NOT FOR PUBLICATION SEMINAR g 6 DECEMBER 1974

.UNIVERSITY OF RHODESIA DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

HENDERSON SEMINAR PAPER NO. 30

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF THE KALANGa O)

The Areas

The country of the Kalanga is a vague area to the west and south of - no demarcated lim its - so no one can be exact about th is. ' For fie ld work purposes a ll the area west of the Mzingwani riv e r extending into where in 1954 it was roted that ’ the numerically strongest tribe in Bechuanaland are the Kalaka numbering 33,200*(3) and the area north of the Plurntree-Bulswayo railway right up to the Zambezi riv e r, shall be taken to be the area of the Kalanga. I t should, however, be pointed out that the country of the Kalanga is by no means an area exclusively resided by the Kalanga."- There are many other groups the principal ones being the Venda, Sotho and Shangaan in the souths the Tswana tribes in the west5 the Ndebele almost intermingled with the Kalanga a ll over the ’ Kalangaland’ and the Karanga in the east.

The Language g

The can best be described as a ’ clu ster’ comprising a number o f-d ia lects. The principal dialects areg Twamanba spoken in the Northern Transvaal west of Messina and in the Gwanda and Belingwe d is tric t 5 Lilima or Humbe in the Bulalima-Mangwe, Nyamandhlovu d is tric ts and in the Tati Concession and Eastern Botswana. In the Belingwe d is tr ic t there are some Humbe under Chief Bangwe who emigrated from the Plumtree area fle e in g the constant raids made upon them by the Ngwata at the beginning of the nineteenth century.(4) other dialects are, Peri, spoken in Botswana| Ngai, spoken in the Bulalima-Mangwe and Nyamandhlovu , v districts - a possible result of the fusion of the Rozvi and the•Kalanga^ ' and the Nanzva in the Wankie and Nyamandhlovu d is tric ts . According to tra d ition , some Kalanga under Hwange s p lit from the -‘SNyai Kingdom’ during the reign of the Rozvi mambo, Dendelende. They trekked from Domboshava just west of the Matopo H ills to the V ictoria F alls and defeated the Leya with whom they fused to form the Nanzva.'®'

(1) Kalanga is sometimes referred to as Kalaka. Sometimes what is referred to as Kalanga is in fact meant to be Karanga. (2) P.A. Clancey, 'Subspeciation in the S.A. population of the Erythropygia Leucophys’ Arnoldia i , 2, August 1964, p.7. (3) H. von Sicard, 'Rhodesian Sidelights on Bechuanaland History', NAPA. 31, 1954, 67. ( 4) H. von Sicard, ’ The origin o f some of the tribes of the Belingwe reserve", NADA, 25, 1948, 93* ( 5) G. Fortune A of the Federation s A preliminary Survey, (Lusaka, 1959), 8. ( 6) H.N. Heman, ’History of the Abenanzwa Tribe', Proceedings of the Rhodesia Scientific Association, XII, Dec. 1913, 85-89 2

As a language, however, the Kalanga cluster is characterised by certain linguistic features like (a) the prevailing use of /l/ where central Shona uses the ro lle d consonant /r/ cp. pfumo ledu and pfumo redu (our spear) | limwe gomo to rimwe gomog (h) the absence of implosives in Kalanga where central Shona has them cp. bhuda to buda (come out)| (c) the use of nasalised /u/ for the prefix of classes 1. and 3 - v iz /mu-/ as in ukadzi cp. mukadzi (woman) Usukwa Cp. musungwa (beer) ugwi cp. mugwi (w arrior) uti cp. muti ( tree)

I t should however be noted that there are some deep differences in the grammatical structure and grammar between the d ifferen t Kalanga dialects. These can be attributed mostly to the influences that have come over the different areas.

Thus Nanzwa has been increasingly influenced by Ita - Tonga in the Zambezi valley whilst Lilima in the Belingwe d is tric t has been much influenced by Karanga while in the Bulalima - Nangwe district Lilima is equally influenced by Tswana and lldetele. Be that as it pay, Kalanga has managed to withstand to a large extent the influences of the other languages and to date Kalanga is s t i l l very distinguished as a language.

The Political History of the Kalanga;

Very l i t t l e is known about the history of the Kalanga who are taken as ’ an ethnic backdrop to the a c tiv itie s of the R ozvi, Sotho — Tswana, Ndebele and Europeans. Very few traditions are available and few of these predate the late eighteenth century ...... S pecific Kalanga h istories are rare and most refer to nineteenth century developments* Dr. T.N. Huffman has however shown that as an archaelogical culture, the Kalanga date back to the earliest Shona settlements, nearly_a thousand years and that the Kalanga country ran down to the Valley and the sites of the major centres of Napungubwe and Mapela which were important Leopards Kopje culture settlements flourishing up to the sixteenth century. In short, Huffman's thesis is that the Kalanga are the direct descendants of the Leopards Kopje culture.(8b)

This thesis would seem to vary from the evidence provided by linguistics. As has already been shown, elsewhere, there are certain d istin ct s im ila ritie s between Kalanga and Western Shona. So strong are these s im ila ritie s , that Doke has concluded that the whole of Southern Rhodesia was once a 's o lid block of Shona-speaking peoples.* (° ) and that 'the intrusion of the Ndebele in the mid-nineteenth century meeting an e a rlie r intrusion of the middle Zanbezi Tonga from Northern Rhodesia cut o ff the main body of the Shona*. This would seem to .lend support to the hypothesis that the Kalanga are a 'Zulu-ised' Karanga.(9) This too simplified an explanation, however, does not hold because the Ndebele invasion was much too recent to explain the

( 7) D.N. -Beach 'An Outline of Shona History' unpublished work, 1974? Chap, 4? l8 . (8) C.1T. Doke, Report on the U nification of Shona D ialects, (London, 1931)? 27. (8>) T.N. Huffman, personal communication, 5 March 1974. ( 9) C. Bullock, The Mashona and the Matabele, ( Johannesburg, 1950), 27. differences that exist 'although it was due to that invasion #iat the Rozwi began to lose their distinctive western dialect". (l-0) True there is some Kalanga - Karanga link. Using the glottochronological method - a system akin to carbon dating (having the same defects) - based on the theory that the vocabulary of any language changes at a relatively constant rate, Professor Fortune came to the conclusion that Karanga and Kalanga separated about 460 years ago - that is, about 1500 A .D .(ll) Kalanga and Ndau separated about nine to ten centuries ago.

Though i t might seem that the archaeological evidence does not tie up with the linguistic evidence, this is in fact not so. The Karanga and Kalanga cultures indeed are separate. I t is possible the Leopards Kopje culture might have given rise to both the Kalanga and Eastern Shona groups, yet the line of development was d ifferen t. The Leopards Kopje culture gave rise d irectly to the Kalanga culture but possibly indirectly or very differently to the Eastern Shona groups. If the origin was the same, this would explain the close linguistic ties between Western Shona (Kalanga) and Eastern Shona (Zezuru, Ndau, Karanga, e tc .) The ’ eastern culture' climzaxed in the culture while the ’ western culture’ climaxed in the Leopards Kopje - Kalanga culture which flourished up to the sixteenth century especially that part of it based on Mapungubwe in the Limpopo va lley . The whole question can graphically be shown by the diagram below. From i t , i t can be explained how the Eastern Shona group and Western Shona group have linguistic but not cultural similarities. Characteristic of this Leopards Kopje culture was

KALANGA KARANGA, NDAU, j . ZEZURU, ETC. t

ti ! *

Direct link some form of lin k between between the the two although area of Kalanga contact have not yet been and Leopards proved. Kopje culture DEVELOPMENT INTO EASTERN SHONA GROUPS

LEOPARDS KOPJE CULTURE the predominance of cattle rearing as indicated by cattle remains and beast burials. This was because ’ their environment which they inherited from the early Iron Age Zhizo people was notably d rier than the rest of the plateau to the north-east♦ ’\13) However, they were not en tirely pastoral but grew some crops as shown by the carbonised seeds that have been excavated from Leopards Kopje sites. Their pottery was also very d ifferen t from that found among the Eastern Shona.(14)

(10) G, Fortune *A .Rozwi Text with translation and N otes', NAPA, 33, 1956, 8. (11) G. Fortune ’ The Principal Dialects of Shona and the development of the standard language' unpublished U.R. work. (12) Beach, 'An O u tline', 21. (13) D.R.Beach 'The Shona and Ndebele Power', U«R.Renders on Seminar Paper, 26, 27 Oct 1973, 3. (14) K.R. Robinson Kharni Ruins, (Camb. Univ. Press, 1959) , n s . 4

The Leopards'Kopje culture reached its climax about 1500 A.D. when it was apparently absorbed by the new immigrants. There is no archaelogical evidence as to why. the culture was absorbed but what is plain is that there is no evidence of force and destruction by a people who later gave rise to the state, (l5) and generally called the Rozvi.

