Source: Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) and Post-Colonial Heritage Studies.
Nehanda was never killed and she never died because Nehanda is a spirit….what was killed ndi Nyakasikana mwana wa Chiweshe ..Hwata… Nyakasikana aive mukadzi wa Mambo we VaRozvi wekupedzisira ainzi Mutinhima uyo akafa around 1850 aigara pa Nharira. Mumwe we madzimai wa Nyakuvambwa ainzi Takai aisvikirwa ne Mhondoro yainzi Chikare… which led Chief Mashayamombe…Muetkedza.
Chigavazira and others into battles. TAKAI was later captured by Major Smyth around Makonde around June 1895 and whilst trying to take her to Fort Salisbury Smyth was ambushed and killed by the Marirangwe Regiment under Command of Dzumbunu and Takai was rescued ….the area where she was arrested is now Called Chakari named after that incident by the Colonial goverment….Chikare is also the reason why Mhondoro is called Mhondoro because ndiko kwaoigara ari Mhondoro ye Nyika. Tsvimbo dziya dzinonzi Mugabe akaba dzaive dza Nyakuvambwa Mutinhima uyu ane nickname yekuti Haarari…named Harare…Tsvimbo idzi dzakapihwa into custody ya Cheif Chinamhora at Domboshava na Chigavazira to be hidden since Lender Star Jameson then Chief Magistrate ( first PM) of Rhodesia wanted them as he had been told had power to rule. 12 such Tsvimbo existed …one of them is called Chibwe Chitedza….which is for war and the other is Nharira for looking after the Zim family and there are others for various reasons including ye Matare….in around 1961 Nkomo was asked to go with Cheif Chinamhora to Matonjeni ( Rozvi shrine) Known as Njelele Mat South…Mugabe also went….Chief Chinamhora asked those from Rozvi Moyo background, the Maphosa’ known as Ngara wa Mambos and the Mhofu’s known as Mwendambeli into the Shrine to receive the instructions on how the war spirt could be invoked. Mugabe was not allowed in. NKOMO and Sithole where given the Chibwe Chitedza ( leadership) and Nharira (war protection) tsvimbo and told that they will survive the war and should then take the sticks back to Matonjeni and throw them after the war. That did not happen.
Chaminuka was an ancestoral spirit medium, mhondoro/ svikiro and celebrated prophet of the Shona people of Zimbabwe who manifested through several mediums over generations.
The last known Chaminuka hailed from Dungwiza – territory of long grass (Chitungwiza), he was recognised as the most powerful spiritual leader of his time. The unassailable messiah-like figure, and prince of peace, always advocated for a peaceful co-existence between the people of the land – now Zimbabwe.
Together with Murenga, Nehanda, Kaguvi, Mapondera and Mukwati, they were the makers of ancient Zimbabwe’s history.
The original Chaminuka belonged to the vaTovera lineage of the earliest known ancestor of the Shona according to their genealogical history.
Tovera’s son, Mambiri, is the father of Murenga Sororenzou, the founder-architect of Zimbabwe and guardian of our land.
Murenga’s children included Chaminuka and Nehanda.
Chaminuka was the father of Kutamadzoka and Chigwangu, the first two rulers of Zimbabwe.
He played a significant role through his prophet Pasipamire, as a messenger of humanitarian values, of peace, harmony and cohabitation that united the African people as the nation we know today.
Chaminuka’s son Kutamadzoka became the First Mutapa. After his death, his brother Chigwangu became Mutapa II and moved to Great Zimbabwe from Mapungubwe, the original settlement in southern Africa after migrating from Guruuswa, Tanganyika (Tanzania). Here, Chigwangu became known as Rusvingo – Builder of Stone Walls.
A great chief and prophet, Chaminuka’s phenomenal fame was associated with miracles, healing and rain supplication. In his time, his reputation was so widespread that hundreds of pilgrims flocked daily to the holy city of Chitungwiza to seek his advice, his healing and his blessing.
The entire country of Mambo (Mbire), honoured, revered and craved his wisdom and counsel. The magnanimity of his spirit and his genuine display of love for humanity, of peace in his heart and of compassion for the poor and the suffering, but most importantly his lack of malice, animosity and vengefulness, made him a man beyond reproach.
The name Mbire has been used in the past to refer to all of the ethnic groups of Zimbabwe prior to 1830, namely: VaKorekore, VaZezuru, VaKaranga, VaManyika, VaNdau, BaNambiya, BaVenda, and BaKalanga. The Mbire family forms the root of all these people of which Chaminuka was a distinctive member, along with Murenga, Mambiri and Tovera.
