The annual gathering of the Insika yamaNtungwa

Posted on July 27, 2010

Monument to Bheje in Ngome, KZN

Insika yamaNtungwa Annual Celebration, 16-18 July 2010
Ngome, KwaZulu-Natal

The annual gathering of the Insika yamaNtungwa was held in Ngome. Ngome is where Bheje of the Khumalo had his capital before his defeat by the Zulu under Shaka, after which his followers were incorporated into the Zulu kingdom. Today the Ngome area is mostly tree plantations. The amaNtungwa have to get permission from the companies that own the land to hold their celebration. The annual gathering is held on a piece of open land that is said to be where Bheje's homestead stood, not far from what is referred to as inqaba kaBheje, a cave that the Khumalo under Bheje are renowned to have used as a fortress. On the open land stands a monument to Bheje that was unveiled on 13 July 1996 by inkosi L.R.H. Khumalo, the current Khumalo ruler of the area around Utrecht where the Khumalo have successfully claimed a large tract of land that was alienated. About 250 people attended this year's gathering.

The organisation, the monument and the annual event

According to Arnold Khumalo, the chair of the Umgungundlovu (greater Pietermaritzburg) chapter of the Insika, the organisation was founded in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg as a result of the efforts of Ezra Khumalo, a Wesleyan Church minister who had been posted to the then Rhodesia. In Bulawayo he participated in an annual celebration of Mzilikazi kaMashobana. When he was transferred to Pietermaritzburg, he began gathering people of the Khumalo family name to start a conversation about their history, and how to network and celebrate their ancestors as the Khumalo. Zikhali Khumalo, the treasurer of the organisation who is based in Umlazi, Durban, identified 1988 as the year when the organisation started growing beyond Umgungundlovu. Branches were gradually established in Durban, Hammersdale, Hlabisa, Ngome and eventually Bergville, Umnambithi (Ladysmith), Newcastle and Johannesburg. While it started as a Khumalo organisation, according to Arnold people of other family names who identify themselves as AmaNtungwa, such as the Mabaso, have been included. The group is still in the process of investigating which other surnames are amaNtungwa kaMbulazi. Both Zikhali and Bongani Khumalo, the imbongi and chair of the Ngome chapter, have identified the Nkosi Ndlangamandla and Shembe as part of the amaNtungwa. Zikhali further added that the Nyawose and Gudase have come forward and said they also are amaNtungwa.

The Iziko held its first annual celebration in Ngome in 1994 that was attended by about 2000 people. Reggie Khumalo, who was a presenter on the then Radio Zulu, was at the forefront of publicising and organising the gathering. Until his death a year ago, he was the national chairperson of the organisation. At the 1994 celebration cattle and goats were slaughtered, the ancestors of the Khumalo called on to look after the living and help them unite, versions of the history of the amaNtungwa were narrated and the izibongo (praises) of significant ancestors recited by izimbongi (praise poets). These were interspersed with singing and dancing by groups from the different chapters of the organisation. The same structure has been maintained for the annual celebration since its inception and was evident on Saturday, 17 July 2010, when I attended the gathering. The event is held on the second weekend in July to coincide with school holidays so that the next generation of amaNtungwa can attend and come away with inspiration to continue the work when the time comes. The participants start arriving on the Friday and leave on the Sunday. On the first evening they inform the ancestors of their presence by burning impepho and calling up the forebears of all the amaNtungwa. A meeting is held on the Saturday evening after the day's festivities where reports are given of the organisation's activities for the previous year and new leaders are elected to the national committee when necessary. This year a hike to Bheje's cave took place on Sunday morning, followed by breakfast and an address by the Khumalo inkosi. A final address to the ancestors was made in the makeshift hut erected for the purpose. Thereafter the gathering dispersed. By the time they left on Sunday, most of the participants had spent two nights either sleeping in their vehicles or in a big marquee erected for the purpose, or singing, drinking and braaing meat from the animals that were slaughtered. This year three cattle were slaughtered for the celebration.

Following the success of the first meeting in 1994, Zikhali Khumalo tells me that the committee started trying to find a way to erect a lasting reminder of the ancestor to whom they address themselves, Bheje. A decision was taken to raise funds to erect a monument. In the end, six people sponsored the erection of the monument to Bheje. The monument lists a selective genealogy of the Mntungwa from Mbulazi to the generation after Mzilikazi and others. When I asked what other history of the Khumalo is disseminated, I was pointed to Bongani Khumalo as the authority on history and to Reggie Khumalo's book, Uphoko, as the places to go for the history of the Khumalo. Speakers repeatedly pointed out that the organisation is called Insika yamaNtungwa in order to speak to all who trace their history to Mntungwa and not just the Khumalo. Several speakers emphasised that Mabaso was Mntungwa's inkosana (heir) and Khumalo the ikhohlwa (of the left hand house).

The next step

The next activity of the organisation this year is to make a trip to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe for the annual celebration in honour of Mzilikazi kaMashobana held there. The tradition of travelling to Zimbabwe is now in its twelfth year. A delegation from Insika first went to Bulawayo in 1998 to make contact with the Khumalo. They encouraged the revival of the annual event on which the Rev. Ezra Khumalo had based his founding of the Insika. 9 people travelled to Bulawayo in 1998. The celebration was reportedly revived in 1999 and a busload of people went to the celebration from South Africa. They have since gone each year. Delegates from Zimbabwe and Swaziland have previously come to Ngome as well, but none were present this year. The delegation travelling to Bulawayo will travel to arrive in time for the celebration on 5 September.