adminTHE hall was packed to capacity. Culturalists, academics, political leaders and ordinary citizens came to partake of our rendition of Mapungubwe, as part of the Mapungubwe Arts Festival. The inaugural seminar at Polokwane was graced by Dr Mathole Motshekga from the Kara Heritage Institute, Dr Sarah Mothulatshipi and I. We were tasked with the responsibility of unpacking Mapungubwe from historical and cultural perspectives.
For me Mapungubwe was a new phenomenon with regard to its historical significance. I did not read about it in school text books. I later read narratives of leading archaeologists such as Gilbert Pwiti.
The State of Mapungubwe was much broader than the political, trade and commercial centre that it was. Its catchment area extended far into Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, probably Mozambique too. I was born within the Zimbabwean section of its catchment area.
Sankonjana or Babirwa, my home area, has several Zimbabwe type free standing stone walls on most of its mountains. Within the same locality there were San cave paintings which fortunately, as young children, we did not seek to deface or completely obliterate. At the base of Dume Mountain, which we had come to believe was the abode of the much dreaded dragon snake called umgobho which cried like a goat, there were monumental chunks of slag which testified to the presence of Iron Age people. Nearer our home, there were thousands of nodules, also by-products of iron smelting activities by residents who succeeded the San.
Doleyholes were also a common feature of our area. In virtually all cases the smooth-side holes occurred in pairs — a bigger and a smaller hole. To us these were akin to wooden plates from which we took our food — one for isitshwala and the other for relish (isitshebo). We did not go beyond that in our inquiry. We had no business with their origins. Stone gives solidity and the stone plates carved into granite rock still stand. In later life, I could not help observing that the stone walls were constructed from roughly hewn stones. They contrasted sharply with significantly improved stone masonry applied at later sites such as Great Zimbabwe, Khami, Danangombe and Manyanga (intaba zika Mambo).
I had observed that the stone walls enclosed flat mountain tops with light grey nitrate-rich soils. The residents probably kept their cattle in cattle byres located on mountain tops. Manure from cow dung accounted for the rich soils. The grass grew lusher there and I would later learn that the same type of grass grew at Old Bulawayo exactly where there had been some cattle byre (isibaya).
We ventured to the mountain tops as adventurous young boys. From up there, we could easily keep our eyes on our father’s herd grazing below. Kafusi River fringed the heritage-rich mountain. It had its source further north beyond Tjingesaka. The southward bound fast flowing river is a tributary of the Shashane River (small Shashe) which in turn pours its waters into the mighty Shashe River at whose confluence with the Limpopo River Mapungubwe is located.
I do not think we cared much about preserving stone walls. No one had ever told us about heritage and the need to preserve it.
When a stone happened to be on our way, the stone had to give way. We were the masters of the land and its mountains and rivers.
Now I look back and ask, to what extent has this attitude changed? Is the current crop of children better schooled on the heritages resident in their localities, or are they slaves of bookish learning which is not receptive enough to local realities?
My enduring sense of guilt has always been the damage to and destruction of heritage that we did in pursuit of commercial interests and the short term financial benefits. In the 1960s there was a commercial concern, KoMaphane just outside Gwanda which used to buy bones. Heaven knows what those bones were used for. Our business was to get a few silver coins and supplement our father’s meager income. Father told us the name of the white man buying the bones of our cattle dying of starvation was Mr Gibbons. He never told us that he too was a “Mr” . . . the honorific term was reserved for the white specimens of humanity.
I recall a lot of ingenuity and innovation that went into this bone business. We soaked the bones in salty water. Absorbed moisture increased the weight of bones — that all important factor that determined how much money one could get. Now and then some white stone would pass for bones. Cheating a white man was not a soul crime; after all, he had cheated us out of our land and our heritage. However, the real damage was in emptying the caves on the mountains of “elephant teeth.” In one cave we retrieved several ivory pieces which, using stone tools, we broke so they could fit into jute bags.
There were other items that we retrieved from the caves. There were iron spear heads which were of no use to us except perhaps in spearing vulnerable omadevu fish in the drying Mthoyiwane Dam. The dam was a treacherous deathly trap to our lean, emaciated and famished animals, many of which had their bleached bones create an intricate kaleidoscope of bleached bones and dried and cracked black clay. There were also several shards from broken earthenware pots. I remember collecting a few which had incisions on them. None of the shards were coloured.
The destroyers’ squad comprised two energetic young men, myself and younger brother Ranny who is now late. I am now the sole survivor who knows what items we retrieved and have been trying to lure an archaeologist to the area where we operated. A lot more stuff remains on Sankonjana Mountain and other hills whose heritage we did not vandalise. Sankonjana, I was later to learn, is a name derived from mukonjana, meaning some euphorbia, (umhlonhlo). Next to Sankonjana there is a place called EMhlonhlweni. Apparently, this is a place of myriads euphorbia trees.
Kafusi River had its course altered by Sankonjana Mountain. In fact, I was later to observe that wherever there were Zimbabwe type settlements there were sources of water nearby. A few examples may illustrate the point. At Khami there is the Khami River, while at Great Zimbabwe there is the Mutirikwi River. At Mapungubwe there are the Shashe and Limpopo rivers.
It is the type of stone architecture which, at the visual and superficial levels, identifies the extent of the Mapungubwe Kingdom. On the Zimbabwean side it extends north of the Shashe River by no less than 150 kilometres. In fact, Mapungubwe-type stone walls extend as far as Shape in the Gwanda District. Further north, Khami tradition seems to take over.
What may require determination is the extent of the kingdom westwards and eastwards. It seems likely that some parts of Gwanda and Beitbridge districts may be part of the kingdom. Mapela, located close to the Shashane and Shashe confluence, has of late received attention from archaeologists.
A full appreciation of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe requires the participation of researchers from several states in Southern Africa.
The World Heritage Site may be located in South Africa, but belongs to many peoples who today find themselves in several countries-a result of the cold and ruthless colonial project.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter