It was the third Kazembe, Ilunga, who completed the conquest of the Luapula valley and the lands ruled by Nkuba. Nkuba had successfully resisted the Lunda up to that point, because they were unable to penetrate the swamps in which he dwelt. But a family quarrel brought him down. One day, he became very angry with his nephew, and threw a piece of wood at him which struck him on the head and killed him. Nkuba then had the body skinned and made a seat from the tanned hide. He told the boy’s mother, his sister, that her son had died hunting. But Nachituti soon learned the truth and swore vengeance. She left Nkuba’s court and went to find Mwata Kazembe Ilunga. As she was talking, she undid the cloth around her waist and threw it into the Kazembe’s face, saying that if he did not avenge her, he was nothing but a woman.
The king sent out a strong force. They quickly captured Kisenga, Nkuba’s town, but the ruler had escaped. They pursued him through several villages, and finally Nachituti had the satisfaction of beholding her brother’s severed head on the ground before her. The army returned to Kalandala, the Kazembe’s seat, and they displayed their trophies. Last in line came Nachituti, carrying a small basket of earth and a small gourd filled with water. She hailed the Kazembe as her avenger, and then, kneeling, proffered the basket and the gourd. Thus the Kazembe became the master of the land and the waters of the Luapula.
35
THE BEMBA OF ZAMBIA
The Bemba are politically an offshoot of the Luba kingdom, representing a wave of colonization that moved south-east to the headwaters of the Lualaba river. They brought with them the Luba practice of expansive warfare, and in the nineteenth century were assisted by superior weapons from the Arabs trading for slaves from the east coast of Africa. This version is principally based upon an account published by a missionary in 1933.
There was a woman with ears as large as those of an elephant, and she ruled in her territory because her uncle had come down from the sky. She married a man named Mukulumpe, and they had four children: three sons and a daughter.
The three sons decided to build a great tower with which to return to the sky, and they compelled people all over the country to come and help them, cutting trees and branches and building the tower out of wood. But after a time the tower grew too high and collapsed upon itself, and as it did so many people were killed either from falling or from the wood that fell on them. Mukulumpe was furious with his sons for this disaster and ordered that they all be killed. But two of them escaped his guards and fled into the forest. He blinded the one son he had caught, named Katongo, and then planned how he might lure the other two back to be executed. He ordered his servants to go out and dig pits along the paths, and to plant spears at the bottom of the pits. Then he sent messengers out across the country to proclaim that his sons would be forgiven if they came to their father in the dead of night. He hoped, of course, that in the dark they would fall into the pits and die on the spears. But the blind brother, Katongo, learned of the plan and he too sent messengers out to his brothers, telling them to avoid the great paths and the traps that their father had set for them.
The two brothers, Nkole and Chiti, heard both messages, and decided to return home. They took small sidepaths and avoided the places where their father had set the traps, and so came in the dead of night to his hut. There they called loudly on him and identified themselves, and since he had given his word that if they came to him in the dead of night, he was bound to forgive them and he did so. But he did punish them: he ordered them to sweep out the entire space of the royal compound, as though they were servants. Despite the humiliation, they obeyed.
But they got into trouble again, and legend suggests that it was because of one of their father’s younger wives. Mukulumpe wanted to punish them by making them sweep the royal cemetery, but they resisted this humiliation and killed some of the messengers. Then they fled, taking with them some of their half-brothers. Mukulumpe, seeing the collapse of his kingdom, sent his first wife, the woman of the elephant ears, back to her village, where she died of sorrow, and he assigned lands to the rest of his sons. But he kept his daughter, Chilufya Mulenga, with him, for power ran through the female line. As she was nubile, he enclosed her in a hut without entrances and had her guarded.
