The Sunday Mail
Garikai Mazara
Since Kariba Dam was finished in 1959, and only coming to completion after the loss of 86 men and having shifted its site from the initial gorge, where these men perished, the dam has always been steeped in the world of the mysterious. Though there have been different explanations surrounding the tragic accident that saw the deaths of the 86, who had to be buried en masse at the site, traditionalists were quick to cite angry ancestors who had not been consulted in the making of the dam.
In fact, in the 57 years that the dam has existed, its life has revolved around cultural belief systems, scientific explanations, with a sprinkling of Christian teachings. Chiefs, spirit mediums and traditionalists from within and around Kariba gather a for a two-week ceremony every year without fail to pay homage to ancestors, thanking and appeasing them at the same time.
According to the elders, this provides for the ancestors’ continued divine intervention and guidance in the operations of the dam. With the grouping of elders, chiefs, spirits mediums and cultural enthusiasts having arrived at Mahombekombe on September 13, this year’s ceremony ended in the early hours of this morning, with the main ceremony being a dedication of cloth, beads and coins to the “12 nations” whose lives have been disturbed by the dam.
The elders are convinced that without these annual ceremonies, the dam would have collapsed long back, “like what has happened to all other dams of its generation”. Built in an area that was originally called Kariva, but which was corrupted to Kariba with the advent of the white man, its original residents, to include Chief Nyamhunga, under whose chieftainship Kariba falls, believe that the area has always belonged to the super-natural and, thus, will always be guided by the same.
They even believe in the existence of the Nyami-nyami, the male and female snake-like creatures whose separation by the dam wall is widely believed to have caused the collapse of the initial dam wall, trapping with it the 86 men who were working there.
Legend has it that it was only after an appeasing ceremony, similar to the annual ones being held now, that the Italian contractor was able to start afresh and finish the dam.
So strong is the belief system in the Nyaminyami that the elders believe that it is because of the forced separation that Kariba experiences tremors from time to time, because the male one would be trying to reach out to its partner which is across the dam wall.
When that effort to reach to each other happens, Kariba has tremors. And they say these tremors were not known in their area before the dam wall was built.
The district administrator for Kariba, Amigo Mhlanga, who represents Government in the preparations and holding of the annual ceremonies chipped in, “The super-natural reveals itself in a number of ways. In 2012, we held a similar ceremony in Nyamhunga Stadium and there were some arguments before and during the ceremony, as to who was to lead the ceremony.”
In the end, said Mhlanga, the leader was chosen but not on consensus. The spirits were evidently miffed and within hours of concluding the ceremony a hailstorm, confined only to the immediate surroundings of the venue, fell and destroyed a number of houses.
“Instinctively we knew we had messed up,” said Mhlanga, who has been district administrator for Kariba since 2009 and has witnessed each and every one of these ceremonies since arriving.
Farai Mungazi, who is spokesperson for Chief Nyamhunga, weighed in, saying that a number of tragedies have been recorded in the dam, especially by those who would have disregarded the laid-down rules.
“Everyone knows that in and around Kariba, especially in the dam, we don’t allow anything red, red cloths mostly. If you disregard this, you will be doing it at your own peril. You can be eaten by a hippo or a crocodile in circumstances that will leave everyone wondering. And I am speaking from experience because I have seen people dying in such circumstances.
“Just get lost on the dam, even during broad daylight. A mist will develop and you end up at the wrong end of your journey. Another prohibition is sex in the dam, we don’t allow that, and you find some engaging in it, despite knowing that it is taboo. Then you hear a boat has capsized, even in very calm waters. You know that they would have been up to something,” he said.
To emphasise on the spiritual prowess of the ancestors who control Kariba Dam, district administrator Mhlanga said as recently as this past February, they held a mini ceremony, in view of the dwindling water levels in the dam.
“We had lost five metres within a short space of time and that was alarming. We had not experienced such before. So we held the ceremony and within days, we recovered three metres of the dam water level.
“To give you an appreciation, when the rains fall between October and April in the dam’s catchment area, it is not only until June or July that we notice any changes in the dam’s water level. But in this instance, it was a question of days.”
For the two weeks that the chiefs, spirit mediums and traditionalists have been camped at Mahombekombe, the routine has almost been similar each day. At sunset or soon after, the drum-beating and singing starts, rounding off around 10pm. Then around 1am, they start again, calling it a day at sunrise.
They spent most of the day resting, and when the heat permits, occasionally beat the drums and sing. Whilst this pattern almost replicated itself during the fortnight, yesterday the ceremony took a different dimension with invited guests, drawn from the community, the corporate world and Government, convening for the main ceremony.
With traditional beer flowing left, right and centre yesterday; just after midnight, the selected spirit mediums and chiefs were scheduled to head into the dam “at the circle where water whirls”, and make offerings, which include 12 rolls of 50-metre length cloths (of varying colours, except red), with each roll accompanied by an ounce of beads of similar colour and a token coin for each cloth as well.
“The cloth and beads are for the ancestors to dress themselves. This is a way of saying we haven’t forgotten about you, we need you to dress. And the coins are a symbol of the wealth that we would have made during the year, and we are giving them their portion,” explained Mungazi.
The ceremony, which should normally be held in June or July every year, was pushed to this month this year because the logistical support from the corporate world and Government took long in mobilising.
“Ideally this ceremony should be held during the cool months, you don’t appease your ancestors when it is this hot,” added Mungazi.
Though the elders refer to the “circle where water whirls” as the original site of Kariva, where their ancestors like Nyanhewe were buried, an engineer with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority said the circle is nothing but a vortex, which is an inlet which feeds water into the turbines at Kariba Dam.
“You can see this vortex on your left if you walk along the dam wall facing the Zambian side,” said the engineer. Besides being represented by the district administrator in these annual ceremonies, Government also maintains its presence through the Ministry of Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture and Heritage.
Tarisai Gusho, an arts and culture officer at the ministry, was on sight to see to the day-to-day needs of the gathered crowd as well as document the two-week event for archival purposes.
“We need to archive such ceremonies so that our future generations will know how to conduct them if and when the present generation passes on. This is part of our culture, part of who we are as a nation. Kariba Dam plays a greater part in the heritage of the nation. As a ministry, we have an obligation to follow these proceedings,” said Gusho.
DA Mhlanga said there are plans to have next year’s event at a more spacious and virgin area. “This has been the venue of the ceremony since time immemorial. Human traffic and interference was less back then. We have identified a new site for future gatherings and we hope that by the time of the next celebrations ,we would have put in place all the necessary support structures like ablution facilities. Though the area we identified is infested with wild animals, we feel that if our ancestors approve of it, we won’t face any problems,” he said.
