The Ndebele were mostly unwilling to accept Christianity because they were economically self-sufficient. The State had a strong religion and a centralised political system that was heavily militarised.
By nature, the people were conservative and did not take lightly that Christianity despised their customs and beliefs such as polygamy. There were also security considerations. King Lobengula was suspicious of the intentions of the missionaries and whites in general.
Social organisation of the Ndebele
The Ndebele society was divided into three distinct classes. The first was the abeZansi. This group comprised the original Khumalo and Nguni who migrated with Mzilikazi from Zululand. These included people of totems like Khumalo, Magutshwa, Dlodlo, Mguni, Mkhwananzi, and Ndiweni. This group formed the Ndebele aristocracy. They were respected by all other members and intermarriages with groups in lower caste were forbidden.
The Enhla was the second in importance from the abeZansi. This class was made up of elements that had been incorporated into the Ndebele nation either voluntarily or forcibly in the course of the migration from Zululand to Zimbabwe. This class included the Sotho, Tswana, Kora, and Griqua with whom the Ndebele fought and from whom many young men and women were captured.
The last group in the Ndebele caste system was the Hole. This group was looked down upon and comprised the people of Shona and Kalanga origin who were absorbed into the Ndebele State. It is again imperative to point out that not all Shonas were Hole. Only those who lived closer to the Ndebele State and adopted Ndebele culture were referred to as “amahole”.
The Shona who lived outside the Ndebele periphery were never subjected to Ndebele rule and culture. Therefore, they did not fit into the caste system. The Enhla and the Hole willingly adopted the Ndebele culture and language. Some Shona went as far as adopting Ndebele totems or changing their Shona totems to Ndebele for example Shumba to Sibanda, Shiri or Hungwe to Nyoni, Dziva to Siziba, Shoko to Ncube, et cetera.
The explanation for this adoption has been given by Mukanya when he said the incorporated Hole consequently took pride in being associated with the Ndebele. This explains that relations between the abeZansi and Hole were not of slave and master as Euro-centric historians would want to suggest. Many young Hole boys were conscripted into the Ndebele army and could also be rewarded after the battle for their participation and loyalty. Groups that had been assimilated into the Ndebele were often required to speak the Ndebele language and imitate or follow the Ndebele culture. Many Enhla and Hole took pride in their new Ndebele identity.
There was a remarkable degree of unity between these classes because everybody spoke Ndebele and was officially regarded as Ndebele. The policy regarding marriage which restricted marriage within one’s social group was often violated by individual families who allowed their children to marry across the classes, thus creating lasting relationships between such families.
Religion
Like the Shona in the Mutapa or Rozvi, the Ndebele believed in a supreme being whom they called Unkulunkulu-Somandla. This great god was known by the Sotho as Mlimo and by the Shona as Mwari. The Ndebele also believed in the power of ancestral spirits amadlozi which they looked up to for guidance and for bringing rain.
African Traditional Religion
Senior members of the Khumalo clan were also seen as rainmakers. This shows that the spirit hierarchy reflected the political hierarchy. Important religious ceremonies were conducted every year, one of which was the Inxwala ceremony which was presided by the king himself as a religious leader. This was a thanksgiving ceremony for good crops to amadlozi, especially the royal amadlozi. Only after the King, Inkosi himself had ceremonially eaten the “first fruits” of the harvest, could the nation harvest and eat their own crops. The King was identified with the nation’s fertility and well-being.
All indunas and tributary chiefs were expected to attend the Inxwala ceremony, failure of which was regarded as rebelling against the King and was a punishable offence. Those who lived a distance from the King’s court held their own Inxwala ceremonies presided over by Izindunankulu.
When the Ndebele arrived in Zimbabwe, they discovered a powerful religious functionary in the name of the Mhondoro medium of Chaminuka. Mzilikazi quickly adopted the Shona ritual of rain-making ceremonies and recognised the power of the spirit medium. He often sent tributes to Njelele, Mabweadziva and Chaminuka.
Religion cemented the Shona and the Ndebele relations. Religion was used to save the interests of the state.
In 1859, Mzilikazi allowed missionaries to settle in his new country. He gave the London Missionary Society a piece of land to build a mission station at Inyathi, Matabeleland North province, but did not encourage his people to accept the new religion. By 1868 when Mzilikazi died, the missionaries had not made any single convert.
Political Structure of the Ndebele State
The Ndebele were led by a King whose title was Inkosi. He was an absolute king with absolute and supreme power. The Inkosi’s authority was different from that of the Rozvi Mambo or the Mwenemutapas.
His authority depended upon control of cattle and loot and control of the land. The strength of the Ndebele political structure was determined by the strength of its military power. Land, cattle, and people belonged to the King. The Ndebele King held the following positions. King, army commander, chief judge, and religious leader.
n Dr Manners Msongelwa is the president of History Teachers of Zimbabwe and a Teacher at Camelot College in Kwekwe.