The princes, Nkole, Chiti, Katongo and their half-brothers, set out guided by an nganga (a diviner; some say the diviner was white, and perhaps Portuguese). They crossed a river, marking the spot with spears and arrows shot into the trunk of a tree and on the far bank they built a first village. At that point, Chiti began to miss his sister, and he sent a group of men, led by his half-brother Kapasa, back to their father’s compound to fetch her. The group travelled stealthily back into the kingdom of Mukulumpe; they slipped past the guards and the bells that had been set to sound the alarm, and raised the roof of the doorless hut. Whispering, they told Chilufya Mulenga who they were and why they had come. She agreed to depart with them, and the party slipped out of the town and started on their way back. They came to an island in the middle of the Lualaba river, and Kapasa told his men that they would rest there for a day or so. He sent two messengers to inform Chiti that they had been successful; the first began to run at dawn, in the cold, and when he arrived Chiti rejoiced and placed him in the royal seat and gave him his own pipe. The second messenger did not leave so quickly, and was embarrassed when he arrived and found his companion being honoured. This event remains the basis of a royal ritual. On the island, Kapasa seduced his half-sister Chilufya Mulenga during the night and she became pregnant. They kept the secret for some time after her reunion with her full brothers, but eventually it could not be hidden any more. Kapasa was expelled from the royal clan and withdrew in shame to another country.
The brothers consulted their diviner to learn what they should do next; he replied that they should see whether the spirits would provide food for them in another country, and then put a fishing-line with a hook into a mortar. After a time, he drew out a fish, and they interpreted this omen to mean that they would have food if they continued on their way, and so they moved on. But Kasemba, one of the half-brothers, stayed in that place and became ruler. Other clans also split off from the group in their travels. One became known as the Mushroom clan (the Bena Ngona) because a woman had refused some tasty mushrooms to the mother of a hungry child, saying she had no more; it was later discovered that she did have more mushrooms when her servant became mired in mud and the load he was carrying was spread out in front of everyone. They came to the land of a chief named Mwase, whose wife was Chilumbulu. Chilumbulu was very beautiful, and her body was adorned with a complex pattern of scars. Chilumbulu and Chiti felt a strong attraction for each other, but Chiti dared do nothing with the wife of his host. But Chilumbulu made a ball of gum and dyed it red; she rolled the ball over the pattern of scars on her breast and then sent it to Chiti. The invitation was clear, and the two of them arranged a rendezvous at a little camp by a river. They spent three nights together, until Mwase became suspicious and went looking to see what was happening. He brought his hunting equipment, a bow and poisoned arrows, and he caught the pair in the act. In the struggle that followed, he managed to scratch Chiti with a poisoned arrow. Then he escaped with his wife.
Chiti died some days later of the poison, and Nkole swore vengeance for his brother. He executed the companions who had not protected Chiti, and then led an army against Mwase. The town was overrun; Mwase and Chilumbulu died. They made a charm to ensure fertility for the millet from the ornamented skin of Chilumbulu’s body. Then Nkole ordered a sumptuous royal funeral for his brother. He himself died soon after and was buried next to Chiti. His heir was the son of his sister Chilufya Mulenga, although he was then too young to take power.
Guided by their nganga, the people eventually established the Bemba royal town, Ngwena, because of two omens: one adviser caught a warthog, and the presence of game was interpreted as a good sign. Another adviser came upon the carcass of a crocodile, which was the royal emblem, and they interpreted this sign to mean that the
y should build the royal town at that site. They did so, and the son of Chilufya Mulenga became king under the name of Chilufya.