Oral traditions as already pointed do not go far beyond the eighteenth century. In fact almost a ll of them date back to the Rozvi period. One tradition says that during .the movement of the Shona-sp>~ akers from the north from the area of the Great Lakes, the Rozvi were at the head of the Kalanga. As a result the. Rozvi moved further south than the Kalanga who followed and came to rest in the areas where they live today. The Rozvi, however, spent as far south as a place called !G iri, beyond the Umzimkulu riv er in Natal. The name of the leader whom the Kalanga arrived with in th eir new area was Chivundule. He is said to have taken the land from the Bushmen who were the only inhabitants of the area and b u ilt up a prosperous empire, ’ this was roughly in the time of the Arab tra d ers'. Meanwhile the great s tirrin g began amongst the Nguni and as a result the Rozvi were driven again -ack into Vendaland. Prom here, under a new leader, Madlazvegwendo, they trie d to negotiate with Chivundule and sought to liv e in the Kalanga country north of the Limpopo. Chivundule was not included to this and held the Rozvi away. Chilisamhulu then succeeded the Rozvi ch ief Madlazvegwendo and .on the. advice of his counsellors offered one of his daughters to Chivandule as a w ife. A fter the marriage she speedily succeeded in stealing Chivandule*s magic horns and handed them over to Chilisamhulu who adopted the name Ni-chasvike. Without the magic horns, Chivandule was helpless and so was driven out and the Kalanga were subdued. I t was because of the underhand methods thus employed that the Kalanga called the Rozvi, the H y a i.(l6) i t was during Nichasvike*s time that the fir s t ITguni invasions in the Kalanga empire took place but shortly before the Swazi invasion, Hichasvike had disowned one of his sons, Zange, on account of an immoral deed he had committed with his s ister. He and his followers removed to the present day Wankie and mixed with the Leya thus givin g rise to the Hanzva.(l7) The Swazi invasion was followed by the Ndebele invasion and so the Kalanga f e l l under the Hdebele im til the coming of the whites into the area.

The foregoing tradition as given by Masola Kumile is about the only one going back at least to the sixteenth or even earlier century. However, i t tends tc. compress centuries of history v/ithin a short space of time. Thus ’ the time of the Arab traders' is made contemporary with the 'great stirrin g among the Hguni' whereas in fact- the former was between the fifteen th and mid-seventeenth centuries5 the latter was in the later half of the eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries.

AccoidLng to this tradition , thetNanzva broke away just before the break-up of the Rozvi kingdom and i i reinforces the fact that the Hanzva are in a sense an offshoot of the Kalanga who had been led from the country of the Kalanga by a member of the ruling Rozvi dynasty.

( 15) T.N.Huffman 'The Leopards Kopje Tradition’ , unpublished Ph.L. thesis, University of Illinois, 1973? 173. (16) P.J. Wentzel, ’Lie Fonologie en Ivlorfologie .van Westerlike Shona’ , M. L it. Thesis (Stellenbosch) undated p, 263 (translated by P.R. War hurst). (17) Ib id . , p. 264 . The other tradition, that of Mosojani dynasty, recalls how it came and dwelt 'a t the junction of the Shashe and Ramakwebane rivers' after leaving Thavantshu. It claims originally to have been part .of the Rolong. The Mosojani people placed themselves under . Himakwali, who was a 'B yai'. 'We became Vahumbe' ( l 8) I t was then that they were scattered by the Mebole.

Another sim ilar tradition traces the origin of fiv e dynasties from a place called Teti (19)? the fiv e groups being under Hukwi, Chuvavu, ddedzi, Ntandavadza and Nnisakhwe.

Yet another tradition is that collected by Sebina Which points out that the original sect of the ICalanga are the fJyai 'whose chief was Munumutapa' and la ter the name Munumutapa was substituted fo r mambo. The capital of the mambo was Domboshaba (Red H i l l ) . (20) Sebina's collected tradition on the Kalanga, however, is essentially an account of the Changamire state and a stylised explanation of its f a l l , ( 21)

The traditions of the neighbouring Tswana tribes however,do point to the long established position of the Kalanga ’in the west. The traditions of the Hurutshe point out that before 1700 they already knew.the Kalanga, the la tte r who in fact corrupted the name Hurutshe to Khurutshe, When the Hurutshe s p lit from the Ngwatb under Lesela, they trekked northwards from Otse. Lesela came up to Selepa in the Tati1 district whose inhabitants were Kalanga. Lesela occupied the Tati d is tric t and ruled the Kalanga.( 22) Thus long before the Hurutshe had assumed the present status and characteristics the Kalanga though 'neither numerous nor powerful' were already long established.( 23)

Kalanga - Rozvi relationshipss

As already pointed out elsewhere, the Kalanga gave way to the rulers of the Kharai state, and i t is taken fo r granted that the new rulers were the Rozvi, 'We the Abalozwi (sic) were the ruling caste in this country before the Matabele came. The Abenyubi and Amakalanga were inhabiting the hills before we came'. ( 24) How did the Rozvi view their subjects and how did the latter regard the former? From the point of the language it seems in fact that Kalanga rather than Rozvi was the lingua franca of the area. In 1954 i t was observed that the Rozvi of Bikita under Chief Jiri cbuld s till speak a dialect very akin to Kalanga and very d ifferen t from the surrounding Duma.( 25) Linguistically i t can be assumed that i t was the conquest of the conquerors by the conquered.

... . ______. . ( 18) D. Kou su 'Mevo yopaluka kwe Ludzi gwaka Mosojani,' Mevo Yengombe Luvizho' ed. G. Fortune (Cape Town, 1949) 43. ( 19) K. Moloi, 'Kulonda Ludzi gweva T e t i, ’ Mevo Yengombe Luvizho, 51* (20) P.M. Sebina 'Makalaka', African Studies, v i , 2, 19479 82-94 (21) Beach 'An Outline', l 8‘ (22) I. Schapera,'Early History of the Khurutshe', Botswana Notes and Records, 2, 1970, 2. * (23) Ibid, 2. (24) Jackson, H.C. Matopo to C.H.C. Byo. May 1906* Oral from Nyele N.A.R. A3/18/28 ( 25) Fortune 'Rozvi te x t', 67 6

Religion wise, i t is s t i l l debatable whether in fact i t was the Rozvi who brought the Mv/ari cult to the Kalanga or vice versa. The Mwari re lig io n of the Kalanga is said to-, be somewhat d ifferen t in kind to that of the rest of the other Shona groups.(26) The Mangwe shrine in fact did regard itself as the only guardian of the true relision.

P o lit ic a lly , the. Rozvi indeed were the masters but i t is to be noted tfiat ’VuRozwi was not a unitary • state but a confederacy of para- mountries bound by a common religiou s authority . . . . . at the height of his powers the mambo was despotic but divinely sanctioned and closeted monarch backed by a small and opulent aristocracy1. I t could not, therefore, over stretch its arm and in those circumstances the Kalanga were not overburdened by an arbitrary administration. In a way, i t was a government exercised to some extent with the mutual consent of the governed. When Mambo Lembeyu came, the Kalanga v^ere under Ndumba 'Mambo occupied the country without a fig h t. The mambo and Ndumba worked out a modus vivendi and 'the te rrito ry was divided between him (mambo) and N dumb a' the boundary being the Bembasi riv e r. The former was recognised as a paramount ch ief residing at DhloDhlo while Nudmba ruled in the area to the west basek near Bulawayo. In fa ct, so friendly were the relations that 'Ndurnba married one of the mambo's daughters and on mambo's death i t was he who in stalled the heir Dombo lakona tshingwangwo’ (28). Thus although the Kalanga had the overall reign of the membo to look to , they had a very large autonomous position under their own chiefs and headmen. 'At the arrival of Umzilikazi in this country, the Amakalanga of what is now Bulalima v;ere roughly divided into three headmen of petty chiefs independent of each other but subject to the conquering memba (s ic ) or Chief of the Abalosi ( s i c ) ' (29).

With respect to trade the membo had absolute control over the Kalanga. Tribute was paid in gold, copper, iron goods, ivory and food- stu ffs to the mambo and through the same network cloth and beads filte r e d . The part played by independent traders was of minor importance. 'Tribute network was the basis of exchange. Tribute co llection was centrally not h iera rh ib illy organised.’ (30) So-e forms of tribute were paid in person at the court thus for example Kalanga women especially the Humbe or Lilima in Plumtree d is tr ic t went to Khami to make pottery for the Rozvi mambo.(3l)lt.should be noted that although Rozvi confederacy was not entirely dependent on military power to maintain itself, it was by no means lacking in military strength to ensure constant tribute from its subjects. It may be that there was some form of age-regiment. It has to be noted that the Rozvi empire in its western grasslands was not so different' from the- succeeding Ndebele state. In fact, in case Rozvi armies were formidable raiders who anticipated many Ndebele tactics. 'In 175& Caetano Xavier mentioned- a division of the army into two squadrons, one to figh t and one to chase the fu g itiv e s .' (32) Sebina (a Kalanga) adds that ope method of fig h tin g was to send *2

(26) Q.N. Parsons 'On the Origins of the Bamangwato’ , Botswana Notes and Record! 3 5? 1973? 86. (27) Ibid. . . (28) Driver, N.C. Gwelo to C.N.C. Byb, 16 Peb 1906' N.A.R. A3/18/28 ( 29) G.C. Reed to Col. Sir R. Martin, Martin's Report ■ C.8547/l/Encl. 2 July 1897. (30) N. Sutherland-Harris ’ Trade and the Rozwi Mambo’ in Pre-Colonial African Trade, eds. R. Gray and D. Birmingham (London, 1970), 246. ( 31) K.R. Robinson, Khami Ruins, Comb. Univ. Press, 1959? 118 (32) N. Sutherland-Harris 'Trade and Rozwi Mambo’ , 244 7

Hhabaza with men of war givin g them a hoe as a token that they were entitled 'to clear the land of the enemy and cultivate.it ’ . (33) Although tribute.was expected from the Kalanga, it is probable that the mambo gave as much as he received as shown by the fa ct that ’ beads reached all corners of the area.' (34)

Kal anga - Mebelo relations?

