Zimpapers Logo

Opinion Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
An article on the history of Bulawayo published by this newspaper on May 31, 2014 generated so much interest that by 10PM on June 1, the author had received a dozen telephone calls one of which was from the city’s first black mayor, Cde Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu. In addition to complimenting the writer, the former mayor, who is a renowned oral ethnic historian in his own right, said the article did not say anything about two low density (formerly whites-only) suburbs with Ndebele names: Ilanda and Malindela.

He also referred to the origin of the name Nketa, a high density suburb of the City of Kings. The former mayor was one of three senior national political leaders who chose the site of the Bulawayo provincial heroes’ acre. The others were Dr Joshua Nkomo and the late councillor Phillip Bhule, who was himself a prominent Ndebele oral historian.

The retired mayor, a war veteran, said Ilanda was named after well known tick-birds (amalanda, nyenje) usually seen where there are large herds of cattle or buffaloes — the area was adjacent to ‘Enyathini’ (at the buffaloes), so named because the locality was a favourite habitat of those animals. The birds (amalanda) must have been seen there in large numbers because of the buffalo herds.

He said Malindela was a corruption of “Mabindela,” a name of one of Lobengula’s daughters. It is not clear how the corruption originated.
The former mayor said Ilanda should be pronounced phonetically, that is to say letter “I” should be pronounced as in “India” and not as in “Ireland” Airilend.

He said the late councillor Bhule told him that the word “Nketa” is a short form of ‘nkethabetshabi’, which literally means “select the people of foreign origin.” It also has the connotation: “Discrimination against people of foreign origin.”

His story as narrated to him by Bhule was that King Lobengula went to that area on one occasion to welcome one of his regiments that had just returned from raiding some chiefdom or kingdom to the north of his own kingdom.

The commander of the regiment was, as was the norm, a Nguni chief. The commander delivered his report orally to the monarch while the army stood at attention in military formation.

At some point during the commander’s oral presentation, a disgruntled murmur was heard coming from the army, and Lobengula felt that the commander was probably relating lies to him.

At the end of the commander’s presentation, Lobengula ordered one of his aides to give him a spear. He deliberately threw the weapon to the army and everybody moved away from it. The spear landed on the ground without harming anybody.
The king immediately remarked: “Did you see that everyone moved away from that spear?”

Back came the reply from the regiment: “Yebo Nkosi!”
Then explained Lobengula; “Ye, kungenxa yokuthi umkhonto kawukhethi. Kawula nkethabetshabi. Kayiphele inkethabetshabi phakathi kwenu.”
The English translation of Lobengula’s words is “Yes, it is because the spear does not select. It does not discriminate against people of foreign origin. That discrimination must cease among you.”

It is interesting to compare the above anecdote by the very first black mayor of Bulawayo with the following story by the now late Pagiwa Nlongwane Sibanda of Tjehanga area of Matabeleland South’s Bulilima District as told to this article’s writer: King Lobengula on one occasion chose a Kalanga girl from among a large group of girls to be one of his many wives. That was an unacceptable breach of the usual Nguni royal tradition and custom. The girl was of the Mlalazi (Dumani) totem, socially low people.

The king’s senior counsellors reacted immediately by advising him: “Khafula Nkosi, ngoba lihole lo mntwana!” (spit out, your Majesty because this girl is of the slave tribe). At that time, there were three social classes in the Ndebele kingdom: the Ngunis were the highest, followed by the Sothos, and then the Tonga, Nambya, Venda, Kalanga, Karanga, Zezuru and the Manyika were at the bottom.

It is important to bear in mind that social classification and discrimination were virtually universal order of the day at that time. Lobengula, however, refused to “spit out” the Kalanga girl he had publicly betrothed.

Instead, he instructed his administrators to call a massive national rally and arrange the seating in such a way that the Ngunis and Sothos would be on one side and members of every tribe the Ndebeles found in this country on the other. That arrangement was based on the “Nkethabetshabi” practice.

Accompanied by his senior chief, Magwegwe Fuyana, the king arrived late in the afternoon at the venue, which was near the hill at Tshabalala Extension’s present locality.

It is said that on arrival he said: “Where are the people we came with from the south?”
The rally organisers showed him the group on his right. It was much smaller than the one on his left. On being shown the “amahole” the king said: “Yiso isizwe sikaMthwakazi lesi esilomntwana elithi ngimkhafule.” “Lingaze langi embula amakhwapha ngalindlela . . .”

Some oral historians say that Lobengula was accompanied by that Kalanga woman when he crossed the Zambezi River after his escape from the British South Africa Company forces in 1893.

He had consolidated his father’s nation by marrying from the nation’s socially lowest class, a part of the “abetshabi”. Incidentally, that word is derived from the Kalanga word “tjaba” which means nation. The Nguni in Zimbabwe adopted and adapted it.

It can also be used to mean people of foreign origin or extraction: Banhu bezwitjapa. Its etymological root is Sotho “sechaba,” (nation.)
Cde Ndlovu expressed rather strong reservations about the name Famona. He said it was not correct that the king’s daughter’s name was Mfamona as stated by ethnic historian Pathisa Nyathi as that is meaningless.

The former Bulawayo Mayor said the correct name is Famona which, according to him, means “fana mona” or “mawufe umona” (lo owawusenza abanye abantu bengafuni ukuthi abe yinkosi.)

(Let the malice, umona, die, ufe which made some people oppose his succession to his father’s throne).

Incidentally, a typographical mistake in the May 31, 2014 article resulted in an erroneous meaning of a sentence which should have read: “The Swazis belong to a linguistic class of Ngunis called ‘amathekela’ and the Khumalos to a Nguni sub-group known as ‘amaNtun’wa’ but linguistically belong to a class referred to as ‘abazundayo’.

Another typographical error was: “Wayekhokhoba etshwaleni” instead of “Waye ekhokhoba ‘etshwaheni”.
Lastly, Sauerstown was named in honour of Jacobus Sauer, a close colleague of Cecil John Rhodes. He later became a cabinet Minister of the South African Government, and actually created the Native’s Land Act giving only 7.5 percent of South Africa to the black people and the rest to the minority white settlers.

That law was gazetted on June 20 1913 inspite of vigorous protests by the African majority. The Southern Rhodesia Land Apportionment Act of 1930 contained aspects of that South African law.

Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired Bulawayo-based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through [email protected].