THE PEOPLES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
The history of southern Africa, from Zimbabwe south to the Cape of Good Hope, is complex and well documented. It is in part a history of immigrations: of Bantu-speakers from the north, who brought with them cattle and formed the Nguni peoples (Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi) which now compose the majority of black South Africans, and of European immigrants from the south: first came Portuguese traders, who left names (the province of Natal in South Africa takes its name from the Portuguese word for Christmas, the date on which a Portuguese explorer sighted the land) and also established colonies on the east and west coasts (Mozambique and Angola). Then in the early eighteenth century came the Dutch settlers who became known as Boers (farmers, in Dutch), later as Afrikaners. Last came the English, ensuring the sea-routes to their empire in India. All of these peoples displaced the original inhabitants: the San hunting peoples (see Chapter 1) and the Khoi-Khoi (Chapter 38). Colonization, followed by the struggles for liberation and against apartheid, have coloured the political history of the region with intense hues. But other events have also shaped the human landscape, and perhaps none quite as much as the mfaqane, the upheavals of peoples caused by the foundation and expansion of the Zulu empire under Shaka at the start of the nineteenth century. His wars of conquest sent peoples fleeing to the north in a pattern of displacements which reached the Ndebele peoples of Zimbabwe. This movement of peoples was continued by the great Boer trek across the Vaal river in 1834, and subsequent struggles over land (and mineral resources: the diamonds and gold of South Africa are legendary). The Shona of Zimbabwe, invaded by the Ndebele under Mzilikazi, seem to form the northern limit of this turbulence. To the south, the Nguni-language peoples separated into a number of related groups; the division of Zulu and Xhosa, for instance, is relatively recent, although the separation has been accentuated by the close contacts between the Xhosa and the Khoi peoples.
In terms of the traditions of origin, there is a great deal of similarity and homogeneity to the stories reported from the various peoples. Creation and the origin of death are linked; perhaps not surprisingly, there are also many stories explaining the origins of the different peoples of the region, accounting not so much for skin colour as for the uneven distribution of wealth. But we do not find the extensive multi-generation accounts which are so common further north, around the great lakes. Throughout this region, royalty is associated with rain-making, and cattle also are a mark of wealth and nobility.
36
THE SHONA OF ZIMBABWE
The Shona are spread through southern Zimbabwe and northern Mozambique; unified by language, they are divided by clan and lineage divisions and are really an amalgam of peoples pushed together in relatively recent times (since 1750?) by the warlike movements of their neighbours. Shona traditions are not unified, although some practices are relatively widespread, particularly spirit-mediumship and its accompanying musical instrument, the mbira or thumb piano. The nation of Zimbabwe (in colonial times, Southern Rhodesia) takes its name from the celebrated ruins, dating from the Middle Ages, but the dynasty that built those structures has long since vanished. These narratives are retold from accounts collected in the first half of the twentieth century.
CREATION: THE CULT OF MWARI AND CHAMINUKA
In the beginning, a god known by many names – Musikavanhu, the maker of people, or Dzivaguru, the great pool, or Mutangakuvara, the one who existed at the beginning, or more simply Mwari – created the world. He filled it with beings – humans, animals, plants – and his power is still visible in the procreation of creatures, for it is he who brings new life into being. But Mwari has very little to do with the world directly. He is great and remote. Far more immediate are the various spirits whose actions can be seen in the world, and who communicate with humans through mediums. There are many kinds of spirits, and the greatest is called Chaminuka.
People learned about Chaminuka a long time ago. A great tree had fallen over, and Chaminuka dwelt in the tree-trunk. People passing by heard a voice coming from the trunk, and they stopped to listen. It called them over, and then told them to shut their eyes. They did so. When they opened their eyes, there were all sorts of foodstuffs lying before them. They ate their fill. Then they closed their eyes again, and all the remains of the food and the vessels vanished.
Later, Chaminuka taught people to grow their own food, and he taught them the art of the blacksmith. He would communicate with people through dreams. He chose a young girl to teach the arts of cooking and brewing beer, and a boy to tell about the stones that contained metal which people could use to make hoes.
Eventually, Chaminuka settled on a specific human as a medium, and he would communicate with people when the medium went into a trance. Over time, many mediums have served Chaminuka. One of the greatest was Pasipamire, who lived over a hundred years ago. He was killed by the Ndebele, who were moving north into Shona territory at that time. It is said that Pasipamire and some companions were travelling when they were trapped by the Ndebele. But none of their weapons had any effect on Pasipamire. He sat calmly, smoking a pipe, while they tried every means they could think of to kill him. Finally he told them to let a young boy stab him with a spear, and that killed him. But his heart kept on beating after they cut it out, and when they put his body on a fire to burn it, they heard a voice saying that Chaminuka would return in another part of Mashonaland, and this is what happened.
Chaminuka continues to help the people by bringing rain, and this is one of the ways by which people can identify the true medium of Chaminuka.