Rozvi rule was shaken by the Swazi invasion at the beginning of the nineteenth century and finally swept away by the Bdebele* Long before the actual invasions, the Kalanga had been affected by the ripples of the mfecane. When the JMebele entered Botswana, they forced the Ngwato and other Tswana groups further north, thus displacing some Kalanga who were forced to move further to the east until they settled in Belingwe reserve. (35) What was the Kalanga reaction to this intrusion? It has been said by more than one authority that ’ M zilikazi scattered the Amakalanga and subdued them ea sily and then incorporated them into the Hdebele structure as Amahole' ( 36) and thus the Kalanga ’ were the slaves of the Amandej^ele'. (37) This is but an oversim plification of an otherwise complex problem and-tonds to generalise overall Kalanga reaction. In' point of fact the Kalanga reaction varied from one area to another. To the east of the river Gwaai lay the Kalanga chieftaincy of Tategulu which easily submitted to the Ndebele and became absorbed into the Inyoka regiment while the people under Chief Ngoya between the Khami and.Gwaai were incorporated into the Amagogo regiment under the Sitholes. On the other hand Malaba who had secured an increased degree of independence from the mambo, resisted the Hdobele but reluctantly submitted la ter and moved further west towards the Tegwani r iv e r .( 38) Having been subdued, the Kalanga offered their services and paid tribute in the same way as they had done to the Rozvi. Mzilikazi allowed them to join up with him and to hand over a number of karosses, hoes .and young men. These g ifts were a token that emnity had ceased.(39) Kalanga men were reputed to be the best herdsmen and were taken along to herd in other areas. Thus the ca ttle of the Zwangendaba regiment at Bembesi riv e r were herded by the Lilim a.(40)

The Kalanga-Hdebele relations were at best very akin to Kalanga- Rozvi relation s. The picture of Hdebele extermination of the Kalanga ’ the whole Kalangaland was "a country to led " as nowhere can we see a human habitation or the print of a human foot' (4l) is too exaggerated.

(33) Sutherland-Harris, 244 (34) Sutherland-Harris, 247 (35) H. von Sicard ’The origin of some of the tribes of Belingwe’ , 93 ( 36) T.N. Thomas, Eleven Years in Central Africa, Books of Rhodesia, Byo, 1970,164. (37) W.E.Thomas H.C. Bulalima-Mangwe to C.H.C. Byo, 5 March 1906, N.A.R. NB 3/1/6 ( 38) J. Cobbing ‘ The Ndebele and their Neighbours*s proposed Ph»D. Thesis, 4. (39) O.A. Taylor ’The Matabele Head Ring (isidhlo dhlo) and some fragments of H istory’ , BALA, 3? 1925? 41. , . ( 40) D.G. Lewis ’ The Battle of Zwangendaba’ , NAPA, 33? 1956? 51• (41) ed. J.P.R. Wallis,, Matabele Journals of Robert Moffat. 1 ,'(London, 1945), 207. 8

They certainly paid trubute for example ostrich feathers needed to make Ndebele headdresses as witnessed by Chapman in 1854 when he met some Kalanga who 1begged me to shoot an ostrich as they were collectin g black feathers to adorn the heads of Matabele warriors•1 (42) They also offered their services at the court and supplied grain which would not be forthcoming i f the Kalanga were unduly molested,, Also being good iron workers the Kalanga men were useful in making the Ndebele spears, hoes and knives.(43) In short, economically they were indis­ pensable to the Ndebele.

More important s t i l l was the strategic position the Kalanga held between the two powerful states - the Ndebele in the east and Khama's in the west. Although the Kalanga role was delicate in that the Kalanga had to serve two masters without seemly doing so as ‘i t was in their interest to keep up friendly intercourse with their old masters the Bamangwato1(44) at the same time showing loyalty to the Ndebele, the Ndebele had equally to strive to gain the loyalty of the Kalanga. Indeed the Kalanga could withdraw their services from the Ndebele i f things became intolerable, for example in the i850s a Chief called Sisiwane left the Tati area because of Ndebele extortions. Many of these Kalanga went over to Sekhome and la te r to Khama*(45) 'The Kalanga under Menwe and Mswazi along -the lower reaches of the Tegwani Maitengwe and Nata Rivers’ , were particularly, ‘equivocal in their allegiance endeavouring to live on good terms with both Ndebele and Ngwal.o’ . ( 46)

The Ndebele answer to this Was to try and woo the Kalanga by interfering with them as little as possible. Thus, although some of the Kalahga to the east of the Tegwani were incorporated d irectly into Ndebele regiments, as individuals, most of the v illa g e s were le f t unmolested, put under the 'overlordship of an Ndebele ch ief and given an Ndebele name. The main ones were Usaba, Lulwane, Zinyama and Mpande. In the case of Lulwane villages a Kalanga chief, Mahlatini Vundhla in fact eventually replaced an Ndebele. Similarly by the e a rly .1890s Zinyama was led by a Kalanga ch ief Nkolomana.(47) In return, the Kalanga worked as watchdogs for the Ndebele. Lying at the gateway to the in terio r the Kalanga had a special mission to watch a ll the movements of the intruders as Sir Sidney Shippard noticed in 1888 when he was stopped by the Kalanga under Sindisa until he had received permission from Lobengula to proceed to Bulawayo.(4 8 .)

Monyama's kraal was normally the checkpoint where every traveller was screened through before, being .allowed to proceed to the court. (49) Failure to show absolute loyalty to the Ndebele was always quickly reprimanded as when Mahuka and Kirekilwe were massacred in 1863 on suspicion of treachery. ( 50)

(42) ed. B.C. Tablor, Travels in the Interior of S.A, 1849-63 Part 1 of James Chapman (A.A• Balkena/Cape Town, 1971)5 143 ' (43) J.O’ N e ill, ’ Habits and Customs of Natives of Mangwe’ , Zambezi Mission Record, iv , 47? Jan 1910, 36. ( 44) J. Mackenzie Ten Years North of the Orange R iv e r, (Edinburgh, 1871) ( 45) J. Cobbing, proposed Ph.D. Thesis, 23. ( 46) Ib id , 24 (47) Ib id , 19-20 ‘ ( 48) Dep. Comm. S. Shippard to H.C. Cape Town, C 5918/32/End.. 12 Oct, 1888. (49) Ed. J.P.R. Wallis, ‘Matabele Mission of J.S. and E. Moffat,1 2, (London, 1945) 207. ( 50) JoM, Mckenzie to Rev. Tidman. H. MSS LO 6/1/3, Letter No. 32, 27 A p ril, 1863. Lastly the Ndebele needed to incorporate as many foreigners as possible in order to boost up their strength. Many young men''* were incorporated into the amabutho. 'It is estimated that only about forty per cent of the current Ndebele - speaking people are descended from Nguni or Sotho immigrants. I t w ill be shown that the Ndebele state was keen to acquire more people and to absorb them into its culture and that the Shona most affected by this especially before c. 18,55 were the Kalanga and R o z v i.(5l )

I t is safe to conclude, therefore, that the Kalanga-N&ebele relations were very cordial even though the Kalanga did not lose sight of the fact that the Ndebele were their masters. The Ndebele masters in a way also realised their obligations to the Kalanga and so could not over exercise th eir prowess.

Ka1anga-Tswana re la tio n s?

With the Tswana trib es, some Kalanga claimed d efin ite lin ks. Some Kalanga claim they have been incorporated by the Ngwato ( 52) and that they were formerly part of the Nyai kingdom, th eir governor being Mengwe whose v illa g e was at Maitengwe. (53) This Tswana branch is often called the Mangwe branch. This process of Tswanalisation was increased during the depredations of the Ndebele during 184O-8O. Nor did the process end in the nineteenth century but continued into the present century. In 1906 Chiefs Sinebe, Madandune and Umswazi chose to join Khama a fter the border delimiations separating Rhodesia from the Bechuanaland Protectorate. (54) The process of Kalanga incorporation into Tswana trib es did not only occur in the Bechuanaland Protectorate but even in Rhodesia. Thus when Mailikazi entered the Protectorate, the Birwa under Makure moved across the Shashi riv er and moved into Rhodesia where they found the Kalanga. These Kalanga were incorporated and although the majority are s t i l l Kalanga they ca ll themselves Birwa. The coming of the Birwa is said to have received no opposition at all and relations were most cordial. ( 55)

f \ In other instances, the Tswana were incorporated into the Kalanga system. About 1790-1800, some Kaa broke away a fter the defeat by the Ngwato. The breakaway group led by Motswaing migrated north and was settled at the Rozvi centre of Bomboshava where they were incorporated by the Kalanga. ( 58).

