Ukubuyisa Isidumbu – “Bringing back the body”: An examination into the ideology of vengeance in the Msinga and Mpofana rural locations(1882-1944)
Date
1979-05
Authors
Clegg, Jonathan
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Abstract
This paper attempts to shed some light on the 'inter-tribal faction
fighting' which has rocked the Msinga and Mpofana rural locations for
many decades. In this examination I have chosen to investigate the
Tembu/Mabaso - Tembu/Majozi disturbances of 1922 because they have a long
history which is fairly well documented and more importantly, the 1922
disturbances were a watershed in the relationship between tribes in Msinga
and set a precedent for other tribes in the area with similar land problems
and boundary disputes. Most importantly I think the war provided a
model for local level politics among the districts within each tribe
and was an important contribution to the development of a 'feud'( 1 )
ideology in Msinga. Thirdly the war effectively broke Terabu dominance
in Msinga politics and paved the way for the Chunu people to consolidate
their power base and influence among those tribes which had been at
loggerheads with the Terabu. The final blow to the Tembu power came in
1944 when they were defeated in massive clashes with the Chunu. The
Chunu's slowly assumed the leadership role in Msinga after this and
their chief SiMakade, has now been elected by the KwaZulu government
to represent all the other chiefs in Msinga at important KwaZulu government
functions. The first section deals with a vast period of history and is
necessarily brief in sections. Whereas the first section deals with the 'inter-tribal' wars between the
major tribes in Msinga, the second section deals with a new phenomenon
which starts appearing in the early 1930's - warfare between districts
of the same tribe and even more stunning, fighting between sections within
a single district within the same tribe. This breakdown of tribal
cohesion into territorial opposition between districts and subsections within
districts goes hand in hand with development of what I have called the
'ideology of vengeance' in Msinga. ( 2*) In the pages that follow I
think it will become clear that in trying to understand the conditions under
which this new social phenomenon developed, there is among all the other
numerous factors, a single underlying element which seems to pervade
the fighting at every level - the problem of insufficient land.
Description
African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented May, 1979