Chronicle Editor
Pathisa Nyathi
THIS is the final of three articles relating to the Nzula Chieftainship that is still vacant to this day. There has been a lapse of seven years since the demise of the last incumbent, Chief Malaki Masuku. Here our objective is to assist those who are engaged in the process of finding a successor. We are aware there have been several meetings but it seems they have not yielded positive outcomes.
History furnished in the last two articles points to the Masukus as being part of a social system whose tradition is patriarchal and patrilineal. The males become chiefs and succession moves from father to son, mutatis mutandis.
What is critically important to appreciate here is that it is tradition to which families subscribe that determines the choice of next chief. In fact, it is birth that determines and families merely follow applicable traditions as dictated by birth. For now at least, assumption of a chiefly post is not by popular vote as happens among politicians.
Mothers played a part in the unfolding selection process. However, that was determined by the socio-political statuses of their fathers. Mostly, bearers of chiefs were Nguni women. In the lineage that we furnished we saw mothers of Nguni stock such as MaMkhwananzi, MaMthimkhulu as mothers of the Masuku chiefs. We are not, for the purposes of this article, going to deal with seniority of women when they are of a Khumalo lineage.
It will be apparent that all the Masuku chiefs, from Chief Mkhokhi to Chief Garret all married Nguni women. This is important to point out, as there may be some who will say Chief Malaki Masuku’s widow is an Nkomo who thus does not qualify to bear a future chief to replace the late Chief Malaki Masuku. It was pointed out that now we have several Ndebele chiefs who would not have qualified to become chiefs in the heyday of the Ndebele State on account of their maternity. Examples abound where mothers of incumbent chiefs are Dube, Sikhosana, Ngwenya and Ncube to name but a few. Not all these would have qualified during the times of Kings Mzilikazi and Lobengula.
The critical question then is why seek a selective application of a traditional principle that has generally been ignored in other instances? Why insist on it when it comes to the Masuku chieftainship? It is known that Chief Garret Masuku has a son Muregei by a Shona woman. Based on ethnic identity, the son is never considered. That would be the case with the other surnames given above.
With regard to a woman, there was a tradition that for her to qualify to bear a chief she was not supposed to have had a child with another man prior to her marriage to a chief. There was a known social measure that was taken to rectify the anomaly. The woman was restored to fullness, ukugcwaliswa. Her parents paid a beast to the woman’s in-laws.
The beast served to restore her status of fullness that qualified her to bear a successor to her husband.
It seems there has been one sticking point that was harped upon in the case of MaNkomo and it was proven that she was restored to fullness and the argument could not stand. Even if this were not the case, why insist on it now when other contemporary considerations are being ignored? Why should past traditions be dragged in only when it comes to the Masuku chieftainship? Is it not a case of double standards?
Yet another totally baseless issue is being dragged into the issue of identifying a successor. It is that a son or younger person does not pick meat from a plate ahead of a father or those older that him. It is said ‘‘akadobhi kuqala kwaboyise.” In this argument, there is palpable ignorance and evidence of a tradition that is not fully grasped. For starters, a son does not eat from the same plate as his “fathers.”
In a vertical succession arrangement, an incumbent chief will unavoidably be younger than his father’s brothers. This explains why overall in Matabeleland the chiefs are younger than those outside of Matabeleland. Just look at the ages of chiefs such as Bidi, Bango, Mathuphula, and Mabhikwa. They are young and are younger than some of their uncles, “younger fathers.” There is absolutely nothing wrong in that.
Secondly, the argument is being advanced so that Chief Malaki Masuku’s son is disqualified. He is said to be younger than Melusi, a brother to the late Chief Malaki Masuku. The scheme being advanced is to go for the appointment of a younger brother Melusi in which a lateral arrangement would be implemented to avoid a young son “picking the meat” ahead of elder Masuku males.
Lateral succession is not something that is not found among the Ndebele people. There were special circumstances that dictated its adoption. It certainly was applied following the death of Chief Garret Masuku.
All his children were girls, referred to in IsiNdebele parlance as amawabayi. It was perfectly in order to go the route that was taken in that instance. Back then, we had Ndebele chiefs who knew the Ndebele chiefly succession rules. Malaki Masuku was the next brother in line and he indeed became a chief, a substantive chief and not a caretaker one.
Once a chieftainship went laterally to a younger brother, it remained there and vertical succession procedures became applicable. In the case of the Nzula Masuku chieftainship, a lateral succession may be considered only if Chief Malaki Masuku produced girls only as was the case with Chief Garret Masuku. As we know it, Chief Malaki Masuku did produce male children who are still alive. That obviates the need to go the lateral route of succession.
In any case, those males who qualify to succeed must be descended from Nzula Masuku and not some distant Masuku male relatives. Related to this is the requirement that the Masuku family alone confers to discuss the matter of succession and after agreement on a candidate, they present the name to the relevant authority who in this case may be another chief acting on behalf of the Matabeleland South Chiefs Council.
It seems in the case of the Nzula chieftainship, many non-Masuku members of communities are getting involved only where the Masuku family alone should be having a say. There are people from Halale, Shumbeshabe, Whitewater and Silozwane who seem to have some stake in the matter and they have been allowed to participate in frequent palavers relating to the succession of Chief Malaki Masuku.
There is also some unfounded insinuations that the District Administrator is Shona and therefore, is not au fait with Ndebele traditional protocols of chiefly succession. Being Shona does not preclude one from knowledge of a community’s traditional rules of succession. I for example do know Shona traditions of chiefly succession. I have studied them. In any case, a DA does not choose a candidate. His is merely to see to it that the requisite selection procedures are followed, no more and no less.
What is clear is the need for a review of the Ndebele chiefly succession principles. The past traditions are well known and I have penned a book that deals with those. I know two chiefs only who have bought it. The chiefs from the region need to drive the process in which they may opt for consultations with relevant communities.
Out of the review, there might be principles that are considered irrelevant and get dropped out, some that are adopted in their present form and yet others that may have to be modified. Society is on the move and the chiefly rules of succession have to reflect that phenomenon.
For example, should girls continue to be excluded from leading a traditional institution such as that of chief? When that happens, the rules of succession ought to be known and acceptable to all. When a woman chief dies, what are the procedures regarding her succession.
I do not think there is one with an answer right now. When the issue comes, we should not be seeking a solution to it at that late hour. We do that and breed tension, misunderstanding and intense conflict. Rules of succession must be known in advance to avoid crisis management.
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