Chaka

by Thomas Mofolo

  Water serpents are highly regarded in Bokone, and so indeed are such little crawlers as the cobra and the puff adder. A person who has seen a snake is considered to have seen something portentous which presages either good fortune or extreme bad luck accompanied by plagues that are coming to him from his ancestral gods. A snake is not to be killed in Bokone, and anyone who kills it is considered to have done a deed that surpasses all others in ugliness. Such a one will carry for the rest of his life the shame of having killed that snake. He who kills a snake is regarded as insulting the gods and showing them disrespect by killing their messenger because, in Bokone, a snake is a recognised messenger who conveys the wishes of the dead to their living descendants. If it should enter a house while the occupants are outside, they will never go back into that house, and will stay outside until the snake eventually goes out at its own pleasure, since its visitation means that one of the ancestors is longing for them. Or if a snake should enter a house in which some untoward event has recently taken place, this is regarded as indicating that the dead are unhappy, that they have been hurt by the way their descendants have handled their affairs, and that they will visit terrible afflictions on them, such as sickness or war. When a snake enters a house, the owners at once begin to express their thanks, or to ask forgiveness from their gods who may be angry with them. Snakes are abundant therefore, since they are not killed. It is understandable, then, that the snake should be an ingredient in all the medicines of Bokone, because there is no way in which such an important thing could be left out.

  When one travels downward between the sea and the Maloti, coming from the direction of Delagoa Bay, in the north, the first Bakone one comes upon are the Swazi nation. Across the Mfolozi-Mnyama River were settled the Ndwandwe people who were ruled by Zwide. Between the Mfolozi-Mnyama and the Mfolozi-Mhlophe, all the way to the sea, were the Bathethwa who were ruled by Jobe; or perhaps we may more fittingly mention the name of his son, Dingiswayo, who became more renowned than his father. Between those two, but a little to the north, was settled a small weak little nation which owed allegiance to Jobe, and which was known as the Fenu-lwenja. Later, however, that little nation was to gain much fame, till all the nations of Bokone were called by its name. Near to the Fenu-lwenja were the Mangwane led by Matiwane, who once invaded Thaba-Bosiu. There were also the Maqwabe, the Mafuze, the Bathembu, the Makhuze, the Mahlubi, the BakwaMachibisa, the Mathuli (where the city of Durban now stands). The reader must understand that we are describing how the nations were situated long ago, when the people were still settled upon the land.

  Many small and weak nations who inhabited the area along the banks of the Mfolozi-Mhlophe used to flee to Jobe, king of the Bathethwa, to beg him for asylum, since he was very kind to all people; and among these was the Fenu-lwenja (later to be called the MaZulu). In those days the MaZulu were weaker than most other little nations, and they survived only because of the kindness and wisdom of the Great King Jobe. They were mostly famous for their trade in tobacco, carved wooden basins, and other artefacts.

  There is no place in the entire world where wars are unknown. There comes a time when the nations hunger for each other and continually fight each other, sometimes over many years. But in the end peace returns once more, and the land is warm again. Sometimes while the nations are living in a state of peace, none bothering the other, a male child arises among one of them and he, even though but one individual, creates so much unrest that peace is banished from the earth and much blood is spilt. But the sufferings which were occasioned by the difaqane were unknown in the olden days when the people were still settled upon the land. The nations were living in peace, each one in its own original territory where it had been from the day that Nkulunkulu, the Great-Great One, caused the people to emerge from a bed of reeds. In the midst of so much peace and prosperity no one thought, even for one moment, that the affairs of their lives were about to change, and that they would wander in the wilderness having no fixed home, and would be killed by the spear, by exhaustion, and by hunger.

  The tiny nation of MaZulu was ruled at that time by Senzangakhona, a very young man who had three wives, or maybe four. However, he had no male child in any of his houses. He had girls only. For that reason he was dissatisfied and he lacked peace in his heart, fearing that his estate would be without an heir. Besides, for a king it was more painful not to have a male child than it was for a commoner, because a king was concerned not only about the wealth of his own personal household and his livestock which would have no one to inherit them, but also about the estate of kingship, which involved the land and the people.

  That being the case, Senzangakhona decided to marry again so that he might obtain male children through his younger wives. He therefore organised a large feast where there was much dancing, and during the festivities he secretly kept his eye open for any young woman he might find attractive. Among the young women who had come to the feast, he was attracted to Nandi, a girl from Langeni who lived at Ncube’s village in Senzangakhona’s territory. Nandi was a great singer and dancer, and she was also skilled in clapping hands and carolling for the young men as they danced. Nandi stood tall and erect, had a well-rounded face and a light brown complexion like a cannabis seed. She had an impressive presence, and a dignity to which many people said she owed her beauty.

