Umthetho: Culture in a changing world

Culture could be a driver of change, especially in the restoration of the degraded environment. Recently,  the Jere Ngoni of Mzimba dedicated their cultural festival to fight harmful practices contributing to deforestation. Our staff reporter JOHN CHIRWA writes:

Once upon a time, there was Inkosi ya Makhosi M’mbelwa II—the great grandfather of the current royal ruler, M’mbelwa V—who introduced a number of bylaws during the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

The revolutionary king used the bylaws to enforce protection of indigenous trees such as muwanga, katope, muona, kachere and fyele.

Mzimba Heritage Association chairperson Boston Soko said in an interview that, during that time, one found cutting down trees without permission was fined or jailed for 30 days.

“As a result, people knew the relationship that existed between the village and the forests. When opening gardens, they would cut a trees  at knee level to allow them to regenerate.

“People respected forests because they gave them game, fruits, medicine, food and materials for building houses,” he said.

Today, most of the indigenous trees  are gone.

The association, which strives to preserve and promote the heritage of the Ngoni people, looks back with nostalgia.

“It is learnt that when Zwangendaba was about to die in Ufipaland in Tanzania, he told his followers to return to this land which he called lizwe lizinyamakazi—the land of game. The people protected the catchment areas because they knew water in rivers came from there.

“Today, people build their villages in the catchment areas. They cut down katope trees which conserve water along the rivers. This is why most rivers dry up very early after the rainy season. Perhaps, we have to plant more trees along the rivers and in the catchment areas,” added Soko.

Inkosi ya Makhosi M’mbelwa V says it is worrisome the environment has been degraded.

In an interview, he singled out deforestation as  one of the major challenges in the district.

He said the main reason behind deforestation is charcoal production.

“Human activities have exacerbated the effects of climate change here. We are cutting down trees wantonly for new settlements and charcoal production. This has led to reduced harvests and hunger because rains are erratic,” said M’mbelwa V.

This is why Saturday’s Umthetho was themed Our Culture and Climate Change to reduce harmful traditions that fuel environmental degradation.

Some of the traditions are shifting cultivation.

Umthetho is an annual cultural celebration to promote, preserve and interpret the Jere Ngoni traditions and cultural heritage. It takes place at Hora Mountain Heritage Centre at the foot of Hora Mountain in Mzimba.

Apart from tackling issues of the environment, the sixth edition of the festival also tackled various harmful cultural practices in the wake of the HIV and Aids.

M’mbelwa V said tribes in the country need to preserve their culture by promoting good cultural elements and abandoning harmful ones.

Some of the traditions he said need to be modified in the district for it to fit in the modern age are chokolo (marrying a deceased relation’s widow), mitala (polygamy), nhlazi (a wife’s relation rewarded to her husband) and visiki/chisiki (secret friendships).

“We should not forget that there is HIV and Aids. A lot of people have died because of such traditions as inheriting a brother’s wife. If you want to continue with such practices, it is better to go for HIV counselling and testing before any reunion,” said M’mbelwa V.

He said a cultural practice that marries off underage children needs to be abandoned. If not, he said the girls being married off should be above the legal marriage age.

“Visiki is fuelling teenage pregnancies and the spread of HIV and Aids in villages. I denounce this practice because it allows children to celebrate overnight. This is not a Ngoni cultural practice,” the chief said.

Minister of Sports and Culture Grace Chiumia said as the Ngoni commemorate Umthetho to preserve their culture, they also need to focus on restoring their language.

She said: “My ministry is concerned that most languages are disappearing. For example, here in Mzimba, people can hardly speak Ngoni.

“At an event such as this, we need the majority to speak the language, but that is not the case. Let us teach our children the Ngoni language to preserve it. Otherwise, it will disappear completely.”