Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel "Hates" AmaNdebele: True or False
Please note: AmaNdebele strictly means people of Nguni stock who crossed the Limpopo in the 1800s already called Matebele, from which comes the name AmaNdebele.
Please note: AmaNdebele strictly means people of Nguni stock who crossed the Limpopo in the 1800s already called Matebele, from which comes the name AmaNdebele. They are mainly identifiable by their Nguni surnames, eg, Khumalo, Ndiweni, Masuku, Mathema, Khanye, etc.
Since my publications on the Rebirth of Bukalanga began early last year, there has been a certain uneasiness that somehow I am bent on suppression the Ndebele and dividing the Mthwakazi Project to the benefit and perpetuation of Shona imperial rule (despite the fact that I have written widely against Shona imperial rule and published two books against it).
I would like to set the record straight in this article today, especially now that last week I declared my intention to stand as an MP for Bulilima-Mangwe in the next General Election once I win the primary election in my party, the Movement for Democratic Change as led by Professor Welshman Ncube, a party which celebrates unity in diversity and does not believe in the suppression of certain languages and identities.
Let me start off by declaring my firm belief in Dr Martin Luther King Jr's maxim that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
It would be unfair and unjust for me and fellow Bakalanga to only fight and defeat Shona Imperialism only to retain Ndebele (that is, Nguni) Imperialism. Those who have been reading my works would have noticed that I have severally attacked Ndebele Imperialism inasmuch as I have attacked Shona Imperialism. For us Bukalanga our languages and cultures have been driven to the brink of extinction by both groups.
Present Situation is a Colonial Legacy
Now, I know the Ndebele now hold no significant power (with what they have mainly being the power of traditional chiefs, most of who were imposed on Bakalanga by the colonial government with the cooperation of the Ndebele Chief Khayisa Ndiweni), but we will be dishonest to deny that the present situation is a colonial legacy that began with uMzilikazi and perpetuated by the colonial and post-independence Zezuru-led government.
What we both have to do as Bakalanga and AmaNdebele is to agree that some pretty bad stuff happened in the past, and we need to engage in corrective justice. Insisting on such does not in any way amount to “hatred” of the Ndebele inasmuch as the fight against British Colonialism or Shona Imperialism isn't about hatred, but about justice, fairness, equality, self-government and self-determination.
It is therefore incumbent upon us all as Bakalanga and AmaNdebele to seek a more just and fair way forward. Insisting that all who live in the so-called Matebeleland should be identified as Ndebele “whether they like it or not for they were under the rule of uMzilikazi” will only serve to divide us, for it is in no way different from the Shona saying we all ought to be Shona for the country to be united!
We Believe in Unity in Diversity not 'Unity' in Uniformity!
We as Bakalanga don't in the slightest sense believe that Unity = Uniformity. We believe strongly in Unity in Diversity, what the South Africans have referred to in Khoisan as !Ke e: //Xarra Ke: We believe that we can certainly be united as AmaNdebele, Bakalanga, Banambya, Babirwa, Vhavenda, etc, without forcing everyone to be Ndebele. That is a colonial legacy and as such it has to go.
Unity does not require that I speak like you or think like you or take on your identity. Like the South Africans united as AmaXhosa, Vhavenda, BaSotho, AmaZulu, etc we too certainly can be united as Bakalanga, Banambya, Babirwa, Vhavenda, BaTonga, Khoisan, and AmaNdebele. We need not be all ‘Ndebele’ for us to be united, after all it is not like we ever chose to be ‘Ndebele’. It was forced down our throats through both conquest and unjust legislation - conquest by uMzilikazi and unjust legislation by the colonial and post-independence governments.
Sharing Territory for Equality, Justice, Fairness, Self-Government and Self-Determination of all Ethnic Groups in ‘Matebeleland’
In pursuit of this unity in diversity and justice, fairness and equality, self-government and self-determination, I have proposed in my new book, Zimbabwe: The Case for Federalism, that we share territory almost equally here in Mat'land. We know that certain languages, especially TjiKalanga, have over the years been pushed to the peripheries of society and the brink of extinction by isiNdebele in addition to Setswana and now Shona.
Whether the Ndebele, the colonial government or the Zezuru-led Zanu PF government is to blame for that is beside the issue. But the fact of the injustice remains and has to be corrected. I have therefore proposed that we share territory as follows as a means to restore all our languages and ensure their survival:
1. That the Ndebele take all the typically Ndebele-speaking districts of eastern Matebeleland, that is, Lupane, Nkayi, Bubi, Umguza, Insiza Umzingwane, and all of the Ndebele-speaking parts of the Midlands. Now, this leaves the Ndebele with more territory than any other language group in Matebeleland.