There are also some Tswana who claim that o rigin a lly they were Rolon ■ from Ntswani-Tsatsi. They subjected themselves to'th e Kalanga ch ief and under the Kalanga versii n of their name Chizwina they are looked upon as Kalanga. (57)

The intermingling between the Kalanga and the Tswana was fa c ilita te d by the somewhat lukewarm relationship between the Protectorate authorities and the British Company officials. The Kalanga encouraged by Khama took advantage of this to escape hut taxation. ( 58) An appeal by the B.S.A. Company to the Protectorate officials to stem this anomaly was never given due attention ( 59) and so the process was never stemmed for a long time.

( 51) Beach 'The Shona and Ndebele' Power', 5» (52) Sebina 'Makalaka', 82 (53) I . Schapera ' The Ethnic Composition of Tswana Tribes' (London, 1952) 79 (54) 'Report re’ natives west of Bulalima-Mangwe' N.A.R. NB 6/5/4 1906 (55) Cobbing' 13 ( 56) Schapera The Ethnic Composition of Tswana Tribes, 68 (57) N.J. van Y/armelo A Preliminary Survey of Bantu Tribes' of South A frica (P retoria , 1935) 103 ( 58) R raditladi to C.N.C., Byo., NoA.R. NB 1/1/17 , 3 Jan 1902 ( 59) H.J. Taylor C.N.C. Byo. to Secretary, Administrator's O ffice, Sby., N.A.R. NB 3/1/24, 11 Feb. 1911. 10

Sim ilarly some Tswana le f t th eir country to escape personal and dynastic differences. Rraditladi and Mphoeng two brothers of Khama sought refuge in the Kalanga country about 1898. Emigrants to Rhodesia were in a way encouraged by the B.S.A. Company which desperately needed their labour. In many cases those fleeing their territory took with them stolen cattle_ and this resulted in strained relations between the opposing sides, ( 60) and consequent reprisal raids.

The Kalanga, it seems, were unable to re sist the advance o f Tswana groups even from the beginning of the eighteenth century. As stated elsewhere the Kalanga in the Tati d is tr ic t were unable to stand the advance of the Hurutse led by Lesela (6 l). The Kalanga although outnumbering- the Hurutse were kept in sub ject ion.' because the Hurutse controlled the watering places which were strategically crucial. (62) The Hurutse were also a more coherent body whereas the Kalanga were fragmented and lacked any true leader. In fact rival Kalanga petty chiefs were w illin g to serve under a Hurutse ch ief than have one of their own men. In return the Hurutse ch ief, Rauwe, p a rtic u la r a fter 1893, exercised l i t t l e authority over them. 'The Kalanga accepted Rauwe ..... because it was clear that he exercised little authority over them* ( 63). The foregoing would sum up Kalanga-Tswana relations, that is, they were prepared to serve under them so long as the terms of service were tolerab le. This was almost the conditions under which they served the Ndebele.

Kalanga ro le in the Matabele Jars

Very little or no evidence has been written about the role played by the Kalanga. I t appears the role they played has been minimal apart from their border duties as spies, 'Yesterday quantity of Makalakas came to c^mp deserting kraal and report a large number of the Matabele on boundary? ( 64) and 'all our informalin respecting, movements of impi-s has hitherto been derived from the Makalake and other n atives' ( 65) is all evidence that they were acting as spies fo r the B.S.A. Company forces and Bechuanaland Border P olice. However, one cannot rule out the likely possibility that they were equally acting as spies for the Ndebele. In other words their role was again a duplication of the one they were accustomed to - buffer zone between the Tswana and the Ndebele. There is certainly very l i t t l e evidence that 'the natural apprehensions as well as desire' of the Kalanga was 'to see the Matabele destroyed by the white man' (66). To fully understand their reaction to the Anglo-Ndebele war one still' has to know fu lly the Kalanga reaction to the coming of the white men - especially the colonists. At best the Kalanga were fence s itte rs . An old man, Maiadze Dube born c. 1856-60 asked about his role in the fighting said he played no significant part. ( 67)

(60) Rraditladi to W.E. Thomas N/c ' Bulalima-Mangwe, N.A.R. NB l/ l/ l7 17 May 1904 (61) Schapera 'Early History of the Khurutshe', 2 (62) R.P. Uerbner 'Land and Chiefship in the Tati Concession in * - Botswana Notes and Records,. 2, 1970, 7 ( 63) W erbner'Land and Chief ship.',. 9» ( 64) Dr. Jameson, V ictoria to Sir. Loch, Cape Town, C,7196/27/l . (telegram) 11 Sept, 1893. ( 65) Sir H. Loch, C.Town to Dr. Jameson, V ictoria , C.7196/41/36 26Sept. 1893...... ' - (66) Sir H. Loch, High Commission, C. Town to Dr. Jameson C.7156/41/36 ( 67) Bishop A. Climenhaga 'Maiadze Dube’ , NAPA 35? 1958, 60 11

Part of this explanation for this attitude has been given as the fa ct that Lobengula in calling out his irapis against the European was doing so in direct contravention of Mlimo's institution and the abadala among the Kalanga shook their heads and prophesied that no good would, come out of this defiance because to Mlimo the White man was also his son. ( 68) At a ll events the role of the Kalanga in the war is s t ill very unclear. But one should not lose sight of the fact that many Kalanga were already serving in the amabutho.

The Kalanga role in the 1896 11 '.sings:

The N a tive.Commissioner of Buialima-Mangwo pointed out to Sir Richard Martin that the Kalanga in his d is tr ic t did not join the insurrection and that on the contrary many of them rendered good services.(-69) Equally the Chief Native Commissioner in refuting the charge that forced labour was the main cause of the Ndebele rebellion said, 'The Makalanga who supplied the larger share of the labour to the public works and mines did not r is e .' ( 70) How true are these contentions? Indeed there were Kalanga who did not take partfn the risin gs, notably those under Induna Gambo, who in fact sent out his impis to fig h t 'reb els' (7 l). Mazwe, a Kalanga chief distinguished himself as a 'rebel5 fighter and Ngazi who rescued two white men, Messrs. Brown and Duplooy and their families. (72) 'Generally the Kalanga in the extreme west were also lo y a l, ’ notably Mnigau who from the very beginning pledged loyalty to the government and Kupumvula who resisted the ‘ reb els' ( 73)

However, i t is important to note that when the Proclamati n declaring those most wanted for trial as fermenters or followers of the reb ellion was published, almost half of those wanted were Kalanga indunas. (74) In an e ffo r t to prove that the Ndebele because of their trad ition al warlike nature had started and supported the reb ellion , the civil authorities hod deliberately played down the numbers of Kalanga that took part in the reb ellion . Sindisa of the Mpande, Ndalima the induna of Ezimnyame were among the foremost of the 'r e b e ls '. (75) In fa c t, Ndalima joined forces with Langabi who in a sense was second only to Mpotshwane as the leader of the 'reb els' in the area west of Bulawayo. With the capture of Sindisa, i t was believed that military authorities had 'nipped the distrbance in the hed' and that the rest ofthe Kalanga would not join in the reb ellio n , ( 76) Yet this was not to be. It was not until the close of the rebellion that many Kalanga gave in.

( 68) B. Richards 'The Mlimo - B e lie f and Practice of the Kalanga' NAPA, 19, 1942, 54. ( 69) B.W. Armstrong N.C. Bulalima - Mangwe to Sir Martin, Martin Report C. 8547/ lA 9 26. .. . . '( 70) H.J. Taylor, C.N.C. Byo, to R. Martin, Martin Report C.8547/3/5? Annex '£ ', 13 May 1897 ' ' (71) Luke Green, Ft. Solusi, to N.C. Cooke, Byo. NAR BA2/9/2, 29 Sept. I 896. ( 72) W.E. Thomas, Acting C.N.C. to Act. Administrator, Byo. NAR AlO/l/l 7 A pril 1896. (73) Rev. G.C. Reed to Act. Admin. Byo. NAR AlO/l/l, 4 'A p ril1 1896. (74) 'Proclamation by Lieut-General W.H. Goodenough, No. 12 NAR BA2/9/2 Sept. 1896. (75) Armstrong, N.C. Bnlalima-Mangwe to Act. Administrator, Byo. NAR AlO/4/2 7th - 9th A pril 1896 ( 76) Armstrong to Act. Administrator, Duncan, Byo. 12 A pril 1896. 12

This i t was not until September 1896 that Mahlatini of Lulwane and Tategulu o f the Nyokeni and Bukwele, Mayeza and Mate surrendered. (77) In fact Mayeza at the very outset of the rebellion had murdered a white man trading at his kraal......

An idea of the size of the rebels in the Kalanga country alone is reflected by the number of the rebels who surrendered towards the end. By mid-October, one thousand six hundred men and one thousand nine hundred women had surrendered. ( 78) I t should be borne in mind that large numbers of the reputed friendlies were disloyal and living in touch with rebels and supplying them with "food, information and ammunition.( 79) Taken as a whole in Bulalima-Mangwe and Matopos d is tric ts there were twenty one Kalanga rebel indunas out of a tota l of t h ir t y .(80) 1 Thus there was a defin ite d ivision between lo y a lists* and 'reb els' with the la tte r outnumbering the former. The question is what issues divided the two groups?

