Chronicle EditorVERY close to Old Bulawayo, there is a settlement that represents the Catholic Order of the Jesuits. From the architecture that is displayed, it is clear the forms are not related to Ndebele architectural traditions. That served as an indicator either that they had begun adopting an exotic culture or that a people with a culture different from theirs had settled close by and the Ndebele began to assimilate the new architectural forms. However, it turned out the people in question were doing their own thing and were not keen in any way to do as the Ndebele were doing in KoBulawayo
The Catholics of the Jesuits Order arrived at koBulawayo in 1879, about nine years after the establishment of the Ndebele capital town that had initially been known as Gibixhegu. After the 1872 civil war the settlement serving as the capital town for the Ndebele State, was renamed KoBulawayo as explained in a previous article.
The question we wish to pose is why there was this keen interest to convert the Ndebele people who initially were under King Mzilikazi and later under his son and successor King Lobengula. It was all to do with European perceptions of the Ndebele people.
Ndebele people were regarded as a warlike tribe that was viewed as an impediment to the spread of Christianity within what they regarded as a Dark Continent. Africa inferno, Africa Diablo. That came about when African ways were regarded as inferior and those of whites or Europeans as superior.
Black and inferior provided the motivation and legitimation for enslaving of and trading in African slaves that lasted no less than four centuries. It was the same attitude that legitimated the colonial project. It was uneconomic to pack Africans in ships and travel all the way to the Americas and the Caribbean islands thousands of kilometres away to have them work in primary agricultural production — on sugar plantations, for example. Transport and labour costs were drastically reduced.
It was economic to establish factories on the African continent itself and then cultivate tastes for new products coming out of factories on the African continent. Africa was then providing both labour and serving as a market for finished goods. There was very little by way of beneficiation.
On the African continent, there were tribes that were perceived as warlike. The Ndebele of King Mzilikazi and later King Lobengula and the Kololo under King Sebitwane of the BaFokeng were among such targeted tribes. The London Missionary Society was the first Christian denomination to set foot in Matabeleland in 1854 when Reverend Dr Robert Moffat visited King Mzilikazi who then was living at Emahlokohlokweni just north of present-day Bulawayo.
Earlier visits had been undertaken from as far back as 1829 when Reverend Moffat visited from Kuruman in the land of the Bathlaping. Another visit was when the Ndebele settlements had been extended westwards to include the area occupied by the BaFokeng. The area was known as Pukeng and there the Ndebele established a second Mhlahlandlela in the Mkhwahla area.
Following the 1837 removal of the Ndebele from Emkhwahla, there was some temporary loss in communication until in 1854. After the 1857 visit when King Mzilikazi was living at Emhlangeni, Reverend Moffat visited, at a time when he was, more than ever before determined to establish a mission station in Matabeleland. Indeed, Chief Manxeba Khumalo showed them a place where to build a mission named Inyathi in December 1859.
However, the LMS missionaries did not meet with success in terms of converts until towards the collapse of the Ndebele State in 1893. The early converts were Mathambo Ndlovu and Makhaza Nkala. The latter was killed by Ndebele soldiers at Elibeni in the Ntabazinduna area where he had been in the company of the fleeing Reverend Bowen Rees.
It was to be a different story following the demise of the Ndebele State. The floodgates were opened. With no political authority to weigh over the Ndebele people not to embrace Christianity, a new era began in the aftermath of defeat of the Ndebele people.
The Jesuits established their own mission station very close to KoBulawayo. They arrived under Fathers Croonenberghs and Depelchin plus some brothers. The LMS missionaries under Reverend Boden Thomson had, following the establishment of Gibixhegu in 1870, set up a new mission station not far from the royal town. The Jesuits came under the Zambezi Mission that targeted both the Ndebele and Kololo states within what was to become the Caprivi Strip.
The Jesuits began their proselytising mission but, like the LMS missionaries, did not meet with success. No converts were forthcoming. However, it is said one daughter of Mhlaba Khumalo who played the role of Regent following the demise of his father Mncumbatha kaKholo kaManzamnyama may have been the first Christian martyr in Matabeleland.
Houses at the Jesuit Mission were built out of stone as had happened at KoBulawayo under the guidance of whites who lived close by. What was conspicuous as markers of their mission boundaries were trees that are still very visible and clearly demarcate the western boundary of the settled area.
The envisaged pacification crusade did not seem to have made lasting impact. In 1881, King Lobengula, in line with Ndebele tradition, relocated his capital town from Enyokeni to Emahlabathini. The Jesuits did not relocate immediately, either to follow the King or go elsewhere.
Even when they did relocate, they did not follow the King. For about four years, they stayed put at their Jesuit Mission. Later they moved to Empandeni Mission where they established another mission station. Empandeni had been a village/regiment under the command/leadership of Sindisa Mpofu. Proselytising work proceeded at a faster pace than had been the case in the period before the demise of the Ndebele State.
In years to follow, many students who would later become leading nationalists attended the mission school. One of King Mzilikazi’s sons, one Makhulambila, lies buried at the mission cemetery.
Bongani Ndlovu