The Sunday News
Pathisa Nyathi
ONCE the traditionally and elegantly dressed Paramount Chief Mpezeni entered the arena the formal programme commenced. The proceedings started with a traditional prayer, some kind of chant or incantation directed to the departed Ngoni ancestors who risked life and limb in the long trek from KwaZulu-Natal to Chipata in Zambia in the first quarter of the 19th Century.
The chant was executed by an old man who seemed familiar with the now practically defunct Ngoni language. It turned out the old man at one time worked in Bulawayo where he picked up some Ndebele language which is similar to Ngoni.
The man that we later chatted with used to live in Sizinda Township.
Sizinda, like Matshobana, were townships that belonged to the then Rhodesia Railways (RR) (now the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ). Construction of the latter, comprising prefabricated structures like those at Mpopoma Township built at the same time, commenced in 1958. The Ngoni old man must have worked for the Railways which used to employ workers from as far afield as Nyasaland (now Malawi), Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Mozambique.
It was then time for President Rupiya Banda to greet the people and deliver his solidarity speech. Our delegation was also given the opportunity to make a speech. Chief Gampu Sithole stood up to do just that. After his short presentation he called upon Reverend Paul Bayethe Damasane to say something. Reverend Damasane chose to give a lively rendition of the praises for King Mzilikazi. The crowd was mesmerised. It was like they were listening to the language of their ancestors. At the end of his recital there was extended thunderous applause.
It was time for me to present a few gifts to His Royal Highness Paramount Chief Mpezeni. Before leaving Bulawayo I had chosen a few of my own book titles. It was these books that I had the honour to present to His Royal Highness. Then came the opportunity for the numerous chiefs assembled to shower the host chief with gifts. Among these was the Tonga chief who clutched a long spear. When the Ngoni chiefs from Malawi stood up to take centre stage and execute traditional dances His Royal Highness could not resist the urge to join them. It was clear this was a Nguni dance with its energetic and rhythmic ground stomping.
It was then time to symbolically engage in renewal or regeneration rituals. For that a young black bull was the centre of focus.
All along the energetic bull had been tethered to a tree on the periphery of the 100-metre diameter arena. The colour of the bull was spiritually significant, so was its age. Black is associated with the ancestors who are thought to inhabit another realm where there is no light. Within the Ndebele State such black bulls represented the Khumalo ancestors, from Matshobana right to the earliest known ancestor. The animals were kept, at the time of King Lobengula, just west of the royal capital of KoBulawayo (Emahlabathini).
The ritual was an appeal and prayer to the ancestors to renew the kingdom at the time when the first fruits were ripened. It was meant to be a fresh start in seasonal and agricultural terms. But for these people, and indeed other African peoples, the king epitomised the kingdom. Royal renewal and regeneration translated to that of the people and their nation. Renewal and regeneration essentially meant making the nation younger in figurative terms. The people were to make fresh commitment of loyalty to their king and state.
The idea of youthfulness was captured through the youthfulness of the bull. An old bull transfers tiredness to the king and his people and nation. It lacks virility and vitality. However, a young and energetic bull renders energy and revival to the king, people and nation.
The bull was untethered from a tree. One of the men then stabbed it. Soon after that there was a clear sense of urgency. Blood was quickly collected from the bleeding bull. A wooden bowl was used to collect the blood at a time when the bull’s heart was still beating. The whole purpose of rushing was to capture the bull’s life. That is possible when the heart and other essential organs are still operational. In blood there is life. It is that symbolic life that must be transferred to the king and hence the people and nation.
The person bearing the wooden bowl holding steaming blood rushed to the king who too received the contents with a sense of urgency. The king drank the blood — in essence ingesting life into his own body. That was a significant transfer of life from the bull’s blood to the king and the nation he represents and epitomises. Significantly, the blood symbolised the youthfulness of the bull. The ideas of renewal and regeneration were thus fulfilled.
While life was still within the bull another man quickly opened up its chest to get a bit of some of its internal organs such as the liver. These were quickly roasted (actually underdone) and taken at full speed to the king who obliged by eating a bit of each item. The plate was then taken to other chiefs who in turn took a bite. From the prime tent the plate was brought to the tent where we were seated. We too partook of the meat.
Dancing was performed especially by the men folk. They held ceremonial knobkerries which they raised as if stabbing the skies. On their legs they wore metallic rattles which made ear piercing sounds. The ground shook in response to their feet beating the ground in unison. The singing and dancing men were joined by the old ladies who clapped excitedly and ululated from time to time. We observed that the women who did the clapping and ululating were elderly women who were bare breasted. The dancing went on for a very long time.
The chiefs and people gathered started showering His Royal Highness with gifts ranging from fridges and deep freezers to household furniture. Within a short space of time a hillock of gifts had sprung from the ground. Pickup trucks were at hand to load up the gifts and take them to Laweni, the royal palace. Festivities at the arena came to a close and His Royal Highness and his entourage returned to Laweni.
The ceremony was attended by several ambassadors, both black and white. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in attendance came from the following countries: Mozambique, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Britain, Australia, Germany, China and Ghana. Members of Parliament and Permanent Secretaries also graced the occasion.
Pomp and ceremony continued within the Laweni section. Men continued to feast, sing and dance. We were led to a house where lunch was served. Present in the same dining room was Archbishop Milingo of the Catholic Church. He was in the company of his Korean wife. Both were dressed in traditional attire. Archbishop Milingo made the news headlines when he threw overboard the vows of celibacy and married the Korean woman. For his misdemeanor he was recalled to the Vatican in Rome.
Meanwhile, somewhat low key dancing continued within the Laweni section. It was time for us to say goodbye to our hosts. Today is our last day here in Chipata. Tomorrow we return home but only after being taken to a place where the last Ndebele king Lobengula’s remains are said to be interred. George Zulu was tasked to drive and guide us to the special place. We certainly looked forward to the visit.