2. The Tonga would hold on to Binga, the Nambya hold on to Hwange, the Venda to Beitbridge, the Sotho Gwanda District, whilst Bakalanga and the Khoisan hold on Tjolotjo, Matobo and Bulilima-Mangwe Districts.
I know that some will protest and say all these regions have Ndebele-speakers. Yes that’s true, but that means only two things:
That these Ndebele-speakers came from typically Ndebele regions and settled in these Kalanga, Venda, Nambya, Tonga, Khoisan and Sotho regions, OR, these are people of originally Kalanga, Venda, Nambya, etc stock who have been forced into Ndebelehood.
If it is those who came from typically Ndebele-speaking districts, it is only fair that they adapt and intergrate inasmuch as a Kalanga who moves to Nkayi will adapt and integrate into Ndebele society and speak isiNdebele. Surely, it would be double standards for us to expect the Kalanga or Khoisan or Shona to adapt and integrate but say the Ndebele shouldn’t. Why would a different standard have to apply to the Ndebele?
If it is those who have been forcibly Ndebelerized over the last 170 years through conquest and unjust legislation like the Education Act, then it is also only fair and just that they be given an opportunity to reclaim their language, culture and identity in their own ancestral lands!
What will this Sharing of Territory mean for the Languages?
What the above will mean is that whilst all the languages can be spoken anywhere across the region and the country, the primary languages of education, the media and government in the various regions will be the traditional languages of those areas.
For example, Tshivenda will be the primary language of business, government and education in Beitbridge, inasmuch as TjiKalanga and Khoisan will be the primary languages in Tjolotjo, Bulilima-mangwe, and Matobo Districts.
As a means to attain equality, justice and fairness, isiNdebele will also be the primary language of business, government and education in Lower Gwelo, Lupane, Nkayi, Bubi, Umguza, Insiza and Umzingwane Districts. A Kalanga or Venda who chooses to go and live and/or work there will have to adapt and integrate into that society.
We see this kind of societal arrangement in South Africa all the time. We know without any shadow of doubt that North-West Province is typically Tswana area, Limpopo is Venda/Tsonga/Pedi area, KwaZulu-Natal is Zulu area, Eastern and Western Cape is Xhosa area, the Free State and Northern Cape are Sotho areas, and Gauteng is for all, which brings us to the next point, the City of Bulawayo.
How about the City of Bulawayo?
Because Bulawayo is a cosmopolitan city in which all of our people groups are represented, it will have to cease being a “Ndebele city” and take on a character like that of the cosmopolitan city of Johannesburg. Instead of us being required to speak isiNdebele once we step into Bulawayo, we will each stick to our languages and learn each other's languages. [This will be easy as we will also have to push for all our languages to be available on public media (radion and TV) and learn as many languages as possible as South Africans do.]
We know that whilst Gauteng is generally a Sotho region, all of South Africa’s languages are represented and spoken there, and no one is compelled to abandon their language for that of another. It is only fair that even the City of Bulawayo adapts to that, for if indeed truth be told, it is public knowledge that Bakalanga are the largest ethnic group in Bulawayo, (unsurprising when one considers that the Bulawayo City Council is generally led by Bakalanga).
We have hitherto been patient and embraced isiNdebele, but that did not mean we have no interest in our own languages. I think now is the time to be more assertive and free ourselves from a domineering Ndebele public image. This we have to and will do not because we “hate” the Ndebele, but because we love them too much to know that a system of injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
The Ndebele will have to also accept that inasmuch as we are together in the fight against Shona Imperialism, we as Bakalanga, Banambya, Vhavenda, etc also don't like to always be subjected to a domineering Ndebele public image. We also want to be who and what we are and be free to speak our languages anywhere and everwhere.
For why should isiNdebele be forced down our children’s throats in our regions? Why should isiNdebele be taught in our regions and our languages not taught in Ndebele regions? Doesn’t that communicate the message that the Ndebele are more equal than us?
Why not let People Choose for Themselves?
There are those who suggest that people in various regions should be allowed to choose what language they want to learn and use, as if Bakalanga, Vhavenda, BaNambya, BaTonga, etc were ever given a “choice” when isiNdebele was imposed on them (by uMzilikazi and his son Lobhengula, the British Colonial Government and the Zezuru-led post-independence Government of Robert Mugabe) and driving their own languages to extinction.