The reasons why some Kalanga .rebelled can generally be assumed to be those given fo r the Ndebele rebellion^ ( 8l) forced labour § cattle seizures by the B.S.A. Company au thorities, for example, out of an- estimated twenty-one thousand cattle in Bulalima alone, ten thousand ■ were impounded by the Government and given to white farmers. (82) Other reasons were the outbreak of rinderpest, locust pest and general company maladministration.

What is not easily understood is why others did not take part. One reason that has been put forward is that though there were A number of cult centres not all agreed to support the rebellion. Those at Matopos and In yati supported the risin g but the Mangwe shrine did not participate. On the contrary it used its influence to keep the out of i t and even warned some of the s ettler and missionaries of the coming danger.( 83) In view of this fact it was in fact a 'te r rib le mistake' for Mr. Armstrong the Native Commissioner at Tegwani to k ill Jobane the Mlirno priest. ( 84) Even granted that Jobane had from the outset of the rebellion kept his district quiet the reason why cannot wholly explain why others took part and others did not. One should look at the more local factors lik e the personal relationships between the warring and peaceful factions, prior to the reb ellio n . Other factors are - the relations between the whites in the 'lo y a lis t* areas and the Kalanga. A casein point is the loyal trend of the Kalanga near Solusi. Just before the reb ellio n the head chief Umlevu came to Elder Tripp and told him that the Ndebele were plotting to rebel, Tripp held a meeting with them 'to show the Makalangas that their lo t was better and-happier . . . . under British South A frica Company that it ever had been and pleaded with them to refra in from re v o ltin g .' ( 85)

( 77) B.Cooke N.C. Byo to Chief S ta ff O fficer Byo. NAN BA 2/9/2, 15 Sept, 1896 (.78) J.G.Gordon, Asst, N.C. D istrict 1 Ft. Soluse to C.N.C. 'Byo NAN LO5/6/6 1 st Nov. 1896 (79) S ta ff Diary, Nyamandhlovu, NAR BA 6/l/39 28 July 1896. ( 80) H.J.Taylor on 'Present position of native affairs in Matabeleiand' NAR LO5/6/1 , 1st May 1896.- ( 81) See C. 8547* Martin Report (82) H.J.Taylor C.N.C. Byo to Secretary, Sby NAR 'Confidential' NB3/l/22, 10 Jan 1911 ( 83) H.L. Daneel, The God of the Matopo H ills (Moncton & Co. 1970) 31 ( 84) H.J.Taylor on 'Shooting o f Jobane( Dshobane)* NAR NB l/ l/ 7 , 10 ( 85) W.H. Anderson On the t r a il of Livingstone (C a lifo rn ia , 1919) 90 Consequently the natives on the mission and in the surrounding areas did not take part in the rising. , Even while in refuge at Bulawayo,, Umlevu kept the property of the missionaries safely and even made trips to Bulawayo to bring in supplies of grain and vegetables to the missionaries.

On the other hand, the people near Empandeni mission led by Tshitshi took part in the rebellion. Had this anything’ to do with the different mission policies? Could one possibly look at the Catholic policy that

In short, the loca l factors seem to be in the clue to the explanation of different responses made by the Kalanga to the rebellion. This - for example explains to a large extent why the Ndebele Nduna Gambo who had a large Kalanga following did not take part in the rebellion after he had been released from detention in Bulawayo. It is said that the Acting Chief Native Commissioner, W.E* Thomas, who normally was the Native Commissioner for Bulalima-Mangwe was a very good long’ time frien d of Gambo ( 89) and'that he was one of the most respected men among the Kalanga. There is evidence that he genuinely fought unjust legislation mooted to Africans ( 90) and finally had to fa ll out with the administration in 1921 because of th is. So it s possible those in personal touch with him would have fe lt le s s ^inclined to join the reb ellion .

The post-Rebellion period s l897-1900s

The period following the rebellion of 1896 was one of uncertainty and tension,, There nearly followed what could be termed the Kalanga or ’ fr ie n d lie s ’ rebellion between 1897 and 1900.

The principal reasons that came to the surface are'that - following the 1896 rebellion there followed a period of famine. In an effort to appease the ex-’rebels’ possibly in an attempt to avert another rising the Government completely forgot the ’friendlies’ as most of the fam ine-relief e ffo rts were directed at the ’ re b e l’ factions. As a result, the ’friendlies’ especially those under Gambo ’were really on the point of re b e llio n ’ . He, Gambo, even took up arms and refused me surrender those already in his., position. It was Thomas who finally persuaded him to lay down the arms and promised to _*.prove the situation. ( 91)

( 86) ’Notes from Different Stations’ - Empandeni, Zambesi Mission Record, 2, 15 Jan 1902, 10 ( 87) NoM. Bhebe ’Missionary A ctivity among the Ndebele and Kalanga.’ ed. A.J.Dachs, Christianity South of the Zambesi. 44 (88) J. Stanlake ’Mission work in Matabeleland’ , Work .and Workers in the Field, v iii, 91> Nov, 1899* ( 89) D« Hartridge ’Interview with Mrs. J.M. Payne’ Avondale, Sby. N.A.Ro 0ral/?A2, 16 March 1970, 6, ( 90) C. Tample.., ’A ride through. Matabeleland’ Work and Workers, iv , 65, Sept. 1897. ( 91) D. Hartridge ’ Interview with Mrs. J.M. Payne’ 7* 14

Also during the rebellion a great deal of animosity had been generated between the ’ frie n d lie s ' and the 'r e b e ls '. Towards the close of the insurrection both factions refused to be disarmed u ntil the differing factions were convinced it was a simultaneious dis­ armament . ( 92) In the Bulalima-Mangwe i t was only a fter an indaba with the 'friendlies' that part of the five hundred guns held by this faction were reluctantly handed over. (93) The 'friendly' faction was disatisfied by the terms of surrender given to the 'rebels'. They were ' disappointed because not only were no rebels executed, but leading rebel indunas were made Government indunas and given s a la rie s .' (94) The 'fr ie n d lie s ' had expected rewards fo r their collaboration with the Government. They thus expressed openly that rebellion was more paying.

The other reason for the discontent was the imposition in certain cases of Ndebele ndunas over the Kalnnga. The imposition of Mpini on Mswazi's, Menu's and Madandune's people (9 5 (a )) and of Faku.and Nyameni over Kalanga headmen was not w ell received. (95 (b )) The Kalanga headmen refused to report to their Native Commissioners through the Government-appointed indunas and rather than do so, they preferred to leave the B.S.A, Company territo ry and liv e under Khama (95)

The Anglo-Boer war nearly provided the opportunity for a rebellion (cp. situation created by Jameson Raid in 1965) but the B.S.A.Company acted promptly and declared martial law in the d is tric ts of Bulalima- Mangwe, Malema, Matobo-Mawabeni, Tuli and Belingwe. ( 96) At the same time indabas were held in these areas to t e ll the indunas that the • Imperial Government was more superior than the Boer republics. I t was only at the beginning of 1900 that there were signs of returning stability to the Kalanga country.

KALANGA ECONOMY s /

The Kalanga, if it is accepted that they have their roots in the Leopards Kopje culture, have a long tradition of 'heavy industry' going . back to c. ninth-tenth century. The Leopards Kopje people are noted for their iron industry as shown by the many hoes, arrow heads, iron rin gs, etc, found in many of the Leopards Kopje sites. (97) Thus, it can be said 'Makalanga have a ll been either actively engaged in or closely connected with the iron industry' and operated th eir own furnaces.( 98) They obtained the iron ore from the Myamandhlcvu area especially in the confluence between the Gwaai riv e r and Umguza and in the Kezi area or beyond Plumtree. (99) Travellers on their way to the interior some­ times engaged Kalanga blacksmiths to make good spears and nails.(lO O )

(92) F. Mullins, Ass. N.C. Malema 'March 1898 Report', Malema District NAR, NB 6/4/2 ( 93) W.E. Thomas 'Annual Report 1899' Bulalima-Mangwe D is tric t, NAR NB 8/l/2 ( 94) F. Mullins, 'August 1897 Report' Malema, NAR, NB 6/4/1 ( 95(a )) ,'Report re natives west of Bulalima-Mangwe', NAR NB 6/5/4 , 4* (95(b)) 'Boundaries of Districts Schedule B', Malema, NAR LO 5/6/8, Janl897 (95) ^ , , (96 ) 'Postmaster General's Report from 20 Nov to 26 Nov’ , NAR LO 5/7/1, November 1899 ( 97) Robinson, Khami Ruins» 7 ( 98) J.S. Halton 'Notes on Makalanga Iron Smelting ' NAPA, IX,4,19^7, 39 (99) O'Neil 'Habits and Customs' ZNR, IV, 50 Oct. 1910, 147* (lOC) 'Tabler, Travels in the Interior, Part II, 74c 15

The Kaianga were equally famous fo r their mining industry. There is evidence that they mined copper near the present Embakwe mission. Old copper smelting furnaces have been found h ere.(lO l) They also mined gold near Tati. The gold workings extend for a considerable distance underground and though in places old tunnels and passages appear to have been very low and contracted, some channels were excavated to a very considerable size. All this, it has been proved, was the work of the Kaianga ( 102) although some of the workings might have reached th eir peak during the peak of the Leopards Kopje industry and declined thereafter.