HOW MUSKWERE BECAME CHIEF OF THE WAHUNGWE
Muskwere was a great hunter; at one time he came into the territory of Madziwa. Since Madziwa was the chief, Muskwere offered him the chief’s portion of meat, the breast of the animal; Madziwa asked rather for a haunch. Muskwere interpreted Madziwa’s request as the refusal of the chief’s portion, and thus a denial that he was the chief, and therefore took the chief’s place.
THE SOURCE OF THE SABI RIVER
The king of the Barozvi, the earlier rulers of Zimbabwe, entrusted his rain-making magic to a man named Nyakuvimba, and Nyakuvimba stole it. The king sent men with dogs to capture Nyakuvimba; they were ordered not to kill him. Nyakuvimba heard the dogs coming and knew he could not escape. He gave the bundle containing the rain-making magic to his wife, who was pregnant, and told her to escape, while he awaited his fate. The hunters caught up with him, surrounded him, and then, in the excitement of the chase, one of them killed him. They cut off his head and mounted it on a pole and began the return journey. But on the way, the head began to swell up, larger and larger, until they dropped it to the ground, and still it swelled up to an enormous size before, at last, it burst open. Out poured the waters, and they continued to pour, forming the Sabi river.
His wife continued safely on her way and eventually gave birth. The river ran past her home, and she recognized it as the sign of her husband’s death. She kept the rain-making magic for her son, and he became a chief because of his powers.
THE POWER OF THE MBIRA
A man and his wife once had two sons. But they were poor, and he had very few cattle with which to pay the lobolo, or brideprice, for his sons. He had only enough for one wife, and after some discussion, the younger son was allowed to marry. The elder left home to find his own way to a wife. He took with him his mbira, for he was an accomplished player and the music was his consolation and delight. He played as he walked.
His path led him past the den of some hares, and when he tried to walk through their land they buffeted him with their paws and pushed him back, so that he could not pass. He wondered how he could pass, and then began to play his mbira. The hares began to dance, and as they danced he was able to pass through. He continued on his way.
His path then led him into the grazing land of large herds of wildebeest and zebra and antelope.
He looked at them and considered trying to pass through, but he knew they could crush him with the weight of their bodies and their horns. He wondered how to pass through, and began to play his mbira. As he did so, all the grazing animals began to dance. He was able to pass through their land as they danced.
Further on, he came upon a large pride of lions. As usual, most of them were asleep, but one or two were awake and looking about, and when they yawned he could see how long and sharp their teeth were. Again, he wondered how to pass them by, and he played his mbira. The lions slowly rose up from their lazy slumbering and began to dance, and as they danced he passed through them and continued on his way.
He came finally to the shores of a lake, and sat by the waters playing his mbira. A water-spirit came up and heard him playing; the water-spirit fetched another to listen to the music, and then the two of them fetched yet more of their people. Finally, they decided that their king must hear this music. They summoned the young man and gave him a special medicine which allowed him to live under the water, and then led him down to the king’s hall, where the young man played his mbira. The king was delighted and rewarded the young man with a village of water-spirits and a wife. Eventually, the young man returned to the dry land to tell his brother what had become of him, but the younger brother refused the invitation to visit the water-world. The older brother went back under the waters and remains there still.
37
THE NGUNI PEOPLES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA: ZULU, XHOSA, SWAZI
The differentiation of the Nguni-language peoples into their now distinctive ethnic groups is relatively recent, the consequence of different factors: separation through migration, contact with the earlier inhabitants such as the Khoi-Khoi (Xhosa), isolation in the mountains (Swazi), and, for the Zulu, the political determination of Shaka, who created the AmaZulu (the people of heaven) out of the union of groups under his military leadership. Issues of ethnic identity have been complicated by the colonial and later racial policies of the governments in South Africa and the notion of homelands. Swaziland and Lesotho are independent states entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, so politics may exaggerate some of the differences between their peoples and their neighbours. The following versions of the stories are retold from various sources, the earliest from the late nineteenth century.
African Myths of Origin (Penguin Classics) Page 25