In any case, how do you present choice between a language that has been decimated for over 150 years and deemed not worthy speaking and belonging to the less than human “amahole”; and one that has been promoted over the same period and given the status of royal language? Frankly, “choice” in regards to these languages is out of the question. Let us bring the status and prestige of all these hitherto marginalized languages to the same level as that of isiNdebele (and Shona), then we can begin talking about choice!
Now is the time for Justice and Equality for All!
Surely, now is the time for justice. Whether we have a Devolved or Federal or even a ‘Mthwakazi’ State, we will need to accept that this can be the only viable societal arrangement for us as a people. To just cry that we are “one Ndebele nation created by Mzilikazi” will hardly ever unite us. If anything it will simply serve to further divide us as our opinions of uMzilikazi differ as day differs from night.
Inasmuch as we want devolution of power from Harare to Bulawayo we much also understand that people down in Binga want devolution right down to their area. It shouldn’t end in Bulawayo, but reach Binga, Hwange, Beitbridge, Gwanda, Bulilima-mangwe, etc.
Conclusion
I am sure we can see from the above that the charge that I “hate” Ndebeles is false, neither is it true that those of us in the Rebirth of Bukalanga Movement want to “divide Mthwakazi” or “obliterate” isiNdebele. On the contrary, we are very willing to share our ancestral territory and even leave the Ndebele with more territory than any of us all in the name of peace, unity, justice and fairness.
What we will not accept is the continuous destruction of our languages and cultures, be it at the hands of isiNdebele or Shona. We strongly believe that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everwhere. We therefore have to do everything in our power to ensure a fair and just way forward as we accept that we have had an unpleasant and turbulent history.
This is the only way we can strongly unite and fight together the common enemy of us all: Shona Imperialism and Colonialism. But trying to invite others to fight while at the same time suppressing them or subjecting them to that which they are not will only serve to divide us to the eternal benefit of the enemy. Such is the way I see it this week my fellow citizens. !Ke e: //Xarra Ke: Diverse People Unite!
Ndaboka. Ndolivhuwa. Ndiyabulela. Ke a leboha. Ngiyabonga. Ndaaa.
-----------------
Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel is a Justice Activist and author of two books: The Rebirth of Bukalanga and Zimbabwe: The Case for Federalism. He can be contacted by email on ndzimuunami@gmail.com.
Since my publications on the Rebirth of Bukalanga began early last year, there has been a certain uneasiness that somehow I am bent on suppression the Ndebele and dividing the Mthwakazi Project to the benefit and perpetuation of Shona imperial rule (despite the fact that I have written widely against Shona imperial rule and published two books against it).
I would like to set the record straight in this article today, especially now that last week I declared my intention to stand as an MP for Bulilima-Mangwe in the next General Election once I win the primary election in my party, the Movement for Democratic Change as led by Professor Welshman Ncube, a party which celebrates unity in diversity and does not believe in the suppression of certain languages and identities.
Let me start off by declaring my firm belief in Dr Martin Luther King Jr's maxim that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
It would be unfair and unjust for me and fellow Bakalanga to only fight and defeat Shona Imperialism only to retain Ndebele (that is, Nguni) Imperialism. Those who have been reading my works would have noticed that I have severally attacked Ndebele Imperialism inasmuch as I have attacked Shona Imperialism. For us Bukalanga our languages and cultures have been driven to the brink of extinction by both groups.
Present Situation is a Colonial Legacy
Now, I know the Ndebele now hold no significant power (with what they have mainly being the power of traditional chiefs, most of who were imposed on Bakalanga by the colonial government with the cooperation of the Ndebele Chief Khayisa Ndiweni), but we will be dishonest to deny that the present situation is a colonial legacy that began with uMzilikazi and perpetuated by the colonial and post-independence Zezuru-led government.
What we both have to do as Bakalanga and AmaNdebele is to agree that some pretty bad stuff happened in the past, and we need to engage in corrective justice. Insisting on such does not in any way amount to “hatred” of the Ndebele inasmuch as the fight against British Colonialism or Shona Imperialism isn't about hatred, but about justice, fairness, equality, self-government and self-determination.
It is therefore incumbent upon us all as Bakalanga and AmaNdebele to seek a more just and fair way forward. Insisting that all who live in the so-called Matebeleland should be identified as Ndebele “whether they like it or not for they were under the rule of uMzilikazi” will only serve to divide us, for it is in no way different from the Shona saying we all ought to be Shona for the country to be united!