The large-scale- iron-industry could not have catered for the local demand alone and therefore some of the products were traded. In 1835, Andrew Smith noted that the Kwena of Bechuanaland ’ got their metal for ornaments etc. from'a tribe called Bakalaka or Makalaka*and carried spears and assegais- made of ’ iron much longer and stronger than the Matabeli (sic)’ ( 103) . From the west the Kaianga received salt and dogs. ( 104)

However, the Rozvi raambo controllin g most of the trade- as he did must have taken the bulk of iron, gold and coppery in fact i t has been argued that Tati mining reached it s peak in the tw elfth century but under the Rozvi it was revived as the Rozvi introduced technological innovation in the form of tunnels and bell-bottomed chambers. ( 105)

Their iron trade increased with the coming of the Ndebele since 'The Ndebele were among the highest consumers of iron ’ (106) and one Ndebele informant is said to have confessed 'he had never seen iron being smelted in the country until she went to the Kaianga area of Tegwani in 1893! ( 107). The Rev. Cullen Reed observed that whereas most of the royal needs could be obtained from Ndebele blacksmiths the needs of the ordinary people were met through trade with the Kaianga,(108)

For the women the most important industry was pottery making. This again had a long tra d ition going ba.ck to the Leopards Kopje people. Their pottery was unique to the area - spreading over South-western Matabeleland, Eastern Botswana and Northern Transvaal but 'it did not occur in any quantity at that period in Mashonaland' ( 109). Typical of this pottery was the 'highly burnished' character and 'textured decoration'. There were several designs and pottery objects such as jars, spheroid bowls and open bowls a ll with a 'high burnish', w ell- finished and well-fired and very strong. (llO) Early travellers noticed a prevalence of this kind of pottery, (ill)

(101) ed, E.C. Tabler To the V ictoria F a lls, the diary of Major Henry Stabb, ( Cape Town, 1967), 62 (102) Ibid, p. 259, footnote 123 (103) ed, P.R. Kirby Diary of Andrew Smith, VI (Cape Town, 1940), 214 ( 104) Sutherl&nd-HarfTsT 'Trade ana the Rozvi Mambo', 253 ( 105) Parsons 'On the Origins of the bamaNgwato', 87 (106) N.M.B. Bhebe 'Ndebole trade in the 19th Century' U.R. Henderson Paper, 25, 11 Aug. 1973, 2 ( 107) Ib id , Interview with Mambambo, 17 June 1972, 2. (108) Bhebe, ’Ndobele trade' cited in Rev. C. Reed 'The Makalanga*, 2 ( 109) Robinson Khami Ruins, 118 (110) Huffman ’ Leopards Kopje c u ltu re', 156. (111) H* Vaughan-Williams A v is it to Lobengula in 1889 (Glasgow, 1947), 86 16

As late as 1972 noted that in fact the pottery-making tradition was s t i l l strong among the Kalanga. So famous were the Kalanga women in th is a rt, that during the time of the Rozvi ru le, they went to work at the court. Subsequently, it is possible that they played a similar role during the reign of the Ndebele,

Kalanga women were also exceptionally good at basket weaving* ’The plaiting or weaving of baskets is the art in which they most e x c e l’ . (ll2 ) Comparing the Lozi of Barotseland to the Kalanga in the art of p la itin g Hrlub in 1880 observed that the Kalanga were very 'dexterous enough in manipulating the fibre’ and deserved 'the repute of being.very adroit in work of this kind' where they were beaten by the Lozi women was in the choice of the grass* (113) I t is interesting to note that even now the majority of those women who s e ll baskets in Salisbury are Kalanga mostly from Plumtree a re a .(ll4 )

The Kalanga also made a kind of cloth from skins (karosses) and those they dyed black and sold to the Kwena. Some of the karosses they paid as tribute to their Ndebele overloards. Other trade goods were ivory, feathers, rhinocerous horns and cattle*

With the coming of the very first whites into the country, the Kalanga capitalised th eir strategic position at the entrance to the- Ndebele state. At the very arrival of a white man the Kalanga women would bring maize, karri corn, milk and goats, eggs, beer and demand in return beads, cloth, brass wire, gun caps (for snuff) white men would bring small ivory tusks and demand coils of wire in return ( l l 5 ) . The most wanted item seems to have been beads, which Oates observed adorned 'profu sely' almost every Kalanga g ir l. On the other hand travellers’ main desire was corn.

In fa c t, so developed was the Kalanga trade with the tra vellers that in time d efin ite prices seem to have been set 'eggs had a standard pricey one egg for a percussion cap ..... a chicken could be bought for twelve percussion caps.' (ll6 ) In fact when the Tati mines were opened i t was the Kalanga provisions which kept them going in exchange for blue beads. 'Had the Matabeles driven away- the peaceful Makalaka cultivators of the s o il and ^breeders of cattle . . . . the mining operations carried on on the Tati in 1869-70 would have been simply im possible.' ( 117)

In the field of agriculture, again, it was observed that the Leopards Kopje people were not lacking. Carbonised seed particu larly sorghum, cow peas, marula nuts, finger m illet and ground beans have been excavated. Thus the Kalanga have again a long tradition as agriculturalists.

However, the environment has to a large extent determined the agricultures 'Their (Kalanga) environment which they inherited from the Early Iron Ago Zhizo people was notably drier than that of the rest of the plateau to the north-east.' (ll8 ) This environment

(112) Col. J.G. Wood Through Matabeleland~l 10 konths on a wagon (Books of Rhodesia, Byo. 1974) 42* (113) E. Holub Seven Years in South A frica (London, l8 8 l), 350 (114) In Salisbury they are generally called mapramh (meaning, from Plumtree) or si.v at enge s i amab a s ik i t i (implying they are Ndebele-Kalanga speaking _ • involved in basket selling), (115) ed. C.G. Oats, Matabeleland and the Victoria Falls •' F. Oates, (London, 1889) 52-55 and J-G* Wood - Through Mat abe le i and, 4,1 (116) Vaughan-Williams, 82 (117) E. Mohr, To the V ictoria Falls of the Zambezi, (Books of .Rhodesia, Byo, 1973) 381 (118) Beach 'Shona and Ndebele', 3, 17

has not changed ’ nearly a ll the native reserves of Western Matabeleland are more or less in urgent need of water supply development’ ( 119), In fact so acute has been the question of water shortage that 'there has been a good deal of fric tio n between natives on account of w a ter*(l20). Moreover, the soil being sandy and light was therefore infertile. Add to this the prevalence of pests notably locusts. O’Neill said that such was the fear generated by these pests that 'many .dare not mention them in summer time for fear they may come' ( l 2 l ) . These adverse conditions forced the Kalanga to gdopt more re s ilie n t crops notably k a ffir-co rn , n.yauti<, a kind of m ille t, upoko, va rieties of beans, gourds and water melons (note little difference from those grown by the Leopards Kopje people).

Their method of cultivation was to cut down the trees to within three fee t of the ground and then s trip the bark to k ill the tree. Using hoes or mattocks they raise the ground into ridge and furrow two feet high and the same apart. On the ridges they plant the corn. This method seems universal with the Makalakas, (122) ’ I t i t were not for this method (mabundu) h alf of the crops would die from drought' ( 123),

In spite of these handicaps the Kalanga managed to trade their grain to the Hurutse, Ngwato and other trives as i t was reckoned the Kalanga were the best cu ltivators. ( 124) As already shown, they also sold their crops to white travellers and traders and to the Ndebele. It has- been pointed out that the Kalanga-Ndebele grain trade was so developed that i t gave rise to improved methods of agriculture, ( 125) By 1899 the Native Commissioner of Malema was reporting that in July alone over two thousand bags were sold to traders in exchange for clothing, beads, bangles and calico. ( 126)

Cattle rearing was even more important and it has been said by more than one authority that ’ ca ttle are the main wealth of the natives of this area. It is their principal source of income - considered generally, the area more adapted for stock raising than for agriculture.' So important were cattle to the Kalanga that they were' taken around wherever a Kalanga went. ’ The Makalaka when they move from one place to another go in a string t ill they have arrived at their destination. The strin g, a man, an ox, a man, an ox, a man, an ox and so on,(l28) whereas they traded most of .their produce there is very little or no evidence that they traded in any of their cattle. On the contrary they obtained cattle from their trading partners, fir s t from the Tswana trib es, notably from the Kwena and la ter from white traders. When they went to work in the mines they invested almost a ll th eir wealth in ca ttle. Even in face of the constant drought they never sold their c a ttle . ( 129) This only led to' more disagreements among the Kalanga

