Cultural Heritage with Pathisa Nyathi
IT would seem Zambia is turning into my favourite playing ground, nay a learning field within the context of the unending cycle of knowledge acquisition.
In October 2023, I sought to make contacts with Zambian artists in Lusaka. Fisani Nkomo, who had been in Lusaka on several occasions and was therefore familiar with the Zambian arts terrain, convinced me to join him. A pioneering adventure opened many vistas beyond the arts and culture landscape.
I made a presentation at the University of Zambia (Unza) and also at the Kalulu Kreativez in Chalala. The presentation related to my interpretation of the Great Enclosure at Zimbabwe’s iconic monument of Great Zimbabwe. In the book that I wrote on the same topic, “Journey to Great Zimbabwe . . .” I allowed the various art genres to tell their stories regarding the World Heritage Site (WHS).
In Lusaka, quite a number of art studios were visited. I remember, in particular, Mulenga Mulenga’s. Lusala Play House featured a powerful play titled, “Samangika. Yombwe Cosmas Mbuyisa of Kabanana fame was the main character in the dramatic presentation. The journey resulted in the penning of a book, “Journey to Kalulu Kreativez.” The experience turned out to be a dress rehearsal for the more publicised March 2024 visit to Chipata, Zambia.
The second visit seemed to open a Pandora’s Box in some quarters where some people thought we were venturing into the world of taboos and mythical folktales that are best left under the carpet. Ours was to seek confirmation whether or not King Lobengula kaMzilikazi did seek refuge among his kith and kin, the Ngoni people in Chipata, Zambia.
With Government resource facilitation, we did get to Chipata where we met with King Mpezeni IV. The Ngoni monarch assembled a team of people; historians included, who briefed us on what they knew about the issue relating to the fate of the last Ndebele King. A book is yet to be penned that will deal more exhaustively with the issue and the related journey.
Last week, another trip to Zambia was undertaken. This time the destination was Livingstone across the Zambezi River. The journey was less arduous in physical terms but equally beneficial and mind-tickling.
There was an art exhibition in Livingstone to which I had been invited. Artists co-operated in presenting joint art exhibitions in the form of paintings and installations. Artists came from numerous countries such as Zimbabwe, Haiti, Costa Rica, Lesotho and Norway, inter alia.
The Livingstone Office of Contemporary Arts (LoCA) staged an art exhibition at the Livingstone Gallery that was constructed during the World Tourism Organization’s Expo arranged jointly by Zambia and Zimbabwe. During the exhibitions, co-operating artists got into conversations with a moderator guiding the process through questions that he/she threw to the artists. I took part in one such conversation session that related to witchcraft.
So, there are people out there who are watching what I am doing in the field of Ancient African Science (AAS). It was a fulfilling engagement from which another book shall surely emerge. Participants were excited that their experiences were going to be documented. They saw me write profusely and wondered what my intentions were. Many look forward to the production of the book. However, it was experiences outside of the conversations at both the Livingstone Gallery and the Livingstone Museum that were of particular interest to me.
The issues discussed informally related to the issues pertinent to the articles in this column. The first experience was aboard the Extra City Bus travelling from Bulawayo to Livingstone. At Lupane, some woman whose face looked quite familiar boarded the bus on which I was travelling. She was in the company of some younger man. No sooner had the two sat down than I saw the young man approach me.
He introduced himself as the son of Groom Nyathi from Mandihongola, a place close to my rural home. His paternal grandmother and mine were sisters, oMaDube. He was in the company of some woman who wished to talk to me. I obliged. The woman, whose name was Agnes Dumisani Mizere came and sat down next to me. I greeted her in IsiNdebele.
She was not Ndebele speaking, nor was she Zimbabwean. She was of Chewa extraction from Malawi though now resident in the United States of America (USA). The woman just could not believe that she was sitting next to me on a bus travelling from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls. Apparently, she knew me well. She had read a lot of stuff about me in the print and electronic media. She knew how much I knew in the fields of arts, culture and heritage, with particular emphasis on African Indigenous Spirituality (AIS).
She proceeded to open up her WhatsApp contacts and, right there, in front of my inquisitive eyes, I saw several names of people that I knew. One of them was Gumbi Jele, one of the historians that we had met at Chipata in March, earlier on in the year.
