Anger over defilement of Inxwala site

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has come under fire for its continued sacrilege of the Inxwala festival site, amid calls that traditional leaders in the Matabeleland region should come together to address the neglect.

The Inxwala site is located between Masotsha Avenue and Selous Street in North End and over the years the local authority has been hiring it out to the Lunar Park. A visit to the site also revealed that some individuals had turned it into church grounds, conducting illegal open air services.

Historically, the place was set aside by the council after the realisation of its importance in terms of cultural heritage.

Inxwala is a sacrificial ceremony of giving the first fruits in a harvest to the ancestors, who are believed to be responsible for the abundance of food. Traditionally it marked a time of prosperity in the good harvests experienced after the seasonal agricultural period.

It also brought the nation together, unifying it at a time of merry-making and quashing fears of famine.

In an interview with Sunday News the city's mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo, said as a council they noted the concerns raised by the public revealing that they were working on a proposal to declare and fence off the site. He said they were fully aware that the site had to be treated with due reverence.

"The public has approached us on a number of times raising their concern over the status of this site hence we note the reason for us to come up with a position that will see us giving it the necessary respect for this we will therefore need to consult widely as this is more of a traditional site," said Clr Moyo.

Ironically, despite the mayor's sentiments, the local authority recently approved the use of this site by the Lunar Park despite them owing the local authority in unpaid rates and rentals with Ward 24 councillor, Gideon Mangena objecting to the site being declared a sacred place arguing that in view of the municipal's low financial base, the place could not be left lying idle.

However, speaking during the launch of the Zanu-PF by-election campaign in Bulawayo last week, Vice- President Phelekezela Mphoko had no kind words for the local authority saying it was such small things that could bring an omen to the nation.

"Right now we have a lot of our industries closing but what can we expect when these people are busy commercialising that sacred Inxwala site, it is so disappointing and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

"That place has to be accorded the respect that it deserves, it is not just a plain ground it is a place that our own ancestors even feared to step foot on because of its significance," said VP Mphoko.

National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) director Dr Godfrey Mahachi said they noted that there were a number of sites that deserved to be given more recognition and respect. He, however, said the onus was not on the NMMZ alone but it lay with the entire community under whose jurisdiction these sites fell.

"While the NMMZ is the custodian of these sites the local communities including the local authorities should also take it upon themselves to preserve these sites and accord them the respect which they deserve.

"I believe people must change their culture of just neglecting and come aboard in the preservation of these sites, at the end of the day we cannot do it alone," said Dr Mahachi.

A local cultural commentator, Mr Cont Mhlanga, said with the continued defiling of the site people should not be shocked when the region suffers mishaps.

He said the buck lay with the traditional leaders who he accused of neglecting the region's heritage and their traditionally prescribed duties.

"I think people now think that is wasted land, which is why the local authority is now turning it into some business venture, we are so careless of our heritage that it is disappointing to say the least.

"My belief is that these chiefs should take over that place. They should come together according to their hierarchy in the region, meet these councillors and make sure that either the festival is revived or at least that site is given the respect it deserves because what is happening now there is very much taboo," said Mr Mhlanga.

The renowned playwright also revealed that noting the importance of the site was the very reason that he had made a decision to construct the Amakhosi Cultural Centre at its current site noting that the area was also part of the heritage site where there was a pond where people used to drink from during the festival.

"I think the problem that we have is that most of us believe the Khumalos should lead whatever cultural occurrence or that they are the gurus of our heritage but we forget that this was a nation and the Khumalos were not a nation.

"There are a lot of things about that place which have to be revisited and rectified, just close to Amakhosi where buses going to Victoria Falls pirate for passengers; it is part of a burial site for the Masuku family who were responsible for guiding the Inxwala site. Honestly, when you talk of this site and what is happening there I feel like crying, what is disappointing the most is that even the whites knew the importance of this site, at one point it was beautifully lawned with lovely trees surrounding it but now one would think it is just any other underused piece of land," said Mr Mhlanga.

He noted that the region's history and heritage was being hidden due to the over reliance on European authored history books at the expense of knowledgeable oral historians, which he said could be the reason for the neglect of the site.

Historian Mr Pathisa Nyathi said the Inxwala site neglect was just a tip of the iceberg revealing the nation had literally abandoned most sites that had a huge bearing on the country's heritage.

"That site was where one of the most important rituals were being held, which is why the City Fathers back then saw the need not to do any development work there after they realised that it had cultural, economic and political significance.

"What is happening now there clearly shows that our councillors no longer have any values at all, we are now a people without a heritage meaning we are not grounded. I tell you that a person without a heritage is a danger to everyone as they won't have a cultural identity, actually if people don't have values then they will be more like animals," said Mr Nyathi.

He said what the council was doing was destroying the pillars of the region's history.

"Everyone knows that a nation without a past has no direction at all. It is very unfortunate that this practice is very prevalent, just look at the way the Gadade and Pupu sites have been neglected, it is like the authorities are destroying our past on purpose," said the historian.

A descendant of King Lobengula, Mr Peter ZwidekaLanga Khumalo said it was up to council to work closely with the "royal family" to ensure that the site was given the respect it deserved.

"The people are currently talking of reviving the Ndebele kingdom and frankly everything will start at that site, which is how that site is important. We cannot have people doing as they will there, something has to be done as a matter of urgency to undo the past wrongs.

"That site carries the image of the Ndebele kingdom and the history of the Ndebele, we really need the local authority to continue in the tradition of past councils and maintain the respect," said Mr Khumalo.