(119) Irrigation and Agricultural Engineer to C.N.C, -Byo. NAR N3/24/8 24 Oct. 1921* (120) W.E. Thomas N.C. Bulalima-Mangwe to C^N.C. Byo, NAR NB 3/l/29? 8 Aug 191 (121) O 'N eill 'Habits and Customs ZMR, iv , 51? Jan 1911 ( 122) E.P. Mathers, Zambesia, (Cape Town and J ’ burg, 1891)- 188. and J.G.' Word, Through Matabeleland, 41. (123) Work and Workers, XI, 118. Feb 1902, 54. (124) I . Schap'era 'The Native Land Problem- in the -Tati D is tric t' Botswana Notes and Records, 2 (l9 7 l)j 233 (125) Bhebe, ’Ndebele trade', 9. (126) N.C. 'July 1899 Report’ Malema, NAR 6/4/3 , (127) F.A. Yates, Acting N.C. Gwanda to Supt. of Native, Byo. NAR N3/24/9 22 July 1919 (128) P.R0 Kirby Diary of Andrew Smith. 201 (129) W.E. Thomas to C.N.C. Byo. NAR NB 3/1/28, 29 A p ril, 1910 18

themselves as the drinking places for the stock became more scarce* (130) This attitude has changed very little , cattle are a prestige symbol 'to look at* and rather than s e ll them in one season ( 1966), twenty- thousand were allowed to die from drought. I t is this ca ttle question which caused differences between the Tswana and Kalanga as even now i t has not stopped. ( 131)

Kalanga re lig io n s

In his lis t of twelve Mwari shrines, h alfof which-have ceased to exist, Schoffeleers has two which he says are controlled by the Kalanga namelys Wirirani within the Matopos jointly controlled by the Mbire and Kalanga but s t i l l active. The other - the Mangwe shrine now dead. The rest eith er belong to the Benda or Rozvi. (132) This Mangwe shrine sometimes known as Umkombo and Manyemba which used to be located in the south-west Matopo range in Kalanga country has now since moved to the Ramokwebana inside Botswana. (133) Thus i t can be assumed, that the Kalanga held notions of a comparatively speaking high order concerning a single supreme-being. (134) This Supreme-Being the Kalanga called Mwali whom they could approach in times of catastrophes? especially in times of drought. Once a year offering were offered to this Supreme-Being, mostly in the form of beer and meat. This intercession between Mwali and the Kalanga was done only through the shrine-elders chosen cn the basis of wealth and status of leadership. Shrines then became the gathering points to which a widely dispersed congregation called to sacrifice. This was the organisation at celestial level. (135) The shrine elders were of necessity only men and no women could claim to be a shrine elder.

At a lower level are the ancestral spirits mazenge. These have their d ifferen t sets of hosts from those of Mwali. The hosts are women. Werbner has three hypotheses to explain thks arrangement, that is , having women only as hosts. Firstly, he postulates that-’ having women act as mazenge hosts iB crucial for coontrolling norms, so that the religious structure is not controlled by the men alone. It is pointed out that izishumba (mazenge hosts) and shrine•elders are sexual counterparts,’both as formal types and as foci of fields of interest they complement and oppose one another*. However, the position of the shrine elder is above that of the Shumba. Thus, where a shrine-elder’ s status must be recognised at all times, a host’s is limited by tat00 to occasions of possession.

The basis of shumba selection is that a candidate's estate should be substantial and she should be unmarried. However, the choice is usually arbitrary unlike that of shrine elders and this very arbitrariness, of recruitment could be grounds for inferiority of the host vis-a-vis shrine-elder.

(130) N/C Nyamandhlovu to Supt. of Natives NAR N3/24/8 15 May 1914. ( 131) Personal communication with N. Robertson, Keeper of Ethnography

( 133) Parsons ’ On th e'O rigins', 86 (134) P. Nielsen 'The religiou s ideas of the Matabele' Proceedings of Rhodesia Scientific Association, XI, June 1912,. 157. (135) P. Werbner ’Ritual Atonement and Guardian-spirit! possession among the Kalanga’ , A fric a ^ 34, 1984, 208. 19

The izishumba are convened when some one (esp ecially a child) gets ill. In that.case, a goat is killed and some of the blood is put in a broken pot and this is mixed with some herbs and hot coals placed in it. The child inhales the incense (ukunatila) and is healed. In some cases i f the i l l child is a g ir l then she is presumed to have been possessed by amazenge so when she is released, from the incense she is taken into custody of the izishumba who in itia te her into the izishumba class. ( 136)

Thus Kalanga re lig io n has two hierachies approached in two different ways.

Below these hierachies there is yet a lower hierachy which could be termed the 'personal’ . The father or guardian of a household makes offerings to his immediate ancestors, especially those he s t i l l v iv id ly remembers. He takes 'the handles of his axe, together with smooth stones (supposed to represent the ancestors) and a small twig of a particular tree' and places these in a hole in the centre of the hut and a bowl of k a ffir corn placed at the side. The corn is then poured in the ground and some thrown in the a ir while words of offering are uttered. (137)

In short, in Kalanga worship there are three approaches - the personal, the communal and the celestial. If this is accepted as the arrangement, and i f i t is accepted that Mwali shrines do constantly change their shrinages then the interesting question is what becomes of the neo-equilibrium between the izishumba and shrine elders? Can such a situation arise where the izishumba because of their constant working take precedence over the shrine elders? In such cases how can the equilibrium be maintained?

Kalanga women in society %

I t does appear from the special position allocated to Kalanga women in the religious structure that they have a special role to play in society. A role that is not limited to the feminine duties but which in a way challenges the position of men.

The women themselves seem to have been very strong and resistant not only to their men but also to the' advance of other cultures. I t is notable that lin g u is tic a lly Kalanga managed to withstand the advance of the monolithic Ndebele language for more than a century 'with remarkable re s ilie n c e ' (139) because 'the women fcr many years made no attempt whatever to acquire the Zulu tongue ( 146) and as a result Kalanga women became the reservoirs of the Kalanga

, (136) J. O'Neill, ' Supe-rstitions of the Amakalanga of the Mangwe- D is tric t' ZMR, 3, 34, Oct. 1906, 14?. (137) JoW. Stanlake 'Native work in Matabeleland', Word and Workers, v i i i , 89, Sept. 1899, 397. ( 138) Parsons 'On the Origins' 86, H.L. Daneel, The God of the Matopo H ills N.M.Bi Bhebe 'A c r itic a l review of our knowledge o f the Mwari cult* U.R. Henderson Seminar Paper 22, 5 May 1973, 7-8 (139) Bhebe 'Missionary activity', 49 (140) J. O 'N eill 'Habits and Customs' ZMR, IV, 47, Jan 1910, 36. a ■~20

tradition- and language. On the other hand the men as soon as they were placed under the Ndebele induna Upojwana quickly adopted .the habits and language of the Zulu.

More conspicuously s till, it was observed that most of the resistance to Christianity was-given by the women ‘men are more easily converted than the women, who are found to be more giddy and less serious-minded than the men . .... it would be an interesting psychological question to determine the reason of this f a c t ,(l4 l)

Could this special conservative attitude of Kalanga women explain the much stronger resistance to later Government legislation affecting women? The Marriage Ordinance of 1901 was b itte rly opposed to the point that the Native Commissioner of Bulalima - Mangwe reported two years later than ’no native marriages were registered «..., and there was prejudice against this Ordinance’ ( 142) and at a time when i t was reported ’The Makalanga have decided to have nothing to do with the Native Marriages Ordinance as i t is d irectly opposed to their time honoured custom' (143) the Native Commissioner of the predominantly Ndebele area was reporting that Africans were streaming to register their marriages. (l44)

One can only speculate at this stage that possibly this resistance to foreign cultures had something to do with the p rivileged position the women had especially in the religiou s fie ld . They might have felt that the new cultures would erode their special privileges. This would partly explain their strong resistance to introduction of education for girls. This definitely would affect their recruitment of izishumba candidates, when in 1906 the Administrator sent out a circular to all the Native Commissioners in Matabeleland so trying to sound out their opinion on the question of establishing a Training Institute for African g ir ls as domestic servants (145) the Native Commissioner of the predominantly Kalanga area replied ’ there is no doubt that the Makalanga w ill be opposed to the movement as they are already opposed to the attendance by the girls at school. The Mandebele proper may possibly support the scheme’ . ( 146) A sim ilar reply came from the Matopos Native Commissioner, sharply contrasting that of the predominantly Ndebele d is tr ic t of Inyati ’ parents do not care « . . . to allow their g ir ls to go t n town’ ( 147) Other factors accounting for this were the fear of losing lobola as the g ir ls would try to break from custom and fear that g ir ls would end up as prostitutes if they went to school. But by far -the overriding question was' spelt out by a Jesuit missionary at Empan’deni 'Ishumba - one of the greatest

(l4 l) H. Sykes ’ A v is it to a mission station ’ ZMR, i i , 15?Jan 1902 .(l42) N.C. Feb 1903 deport, Buialima-Mangwe, NAR NB 6/4/5 (143) W.E. Thomas, N.C. Bulalima-Mangwe to C.N.C. Byo, NAR NB l/l/8, 24 Dec 1902 (144) N.C. Bubi to C.N.C. Byo. NAR /Confidentialy7 NB 3>A/2 21 April 1902 ( 145) Administrator's Circular No. 289/06 NAR NB 3/l/7> 6 April 1906 ( 146) 'W.E. Thomas N.C. Bulal ima-Mangwe to C.N.C. Byo. NAR NB 3/l/7 11 April 19Q6 •V' (l4 7 ) N.C. In yati to C.N.C. Byo. NAR NB 3/l/7 H April 19C6 hindrances to progress’ ( 148)

The Kalanga and Christianity/Educations

In I 887 Father Prestage of the Jesuit mission went to Lobengula to ask for an area on which to build a mission station. 'The King listened attentively to every word I uttered and at the end of my words he told me to go down to Empandeni look about for a place that would suit me'. ( 150) Two years la te r the mission was abandoned. The fir s t real attempt at converting the Kalanga had fa ile d . Prestage gave the reason for the failure as Lobengula’ s lack of co-operation. 'Innumerable obstacles bar our way but the greatest of a ll is fear of the king which prevents baptisms.' ( 151) This was to some extent but the truth is that the Kalanga had resisted the fir s t advance of Christianity. In a private le tte r Prestage acknowledged this Kalanga resistance. 'Here the natives are stubborn 5 many wish to live according to their old customs alone and resent the idea of departing in any way from them.’ ( 152)

As already pointed out elsewhere the Kalanga already a very elaborate religion of their own which was already well established. This was very resistant to the approach of Christianity. The role of the izishumba is this resistance cannot be over-emphasised. What is more of note is that the shrine elders of Mwali and the priests provided a resistance of their own. What is more the Mwali cult having been carried by the Kalanga to the neighbouring Ngwato, the Kalanga priests were there to defend i t against the advance of the first Christian missionaries.(153) it was only gradually, mostly through suppressions by Khama I I I that i t lost ground.