We Believe in Unity in Diversity not 'Unity' in Uniformity!
We as Bakalanga don't in the slightest sense believe that Unity = Uniformity. We believe strongly in Unity in Diversity, what the South Africans have referred to in Khoisan as !Ke e: //Xarra Ke: We believe that we can certainly be united as AmaNdebele, Bakalanga, Banambya, Babirwa, Vhavenda, etc, without forcing everyone to be Ndebele. That is a colonial legacy and as such it has to go.
Unity does not require that I speak like you or think like you or take on your identity. Like the South Africans united as AmaXhosa, Vhavenda, BaSotho, AmaZulu, etc we too certainly can be united as Bakalanga, Banambya, Babirwa, Vhavenda, BaTonga, Khoisan, and AmaNdebele. We need not be all ‘Ndebele’ for us to be united, after all it is not like we ever chose to be ‘Ndebele’. It was forced down our throats through both conquest and unjust legislation - conquest by uMzilikazi and unjust legislation by the colonial and post-independence governments.
Sharing Territory for Equality, Justice, Fairness, Self-Government and Self-Determination of all Ethnic Groups in ‘Matebeleland’
In pursuit of this unity in diversity and justice, fairness and equality, self-government and self-determination, I have proposed in my new book, Zimbabwe: The Case for Federalism, that we share territory almost equally here in Mat'land. We know that certain languages, especially TjiKalanga, have over the years been pushed to the peripheries of society and the brink of extinction by isiNdebele in addition to Setswana and now Shona.
Whether the Ndebele, the colonial government or the Zezuru-led Zanu PF government is to blame for that is beside the issue. But the fact of the injustice remains and has to be corrected. I have therefore proposed that we share territory as follows as a means to restore all our languages and ensure their survival:
1. That the Ndebele take all the typically Ndebele-speaking districts of eastern Matebeleland, that is, Lupane, Nkayi, Bubi, Umguza, Insiza Umzingwane, and all of the Ndebele-speaking parts of the Midlands. Now, this leaves the Ndebele with more territory than any other language group in Matebeleland.
2. The Tonga would hold on to Binga, the Nambya hold on to Hwange, the Venda to Beitbridge, the Sotho Gwanda District, whilst Bakalanga and the Khoisan hold on Tjolotjo, Matobo and Bulilima-Mangwe Districts.
I know that some will protest and say all these regions have Ndebele-speakers. Yes that’s true, but that means only two things:
That these Ndebele-speakers came from typically Ndebele regions and settled in these Kalanga, Venda, Nambya, Tonga, Khoisan and Sotho regions, OR, these are people of originally Kalanga, Venda, Nambya, etc stock who have been forced into Ndebelehood.
If it is those who came from typically Ndebele-speaking districts, it is only fair that they adapt and intergrate inasmuch as a Kalanga who moves to Nkayi will adapt and integrate into Ndebele society and speak isiNdebele. Surely, it would be double standards for us to expect the Kalanga or Khoisan or Shona to adapt and integrate but say the Ndebele shouldn’t. Why would a different standard have to apply to the Ndebele?
If it is those who have been forcibly Ndebelerized over the last 170 years through conquest and unjust legislation like the Education Act, then it is also only fair and just that they be given an opportunity to reclaim their language, culture and identity in their own ancestral lands!
What will this Sharing of Territory mean for the Languages?
What the above will mean is that whilst all the languages can be spoken anywhere across the region and the country, the primary languages of education, the media and government in the various regions will be the traditional languages of those areas.
For example, Tshivenda will be the primary language of business, government and education in Beitbridge, inasmuch as TjiKalanga and Khoisan will be the primary languages in Tjolotjo, Bulilima-mangwe, and Matobo Districts.
As a means to attain equality, justice and fairness, isiNdebele will also be the primary language of business, government and education in Lower Gwelo, Lupane, Nkayi, Bubi, Umguza, Insiza and Umzingwane Districts. A Kalanga or Venda who chooses to go and live and/or work there will have to adapt and integrate into that society.
We see this kind of societal arrangement in South Africa all the time. We know without any shadow of doubt that North-West Province is typically Tswana area, Limpopo is Venda/Tsonga/Pedi area, KwaZulu-Natal is Zulu area, Eastern and Western Cape is Xhosa area, the Free State and Northern Cape are Sotho areas, and Gauteng is for all, which brings us to the next point, the City of Bulawayo.