  The dancing and the games ended, and the people now indulged in beer drinking. Then a group of young men left the others drinking and went to the young girls and asked them to play the choose-a-lover game called ho kana. When Senzangakhona saw this, he hurried to join them so that he should be there when the game was played. By then Nandi had already noticed that Senzangakhona had intentions towards her, and that he wanted to be chosen by her. The kana is similar to the sedia-dia girls’ dance among the Basotho, but it goes beyond the sedia-dia because in one sense the kana resembles ho iketa whereby a girl offers herself to a young man for marriage without waiting to be asked. Since Nandi herself loved Senzangakhona, she did in fact choose him, and Senzangakhona was greatly pleased that he had been chosen by the one he loved.

  The festivities being over, it was now time to disperse. But the young people, for their part, spent the night at Senzangakhona’s continuing with their games, and going home only on the following day. Senzangakhona told the young girls from Ncube’s to wait for him in the fields in the valley just below his village. That day Senzangakhona used strong arguments to persuade Nandi that the two of them should do an ugly deed that was against the law of nature and of man. Nandi had to walk away from him right there in the fields, greatly disappointed when she realised that the one she had chosen as her lover did not love her with pure love, and when she came to the other maidens, she told them what Senzangakhona had said.

  In those days in Bokone, if a girl became pregnant before she was married, she was killed. So, indeed, were all her age-mates, both the young men and the young women, that is to say, all those who slept in the young people’s quarters. It was said that the fact that one of their own peer group had done such a deed was a clear indication that they too were now familiar with the little path she had taken, and would therefore defile the nation, that is to say the young generation, by setting them a bad example. Those young girls were also greatly disappointed when they heard about Senzangakhona’s evil scheme, but in spite of that they were afraid to report him because a king, among the black people, is above the law. Yet the proper thing to do is that such a young man should be reported at once, so that he alone should be killed, and the others should live. Senzangakhona easily convinced them with a lot of deceitful talk and with the promise that he would marry Nandi, till at last she bowed her head and Senzangakhona accomplished the evil design of his heart.

  When Nandi missed her monthly period, she informed Senzangakhona and he, being afraid of the scandal, made hurried arrangements to marry her. He gave Nandi’s parents fifty-five cattle, and quickly took her in marriage so that the people should not notice that she was already damaged. But in sp
ite of all that Nandi went to Senzangakhona with her pregnancy already having advanced somewhat. When her time of delivery came, Senzangakhona sent her back to her people, and she gave birth to a boy child, for whom Senzangakhona had long been yearning, who occupied his thoughts night and day, and his joy was full to overflowing. When the messenger came to Senzangakhona he said, “There has been born to you a boy, an ox of the vultures”, and indeed there never was a child for whom these words were more fitting. He was a male child, and he was also an ox of the vultures, as the reader will see afterwards.

  On that very day Senzangakhona sent a messenger to inform his overlord, Jobe, that on that day he had obtained a herdboy who would watch his herds, who would fight his wars, who would succeed him in the kingship. These words of Senzangakhona’s too foretold great events which we shall see later. When the messenger arrived at Jobe’s, the latter’s sons were present also. He told the message of his errand in their hearing, and when he finished, Jobe said: “Go and say to your master that I am thankful for his sake, and that I wish that the child should grow to become both a human being and a man of worth. There is the news, Godongwana. This person who is described by your subject will fight your wars, not mine, because as for me, I am now old, and he will reach the state of manhood when I am already gone.” Jobe too spoke like one who knew what this child was going to become in the world, and he did the proper thing too by placing the matter in the hands of his sons.

  That child was given the name Chaka by his father, and when he reached the month of kuruetso,1 Senzangakhona asked Nandi to bring him to him for a while so that he should see him and get acquainted with him. After that Nandi returned once again to her own home with her infant Chaka, to keep him away from witchcraft, since it was rumoured that Senzangakhona’s wives had been bewitched so that they would not carry male children.

  1In the second month of a child’s life certain rites, collectively known as kuruetso, were performed upon the child. We here summarise a description of these rites by Azariele Sekese in Mekgwa le Maele a Basotho (The Customs and Proverbs of the Basotho). At the time of the first appearance of the new moon, if the child is a boy, other boys in the community are invited to play certain games, during which the following words are said to the infant: “Kururu, kururu, there is your agemate over there”, while the child’s face is turned towards the moon.

  Secondly, the child is given its first taste of meat from the hand of a man (if the child is a boy) or a woman (if a girl) who is well known for good character and exemplary behaviour, in the expectation that the child will grow up to be like the one who gave him/her the meat.

  Thirdly, the child, whether a boy or a girl, is given milk milked by a young man who has not yet known a woman, from a cow which has not been covered by a bull since it bore the calf responsible for its present lactation. The young milker must, besides, be known for his exemplary behaviour and general good character.

  Fourthly, the child, who has hitherto not been exposed to rain for fear that, if touched by rain prior to this time, he/she will be given to stealing, is now deliberately exposed to rain. On the first rainy day during or after the second month (up to the third or fourth month) the child is laid down in the courtyard, face upwards; and as it cries the adults laugh mockingly and say: “Haiaha, you thief! There’s a thief for you!” Thereafter they remove it from the rain.