As already shown, there was more to the re lig io n of the Kalanga than the Catholics understood. Among other things, it maintained the status quo and was a means to balance of power between men and women. There was everything to warrant every Kalanga to disbelieve the Christian heaven and h ell and 'to laugh at it saying amanga kodwa - it is all lies’ ( 154)

Add to this the seemly wrong tactics adopted by the Jesuits who did not adopt an accommodating approach but sought to fig h t headlong the Kalanga b e lie fs . They not only condemned but in cases punished those involved in paganism. In 1911 Father Biehler 'with a substantial shambock’ beat up people gathered for cult ceremonies.’ ( 155) This only delayed the success of the Jesuits.

( 148) J. O 'N eill ’ Superstitions of the Amakalanga' XMR 3? 34, Oct. 1906,-146, (149) (150) F. Johanny 'Father Prestage' ZMR, 3? 37* July 1907? 424 (151) Father Prestage to Booms, Oct. 1888, ZMR, 2, 23, Jan. 1904? 353. (152) F. Johanny 'Father Prestage',■ ZMR, 4? 50? Oct. 1910, 752 (153) 'Notes of Oral Presentation by Q.^. Parsons' in Conference on the History of Central African Religious Systems? Lusaka, 31st August to 8th September 1972. L (154) Bhebe 'Missionary activity among ihe Ndebele-and Kalanga', 44. (155) iu d , 51 22

The Wesleyan ap roach on the other hand, seems to have paid dividends. Tolerantly and patiently they approached the Kalanga. It suited the cautious ap;roach of the Kalanga, who wanted fir s t to assess the new religion before taking it in. It was not long a fter that the Wesleyans could boast of 'large congregations week by week' and by 19Q2 about four hundred baptisms had been carried out. ( 156) For a ll its resistance 'The Mwari re lig io n of the Kalanga appears to have differed in kind to that of the rest of the Shona~ briefly competitive with Christianity (for the bamaNgwato) and thereafter in better empathy with the new belief and education.' ( 157)

On the question of education, the Kalanga do not seem to have been very hesitant to accept the new•teaching, No sooner had Stanlake arrived at Tegwani were chiefs and people of the surrounding country flocking to ugubonga the new umfundisi. (153) and the nearby Chief, Majila, 'came on several occasions begging to have a teacher sent to him.' Thus'at a time when the congregation at Ernpandeni was n eg lig ib le, the average attendance that the school between August 1898 and February 1899 was sixty. At the Wesleyan school the figures were even higher. By 1907 some of the children had been sent for further education in the south 'The interest among the natives in learning appears to be as keen as ever' with some at the London Missionary Society school of higher learning near Vryburg. (159) I t should be noted, however, that i t was almost en tirely a ll boys that went to school as g ir ls were not allowed by the parents. By 1902 the numbers were very minimal. ( 160)

The Kalanga and the Western Economys

The Kalanga response to the coming of the early tra v e lle rs , hunters and traders has already been amply shown. I t has been shown that they welcomed them more as traders than for anything else and they took advantage of their strategic position on the road to the in terior to boost their economy. What needs to be seen is their response to western orientated and organised economy and what that their role was to be in this new situation created by a s ettler government. With the corning of the settler element came the need to develop the natural resources of the country at an even greater scale. This involved increased labour demands by the whites. What was the Kalanga response to the question of labour supply?

For some time the Kalanga had worked in the mines of the Tati operated by the Company run by Samuel Edwards* In fact Edwards pointed out that the Tati gold fields depended upon the Kalanga. ( l 6l )

( 156) Stanlake 'The mission work in Matabeleland' Work & Workers, v iii, 91, Nov. 1899. (157) Parsons 'On the Origins of the bamaNgwato', 86. ( 158) J. Stanlake 'The Mission Station' Work and 'Workers 7 v i i , 69, Jan 1898, 25. ' « * (159) N.C. 'Annual Report fo r year 1907' Bulalima-Mangwe, NAR NB 6/1/7 (160) J. Stanlake. 'Progess and Promise of Pioneer Mission work in Matabeleland' Work and Workers, x i, 119? March 1902, 97 (161) Statement by S.H, Edwards to Flux, NAR H* Mss Misc/Ed 3/l/l 19 Sept. 1898. 23

Others had gone to work on the diamond fie ld s of Kimberley and gold fie ld s of the Rand, Safe to say, therefore, mining as an industry (this was the most important) was not new to the Kalanga, In 1899 the Native Commissioner of Buialima-Mangwe reported that six thousand out of a gross population of thirty-thousand had reported for work between 1898 and 1899- 'This is unparalleled in the history of South African trib es. I f the whole Rhodesia followed the trend there would be no shortage of labour in the Southern Rhodesia mines' ( 162) At a time when the Ndebele resented working in the mines i t was reckoned that Kalanga miners particu larly those from Bulalima-Mangwe were amongst the best on the Transvaal g o ld fie ld s .( 163).

Possible explanation for this Kalanga trend is the arid nature of the area they camefrom. Thus years of drought, for example, almost always coincide with years of increased labour supply. The great drought period of 1908-I 9IO was marked by increased turn out at the mines and European farms. At least forty percent of the able- bodied men were absent from their homes.,

Add to this the long mining tradition of the Kalanga and the fact that they were near the fir s t mines to be worked north of the Limpopo. The money economy had made i t impact on them e a rlie r than other Shona speaking groups as they had carried out trade with the earliest European travellers and traders. The fact that they fully understood the value of money can be shown by the fact that many Kalanga sought work on the Rand and diamond mines. At the meeting held with the chiefs of Bulalima-Mangwe the chiefs pointed out that they preferred to work on the South African mines because 'they received an assured wage which was higher than the ,pay they received lo c a lly . Several of them produced their last pay certificates from the Rand mines which clearly proved this.'( 184)

Whereas in 1908 the average wages at the Transvaal mines for a thirty-day month were fifty-seven shillings, in the Matabeleland mines this stood at twenty sh illin gs - about h alf of the Transvaal wages. ( 165) Similarly, it was argued that treatment at theRand mines was far better than that in Matabeleland.

I t should be pointed out, however, that the supply was net always constant. Indeed it often drew to a trickle as in 1901-1902 when the 'attitude amounted to an Absolute strike'. ( 165) The main reason was that in years of plenty harvest as in 1901-1902 labour was scarce. Also the worst dearth in supply of labour was during the planting season, September-January. The men would return from their respective jobs and attend to their fie ld s . This was encouraged by the fact that prior to 1910 European farming in Rhodesia was insignificant and the African

(162) NoC. '1899 Annual Report' Bulalima-Mangwe, NAR NB 8/l/2 ( 163) N.C. '1899 Annual Report' Bulalima-Mangwe. ( 164) 'Review of District N.C's Reports of April 1909 and Report, on the C.N.C's v is it to Bulalima-Mangwe' NAR NB 6/4/1O ( 165) C.N.C. 'Notes on re la tiv e rates of pay on the Rand and mines of Matabeleland' NAR NB 3/l/l6. 8 March 1909 24

peasantry supplied the hulk of the foodstuffs required by the mines, ( 167) In short it was more profitable to till one's own lands than go out to work. In 1903 the amount received by Africans fo r sale of grain and other produce was about £350,000 whichwas far in excess of the £150,000 earned by Africans in European enterprises. A ll this shows that already there was money-consciousness among the Africans as a whole.

Abbreviations

NAR - National Archives of Rhodesia B. S.A.Co- British South Africa Company H.Mss - H istorical Manuscripts N.C. - Native Commissioner C. N.C. - Chief Native Commissioner Sby . - Salisbury Byo , - Bulawayo ZMR - Zambesi Mission Record.

t

/

(166) W.E. Thomas to C.N.C. Byo. NAR NB l/l/l4 1st Oct. 1901 ( 167) G. Arrighi ’Labour supplies in Historical perspective s A- ■ study of the proletarianisation of the African peasantry in Rhodesia’ , Journal of Development Studies, 3 A pril 1970? 201. ♦ (\) Twamatnba

(^ j Birwa \ (3 \ j ahunda Ndebele < Tribes of 'Western Rhodesia