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50 Belief in afterlife shown in burial methods By now the night is pitch black. For a while I am oblivious to the comfort of our Mercedes Benz. I still have interviews to conduct. I shudder to think what time we will get back to Bulawayo. Earlier on, what I had initially taken to be stars turned out to be Dadaya High School lights. This is Sir Garfield Todd’s territory. The missionary turned politician taught many boys who later became leading nationalists and academics. At Gwatemba small scale farming area we turn off into a farm. The Morris Carter Commission, set up in 1925, recommended the segregation of land. Its recommendations were translated into the Land Apportionment Act of 1930. The Act created Native Purchase Areas where Africans could buy and own land on a freehold basis. The colonists hoped to create buffer zones between their farms and the native reserves. Gwatemba is one former Native Purchase Area. As soon as our car lights up the homestead, the occupants wake from their slumber and stream out of their houses to give us a warm African welcome. We all assemble in the open space next to the main house. We use torches and car lights to keep the darkness at bay. In order not to run down the car battery, the engine is left running. Quickly, I get out pen and paper, the tools of my trade. During interviews such as this one, I get information relating to the project at hand. At the same time I obtain information not directly relevant to my research, but which is useful historical information that should not be allowed to pass into oblivion. My informant, Mlotshwa, born in 1906, has an excellent memory and is a veritable mine of historical information. He originally came from Intemba Village under Sikhombo Mguni. Intembeni people were evicted shortly after the 1918 influenza epidemic. They were pushed to the Malungwana area. Prior to their eviction, they lived in the area stretching from Heany Junction to the Ncema River. Their chief was Xukuthwayo Mlotshwa, King Lobengula Khumalo’s eminent poet. Intemba village consisted of dispersed sub-villages of varying sizes. Some were small, but the vast majority were large. Generally, a number of related men lived together. Usually a village was known by the name of the head of the household. On his death, the head of the household was buried next to the cattle pen. In a big sub-village, the rest of the men were not buried next to the cattle kraal, 51 but often out of the village, preferably on ant hills. In those days, bodies were buried in the squatting position. On dying, a man had his arms and legs folded. This is why the Ndebele will say, about one who has died, “Uye kogoqanyawo” or “uye kosonganyawana”. One of Mlotshwa’s sons is sitting attentively next to his mother. The history that his father is explaining is not known to him. This interview has provided him with a golden opportunity to learn of his people’s history. The positioning of the dead body is all to do with war preparedness. It is quicker and easier to stand up and defend oneself from a squatting position than it is from a sleeping one. The belief is that there is life beyond the grave. Life on that plane of existence is very similar to this one. A soldier on earth is a soldier in the hereafter. Besides, I think to myself, the method saves space. One question I forgot to ask, “Were women also buried in this squatting position?” In life they did not squat. I wonder if they will do so in life after death. I need to go back to Gwatemba to clarify this. Before colonisation, Chief Xhukuthwayo Mlotshwa died. The question of succession, ever a grey issue among the Ndebele people, loomed large. There was a special relationship between the King and the senior chiefs. The King married a chief’s daughter while a chief married a king’s daughter. Xhukuthwayo Mlotshwa married Mzilikazi’s granddaughter, uLodumba. Her father was Qhalingana and her brother was Sikonkwane Khumalo. Their eldest son was Debe. It was hoped that Debe would become Chief, following the death of his father. Later, Xhukuthwayo married Mzilikazi’s daughter. Their son was Mvuthu. Who, between Debe and Mvuthu, was the heir to the chieftainship? Mvuthu’s mother, being a direct daughter of King Mzilikazi Khumalo, took precedence over Debe...

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