If she had read about me, I reckoned, chances were that she wanted to extract some African knowledge from me. I always oblige when people approach me seeking to siphon some knowledge. I had not bargained for this. The teacher-pupil relationship was not what I had anticipated. I was the pupil and she was the lecturer. I have not encountered one person this young who possessed so much knowledge, not about robotics, but about issues spiritual. Now, you can see how the trip from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls ended up as a lesson in Ancient African Science.
I soon recognised that she was somewhat timid or scared of using the language that was requisite and explicit as demanded by the topics to hand. She wrote down some words she felt uncomfortable with. I reminded her that long ago when stones were still soft, I was a Biology teacher. I remember her writing down the word, “orgasm.” That somewhat seemed to allay some fear of the explicit and in-decorum.
Here are some of what she termed African acupuncture. Generally, acupuncture as a healing method is associated with the Chinese. The medical practice involves inserting sharp needles in certain identified parts of the body. We are told the pierced parts lead to healing. It is not just any part of the body that is pierced. There are known points that are related to the anatomy and physiology of the body.
Africa has always known about this ancient practice that was probably acquired by the Chinese. Remember, Africa is the cradle of humankind. Research findings seem to point to the location of the earliest humans as residing in a swathe of land embracing Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Africa led the way in advanced study and operational fields such as alchemy, astronomy, genetics and cloning. Some of these forms of AAS will be dealt with more definitively later as they have to do with AAS.
Agnes, it seemed to me, was sent from the spiritual world to school me on matters spiritual. She indicated some points on a human head and face that are critical when incisions are made into which burnt herbs and plant extracts are introduced. One other point is between the thumb and the index finger. She cited the introduction of charcoal-based black medicines, insizi, that are introduced into incisions. The purpose of such medicines is, among others, to ward off crocodile attacks.
It is known that like poles repel while unlike poles attract. These are known Laws of Magnetism. Africa makes use of the same laws. Through incisions, crocodile traits are introduced into a person’s body. When one “possessing” a crocodile wades through a pool of water infested with crocodiles, they are immune to crocodile attacks.
Nature is holistically interlinked and interconnected. The various components bear diverse characteristics and properties. This is true of both flora and fauna. Africa has understood these properties and applied them. Manipulation of natural forces lies at the centre of producing desired outcomes within the context of nature-in-culture and vice versa.
Some of these mechanisms are designed to safeguard the well-being and protection of humans and the environment that Africans perceive as a source of sustenance for human beings. Continuity, eternity, perpetuity and endlessness are effected through various measures, both natural and cultural. When predators are warded off, it is a way of ensuring that life continues uninterrupted.
Likewise, taboos are cultural constructs that are created, sustained and applied to preserve and conserve the environment, together with the diverse ecosystems resident within the environment.
Some taboos may be rooted in the social, religious/spiritual, economic and political spheres. All of them are calculated to preserve human beings, the environment and the perpetuation of ecosystems with their bio-diversities. In terms of operation, taboos are expressed as prohibitions and restrictions.
Another example that Agnes told me about, related to the ability of some people to exit their physical bodies. This is where witches come in with their advanced science. Some years back, one colleague told me how a man witnessed his wife transform at night into some tiny blob before scooting off into the dark night to rendezvous with other fellow scientists. A banana is usually used to take up the place of the departed man’s wife. Husbands are put to sleep until the early hours of the morning. The reverse is true.
Agnes also referred to some astral position that is assumed so that a returning individual may get back into the separated or decoupled component. It is critical that the remaining physical body assumes a particular position, an astral position, for the returning component to successfully get back inside. This is no mean achievement on the part of witches and wizards. However, we should not assume that the practitioners are theorists who understand the underpinning thought and who put into practice what they are not able to explain and interpret.
The exiting phenomenon facilitates entry into another realm. The two realms are governed by different physical and natural laws. The one characteristic of our world, the terrestrial realm, is the presence of the force of gravity. This force pulls down everything. We do not float because the force of gravity anchors us to the ground. Sometimes we take this force for granted. For example, when we go to empty our bowels, the excreta goes down due to the pull of the force of gravity.
In the absence of that force, as observed in spaceships, astronauts’ urine and excreta would float around them. There is simply no gravity to drag the mess down. That is done by the force of gravity.
That took me to the intangible realm to begin to appreciate its operations and how the force of gravity is negated. Witches are able to fly by virtue of first transforming into forms that enter another realm.