  CHAPTER 2

  Senzangakhona Disowns Nandi

  AS AN infant, Chaka was a lovable, bouncing little fellow with chubby cheeks who did not cry even when he fell. Even when he was chastised he did not often cry, or he might cry only once and then keep quiet. Children generally squall when they are given a beating, and they beg for mercy, at the same time telling how repentant they are; or else they run away. All those were things which Chaka never did. He said that pleading for mercy gave satisfaction to the inflictor of the punishment. As for running away, he said that that was cowardice, for when a person is chastised for a wrong he has committed, he must endure the punishment that arises from his wrong-doing. Chaka was, nonetheless, a peaceful little lad who did not trouble his mother with anything. Those who knew him as a child told how, even as he played with other children, any person whose eyes met his, even without having known him before, could tell at once that he was of royal blood, and not the child of a commoner; they said that all who saw him described him with the words: “He is the cub of a lion; he is the nurseling of a wild beast; he is a newborn little lion.” The people all acclaimed him in the same way.

  Chaka, after his father saw him, returned to Ncube’s; and even on the occasion of his weaning, only Nandi went to Senzangakhona’s while Chaka remained behind, and was continually being sent cattle and goats which were called his food.

  There was a woman doctor at Bungane’s who was very famous for her knowledge of charms to make one popular, charms that brought good fortune, and charms that caused a king to be loved greatly by his people and by other kings. It happened that on the day Chaka was to be strengthened with potent medicines in accordance with the customs of his own people, this woman was fetched so that she should be the one to give him his first taste of meat. On arriving there, she said that Chaka was still too small, and was not yet ready for the strong medicines of kingship. Nevertheless she fortified him with medicines that brought good luck so that he should be successful in all his undertakings. To do that she took the bile of a yellow snake found in Bokone, which was highly respected by the Matebele, the very one through which they said the spirits sent their messages. She mixed the bile with some of her medicines and made him drink the mixture. She said that the child, Chaka, would, in the course of his life, receive great blessings such as had never been received by a human being.

  She gave Nandi a medicine horn and said: “Always when the moon is about to die you must bathe this child at the river very early in the morning, before the sun has risen, and then when he has finished bathing he must walk quickly back home, and when the first rays of the sun shine upon the village, you must take some of this medicine with your fingers and anoint his head with it. You must anoint only the centre of the head where the child’s head throbs; be sure to anoint also this tuft of hair which is never to be shaved off. You must do these things before he eats anything. Bathe him in a large river, not a small one.

  “When this child is already grown and knows how to bathe himself, whenever he gets into the water, you must go away from him and wait in a place that is out of view, and you are never to go to him unless he calls you. He, on the other hand, must not shout when he calls you, he should rather whistle. If he could see something that frightens him while he is in the water, on no account must he run away, regardless of whatever may appear. You, for your part, must never, even on a single day, ask him what he has seen; rather let him volunteer of his own accord to tell you. Even when this child has grown to be a man, he must never be accompanied by another man when he goes to bathe, he must go entirely alone, or else go in the company of a woman if he wishes to be with another person.”

  When Chaka had reached the stage when he was not only able to crawl and to stand, but was attempting to walk, his father Senzangakhona had a son born to him by his second wife. That child was given the name Mfokazana. When Chaka was ready to be weaned, Nandi returned to her husband’s home at Nobamba, and shortly after she arrived there Senzangakhona had another male child, named Dingana, born to him by one of his most senior wives. It was from that time that the lives of Chaka and his mother took a turn for the worse. Before that, Nandi was a precious thing at Nobamba, since the king’s wives held her dear for having removed the shame from them all by giving birth to a boy, while Senzangakhona also adored her, for his part, because of obtaining through her the boy child for whom he had been yearning so long. Nandi was given enough food so that her breasts should swell with milk for Chaka. She was the queen of the household, yet when Mfokazana and Dingana appeared, everything changed. The senior wives turned their eyes to the children born by them and declared
that Mfokazana was the king-elect followed in seniority by Dingana. And even as matters stood thus, Senzangakhona once more became the father of a boy, named Mhlangana, whose mother was also senior to Nandi by marriage, and it was then that the affairs of their lives went completely to ruin.

  No one was exactly sure about the circumstances surrounding Chaka’s birth. Many people did not know that Nandi was married when she was already heavy. Only very few knew this, and none of them would dare to breathe a word because they would be in serious trouble. It is possible that some who watched her carefully noticed that her months did not reach the number of months of the pregnancy of women. Since Senzangakhona still loved Chaka and his mother a great deal, the senior wives took offence, and demanded that Senzangakhona should say openly what the order of succession of his sons was, so that the nation should know, and the boys too should know their status. However, Senzangakhona refused. The senior wives talked a great deal among themselves about this matter and even told the councillors to advise the king to arrange things for his children; but whenever the councillors tried to raise the matter, Senzangakhona would fly into a rage and tell them that they should get out of the affairs of his household, and that they were councillors in matters pertaining to the nation, not in private households. The senior wives therefore found a sorcerer who turned Senzangakhona’s heart away from Nandi so that whenever he tried to visit her he would feel so afraid that he would go back at once.