Chaminuka’s powers were especially manifest during conflicts with Lobengula, at a time when European colonisers were invading from South Africa; forcing local African clan groups to migrate northward and come into conflict with each other. Repeated messages of peaceful coexistence and harmony among the people, sent by the ancestors through Pasipamire, were continually ignored by Lobengula who recurrently attacked the Shona people to subjugate them and take away their land that belonged to the Mbire.
In time, Chaminuka also prophesied to the Ndebele that they “…shall be accursed and famine-stricken as punishment from the wrath of the ancestors” for killing him in Bulawayo (Kobulawayo – The land of slaughter). True to his prophecy, Bulawayo has since experienced many droughts.
Shona people believe there are spirits of varying levels of importance under the one God – Mwari. Of these spirits, Mhondoro are the most important, of which Chaminuka sat on the apex of the national hierarchy of Mhondoro spirits, who may only be approached through the intersession of a chief, indirectly through a medium.
Chaminuka was one of the leading Mhondoro spirits of Zimbabwe in the 19th Century. The Chaminuka spirit was a pervasive influence during the First Chimurenga of 1896-1897, as were Sekuru Kaguvi and Mbuya Nehanda.
Later mediums have maintained the great popularity of Chaminuka and the great spirit also became an inspiration to early nationalist leaders, fighting colonial oppression.
Chaminuka foretold of the coming of knee-less people (Vasina mabvi), meaning white people, into the country. Chaminuka’s role as a prophet of peace is a legacy Zimbabweans, as a peaceful people, inherited.
He spoke of prosperity, peace and goodwill. He brought the communities together and the people thrived. Around 1896, there were a succession of unnatural events foretold in Chaminuka’s prophecies. Many say his prophecies were true and accurate.
The year 1896 was one of drought, coupled with a severe locust plague that devastated the crops and rinderpest struck the cattle.
That same year saw a total eclipse of the moon that was also predicted by Chaminuka, who also prophesied the downfall of Lobengula and the arrival of the European Pioneer Column.
An unusual characteristic of Chaminuka was that he migrated from one tribe to another each time his medium died, and this has led to his activities being recorded among all the Shona people.
In a book by Solomon Mutswairo, Chaminuka declared: “Oh people of Chitungwiza, fearful of your lives and for those of your children, understand – I repeat – that there shall come from the sea a race of people without knees who are stronger than the tyrant Ndebele. They will subdue your enemies and will pursue Lobengula to his shameful death. Then these knee-less people will build white houses on the land. They will bring with them a mighty boulder, such as has never been seen before. It will roll with such force, that no one will be able to stand before it, or divert it from its course”.
Here, Chaminuka’s prophecy was referring to the railway line and train. He had foreseen Cecil John Rhodes’ dream of a railway line ‘From Cape to Cairo’ and the lines from Vryburg, through Mafaeking, to Bulawayo and from Mutare straight across Portuguese territory to Beira 290km away, in his bid to colonise Mozambique.
He continued: “These knee-less people will rule the land with an iron fist, and will not respect our customs. Their knowledge will pour over the people and entice the young to abandon our traditions, which will consequently grieve the ancestors. The ancestors will in turn give our children up to the tyranny of the strangers. In suffering shall their strength lie. Yet the land shall remain the everlasting legacy of the Mbire and not of the strangers within their domain
So, I will plead with the ancestors for a stronger leader to oppose the stranger, to restore the land of the people of Mbire and to recall our former glory.
Do not therefore, be afraid of Lobengula or the knee-less people, but be prepared for the good times that will come thereafter”
Some who listened were satisfied with the prophecy, but many did not understand.
Looking at his sister Nehanda, Chaminuka said: “As for you, my sister, your fate is no different from mine. All who wear the veil that the ancestors have been pleased to bestow must drink the bitterness of gall at the appointed time. You are no exception.”
Here he was referring to Mbuya Nehanda’s fate at the hands of the colonial settlers who hung her a decade-and-a-half later, on Kumbvumbi (April) 27 1898; a day Zimbabweans need to honour.
Finally, to the citizens of Chitungwiza he said: “Let my spirit be freed now, so that I may go in peace to the land of our ancestors and to plead for our safety and preservation.”
Source: Dr Tony Monda holds a PhD in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) and Post-Colonial Heritage Studies.
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