How about the City of Bulawayo?
Because Bulawayo is a cosmopolitan city in which all of our people groups are represented, it will have to cease being a “Ndebele city” and take on a character like that of the cosmopolitan city of Johannesburg. Instead of us being required to speak isiNdebele once we step into Bulawayo, we will each stick to our languages and learn each other's languages. [This will be easy as we will also have to push for all our languages to be available on public media (radion and TV) and learn as many languages as possible as South Africans do.]
We know that whilst Gauteng is generally a Sotho region, all of South Africa’s languages are represented and spoken there, and no one is compelled to abandon their language for that of another. It is only fair that even the City of Bulawayo adapts to that, for if indeed truth be told, it is public knowledge that Bakalanga are the largest ethnic group in Bulawayo, (unsurprising when one considers that the Bulawayo City Council is generally led by Bakalanga).
We have hitherto been patient and embraced isiNdebele, but that did not mean we have no interest in our own languages. I think now is the time to be more assertive and free ourselves from a domineering Ndebele public image. This we have to and will do not because we “hate” the Ndebele, but because we love them too much to know that a system of injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
The Ndebele will have to also accept that inasmuch as we are together in the fight against Shona Imperialism, we as Bakalanga, Banambya, Vhavenda, etc also don't like to always be subjected to a domineering Ndebele public image. We also want to be who and what we are and be free to speak our languages anywhere and everwhere.
For why should isiNdebele be forced down our children’s throats in our regions? Why should isiNdebele be taught in our regions and our languages not taught in Ndebele regions? Doesn’t that communicate the message that the Ndebele are more equal than us?
Why not let People Choose for Themselves?
There are those who suggest that people in various regions should be allowed to choose what language they want to learn and use, as if Bakalanga, Vhavenda, BaNambya, BaTonga, etc were ever given a “choice” when isiNdebele was imposed on them (by uMzilikazi and his son Lobhengula, the British Colonial Government and the Zezuru-led post-independence Government of Robert Mugabe) and driving their own languages to extinction.
In any case, how do you present choice between a language that has been decimated for over 150 years and deemed not worthy speaking and belonging to the less than human “amahole”; and one that has been promoted over the same period and given the status of royal language? Frankly, “choice” in regards to these languages is out of the question. Let us bring the status and prestige of all these hitherto marginalized languages to the same level as that of isiNdebele (and Shona), then we can begin talking about choice!
Now is the time for Justice and Equality for All!
Surely, now is the time for justice. Whether we have a Devolved or Federal or even a ‘Mthwakazi’ State, we will need to accept that this can be the only viable societal arrangement for us as a people. To just cry that we are “one Ndebele nation created by Mzilikazi” will hardly ever unite us. If anything it will simply serve to further divide us as our opinions of uMzilikazi differ as day differs from night.
Inasmuch as we want devolution of power from Harare to Bulawayo we much also understand that people down in Binga want devolution right down to their area. It shouldn’t end in Bulawayo, but reach Binga, Hwange, Beitbridge, Gwanda, Bulilima-mangwe, etc.
Conclusion
I am sure we can see from the above that the charge that I “hate” Ndebeles is false, neither is it true that those of us in the Rebirth of Bukalanga Movement want to “divide Mthwakazi” or “obliterate” isiNdebele. On the contrary, we are very willing to share our ancestral territory and even leave the Ndebele with more territory than any of us all in the name of peace, unity, justice and fairness.
What we will not accept is the continuous destruction of our languages and cultures, be it at the hands of isiNdebele or Shona. We strongly believe that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everwhere. We therefore have to do everything in our power to ensure a fair and just way forward as we accept that we have had an unpleasant and turbulent history.
This is the only way we can strongly unite and fight together the common enemy of us all: Shona Imperialism and Colonialism. But trying to invite others to fight while at the same time suppressing them or subjecting them to that which they are not will only serve to divide us to the eternal benefit of the enemy. Such is the way I see it this week my fellow citizens. !Ke e: //Xarra Ke: Diverse People Unite!
Ndaboka. Ndolivhuwa. Ndiyabulela. Ke a leboha. Ngiyabonga. Ndaaa.
-----------------
Ndzimu-unami Emmanuel is a Justice Activist and author of two books: The Rebirth of Bukalanga and Zimbabwe: The Case for Federalism. He can be contacted by email on ndzimuunami@gmail.com.
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