It was so strange, so coincidental that I now believe it was meant to happen. A colleague came to see me last month and blurted out: “Baba Mkhize, if someone wanted to come and view the great Zulu nation, where would that person go? Where could that person see all our rich culture being practised…our traditions, folklore, beadwork, cattle? Sometimes I feel that if you want to see evidence of our Zulu nation today you have to go to taxi ranks”!
His agitated state struck a chord with me. He was talking about what he saw as the decline of Zulu history. That very same week, I got a call from a Bongani Shezi of Nkandla. He belonged to the Emachubeni Traditional Council. He was as insistent about seeing me as my colleague had been frustrated.
I love travelling. I enjoy the journey as well as fulfilling my belief of “walking-the-talk”, of physically engaging with the people surrounding the issues you’re dealing with. So I set off for Nkandla. Well, yes, our president comes from here but readers this is home to not only one of our few remaining great indigenous mistbelt forests – but also to so much intriguing Zulu history.
Journeys often sponsor thoughts, too. Looking over Zululand’s hills, it struck me! My colleague’s earlier thoughts on the neglect of Zulu history seem to merge with Shezi’s location at Nkandla.
I coined a grand phrase to myself; “Where Conservation meets History”. Of course, I was pre-judging my meeting with Shezi but those were my instincts.
And I had good reason for thinking along these lines. I had recently returned from KwaNgwanase in Maputaland where I approved the establishment of a “muti-farm”, perhaps the first ever in South Africa. This all came about after I had met a wonderful 70-year old nyanga at a funeral who had spoken to me about traditional medicine. He reminded me that herbal plants form the core of life for almost every African family.
As one thing led to another, I was determined to find some land to give over to protecting many of our indigenous plants in that region.
Our conversation had progressed from the importance of traditional medicine on to the rapid destruction of many indigenous plants in Maputaland. “Conservation meets Traditional Medicine”, I mused as I continued on towards Nkandla. The inter-dependence of all things.
Bongani Shezi was well prepared. He had found a beautiful outlook over the Nkandla Forest. What a setting; what a mood for what was to come.
Over the past four years Ezemvelo has trained numerous members of this community to look after Nkandla Forest, its natural vegetation, its flora and fauna and to protect against poachers etc. Acknowledging this, Shezi launched into the history of Nkandla, dating back to King Shaka. (I have to say, is there anything more wonderful than listening to a great storyteller?)
And my earlier thoughts were absolutely spot-on! Through a wonderfully detailed highlighting of Nkandla’s history, Shezi implored me to explore ways in which somehow I might combine the forces of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (conservation) with the Shezi community’s wish to breathe life into this past (history).
“You see Baba, I just don’t believe people have much idea of our Zulu history. We have so many great historical and conservation reasons to attract people here. Yes, the forest itself but do you know its history?”
And so he began.
Nkandla Forest was King Shaka’s most popular and formidable refuge for the war he fought against Zwide of the Ndwandwe tribe back in the early 1800s. The forest was used by Shaka to hide the women and children during these times of conflict. The military strategy of luring Zwide to this forest stronghold was the very same strategy that King Bambatha used in the famous Bambatha Rebellion of 1906.
And then folklore. At the rear end of Nkandla’s Mome waterfall is a natural stronghold, one used by Cetshwayo in 1883 and the same one used by Shaka when fighting Zwide. Mome, he told me, is also the site of King Cetshwayo’s grave, where the Nkuzane and Nsuze rivers meet.
He questioned why it was not a heritage site: “He is the only Zulu King not buried among other Zulu Kings…he trusted the Shezi clan so much he chose to be buried here. The Zulu nation reveres Cetshwayo.”
On this Shezi theme, Bongani spoke of the clans’ 13 kings who have come and gone; of the Manziphambana stream where, at a point, it flows upstream and this is where Chief Sigananda (1856-1906), who ruled at the same time as King Shaka, sat and drank water. The seat-like rock is still there. It’s called the sigqiki and Shezi believes it should be fenced off as a historical site.
It was late afternoon and the mist started to fall. This only seemed to fire his memory further.
He stared into the mountains: “You see up there. That is the Nomanci Mountain. Along that mountain is the “Ofeni”, a cliff or gorge. A lot of regiments came out of there, from King Shaka right the way through to the Bambatha Rebellion.
“Do you know that the Shezi are the oldest clan in Zululand? We believe we came from this ‘Ofeni’ gorge.”
Aware that I was representing conservation, Shezi spoke about the natural value of the Nkandla Forest; about the wild fruit trees ( izindoni and umgwenya), wild vegetables ( imbati– sting gourd – and intshungu– gifappel). He referred to medicinal plants, such as Umganu(marula tree), unwele(Sutherlandia – a moss), inguduza and the umphuphutho, too.
To safeguard their well-being, Shaka sent izinyanga zempi into the forest before the women and children hid there. (I thought then that Nkandla could become my second muti farm after the one in KwaNgwanase.)
He spoke of the need to create jobs, referring to Nkandla’s history of women using a traditional hand-cutting method for harvesting ugonothi before weaving baskets: “The skills still exist among the elderly people.
“Conservationists hold dear the highly endangered Karkloof Butterfly (Nkandla Forest is the only known place where it exists) whose plants we are protecting.
“So why don’t we provide a venue, a building that can combine our history and conservation? It can include offering a venue for traditional weddings, a skills development centre, a market museum and the history I have discussed with you.”
If Shezi was convincing then let me say I was sold. I have formalised this into an upliftment programme and taken this to our president. He has agreed to come to Nkandla and speak to the community. He has agreed that Nkandla deserves recognition and by doing so some economic assistance, too.
Yes, history and Conservation. Everything is linked, isn’t it?