we get to Reverend Bowen Rees who served at Inyathi Mission from 1888 to 1918. This we do for the reason that most of these missionaries, serving in Matabeleland, documented a lot of historical and cultural information pertaining to life in the heyday of the Ndebele State.
Presently, we are tracing the footprints of Reverend Dr Robert Moffat who, in his lifetime, visited the Ndebele monarch on five occasions: 1829, 1835, 1854, and 1857 and finally, in 1859. Importantly, most of the visits were undertaken when the Ndebele were domiciled at different places. As might be known, King Mzilikazi Khumalo and his people settled at three different places south of the Limpopo River. At each of the places, settlement lasted five years: Ezinyosini (Vaal River) 1822-1837; KoMhlahlandlela (Magaliesberg-Pretoria) 1827-1832; Marico (Egabheni) 1832-1837. Robert Moffat visited the Ndebele at the last two settlements south of the Limpopo River.
The LMS missionary wrote letters to his wife Mary, his brother and other persons who had a bearing on his life. It is these writings that today constitute the Matabele Journals of Robert Moffat and are available at the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ) and also in some libraries such as the National Free Library of Zimbabwe. The said journals are an important source of historical information while at the same time focusing the spotlight on various aspects of Ndebele culture.
Even when the Ndebele were ejected out of present day South Africa, the LMS never gave up. Robert Moffat paid three more visits to Matabeleland.
The first was undertaken in 1854 following a relatively prolonged period of separation (1837-1854). During visits to the land of the Ndebele, Robert Moffat documented information relating to the times of the Ndebele State, both in South Africa and Matabeleland. However, Robert Moffat was not the only LMS missionary who committed pen to paper. There were other missionaries such as Welshman Reverend Thomas Morgan Thomas, Reverend David Carnegie and Reverend William Elliot who penned books.
Even those missionaries who did not write books, there are some of them who created useful archives pertaining to their experiences, both in textual and pictorial forms. What we have to accept is that Europeans had a strong culture of documenting their experiences. Just ask yourself, are you documenting your own life experiences? We can cite one example of Reverend Bowen Rees who wrote to his bosses in London reporting on his experiences in Matabeleland. The LMS archives do exist in London. To what degree is the United Congregation Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) documenting their church history? Where are their records being kept for use by future researchers?
There is no guarantee that family archives may survive when descendents of creators of archives do not take trouble to preserve the record. Here again, we find families that have preserved archival records that were handed down to them by their parents. This happens to be the case with the Bowen Rees family. Through the work of Dr Ioan Rees, son of Aurfryn, son of Bowen, we have accessed hitherto unseen letters, pictures and literary texts. For example, for the first time in Zimbabwe we are going to see the picture of Mathambo Ndlovu, the man who survived Ndebele spears in 1893. We are also set to see the photo of Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo sitting with Chief Sivalo Mahlangu. It takes people who value historical information to preserve archives. Another new picture to be featured is that of Tshwapha Ndiweni in his advanced age. Reverend Bowen Rees describes the funeral proceedings, indicating both Ndebele traditional and Christian rites that were performed.
Reverend William G Brown who succeeded Reverend Bowen Rees at Inyathi Mission and pastored in the Shangani Reserve (Nkayi/Lupane), equally kept an invaluable record of his experiences. One of these is a picture of Prince Tshakalisa Sintinga Khumalo, son of King Lobhengula Khumalo whose homestead Reverend W G Brown visited on the southern bank of the Shangani River, opposite Chief Sivalo Mahlangu’s village. Reverend Bowen Rees also visited the Prince and he too left behind pictures of the Prince’s royal family. From these pictures, we glean a lot of information such as dressing, hut architecture and village layout, among several other thematic areas.
This goes to demonstrate that we stand to benefit in terms of acquiring knowledge and information regarding our history and culture if we read the missionaries’ accounts. In this and forthcoming articles we shall demonstrate this point through recourse to Robert Moffat’s rendition of his second visit to the Ndebele, then domiciled in the Marico area. It is a pity though that he, being a stranger to the Ndebele language, and more being au fait in Setswana, failed to accurately capture some Ndebele names. While there are some among those names that may be figured out such as UMnombate (UMncumbatha Khumalo) and Kalepe (UMkhaliphi Khumalo, the following are some of the names Robert Moffat mentions and are difficult to decipher: Monayeng, Nkotue (Macotue) and Tlagatlage who he says was Mncumbatha’s brother. It will take oral informants who are related to the persons connected to the corrupted names to decipher the names. The influence of Setswana is very apparent.
For today, let us consider one aspect: gifts that were given to the king by Europeans, Robert Moffat being one of them. Moffat does tell us about the gifts that were exchanged between Doctor Andrew Smith and King Mzilikazi Khumalo. For us though, what is important is not the gifts per se. What is more important is the realisation that exotic objects were acquired by royalty more than the ordinary people. Royalty embraced change while at the same time keen to retain other aspects of culture. Material culture is embraced faster than spirituality. Chiefs, as persons of influence, were showered with gifts particularly when Europeans sought royal treaties and concessions from African kings and chiefs. A good example was Chief Lotshe Hlabangana of Induba.
Word spread quickly that Chief Lotshe Hlabangana possessed a mirror or looking glass which he could use to harm other people. “ULotshe ubamba ilanga,” they claimed. Chief Lotshe Hlabangana recommended the signing, it is alleged, of the Rudd Concession. Hot-headed amajaha demanded his blood and he was killed on royal orders. The king later lamented the act and when whites were hot on his heels, he said, Yek’ uLotshe. Umuntu akafi avez’ umunwe.”
While the generality of the people consumed their beer in calabashes, King Mzilikazi Khumalo was already partaking his from a large tin bekker. One day Dr Andrew Smith organised the launch of rockets, with some taking vertical projectiles while others took oblique ones. It was fascinating and intriguing to the king who cupped his chin in his hand in utter awe and amazement. The king was keen to possess such trappings of white power.
Indeed, King Mzilikazi Khumalo summoned Mkhaliphi Khumalo and Mncumbatha Khumalo to investigate how he, the king, could possess some. A beast was even offered in exchange for the desired rockets. We should remember that in 1829 McLuckie and Scoon had demonstrated to the king the firing of guns. The king was keen to possess some and that prompted his relationship with Robert Moffat in the hope of obtaining the same through the good offices of Robert Moffat.
Matching white power was an important consideration. Whatever they possessed, he too sought to possess the same. King Mzilikazi Khumalo saw an ox-wagon that whites travelled in. It was one such ox-wagon that was stripped apart and deposited in a cave at Entumbane where the king’s bones were interred. An exotic item found its way into the spiritual realm, as a funerary item.
