The Sunday Mail
Jinda Mutinhima
Over the years, sensational stories about supernatural manifestations have been passed from generation to generation.
While some believe that there are sacred places infested with spirits and the supernatural that can cause people and objects to disappear, others dismiss this as a fallacy.
But African traditionalist Ferdinand Tahwa said disputing that there are scared places in Africa is like disputing the Africaness in oneself.
In 2012, the then Minister of Water Resources Cde Sam Sipepa Nkomo, a devout Christian, told the Senate that he had tasked traditional leaders to spearhead traditional rites to appease mermaids at Osborne dam in Manicaland and another in Gokwe so that workers could finish the construction of the dams.
Cde Nkomo’s call was supported by Cde Ignatius Chombo, who was the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development back then.
It was said people disappeared mysteriously and construction workers were being chased away by some creatures.
Some contracted white people also experienced similar problems and are said to have refused to return to work until some rituals were performed.
In 2014, a white British tourist, Thomas Gainsford failed to find his way out of the sacred Nyanga mountain from midday to the following morning.
Gainsford said he only managed to survive because he applied what he had been taught by locals, that is to observe the sacredness of the mountain by not disturbing the wild animals and reptiles he met.
So many theories have been told about the disappearances of people in Nyanga Mountain.
Some say there are mermaids and spirits in the mountain.
This writer decided to unravel the history of the mountain and its spiritual side.
It was learnt that during the early centuries when the Bantu people were moving from north to settle in the modern day plateau which they called Guruuswa, then Tanganyika; the eastern part of Zimbabwe which is now Manicaland was inhabited by the Barwe, Machipunda, Wateve.
They were ruled by Makombe of the Humba totem. Makombe’s daughter got married to Muchachani of the Simboti totem. Muchachani was a healer with supernatural powers and was known as Run’anga.
Makombe wanted protection from Muchachani’s prowess and therefore he gave him part of his country – the Ndume or present day Nyanga Mountain.
The corrupted European version of the early Portuguese coined the name Inyangani from Run’anga.
Run’anga then gave his sixth grandson, Firakutumwa, the son of Nguwochena, the custody of the Nyanga area which includes the mountain.
The sacred Nyanga is the most popular but there are also other sacred areas under the Nhando territory which includes Nzunza, Nyakasikana, Chirikuutsi, Pungwe, DzivaraManhadzo and Mabwe Masimike.
Firakutumwa, who was popularly known as Mufambanhando or simply Nhando, was a warrior who would from time to time move away to fight in the wars of conquest in the plateau and return to Nyanga.
But as fate would have it, Nhando was sold out by his friend Sinyoro and died in Manhize area in Chivhu, Mashonaland East province and was buried in the Chikapakapa mountain range.
Mutasa, his nephew, knew of his uncle’s magical stick and therefore he connived with others to take away Nhando’s area of jurisdiction.
Resultantly, Nhando’s descendants lost their chieftainship and were all driven away from the mountain.
But despite losing the chieftainship a century ago, Nhando’s spirit has been waging a war to reclaim the area.
At one time, whites who used to run the Wattle Plantation Company offered to build a house for Nhando’s medium to perform rituals from.
At three occasions in Harare and Manhize area in Chivhuto, this writer consulted Nhando’s medium to get a better understanding of the Nyanga mountain disappearances.
“Moyondizvo, ndinorwadziwa nenyaya yamuri kundibvunza, vana vangu havana chikuva. Dziva haripwi musi umwe but nekufamba kwenguva muchazviona kana vana vangu vasati vadzorerwa ushe hwavo. (Moyondizvo, I am saddened by the story you are asking me about, I am saddened because my children don’t have a place of their own. They are just refugees everywhere without a place they call their own. If you look closely, the water is drying up slowly. I won’t rest until my children reclaim what is theirs. People will continue to disappear in Nyanga mountain).
Sekuru Nhando said all those who disappeared are in still in the mountain and are now grandchildren, including the Indian man.
“Moyondizvo, Ndume ndakaipihwa nasekuru vangu Run’anga, mvura inoerera yakapanzurwa kubva pamupimbira wasekuru vangu. Homwe yangu inoita maBira akawanda kuti munyika muve nerunyararo, kuti vana vasabatwe zvibharo uye kuti njodzi dzisawanda munyika saka handingaiti chipinyi chekusada kuona nyika ichibudirira, asizve vana vangu vanofanirwa kuva vaine chikuva chavo.”
Indian Zayd Dada disappeared last year and is the latest person to have vanished in the mountain after Robert Ackhurst and the Masaya twin girls went missing in the early 1980s.
Massive searches were conducted for these people using helicopters but nothing came to fruition.
Nhando’s spirit said Dada could have been released had proper traditional rites been followed using the real custodians of the mountain.
“The search for the last person was called off due to the heavy winds and what these people failed to read was that the helicopter was swayed by the winds to Hauna area, which is where one of my descendants live. He was supposed to lead the rites.
“But when my medium tried to tell the search team, they didn’t heed her calls so I just left it like that. They are all alive and well. They angered the spirits but will be returned when proper channels are followed,” said Sekuru Nhando.
The Government recently gave back the chieftainship to the Simboti, what remains is to decide which house takes the chieftainship.
